Your Stories Don't Define You, How You Tell Them Will

417 Being Fully Present

417 Being Fully Present Being present for those in your life can be a difficult matter at times, yes we can be in the same room as them, but it is far more meaningful to be there for them emotionally which can triple the difficulty of a situation. Which is why it is important to take a step back and to take stock of your emotions before responding, so that you can be your best self and not one that lectures or reacts with anger. In today's episode Sarah Elkins and Phil Friedman discuss the importance of patience, empathy, and seeking one's one fulfillment in life that is not tied to a career nor who we associate ourselves with. Highlights * Do you tie your identity to others? * At times, understanding and gentleness is far better than a lecture. * Are you an observer of your own life? * How do you treat yourself when you aren't at your best? * How do you find satisfaction day to day? Quotes "It's one thing to observe emotion in somebody else, for me I can't observe it that same way in myself." "There are so many things to write about and so little time." "If I worried about everything that could go wrong, since half of the things that could go wrong don't go wrong, then I'll spend my life being worried about things that half the time will never happen." Dear Listeners it is now your turn, When have you had an experience where you didn't recognize your emotion until after the fact? Is there something you can do, a strategy you can use to try to be more aware in the moment of where your emotions are coming from? Maybe it's an angry reaction, an angry response to something that should have been a more empathetic response, but in the moment you were fearful for the safety or the health of the person in front of you. And, as always, thank you for listening. About Phil As a former university professor and college instructor, I spent years helping students think clearly and write with purpose. I also created and led North America's first fully certified two-year post-secondary program in boatbuilding and boatyard management, experience that honed my skills in curriculum design, educational program development, and mentoring learners at every stage. . Alongside my teaching, I've written, edited, and published more than 2,000 feature articles for major print and digital media channels. That experience helps me guide writers not just to overcome resistance, but also to approach their craft with the mindset and skills that lead to real publication. . My coaching style is supportive and judgment-free. I meet writers where they are and help them silence their inner critic, build strong writing habits, and trust their unique voice. Whether you're writing for personal fulfillment, launching a blog, or aiming to get published, I'll help you take the next step with clarity and confidence. During 30+ years in the marine industry, I've worn numerous hats — as a marine marketer and ghost writer, boating magazine writer/editor, yacht designer, boatbuilder, marine operations and business manager, marine industry consultant, yacht surveyor, and industry educator. I'm also trained and experienced in interest-based negotiation, mediation, and alternative dispute resolution for parties in the marine business sector. In a prior life, I taught logic and philosophy at university. Be sure to check out Phil's LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/friedmanphil] and Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/phil.friedman.399/]! As well as Port Royal Group [https://www.portroyalgroup.com], Port Royal Marketing [https://portroyalmarketing.substack.com/], and Social Philosophy and The Art of Boatbuilding [https://friedmanphil.substack.com/p/social-philosophy-and-the-art-of]! 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 [https://sarah-elkins.mykajabi.com/offers/F2WN65Xg/checkout] as well to make sure you nail that next interview!

416 The Right Tool For The Right Job

416 The Right Tool For The Right Job Having the necessary toolset to build others and yourself up is something most of us continue to build and collect our entire lives. How we choose to interact with another, how we teach, learn, and grow with them is how we hone these tools in order to achieve excellence in our chosen life. In today's episode Sarah Elkins ruminates on one of her former students, and how the lessons and tools she's experienced now have made her a better advisor and teacher, by taking into account everyone's personalized skillset. Highlights * Applying new understanding of the tools you've collected to help others and yourself. * Everyone has different talents, which is why it is so important to learn to work with them as opposed to against them. * ADKAR and Strengths Finder working hand in hand to create meaningful change. Quotes "The thing is my talents are the opposite to the ones I'm describing here so if I want to teach someone or help them move through the ADKAR change framework, I have to meet them where they are, I have to be able to speak their language." "If we can learn to bring people along for the ride with these tools; Strengths Finder and ADKAR, we can move forward into that uncertainty with improved and inspired resilience, persistence, and grit." Dear Listeners it is now your turn, Are you curious to learn more about this ADKAR Framework and the layering nuance of Strengths Finder for individual and institutional change? Check out Episode 407 featuring Rachel Bohns, and send me your questions and ideas that pop into your head I'd love to hear from you. 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 [https://sarah-elkins.mykajabi.com/offers/F2WN65Xg/checkout] as well to make sure you nail that next interview!

415 Striving For Excellence

415 Striving For Excellence When was the last time you took a moment to truly acknowledge just how far you've come and the work you have done to get to this point? No exceptions, no talking down about your accomplishments, just true and genuine acceptance of how amazing you are because of how hard you have worked. Perfection is impossible, but Excellence is achievable. We can always improve, but we must also acknowledge and sit with how well we have done to get to this moment. In this episode Sarah Elkins and Anne Catherine discuss the importance of art and the soul, the necessity of knowing when we are truly excellent, and to encourage it in others and ourselves. Highlights * What super power are you hiding? * What is the art you practice that you don't often think is art? * Are you coloring in someone else's lines or your own? * Letting go of perfection and striving for excellence. * What was the last thing you were really proud of? No buts. Quotes "It's funny because I didn't study art or anything right? My medium is paint, of all sorts so I could say I'm a painter, but I never started. I always went straight to artist because I think it's in your soul, it doesn't matter even when I do science, I assemble molecules. There's an art to that. That's what felt right to me, I never defined myself as a painter even though that's my medium for traditional art as we would say so." "You don't have to pick, you can be all the things that your heart desires." "I don't want to color in someone else's lines anymore." Dear Listeners it is now your turn, What will you do with your insights from this conversation? Will you choose to color out of the lines or to make your own lines? Will you choose to simply color within those lines just to express your own need for color for some form of relaxing, because it can be a great tool. But if you are driven, if you are compelled to stop coloring inside someone else's lines, I want to know what that looks like for you. And, as always, thank you for listening. About Anne Catherine Anne-Catherine is a French-Canadian PhD chemist and abstract artist whose work invites people to reclaim their wholeness. She bridges two worlds that rarely meet: science and art. What started as a personal outlet became a transformative practice that helped her process emotions beyond the reach of language. This shaped her belief that creative expression can regulate the nervous system and reconnect us with the parts of ourselves we tend to silence. Through her brand Labcoat & Leggings, she explores the intersection of scientific themes and bold creative freedom. As a scientist and a mother, she has witnessed how often women in STEM hide parts of themselves to navigate spaces not designed for them. Her work is about reclaiming what we mute and showing what it looks like when someone leads with honesty and humanity in a way that makes the world more welcoming and inclusive for all. Be sure to check out Anne's LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-catherine-b%C3%A9dard-403ab346/] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/labcoat_and_leggings?igsh=dnJ0bmQ3MHMwcXRj]! And be sure to check out her website Labcoat & Leggings [http://www.labcoatandlegging.com]! 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 [https://sarah-elkins.mykajabi.com/offers/F2WN65Xg/checkout] as well to make sure you nail that next interview!

414 Following Your Own Star

414 Following Your Own Star There comes a time in our lives where we need to stop and take stock of what we want to do next and our next steps in getting there. Perhaps it's more than just one thing, perhaps you're just floating through life trying to figure out what to do next, or perhaps you think this goal is too lofty despite all your hard work. Which is why it is so important to take all you know about others and yourself and apply it to whatever comes next. In today's episode Sarah Elkins and Professor KD Frick discuss the importance of that specific personal growth, as well as the importance of believing in others and yourself even when you aren't sure where your own star is leading you, and especially to greet the world with open arms. Highlights * Finding the right words for where you are in your life right now. * Leading with compassion and empathy. * Position yourself to be able to understand. * Don't immediately dismiss someone, you never know where their combined ideas may lead. Everyone has their own North Star they follow. Quotes "Empathy leads to approachability." "Look as long as I'm here and unless you tell me otherwise, I'm planning on reading names. Because it's the last connection students have with us." Dear Listeners it is now your turn, What did you hear in this conversation that struck you as something that resonated? Maybe it was about not knowing what you want to do next, maybe it was I do know what I want to do next but I'm not being consistent enough to make it happen. I am so curious to hear your thoughts, please share them either in the comments or wherever you see this shared or send me an email. And, as always, thank you for listening. About KD KD Frick was originally trained as a health economist and began a career at Johns Hopkins as a faculty member at the Bloomberg School of Public Health; after a bit more than sixteen years in that role, with responsibilities like associate department chair and faculty senate president, a move was made to the Carey Business School as vice dean for education. The eight and one-half years spent in that role were a time of growth and expansion of opportunity. With colleagues encouraging a return to research, challenging decisions around COVID, a focus on ranking academic programs that was not of interest, and a lack of visible opportunities for advancement in administration, a decision was made to return to just a faculty role. The result has been great fulfillment, a change in teaching, and a focus on leading by teaching others to lead artisnally toward aspirational narratives for themselves and those they are developing. There is still room for work on the economics of eye care where Professor Frick has the opportunity to apply the leading with values approach that is taught in the classroom. Be sure to check out Professor Frick's LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kdavinafrick/], thoughts on tHERSday newsletter [https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7232486595499560960/], as well as Business and Economics of Eye Care and Health [https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13062437/]! 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 [https://sarah-elkins.mykajabi.com/offers/F2WN65Xg/checkout] as well to make sure you nail that next interview!

413 Love, Connection, Belonging, and Comfort Zones

413 Love, Connection, Belonging, and Comfort Zones It's easy to forget to take care of the many facets of our health in a world obsessed with value and progress. We forget to care for our mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health in ways that dramatically affect us in the long run, which is why it is vital for us to sit down and take stock of our health and to take the time to tend to our own needs. In today's episode Sarah Elkins and Kevin Strauss discuss the importance of connection, comfort zones, boundaries, love, and how important it is to ourselves as humans. Highlights * Emotional, physical, and spiritual health and what the differences are. * How we learn and how it shapes us into who we are. * Identifying your comfort zone so you feel safe stepping into your stretch zone. * Taking care of every aspect of your health so that you can operate perfectly. * Quit trying to distract, soothe, or numb yourself to your needs. Take the time to properly address them so that you can be a truly healthy and functional person. * What is your reference for comfort? Quotes "There is no right or wrong or better or worse way, it's just that this is how we are operating in the world and this is how we learn." "Value in our brain translates to love, and that's really an emotional health need. So we're try to feel more valuable, because value equals love in our brain." "We try to show our value, that we are worthy of love, but it's never enough. It never soothes, we always need more, more, more, because we aren't addressing the real problem. And the real problem is we don't feel love just for who we are." "How many people on the planet are actively, intentionally, daily, practicing love and connection?" Dear Listeners it is now your turn, I'm going to ask you to define your comfort zone. Consider a moment in time when you felt truly comfortable, loved, safe, supported, just like when I stood in my doorway and saw my children in the room, and thought "If that's not nice, then what is?" Find a handful of moments like that in your life, define what it felt like, because once you have that foundation, you can step out of it. And, as always, thank you for listening. Mentioned in this episode The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon [https://www.amazon.com/Curious-Incident-Dog-Night-Time/dp/1400077834/ref=asc_df_1400077834?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80333255322097&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=110488&hvtargid=pla-4583932721747626&psc=1]The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter [https://www.amazon.com/Comfort-Crisis-Embrace-Discomfort-Reclaim/dp/0593138767/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=1345802901454990&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.aQfpYB2BuBM7-z8o_3dzfW2lxIfCMT9nMdh-93xOKIp8wICmioeE5EmAdBPQolEpAsLa65UFKVUFFtSSpFyb4Ceo5wHTx4T9MbAKNCWpHnIEd76ZZFPNv7gy4X6DGARqeh7atdhCDD5TDTDUYrVQy-da8isH3TLDJHY8IignDF_4wgVaFtYAz_tPOcd0vkjcBwahiiSQikrw-orLGKy4i3JRvNX9gKwmm23EtlLBu6o.vw8aHUAymP0lapsBv4LGPpNZ0EmbGCNGHwUq-6ukuFA&dib_tag=se&hvadid=84113017765862&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=110488&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvtargid=kwd-84113121056236%3Aloc-190&hydadcr=7496_13290540&keywords=the+comfort+crisis&mcid=650a01c5d217328abd8fe40e4229f75c&msclkid=1122d6b120721d27ba2abfebca263d43&qid=1767566392&sr=8-1] About Kevin Kevin R. Strauss is the CEO of Uchi, a platform built on one simple truth — everything feels possible when you know someone has your back, every day. With 30 years in human behavior, innovation, and wellness, Kevin focuses on solving long-standing problems with simple solutions. His career began in biomedical engineering, earning more than 75 patents and multiple publications, but his deeper passion has always been understanding people and why we behave the way we do. Through Uchi, Kevin helps families, schools, workplaces, and communities create stronger relationships so people can do better together. He's also the author of Innovate The 1% and host of the Question It podcast. Outside of work, Kevin is a 24-year, injury-free Ironman Triathlete, expedition backpacker, and award-winning ballroom dancer. Be sure to check out Kevin's LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/KevinRStrauss], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/kevinrstrauss/], and Facebook [https://facebook.com/kevin.strauss.180]! As well as his website, Kevin R Strauss [https://kevinrstrauss.com], his Youtube [https://www.youtube.com/@KevinRStrauss], and Uchi Connections [https://uchiconnection.com]! 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 [https://sarah-elkins.mykajabi.com/offers/F2WN65Xg/checkout] as well to make sure you nail that next interview!