How do you think it feels to feel stifled and suppressed your whole life, always being told what to say and what to do? It doesn’t sound like a fulfilling way to live, does it? It’s especially difficult for someone with intensity, unable to express their thoughts and words. Today’s show tells the inside story.

Abbi Wood loves words and having fun with language. Perhaps this love stems from the fact that her words were suppressed for so long. She now loves the growth and evolution of words, and how new words emerge and old words become redundant, faster than you can say---redundant! As a kid, Abbi dreamed of getting a Ph. D. in the English language, and now she has more than 20 years under her belt working with words. She has a double degree in math and computer sciences because her family convinced her that making a living as a writer was an impossibility. A challenger by nature, Abbi fought against so-called “truths” her entire life. As a woman and a person of color, she heard more than her fair share of what to do and what to say in the world, and she’s learned to take what she hears with a grain of salt. She’s also learned how to think for herself and make up her own mind. Join us as we jump into Abbi’s story and her intensity.

Show HIghlights:

• Why Abbi is passionate about being herself and being free from the burden of other people telling her what to do and say
• Why Abbi likes helping her clients with being free and unburdened
• Abbi’s own brand of intensity and what it looks like
• Why she loves encouraging people to be themselves because she wasn’t allowed to do that for a long time
• How Abbi tries to offset chaos by using organization and systems that work for her
• How she wasn’t allowed to manifest her intensity while growing up
• How can I be of service without being a slave to people-pleasing?
• Why cultural factors led to Abbi feeling like she didn’t have the voice she wanted, in her family and in the world
• Growing up in Pakistan, England, and the US
• Why Abbi thought she could never accomplish the things she wanted
• How Abbi felt like two different people: the one she was at home and the one she was out in the world
• A time when Abbi felt out of control when it became harder and harder not to say what she wanted to say with her brothers
• Abbi’s fears for her daughter, and not wanting her to grow up feeling stifled and suppressed
• Abbi’s words to parents
• How Abbi uses her fire for good in her business, helping people write what they want to say
• How Abbi comes from a place of sharing what she loves
• How she helps harness the power of intensity, with systems, lists, organization, and hacks
• What the concept of “contaminated time” means for overwhelmed women
• The importance of being connected and staying social
• Abbi’s best advice from herself: “Find your freedom”
• Abbi’s best advice from a book she read: “Focus on the ONE thing that will move you forward right now.”
• Books that have helped Abbi and been impactful in her life
• Vulnerability: what it is and what it is NOT
• How Abbi helps others use their fire, by uncovering what’s inherent in them and demonstrating it with language
• Why Abbi takes the time with her clients for intensive discovery
• Abbi’s challenges to listeners: “I challenge you to be yourself, even though you might sometimes feel at odds with yourself and with the world. There is a method to the madness, so be who you are.”

Resources:

Abbi Wood

The Age of Overwhelm by Laura van Dernoot

Profit First by Mike Michalowicz

Brene’ Brown books

The ONE Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan