Fearfully and Wonderfully Me: Become the Leader You are Destined to Be

Let's face it: Most of us feel too busy to take time to sit around and do nothing. And, when we are busy, taking time to intentional think often feels exactly like that. But, our greatest asset is our brain and our ability to figure things out, including what our next best steps are, where we want to go, and how to get there. In this podcast episode, based on a chapter from my book, Leadership Gems for Women: 30 Characteristics of Very Successful Women, I share the three types of thinking that will help you move forward personally and professionally. 

Sara Claudia is an author and public speaker who is passionate about encouraging women to “Walk by Faith, Not by Sight. After losing her sight and partial hearing in 2015, she embarked on a journey that both tested and strengthened her faith in the Lord.

Through her challenges, she has found an immense amount of joy sharing how God continually turns her trials into even greater triumphs through her books, blog, podcast, radio show, and public speaking."

Find out more about Sara Claudia's Encouragement Sessions HERE: 

Order Sara Claudia's book, Unseen Steps here. 

If you've been driving a car for more than a few months, odds are you have experienced a time when you had to drive through fog. When a thick heavy fog blankets the road around you, the scenery around you fades away, the road itself can become difficult to see, and it becomes almost impossible to see potential hazards or even other cars. There are times when we also experience "fog" in our lives. It's most common during times of change, transition, and uncertainty. It's easy to become lost or disoriented and lose focus, feeling lost. In this episode, I break how how to navigate from "fog" in your life to finding your focus. This episode is based on a chapter from my book, "Bridges Out of the Past: A Survivor's Lessons on Resilience." Find it on my website or Amazon. 

The benefits of practicing gratitude are proven scientifically. Practicing gratitude helps you: live longer, decrease stress, build better relationships, become more resilient, become less self-centered, become kinder, become healthier, sleep better, increase productivity, better achieve goals, become less materialistic, become more optimistic, become more spiritual, and have better self-esteem. It sounds like an ad for a wonder drug. And yet, you don't need a prescription to get it. It costs nothing, and it's available to us all. 

This podcast episode is based on my women's gratitude journal, "Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: A Grateful Heart" available online and at Amazon. 

In this episode, I share a simple yet effective way to break down goals into achievable action steps. Get the worksheet for this episode: https://riastory.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Gameplan-to-Goal-worksheet.pdf

I started out this episode saying it would be more of a sharing episode than "teaching." One of the questions I am frequently asked is, "What does your typical day look like?" And, "How do you and Mack work together?" So, I attempted to answer those questions here! And, then proceeded to get off on a bunny trail about an important topic to maximize your success every day.

Can you say that you are living in abundance in each area of your life? Are you at peace with your values? Are you getting enough sleep? Do you get enough exercise? Do you have a personal growth plan? I address the importance of checking in with yourself and assessing the amount of abundance you are enjoying in your life. 

If you want to download the assessment to go along with this episode, find it here: https://riastory.com/timemanagement/

Success is a by product of making the right choices and taking the right actions every day. But, we don't always make the right choices or take the right actions - even when we KNOW what they are. Why is that? And, how can we overcome that? In this episode, I dig into these questions. 

It's the last quarter of the year and many people are going to simply quit striving toward their goals as we approach the holidays. Sure, it's tempting to promise yourself a "fresh start" in January. But, what if you sprint toward the finish line of 2021 instead of coasting? Now is the time to get a head start and a jump start - in this episode I'll share more on this and also dig into why NOT striving sounds so tempting sometimes. 

You've heard the cliche "It's not what you know, it's who you know," haven't you? Turns out, there is some truth to that. Relationships are critical to our level of influence. In this episode, I'll break down why - and what you can do about it. 

To uplevel your social connection skills, check out my book "Straight Talk: The Power of Effective Communication" available here: https://www.amazon.com/Straight-Talk-Effective-Communication-Leadership-ebook/dp/B01KTLE4Q0/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=straight+talk+ria+story&qid=1632234946&sr=8-1