Access to Inspiration

Legendary adventurer Myrtle Simpson talks to Sue Stockdale about her life in the second part of this interview (episode 84 featured her adventures on Ice and Mountains). Myrtle shares her recollections of how she lived for three months with a tribe in the rainforest in Surinam and more recently attended the COP 26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow.

Simpson was awarded the Polar Medal in recognition of her arctic achievements, and National Geographic named Myrtle as one of four women 'who defied expectations and explored the world'.

In 1965 Myrtle crossed the Greenland ice cap on skis and four years later attempted to reach the North Pole, setting the record for the farthest North reached by any unsupported expedition at the time. Her adventures have been immortalised in an award-winning documentary "A Life on Ice" that premiered in 2019, winning several awards for 'Best Exploration and Adventure film' at film festivals around the world.

Read the transcription for this episode on www.accesstoinspiration.org and connect with us:
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Sound Editor: Matias de Ezcurra (he/him)
Producer: Sue Stockdale (she/her)

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/access-to-inspiration--4156820/support.

Connect with Access to Inspiration: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Read our Impact Report and if you would like to support us then Buy Me A Coffee


Host: Sue Stockdale 
Producer: Sue Stockdale  
Sound Editor: Matias De Ezcurra 

Legendary adventurer Myrtle Simpson talks to Sue Stockdale about her life. In part 1 of a two-part interview, Myrtle recalls her North Pole expedition attempt in 1969, and some of the adventures that she has undertaken with her husband and children. In January 2017 Myrtle was awarded the Polar Medal in recognition of her arctic achievements, and National Geographic named Myrtle as one of four women 'who defied expectations and explored the world'.

Born in 1930, Myrtle Simpson began her early life in India, and then returned to Scotland after the war where she developed a love of climbing. Myrtle travelled to New Zealand and began working as a radiographer, spending weekends learning about climbing high peaks. After Mount Everest had been conquered in 1953 and the Himalayas became more popular and expensive for climbing expeditions, Myrtle and two friends decided to travel to Peru where they climbed numerous virgin peaks including a new route on Huascarán, the highest mountain in Peru at 6768m.

After getting married and having children, Myrtle continued to travel along with her husband, Professor Hugh Simpson, a scientist and pioneer of breast cancer research, whose research took him to many remote places. Hugh and Myrtle crossed the Greenland ice cap on skis in 1965, and four years later attempted to reach the North Pole, setting the record for the farthest North reached by any unsupported expedition at the time.

Myrtle's adventures have been immortalised in an award-winning documentary "A Life on Ice" that premiered in 2019, winning several awards for 'Best Exploration and Adventure film' at film festivals around the world. She has also written several books including Due North, White Horizons and Home is a Tent.

Key Quotes

'We put the very last of our fuel into our Primus and realised that if the sea didn't freeze that night, we'd had it'.

'My very first memory was sitting on a mule in a basket'.

'In those days, you could find unclaimed peaks and it was just absolutely magic to be a climber at the time'.

'We had just a magic trip to Peru and climbed numerous virgin peaks, including a new route on the highest mountain in Peru'.

'My daughter Rona was three and there was another local girl of three. And the two girls didn't have a word of each other's language but they never stopped talking to each other for three months'.

'Early women explorers were nearly all botanists because that was something women were allowed to be, back into early Victorian times'.

'I would find ordinary suburban life excruciatingly boring, but you don't have to walk far into nature to really suddenly you feel yourself becoming alive'.

This series is kindly supported by Squadcast –the remote recording platform which empowers podcasters by capturing high-quality audio and video conversations. https://squadcast.fm

Read the transcription for this episode on www.accesstoinspiration.org and connect with us:
Twitter www.twitter.com/accessinspirat1
Facebook www.facebook.com/accesstoinspiration
Instagram www.instagram.com/accesstoinspiration
LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/access-to-inspiration/

Sign up for our newsletter http://eepurl.com/hguX2b
Read our Impact Report https://bit.ly/3hElalv

Sound Editor: Matias de Ezcurra (he/him)
Producer: Sue Stockdale (she/her)

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/access-to-inspiration--4156820/support.

Connect with Access to Inspiration: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Read our Impact Report and if you would like to support us then Buy Me A Coffee


Host: Sue Stockdale 
Producer: Sue Stockdale  
Sound Editor: Matias De Ezcurra 

Sue Stockdale talks to Brian Sachetta, software developer, author, and owner of “Get Out of Your Head,” a brand and book series that seeks to help folks overcome anxiety and depression. Brain explains how he combines his experiences in the tech world with previous mental health battles to draw parallels between computer systems and the human mind to offer practical strategies for evading your own psychological demons.

Brian currently has two books on the market, “Get Out of Your Head: A Toolkit for Living with and Overcoming Anxiety” and “Get Out of Your Head Vol. 2: Navigating the Abyss of Depression.” His mission is to help as many sufferers as possible through not only those books but also his blog and podcast appearances.

Key Quotes:

'I had always had an interest in doing things with technology'.

'I had so many pages of notes, 100 pages in Microsoft Word, I thought why don't I distill this down into something'?

'That's what happens with anxiety in general, our bodies go into a fight or flight state'.

'I have these tendencies to chew things over to ruminate, and that is not helpful as it only tends to magnify the fear that I'm feeling'.

'You can't really solve emotions, you can only let them flow through you'.

'I was going out and AB testing different strategies'.

'A lot of people have reached out to me. I had one reach out to me and said, this literally changed my life'.

'I think when you dig into it, art is sort of emotion'.

'In my books. I talk about the pain. I talk about the difficulty. I'm not smoothing things over and being everything's wonderful and happy. I give space for the darkness. I give space for the difficulty'.

Connect with Brian Sachetta:

Website: https://getoutofyourhead.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getoutofyourhead/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/getoutofyourheadbooks

This series is kindly supported by Squadcast –the remote recording platform which empowers podcasters by capturing high-quality audio and video conversations. https://squadcast.fm

Read the transcription for this episode on www.accesstoinspiration.org and connect with us:
Twitter www.twitter.com/accessinspirat1
Facebook www.facebook.com/accesstoinspiration
Instagram www.instagram.com/accesstoinspiration
LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/access-to-inspiration/

Sign up for our newsletter http://eepurl.com/hguX2b
Read our Impact Report https://bit.ly/3hElalv

Sound Editor: Matias de Ezcurra (he/him)
Producer: Sue Stockdale (she/her)

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/access-to-inspiration--4156820/support.

Connect with Access to Inspiration: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Read our Impact Report and if you would like to support us then Buy Me A Coffee


Host: Sue Stockdale 
Producer: Sue Stockdale  
Sound Editor: Matias De Ezcurra 

Sue Stockdale talks to Sebastian Rohr, a serial tech entrepreneur in the field of Identity & Access Management, and Information Security about the importance of managing one’s digital identity. As well as providing some practical tips on how to manage your digital identity, Sebastian reflects on why burnout is a common occurrence for many professionals working in this field and how he recovered when experiencing burnout several years ago.

Sebastian Rohr is the loving father of a teenage girl and considers himself an "earthling", despite travelling on a German passport. Aside from his day job in Security, he regularly contributes to Millennium Development Goal (MDG) projects in developing countries such as Ecuador, Jamaica, Myanmar and most recently Pakistan, where he assisted in preparing a digital system for improving the Birth Registration process. An avid lover of nature and the outdoors, Sebastian likes to ride both his bicycle and motorbike and tries to be outside as often as he can to recharge his batteries.

Find out more about Sebastian Rohr:

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastianrohr/
Twitter https://twitter.com/wi_ing
Background https://www.xing.com/profile/Sebastian_Rohr/cv;

Key Quotes:

'We have definitely become more traceable, and more trackable with whatever we do online'.

'The stress level in the Information Security industry is immensely high'.

'If you already passed your threshold with stress, get professional help'.

'It's definitely a motivation to know that there are so many people out there who want your help'.

'What definitely helps me through through tough times are my three close friends'.

This series is kindly supported by Squadcast –the remote recording platform which empowers podcasters by capturing high-quality audio and video conversations. https://squadcast.fm

Read the transcription for this episode on www.accesstoinspiration.org and connect with us:
Twitter www.twitter.com/accessinspirat1
Facebook www.facebook.com/accesstoinspiration
Instagram www.instagram.com/accesstoinspiration
LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/access-to-inspiration/

Sign up for our newsletter http://eepurl.com/hguX2b
Read our Impact Report https://bit.ly/3hElalv

Sound Editor: Matias de Ezcurra (he/him)
Producer: Sue Stockdale (she/her)

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/access-to-inspiration--4156820/support.

Connect with Access to Inspiration: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Read our Impact Report and if you would like to support us then Buy Me A Coffee


Host: Sue Stockdale 
Producer: Sue Stockdale  
Sound Editor: Matias De Ezcurra 

Sue Stockdale talks to Abigail Griebelbauer, who decided to start writing and publishing children's books. She didn't see the representation of neurodiversity in books, particularly picture books, while growing up which sparked the idea behind the first book.

After teaching for a couple of years, Abigail decided to pursue a dream of living abroad. Though Covid changed those plans, it pushed her to start writing and publishing children's books. The first book in the series, "D is for Darcy Not Dyslexia" is partly based on her life growing up with dyslexia and is published by The Passage Press which was co-created by Abigail and Cecilia, the illustrator of The Empower Empathy Early Series. 10% of the profits from their book sales go to the Inclusive Children's Book Fund which provides free inclusive books to teachers. The ICB Fund includes books from other authors and publishers. Currently, the fund is in the United States, but the plan is to expand internationally at some point in the future.

Abigail graduated from the University of Evansville with a degree in Special Education and Elementary Education. She met Cecilia while studying abroad at Harlaxton College in England and six years later they started working on publishing children's books together.

Find out more about Abigail Griebelbauer:

Website - www.thepassagepress.com
Instagram - www.instagram.com/thepassagepress
TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@thepassagepress
Purchase a copy of The Empower Empathy Early Series - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B19CX1NH

Key Quotes:

'I think education is so valuable and so important, and can help a person grow, change and evolve'.

'I realised if I'm telling my students that they need to follow their dreams and really follow whatever aspirations they have in life, that I have to do that as well'.

'For us it wasn't necessarily changing typical books, it was just adding the dyslexic character into the story'.

'Teachers use children's books all the time'.

'Writing a book and publishing it is a completely different thing than actually marketing the book'.

'I get inspired when teachers say when they read the book, the kids in the class who have ADHD, their eyes light up'.

This series is kindly supported by Squadcast –the remote recording platform which empowers podcasters by capturing high-quality audio and video conversations. https://squadcast.fm

Read the transcription for this episode on www.accesstoinspiration.org and connect with us:
Twitter www.twitter.com/accessinspirat1
Facebook www.facebook.com/accesstoinspiration
Instagram www.instagram.com/accesstoinspiration
LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/access-to-inspiration/

Sign up for our newsletter http://eepurl.com/hguX2b
Read our Impact Report https://bit.ly/3hElalv

Sound Editor: Matias de Ezcurra (he/him)
Producer: Sue Stockdale (she/her)

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/access-to-inspiration--4156820/support.

Connect with Access to Inspiration: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Read our Impact Report and if you would like to support us then Buy Me A Coffee


Host: Sue Stockdale 
Producer: Sue Stockdale  
Sound Editor: Matias De Ezcurra 

Liz Benditt talks to host Sue Stockdale about how she endured four different cancers over a period of eight years, and how she and her family adapted to the unexpected situations they faced together. Following this, Liz used her experience as both a marketer and a cancer patient to launch www.TheBalmBox.com – a site featuring functional self-care and gift packages for cancer patients.

Liz Benditt is a senior marketing executive with 25+ years professional experience with a wide variety of brands, products and services including Lyric Opera, Ace Hardware, Hallmark, SONIC America’s Drive In, Blue Bunny Ice Cream, Mattel Toys, Walt Disney World, and Bluetooth.

In addition to her role as President and CEO of The Balm Box, Liz teachers undergraduate marketing courses at The University of Kansas School of Business. She is a public school and community service advocate, serving on leadership boards for National Charity League for Greater Kansas City and The Mainstream Coalition. Liz lives in the Kansas City metro area in the USA with her husband, two teenage kids, and one terrible dog.

Connect with Liz Benditt:

Website: https://thebalmbox.com
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TheBalmBox/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balmboxIG/
Twitter https://twitter.com/boxbalm
LInkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/balm-box-llc/

Key Quotes:

'To get my mum to shut up, I went to her dermatologist and it turns out that it was melanoma skin cancer'.

'Many skin cancers are not at all scary'.

'I got the call on a Tuesday to tell me, and by Friday I was having surgery'.

'They said if the cancer has spread, you have maybe a year to live'.

'11 months after having, been diagnosed with melanoma, I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer'.

'I think it's important to take care of your body and to pay attention to holistic methods'.

'You learn to just have a little more faith'.

'Don't panic until you have to panic'.

'I had stuff happening that was a distraction from panicking over whether or not I was gonna die'.

'Science is not as absolute, I think as we'd all like to think it is'.

'You choose what to focus on. And I chose to focus on living versus dying'.

This series is kindly supported by Squadcast –the remote recording platform which empowers podcasters by capturing high-quality audio and video conversations. https://squadcast.fm

Read the transcription for this episode on www.accesstoinspiration.org and connect with us:
Twitter www.twitter.com/accessinspirat1
Facebook www.facebook.com/accesstoinspiration
Instagram www.instagram.com/accesstoinspiration
LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/access-to-inspiration/

Sign up for our newsletter http://eepurl.com/hguX2b
Read our Impact Report https://bit.ly/3hElalv

Sound Editor: Matias de Ezcurra (he/him)
Producer: Sue Stockdale (she/her)

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/access-to-inspiration--4156820/support.

Connect with Access to Inspiration: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Read our Impact Report and if you would like to support us then Buy Me A Coffee


Host: Sue Stockdale 
Producer: Sue Stockdale  
Sound Editor: Matias De Ezcurra 

Sue Stockdale previews some of the guests in Series 11 which will focus on various aspects of Health and Wellbeing, including physical, mental, and social connectedness.

Upcoming guests include:

• Abigail Griebelbauer, a dyslexic children's book author who includes characters with dyslexia and ADHD

• Sebastian Rohr, a tech entrepreneur working in the field of Identity and Access Management and Information Security

• Myrtle Simpson, trailblazer, explorer, and mother who in 1965 was the first woman to ski across the Greenland Ice Cap.

• Liz Benditt, a senior marketing executive who endured four different cancers over the course of 8 years

• Brian Sachetta, a software developer, and author of a book series to help folks overcome anxiety and depression

• Alex van den Heever, animal tracker, and co-founder of the Tracker Academy, that trains indigenous wildlife trackers.

Sue also talks to Elliot Rushton, a new member of the Access to Inspiration team, about his favourite episodes to date.

This series is kindly supported by Squadcast –the remote recording platform which empowers podcasters by capturing high-quality audio and video conversations. https://squadcast.fm

Read the transcription for this episode on www.accesstoinspiration.org and connect with us:
Twitter www.twitter.com/accessinspirat1
Facebook www.facebook.com/accesstoinspiration
Instagram www.instagram.com/accesstoinspiration
LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/access-to-inspiration/

Sign up for our newsletter http://eepurl.com/hguX2b
Read our Impact Report https://bit.ly/3hElalv

Sound Editor: Matias de Ezcurra (he/him)
Producer: Sue Stockdale (she/her)

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/access-to-inspiration--4156820/support.

Connect with Access to Inspiration: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Read our Impact Report and if you would like to support us then Buy Me A Coffee


Host: Sue Stockdale 
Producer: Sue Stockdale  
Sound Editor: Matias De Ezcurra 

Adventure and action are commonplace for this week’s podcast guest, Dailyn Matthews, a stunt woman and adventure photographer. She explains to host, Sue Stockdale about the mindset and degree of preparation required to appear on set ready to be in a fight scene, car chase or plunge headfirst into a tank of water wearing a strait jacket.

Going to extremes is also the unique flavour in Dailyn’s other career as an adventure photographer. With a camera in hand since she was 18, Dailyn uses her lens to harness the magic of the wilderness she so adores. The enthusiasm she brings to this medium is the same vibe that powers her career as a stunt performer. After years of being punched, drowned, shot at, and surviving falls and thrilling car manoeuvres, she’s now infusing adventure photography with a splash of that bold femininity.

Find out more about Dailyn Matthews https://dailynmatthews.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dailyn.matthews/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dailynmatthewsstudio
Stunts: www.troubleonwheels.com

This series is kindly supported by Squadcast –the remote recording platform which empowers podcasters by capturing high-quality audio and video conversations. Find out more at https://squadcast.fm

Read the transcription for this episode on www.accesstoinspiration.org and connect with us:
Twitter www.twitter.com/accessinspirat1
Facebook www.facebook.com/accesstoinspiration
Instagram www.instagram.com/accesstoinspiration
LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/access-to-inspiration/

Sign up for our newsletter http://eepurl.com/hguX2b
Read our Impact Report https://bit.ly/3hElalv

Sound Editor: Matias de Ezcurra (he/him)
Producer: Sue Stockdale (she/her)

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/access-to-inspiration--4156820/support.

Connect with Access to Inspiration: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Read our Impact Report and if you would like to support us then Buy Me A Coffee


Host: Sue Stockdale 
Producer: Sue Stockdale  
Sound Editor: Matias De Ezcurra 

Sue Stockdale talks to Manny L, a health food entrepreneur, senior leader at a Fortune 500 company and an advisory board member of a process improvement think tank. Manny explains how uses his corporate knowledge of technology and efficiency in the health food start-up, Heavens Pantry he runs with two friends.

Manny L is a master of time management, balancing a demanding corporate career with a startup. A passionate changemaker, developer of talent, and leader - his passion is leveraging technology and processes to make society a better place.

Find out more:
Website: https://www.heavenspantryllc.com
Instagram: @heavenspantry
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063995707526
Amazon https://a.co/d/gtc01IG

This series is kindly supported by Squadcast –the remote recording platform which empowers podcasters by capturing high-quality audio and video conversations. Find out more at https://squadcast.fm

Read the transcription for this episode on www.accesstoinspiration.org and connect with us:
Twitter www.twitter.com/accessinspirat1
Facebook www.facebook.com/accesstoinspiration
Instagram www.instagram.com/accesstoinspiration
LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/access-to-inspiration/

Sign up for our newsletter http://eepurl.com/hguX2b
Read our Impact Report https://bit.ly/3hElalv

Sound Editor: Matias de Ezcurra (he/him)
Producer: Sue Stockdale (she/her)

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/access-to-inspiration--4156820/support.

Connect with Access to Inspiration: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Read our Impact Report and if you would like to support us then Buy Me A Coffee


Host: Sue Stockdale 
Producer: Sue Stockdale  
Sound Editor: Matias De Ezcurra 

Sue Stockdale talks to Elena Rossini, an Italian artist, writer and activist who uses creativity to improve representation. Elena describes why she feels compelled to work on issues of social justice, media representation, and the empowerment of women and girls.

Her most notable project is the critically acclaimed documentary The Illusionists, about the globalisation of beauty ideals, which Rossini shot in eight countries, across four continents. The film has been featured in Vogue Italy, New York Magazine, NPR, FOX and NBC Baltimore, amongst others.

Rossini is the creator of hundreds of GIFs depicting professional women – which have dominated GIF search results, accruing 1.6 billion views. She is also the creator of the multimedia platform No Country for Young Women, which showcases over 120 interviews with inspiring women representing five continents, seven decades and over two dozen professions.

Most recently, Elena is working on another documentary, The Realists - about the dark side of Big Tech.

She lives in Paris, France with her husband and daughter.
Find out more about Elena Rossini at https://elenarossini.com

Key Quotes:

‘All my projects use creativity for social good.’

‘The film The Illusionists came out in 2015, and my distributor tell me that it's been a top seller every single quarter since then.’

‘Women write to me and say how the film has impacted them and how now they see advertising in a completely different way ever since watching it.’

‘Curiosity is one of the most important things that any creative could have.’

‘I try to hone observation and curiosity and live as much as I can in the real world, away from screens and algorithmic recommendations.’

‘I’ve always made it a point every day to find something new that gives me a sense of wonder and awe.’

‘I want to show people examples of individuals that are using technology in a mindful way, but they're not being used by it.’

‘When you look up all the animated GIFs of cinematographers, they’re mine, and they're all women.’

‘Up until now, I've been completely invisible in all the projects that I do. I've always wanted the projects to speak for themselves.’

‘I love that film and photography can almost act like time machines, they can crystallise a moment.’

‘I don't think that there are many visible examples out there that show a working female artist, who's a mother.’

‘I think it's incredibly powerful and cathartic to turn frustrations into opportunities for creativity.’

This series is kindly supported by Squadcast –the remote recording platform which empowers podcasters by capturing high-quality audio and video conversations. Find out more at https://squadcast.fm

Read the transcription for this episode on www.accesstoinspiration.org and connect with us:
Twitter www.twitter.com/accessinspirat1
Facebook www.facebook.com/accesstoinspiration
Instagram www.instagram.com/accesstoinspiration
LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/access-to-inspiration/

Sign up for our newsletter http://eepurl.com/hguX2b
Read our Impact Report https://bit.ly/3hElalv

Sound Editor: Matias de Ezcurra (he/him)
Producer: Sue Stockdale (she/her)

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/access-to-inspiration--4156820/support.

Connect with Access to Inspiration: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Read our Impact Report and if you would like to support us then Buy Me A Coffee


Host: Sue Stockdale 
Producer: Sue Stockdale  
Sound Editor: Matias De Ezcurra