Bare Naked Bravery: Post-Traumatic Courage for Entrepreneurs with Unfinished Business

Today we get to talk with Joshua Spodek. I was super excited to jump into this conversation because Joshua is an Adjunct Professor at NYU, leadership coach and workshop leader for Columbia Business School, columnist for Inc., founder of Spodek Academy, and author of the book "Leadership Step by Step."

Now normally I don't flat-out read someone's biography verbatim on this part of the show, but you guys. Listen to this:

He has led seminars in leadership, entrepreneurship, creativity, and sales at Harvard, Princeton, MIT, INSEAD (Singapore), the New York Academy of Science, and in private corporations. He holds five Ivy League degrees, including a PhD in Astrophysics and an MBA, and studied under a Nobel Prize winner. He helped build an X-ray observational satellite for NASA, co-founded and led as CEO or COO several ventures, and holds six patents.

He earned praise as "Best and Brightest" (Esquire Magazine's Genius Issue), "Astrophysicist turned new media whiz" (NBC), and "Rocket Scientist" (ABC News and Forbes) and has been quoted and profiled by ABC, CBS, NBC, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. He has visited North Korea twice, swam across the Hudson River, and has done burpees every day for six years and counting.

You're gonna need to buckle up for this conversation because Joshua and I jump directly into the deep water of asking the question how do we change the world as leaders. We discuss why facts don't help, why guilt is not the answer, and why authoritarianism is equally ineffective for changing the world. Speaking of authoritarianism, we also got to talk a little about his experiences in North Korea and how important discipline is to someone who values freedom like he and I both do.

Before we jump into that deep end of the conversation, I want to remind you about....

Okay, let's get into the conversation with Joshua Spodek.

Beyond the always available to you Bravery Bundle of goodies available at barenakedbravery.com, your Brave Take-away from today's show is to do a free write session where you are completely uncensored and perhaps more "unhinged" than usual. Do that for a quick 20 minutes and then read it aloud. Not with the intention of doing anything except experiencing what it's like to hear yourself outloud be an uncensored version. That's your challenge this week. Go for it and let us know in the Bare Naked Bravery Facebook group what it was like! What did you notice? How did it feel?

We'd love to hear all about your favorite parts of today's Bare Naked Bravery. You can find Joshua Spodek and myself on facebook, twitter, instagram, and more. Go ahead and tag us so we can cheer you on and see what you're up to.

SpodekAcademy.comhttps://twitter.com/spodekhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/1064126933732508 https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuaspodek https://medium.com/@spodekhttp://spodekacademy.com/meaningful-connection

Book: http://amzn.to/2oYMMZv

http://emilyannpeterson.comhttp://instagram.com/emilyannpete http://facebook.com/emilyannpeterson http://twitter.com/emilyapeterson

If you're diggin' the music in today's episode, that's because it's brought to you by my friends at Music Box Licensing, a premier creative music agency dedicated to finding and crafting unique soundtracks.

To find out more about all the artists, musicians, and other sponsors of the show, please visit barenakedbravery.com/sponsors

1. Leave a review on iTunes

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Simply click here to get started >>> http://bit.ly/bnbrr

1. Share this episode with a friend

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1. Become a Patron of Bare Naked Bravery

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I'm looking forward to being with you next week. We have some great things in store for you!

Until then I have one message for you. It's this:

Be yourself. Be vulnerable. Be brave. Because the world needs more of your Bare Naked Bravery.

I've given some crazy wonderful announcements this week and my brain is going ALL over the place, so here we are at the end of this week and I'm really wishing I had done this one thing more: expression, for the sake of expression. Take a listen to this week's Peep Show episode to find out what I mean and why it's so so important to me.

A lot of folks (myself included) love to travel. A lot of folks also say how wonderful it would be to live overseas. But not a lot of folks actually get to the stage of shopping around for apartments abroad. That's a whole other level of gutsiness. So that's what Nina Ferreyra and I talk about today!

Nina Ferreyra is the Founder & Editor-in-Chief of 707AVE. She works with women entrepreneurs who want to get clear on their branding and business goals. All her awesome links are available in the show notes of this episode at barenakedbravery.com

I wanted to have Nina on the show today because she and her husband are doing something really brave. They're going to be living part-time in another country! Spain, to be exact. There is so much that goes into someone actually doing this.

We chat about the imagination required to envision a whole new life for yourself. We talk about the "upper level limits" and the way our bodies physically handle new seasons of change and stress. We talk about how important it is to have a balance between mind, body, and spirit - especially during these seasons of bravery.

Oh and since we recorded this interview a ways back, Nina and I will be in the Bare Naked Bravery facebook group this week to give you some updates on her story! Next time you're logged into Facebook be sure to search for Bare Naked Bravery in the search bar so you can jump on into it all!

And if you have any specific questions you'd like me to answer in a future show, leave your question with the hashtag #askemilyann under any of my instagram posts and I'll be sure to answer it in a future episode.

Okay! Without further ado, I give you the lovely Nina Ferreyra...!

Okay, so beyond the Bare Naked Bravery Adult Coloring Book, your Brave Take-Away from today's show is to take an extra moment this week to lean into your imagination and vision of possibility. Whatever that means for you. Maybe it means going crazy with a new Pinterest board. Maybe it means a free writing session. Maybe that means just having a conversation with someone that uses a bit more talk about the possible than the impossible. Maybe that means sitting down to do a meditation on something you're taking steps to create. All I ask from you with this little challenge is that if you're comfortable sharing how it went, do so in the Bare Naked Bravery facebook group. I know there are a lot of folks just like you who would love to cheer you on.

Other than that You can find Nina Ferreyra and myself on facebook, twitter, instagram, and more. Go ahead and tag us so we can cheer you on and see what you're up to.

http://www.707ave.comhttps://twitter.com/707avehttps://www.facebook.com/707AVE/ http://instagram.com/707avehttp://instagram.com/xoninaferreyra

http://emilyannpeterson.comhttp://instagram.com/emilyannpete http://facebook.com/emilyannpeterson http://twitter.com/emilyapeterson

If you're diggin' the music in today's episode, that's because it's brought to you by my friends at Music Box Licensing, a premier creative music agency dedicated to finding and crafting unique soundtracks.

To find out more about all the artists, musicians, and other sponsors of the show, please visit barenakedbravery.com/sponsors

1. Leave a review on iTunes

We would LOVE it if you'd leave a podcast rating or review on iTunes.  

Simply click here to get started >>> http://bit.ly/bnbrr

1. Share this episode with a friend

If you have a friend who might really love/need to hear this episode, what are you waiting for?! Email, text, fb message, snail mail - all great options!

1. Become a Patron of Bare Naked Bravery

Every patron gets awesome goodies, super early advance links to Emily Ann's new songs & releases, and so much more!

$1 Monthly$3 Monthly$5 Monthly$10 Monthly$15 Monthly$25 Monthly$100 Monthly

I'm looking forward to being with you next week. We have some great things in store for you!

Until then I have one message for you. It's this:

Be yourself. Be vulnerable. Be brave. Because the world needs more of your Bare Naked Bravery.

Today's guest Nina Ferreyra works with women entrepreneurs who want to get clear on their branding and business goals. I wanted to have Nina on the show today because she and her husband are doing something really brave. They're going to be living part-time in another country! Spain, to be exact. There is so much that goes into someone actually doing this. We chat about the imagination required to envision a whole new life for yourself. We talk about the "upper level limits" and the way our bodies physically handle new seasons of change and stress. We talk about how important it is to have a balance between mind, body, and spirit - especially during these seasons of bravery.

This week I was asked to write an article for Teach Well all about setting difficult boundaries. I know that many of us creatives and entrepreneurial types have to deal with this topic a LOT in business. But even as just a human you have to set boundaries. So that's what we're talking about today. I've identified 7 steps you'll need to take to set, hold, and enforce a difficult boundary (with a bonus 8th step.)

Join the Bare Naked Bravery Facebook Community here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/bnbravery/

Download the Bravery Bundle here: http://barenakedbravery.com

Back in March, I published a peep show mini episode on my 31st birthday. In that episode I cried like a baby over how important I think it is that we are educating the future women of the world. It's the biggest problem we are facing today. It is also the solution to a lot of other problems we're facing too, because when we educate our girls, we have a future to look forward to!

So yeah, I cried on a podcast episode while announcing that this year I've begun supporting the education of a young girl in Bangladesh through a nonprofit organization called Speak Up for the Poor. After I recorded that episode, I then turned around and contacted them to thank them for their work in the world. Which brings me to today's guest of the show, Troy Anderson!

Troy is the Founder and International Director of Speak Up and splits time between Bangladesh, Thailand and the USA. Prior to founding Speak Up, Troy graduated from the UCLA School of Law and worked as a Deputy District Attorney with the Los Angeles County DA. He has spent the past eight years living and working in Thailand and Bangladesh with Speak Up. Before law school, Troy graduated from the University of Puget Sound and worked for 7 years with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in Washington. Troy grew up in four countries outside of the United States, has visited nearly 50 countries, and is called Uncle by thousands of girls in Bangladesh.

If you're interested in joining me to help further the work of Speak Up, then there are plenty of links and next steps you can take. All of those are in the show notes for today's episode on barenakedbravery.com

Later in the episode I also pop in to talk about the next bravery classes that will open up for registration soon, so if you're interested in those you can go to emilyannpeterson.com/classes

I'm so excited for you to hear all he has to say about bravery, and how brave the people he gets to work with are, and how much bravery education requires. But before I jump into the conversation I want to apologize in advance for talking over him, I was so excited I could hardly think straight. So please listen with a wee extra dose of grace and I hope you can get just as excited as I am about all this, perhaps even more!

Today's takeaway episode is simply go find the work of Speak Up for the Poor. Specifically, find them on Instagram and you can scroll through portraits of the bravery they are empowering internationally. If you are inspired to support them financially, I encourage you to sponsor the education of a Speak Up girl. It only costs $30/month and it'll literally give her the world.

I've even dropped a link to their Facebook album of all the girls who are waiting for sponsors.

Troy and I would love to hear all about your favorite parts of today's Bare Naked Bravery. You can find Speak Up and myself on facebook, twitter, instagram, and more. Go ahead and tag us so we can cheer you on and see what you're up to.

http://speakupforthepoor.org/ https://www.facebook.com/SpeakUpGirlsEducationProgram https://twitter.com/speakup4thepoor https://www.instagram.com/speakupforthepoor/

http://emilyannpeterson.comhttp://instagram.com/emilyannpete http://facebook.com/emilyannpeterson http://twitter.com/emilyapeterson

If you're diggin' the music in today's episode, that's because it's brought to you by my friends at Music Box Licensing, a premier creative music agency dedicated to finding and crafting unique soundtracks.

To find out more about all the artists, musicians, and other sponsors of the show, please visit barenakedbravery.com/sponsors

1. Leave a review on iTunes

We would LOVE it if you'd leave a podcast rating or review on iTunes.  

Simply click here to get started >>> http://bit.ly/bnbrr

1. Share this episode with a friend

If you have a friend who might really love/need to hear this episode, what are you waiting for?! Email, text, fb message, snail mail - all great options!

1. Become a Patron of Bare Naked Bravery

Every patron gets awesome goodies, super early advance links to Emily Ann's new songs & releases, and so much more!

$1 Monthly$3 Monthly$5 Monthly$10 Monthly$15 Monthly$25 Monthly$100 Monthly

I'm looking forward to being with you next week. We have some great things in store for you!

Until then I have one message for you. It's this:

Be yourself. Be vulnerable. Be brave. Because the world needs more of your Bare Naked Bravery.

I got LAID OUT with a cold earlier this week and was confronted with some honesty that changed a few things for me. So that's what this week's peep show is all about: regaining control of the brake pedal, taking your foot off the gas pedal, and making decisions that require projects to either come to a full stop or get postponed. 

Join the next Bare Naked Bravery Challenge here: http://barenakedbravery.com/challenge

Check out the class I refer to in this episode: http://emilyannpeterson.com/classes

Kamila Gornia joins us today from San Diego! She's a digital marketing strategist for business owners who want to learn how to market themselves online. And yes, we do talk about all that juicy business stuff (because I love chatting about that!)

We also veered off into left field because one of the area's of life that Kamila is personally experiencing a new kind of Bravery is Online Dating. yeesh. Now, this, this is bravery, in some of the rawest form. It's something I've spent a lot of time thinking about.

So much so, that last year I wrote a semi-comedic, tongue-in-cheek, song about it. The youtube video of that song and all of Kamila's awesomeness are available in the show notes for this episode at barenakedbravery.com

Including the link to find out more information on all the upcoming Bravery classes that are kicking off soon. Again, those links will all be in the show notes, just go to barenakedbravery.com and type in online dating and Kamila's face will pop up!

So yes, putting yourself out there and literally asking folks if they like you or not is such a huge thing! It's scary. There's a lot of rejection. Our emotions can end up scrambling how all the of factors interact with each other. It can be a hot mess, and in turn make us feel like a hot mess too.

What I loved about this really honest conversation with Kamila, is that even though we were chatting about online dating, the topic of business was never far off. Because just like dating, running a business and being creative involves putting yourself out there in a big way.

So with that I give you the lovely Kamila Gornia...

Okay, so your Brave Take-Away from today's show is the Bare Naked Bravery Coloring Book! No really, if you're doing online dating, I've noticed that having a light-hearted task to do on a first or early date is a pretty great way to get to know someone. So you can print off the killer coloring book pages which were drawn and designed by some stellar artists and fellow Bare Naked Bravery listeners from all over the world. Each page has something to do with bravery and has a direct artistic fingerprint from that artist.

Coloring is a perfect conversation starter for making a new connection with someone. You can get your own copy of that by visiting the show notes for today's episode and downloading the Bravery Bundle which also includes two free songs of mine and a Bravery worksheet too.

And even if you don't use the coloring book or pages on a first date, Kamila and I would love to hear all about your favorite parts of today's Bare Naked Bravery. You can find Kamila and myself on facebook, twitter, instagram, and more. Go ahead and tag us so we can cheer you on and see what you're up to.

Kamila's links to all her awesomeness and digital strategy work are also available in this episode's show notes too!

http://www.kamilagornia.com/www.twitter.com/kamilagorniawww.facebook.com/kgorniawww.instagram.com/kamilagornia www.youtube.com/user/kamgornia

http://emilyannpeterson.comhttp://instagram.com/emilyannpete http://facebook.com/emilyannpeterson http://twitter.com/emilyapeterson

If you're diggin' the music in today's episode, that's because it's brought to you by my friends at Music Box Licensing, a premier creative music agency dedicated to finding and crafting unique soundtracks.

To find out more about all the artists, musicians, and other sponsors of the show, please visit barenakedbravery.com/sponsors

1. Leave a review on iTunes

We would LOVE it if you'd leave a podcast rating or review on iTunes.  

Simply click here to get started >>> http://bit.ly/bnbrr

1. Share this episode with a friend

If you have a friend who might really love/need to hear this episode, what are you waiting for?! Email, text, fb message, snail mail - all great options!

1. Become a Patron of Bare Naked Bravery

Every patron gets awesome goodies, super early advance links to Emily Ann's new songs & releases, and so much more!

$1 Monthly$3 Monthly$5 Monthly$10 Monthly$15 Monthly$25 Monthly$100 Monthly

I'm looking forward to being with you next week. We have some great things in store for you!

Until then I have one message for you. It's this:

Be yourself. Be vulnerable. Be brave. Because the world needs more of your Bare Naked Bravery.

This subject was brought up this week by a Bravery Student of mine. She's a creative and someone caught her off her game. Their comparison comments messed with her groove, so her question to me was "What do I do now that I've begun to second-guess myself?" The whole situation pushed my Mama Bear buttons and today's peep show episode covers my official answer to that question.

Nathan Vass is with us today! This guy is such a gem! He is a filmmaker, photographer, writer, and he's balances all that with his love for another profession: Public Transit. Nathan is a bus driver for the City of Seattle!

I say this later on in our conversation with him, but the fact that this episode exists is a perfect example of what Resonant Bravery (aka second-hand bravery) can do. Because Nathan came to us by way of a listener of the show, Kristi, who is a member of the storytelling scene in Seattle. She saw what Nathan's been up to, recognized it as the kind of Bravery that we talk about here on the show, and she reached out to me!

I knew that if Kristi thinks someone displays bravery in their life, then I had better listen up and lean in. You'll agree with her, like I do, especially after you listen to today's conversation.

In the initial email she sent me, Kristi described Nathan by saying "He's a 30 year old metro bus driver (10 years in) who purposely takes the hardest route, and he also does story telling, photography, writing, and some film stuff on the side. I don't know him well personally, but he's always a bright light at the show and around town. He'll find something positive in anything, it seems, and is always ready with a hug and smile. I'll send a clip but he's even more delightful and funny in person."

I have put those clips of storytelling moments and links to Nathan's blog with a collection of stories about his bus-driving and art adventures in the show notes. You'll definitely want to check all of those out.

Today, Nathan and I talk about the crazy stories and intimate exchanges that happen between participants in public transit. We chat about what it's like to have a day job or side hustle that has seemingly nothing to do with your "real" hustle. We also talk about the small tiny changes that serve as the invitation for bravery in a given moment. We talk about comfort zones and how to put yourself out there as an artist.

Please join me in welcoming the beloved Nathan Vass.

Your Brave Take-Away from today's show is to do something quick and harmless that's a little outside of the norm. Not necessarily out of your comfort zone, just out of the normal pattern that you go about life in... This could be texting someone with your other thumb, holding your keys in the other hand, turning the lights off on the bus, or wearing a different color sock on your left and right foot. Something small. I think you'll find that even those micro acts of change might inspire other things to happen too.

We'd love to hear all about your favorite parts of today's Bare Naked Bravery. No seriously, Nathan, Kristi, and I and the rest of the Bare Naked Bravery listeners are waiting for you to join us in the Bare naked Bravery facebook group!

You can also find Nathan Vass and myself on facebook, twitter, instagram, and more. Go ahead and tag us so we can cheer you on and see what you're up to.

Plus all those links to the stories and clips of Nathan's work is waiting for your curious eyes and ears in the show notes for today's episode. Go to barenakedbravery.com

www.nathanvass.comhttp://twitter.com/NathanEVass https://www.facebook.com/nathan.vass.3

http://emilyannpeterson.comhttp://instagram.com/emilyannpete http://facebook.com/emilyannpeterson http://twitter.com/emilyapeterson

If you're diggin' the music in today's episode, that's because it's brought to you by my friends at Music Box Licensing, a premier creative music agency dedicated to finding and crafting unique soundtracks.

To find out more about all the artists, musicians, and other sponsors of the show, please visit barenakedbravery.com/sponsors

1. Leave a review on iTunes

We would LOVE it if you'd leave a podcast rating or review on iTunes.  

Simply click here to get started >>> http://bit.ly/bnbrr

1. Share this episode with a friend

If you have a friend who might really love/need to hear this episode, what are you waiting for?! Email, text, fb message, snail mail - all great options!

1. Become a Patron of Bare Naked Bravery

Every patron gets awesome goodies, super early advance links to Emily Ann's new songs & releases, and so much more!

$1 Monthly$3 Monthly$5 Monthly$10 Monthly$15 Monthly$25 Monthly$100 Monthly

I'm looking forward to being with you next week. We have some great things in store for you!

Until then I have one message for you. It's this:

Be yourself. Be vulnerable. Be brave. Because the world needs more of your Bare Naked Bravery.

When you're putting yourself out there, things can get scary and overwhelming. But one of the best "mantras" I've adopted in the last several months is this: I have helpers. I've seen over and over again that helpers really are all around us. We just have to look for them. So that's what we talk about on today's peep show mini episode of Bare Naked Bravery: All my favorite go-to sources to find my helpers!

Join the next Bare Naked Bravery Challenge: http://barenakedbravery.com/challenge