Design Yourself

Our bodies are incredible sources of wisdom. They are an important resource for ushering our ideas, dreams, and impact into the world. What happens when our bodies signal distress? What insights might we glean from the unlikeliest of places? That's what we get into in this Design Yourself podcast, Lessons from the Emergency Department.

In this episode Sharon shares some of the insights that emerged during her own recent trip to the hospital, including:

1. Own Your Value (and Put on Your Oxygen Mask First)
2. Cherish Your Support Network
3. Ask for Help
4. Demand the Attention You Need (with Neutral, Observable Facts)
5. Delightful Surprises are Everywhere

Links and Resources:

For show notes:

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/lessons-from-the-emergency-department/

To connect on Linked In:

@Sharon Lipovsky

@Point Road Studios

To connect on Instagram:

@pointroadstudios

Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify

Joy is a light-filled anecdote to volatility, grief, and complexity. What different flavors of joy do you experience? How might you invite more of that into your life? That's what we discuss in today's podcast on Finding Joy.

Sharon shares 5 flavors of joy that she has been experiencing recently, including:

• Lighthearted Joy - Like a easy, breezy, predictable romance novel. (She's been loving Emily Henry's books like all the other readers creating this explosive growth of this genre.)
• Joyful Connection - Like holding hands with a loved one. Taking part in meanful traditions that connect you to history and the present.
• Heart-centered Joy - Like deep, soul-baring conversations.
• Joyous Anticipation - Like the fun of looking forward to an exciting vacation. Cornell University did a cool study showing how we gain more happiness from anticipation experiences versus object.
• The Joy of Knowing - Like when you have a clear budget, sense of priorities, even knowing what you are going to eat.

Links and Resources:

For show notes:

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/finding-joy/

To connect on Linked In:

@Sharon Lipovsky

@Point Road Studios

To connect on Instagram:

@pointroadstudios

Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify

It's easy to let momentum take hold. Our expectations drive us to continue without letting up. Our desire to please or gain approval might do the same. But at what cost? What are the different ways that we can step back and rejuvenate ourselves? And what happens when we do? In this episode of Design Yourself we invite you to give yourself a break.

Links and Resources:

For show notes:

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/worst-job-ever/

To connect on Linked In:

@Sharon Lipovsky

@Point Road Studios

To connect on Instagram:

@pointroadstudios

Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify

1. Celebrate when you take breaks
2. Distinctions and lessons on types of breaks:
   • Time Off: Sabbatical | Work Pause
   • Time Away: Retreat | Getaway
   • Down Time: Walk | Dance Party | Massage
   • All the Time: Rhythms, Routines and Rituals
3. Journal Prompt:

What is my relationship with breaks? For myself? For others? What kind of break might I offer myself this week that could make all the difference?

• The Parents Aren't Alright from the Daily Podcast

What is the worst job you've ever had? And why? What made it so? In today's episode, Sharon discusses her answer to those questions along with some prompts to inspire you never again to have the worst job ever.

Links and Resources:

For show notes:

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/worst-job-ever/

To connect on Linked In:

@Sharon Lipovsky

@Point Road Studios

To connect on Instagram:

@pointroadstudios

Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify

1. What makes my professional light shine?
2. What environments delight me? Both physically and in the type of leadership and collaboration?
3. If you were to do something wildly different, what would it be? What else? What else?
4. What are dealbreakers for you? What makes you feel out of integrity with yourself?
5. What makes me feel safe to leave a job? What conditions will allow me to be able to stay OR leave a job? How can I take small steps to have make sure I have these conditions in place.

Big change rarely happens in an instant. Transitions are a natural part of the process. Transitions can feel uncomfortable. How do you build up resistance to stick with it? What supports you in building momentum toward a new destination? That's what we get into in this Design Yourself episode on Sitting in the Messy Middle.

Links and Resources:

For show notes visit:

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/sitting-in-the-messy-middle/

To connect on Linked In:

@Sharon Lipovsky

@Point Road Studios

To connect on Instagram:

@pointroadstudios

Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify

1. Be clear on your why.
2. Partner on the HOW.
3. Stay present to what's needed now.

• Design Yourself podcast on Partnering

Rarely can our dreams be realized in isolation. Partnering with others is a natural consequence of ambition. That doesn't mean it's easy. What makes for effective working relationships? What are the conditions that steward us to powerful teamwork? How do mutual accountability and productive conflict fit in? We explore these questions and more in this episode focused on partnering and productive conflict.

Links and Resources:

For show notes visit:

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/partnering-and-productive-conflict/

To connect on Linked In:

@Sharon Lipovsky

@Point Road Studios

To connect on Instagram:

@pointroadstudios

Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify

• Marie Kondo's book "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up"
• Patrick Lencioni's model highlighting the conditions needed for effective teamwork: trust, conflict, commitment, accountability, results

Deep listening can change the world. Listening impacts so many things: Our understanding, our questions, and our connections to those around us. When we listen deeply, we light a spark for transformation.

But listening isn't easy. There are habits and culturally accepted practices that hold us back from really listening to understand. The good news is that you can create simple shifts to improve the quality of your listening and inspire others to do the same.

This Design Yourself episode highlights 12 habits that prevent us from listening – including rehearsing, daydreaming, and placating. We invite you to see with a fresh perspective where your listening gets derailed and to make simple shifts to bring your attention back to listening to understand.

Links and Resources:

For show notes visit:

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/how-to-be-a-great-listener/

To connect on Linked In:

@Sharon Lipovsky

@Point Road Studios

To connect on Instagram:

@pointroadstudios

Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify

You can download a summary PDF of the Listening Blocks and tips for being a great listener here.

Mind Reading – Assuming you know what the other person feels

Rehearsing – Planning what you want to say next

Filtering – Listening only for what's relevant to you

Judging – Evaluating the speaker and what they say

Daydreaming – Getting lost in your own thoughts

Identifying – Relating everything you hear in yourself

Advising – Listening to solve or direct

Sparring – Invalidating the speaker through argument or debate

Being Right – Resisting all communication that suggests you are wrong

Derailing – Changing the subject

Comparing – Trying to figure out how you compare to the speaker

Placating – Agreeing too quickly

Source: Messages: The Communication Skills Book by Matthew McKay, Ph.D., Martha Davis, Ph.D., and Patrick Fanning

• Which listening block shows up most frequently for me?
• What new awareness am I taking with me about the quality of my own listening as I learn about listening blocks?
• What's one listening block that you could pay attention to this week to improve the quality of your conversations?
• What's one thing you could pay attention to this week to improve the quality of your listening? (e.g. set aside technology; ask for a colleague to be your listening accountability partner in a specific meeting)

• Messages: The Communication Skills Book by Matthew McKay, Ph.D., Martha Davis, Ph.D., and Patrick Fanning
• Original Design Yourself episode on Listening Blocks

How we spend our days is how we spend our lives. Routine matters. It is a foundational building block that shapes what we do and how we do it. It seems simple enough: Make a choice each and every day to align with what matters. But it is not always that easy. How do you balance the short—and long-term priorities? How do you shift long-held routines that involve other people? We get into these questions and more as we discuss routines reimagined.

Links and Resources:

For show notes visit:

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/routines-reimagined/

To connect on Linked In:

@Sharon Lipovsky

@Point Road Studios

To connect on Instagram:

@pointroadstudios

Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify

• How do we cultivate the eyes of a traveller when we don't go anywhere at all?
• How can we make mindfulness a way of being, even amidst habit and routine?
• How do we remind ourselves of the unspoken choices we have everyday?
• How do we act with courage as we make these choice – and own the life that these choices build?
• What's working in my current routine?
• What would I like to change?
• What's the ideal way for me to start my day? End my day?
• What small change could I make right now that would make a huge difference?

• "A New Chapter and Routines" – original post read aloud on this episode
• Design Yourself: Preparing for the Camino with Aimee Rowe
• Design Yourself: On the Road with Aimee Rowe
• Design Yourself: Walking the Camino (while pregnant!)

Leadership is an embodied act. When we feel good, it shows. So it is perhaps not surprising that many executives are curious about personal style. Some people savor the act of dressing as an opportunity for individual expression. Others prioritize efficiency and ways to save time in the morning. No matter what the motivation, there is one person Sharon refers her clients to time and time again: Natalie Tincher and her team at BU Style. So in this season of back to school and the changing of seasonal wardrobes, we take you back to this throwback interview with Natalie from 2018. We discuss everything from fast fashion and personal styling tips to how love and empowerment fuel everything Natalie does. We also learn about what some of the investments Natalie has made to scale her business including hiring her first employee and rebranding her business. This episode is a great fit for anyone who has ever wondered how to put your whole self into a thriving entrepreneurial business. It's also a must-listen for anyone curious about the power of self-love and failing forward.

"I lead with my heart and love with everything in life. So I need everything I do with my clients to also feel that way." – Natalie Tincher

Summer Series 2024 | Curated guidance and resources to guide and support you in making this season – and what follows – just what you wish it to be.

Stay Connected

For show notes visit:

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/style-from-the-i…-natalie-tincher/

To connect on Linked In:

@Sharon Lipovsky

@Point Road Studios

To connect on Instagram:

@pointroadstudios

Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify

• Join Natalie's upcoming course Style From the Inside Out. Registration open now; course starts September 26, 2024.
• Original Design Yourself show notes from Episode 88: Empowerment and Personal Style with Natalie Tincher of BU Style
• Time Out New York, Top Six Personal Shopping Services which highlights Buttoned Up Style (now BU Style)
• Marie Kondo's Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
• The website Sharon peruses for capsule wardrobe inspiration
• Essentialism
• AYR jeans

Whether you have dreams of building your own home, are in the process of moving through a life transition or are just curious about Sharon's new life in the woods, this week's episode is for you. Sharon begins by sharing a glimpse into the reality of life in her new two room cottage in the Catskill Mountains of New York and then shares the connection she sees between designing a physical space and designing a life and offers the 5 key lessons that she has learned through the design phase of her building process. We'll explore everything from the power of welcoming change, how trust is a key priority in getting great results (with sanity in tact!) and how building something from scratch isn't the secret to perfection.

Summer Series 2024 | Curated guidance and resources to guide and support you in making this season – and what follows – just what you wish it to be.

Stay Connected

For show notes visit:

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/building-a-home/

To connect on Linked In:

@Sharon Lipovsky

@Point Road Studios

To connect on Instagram:

@pointroadstudios

Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify

• Simplify
• Take Breaks
• Be Free and Bold
• Cultivate Courage and Get Comfortable with Fear
• Keep Evolving

1. Embrace Imperfection
2. Prioritize Trust
3. Be Clear on What Matters
4. Hold the Big Picture and Be Present Now
5. Change Things Up

• See the Sharon's home on the Magnolia Network show "Where We Call Home" (Season 3, Episode 1 | Catskills Schoolhouse); now streaming on Max.
• Original Build Your Home show notes
• Jonathan Adler and his first book My Prescription for Anti-Depressive Living
• Robert Hite
• Above the Fray exhibition that inspired the cover art for today
• New Minimalism
• Marie Kondo
• Young House Love Has A Podcast
• The Speed of Trust