How to Handle Anything

In this episode of How to Handle Anything, Brian and I talk injury, uncertainty, and what happens when life forces us into a scene we really don’t want to be in. Brian shares how an Achilles surgery that was supposed to have him on crutches for six weeks turned into five months of recovery, and how, even after more than three decades of practicing improv, it took time for him to stop fighting the situation and accept the scene he was actually in. From there, we explore how the skills Brian has developed as an improviser have helped him navigate uncertainty, make choices when there is no clear answer, manage anxiety, communicate more effectively, and find more room for joy along the way.

We discuss…

- How playing the scene you're in can help us accept circumstances we can’t immediately change

- Why making a choice, even when you don’t know if it’s the “right” one, can help you move through uncertainty instead of getting stuck

- How practicing improvisational principles and mindsets can help us become more comfortable with ambiguity, failure, and not knowing what comes next

- Using emotional choices to shift how we respond when we’re feeling anxious, uncomfortable, or overwhelmed

- Why giving ourselves a little grace, and lowering the stakes, can make it easier to try, fail, learn, and try again

- How listening, expression, and a yes, and mindset can help us communicate and connect more effectively

- Why playing isn’t just for kids, and how making space for it as adults can give us a much-needed break from the demands of everyday life

A bit about Brian…

Brian Palermo is an engaging actor and comedian with an impressive resume of performances in television, film, and top comedy venues. Brian grew up in New Orleans before spending 30 years in Los Angeles working in the entertainment industry.

He is perhaps best known for his longtime association with The Groundlings Theatre in Los Angeles, where he has performed, directed, and taught for more than 25 years. Brian has guest-starred on a delightfully ridiculous range of Hollywood projects, including Friends, Modern Family, and all the way back to an episode of Baywatch.

Today, Brian teaches internationally, facilitating workshops around communication skills for the science community as well as improv.

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With less than two months til publication day of How to Handle Anything, and coming off the heels of sharing the conversation with content strategist and mom Alyssa Greenfield, and how she’s navigated life’s parental and work curveballs, I thought this is a better time than any to share an audio Bonus Elixir for those times when you’re facing a curveball.

This Bonus Elixir, for paid subscribers only, is designed to help you try the ideas in your own life, not just hear about them. And, to celebrate my book coming out in <2 months, I’m offering COMPLIMENTARY PAID SUBSCRIPTIONS for 100 days to anyone who pre-orders my book, How to Handle Anything. So, if you want this Bonus Elixir and others, and other perks for paying subscribers, check out all the ways to pre-order and how to redeem your free 100 day subscription here.

The Elixir: You Can Handle This

In this Elixir, I ask you to think of something you’re dealing with right now that you didn’t expect, plan for, or maybe just really wish wasn’t happening right now. It doesn’t matter how big or small. It could be a kid with lice, a client canceled a project. Or, a leak in your ceiling, a flight delay. Or, you got a “no” from someone when you hoped for a “yes”, or just simply something in life isn’t unfolding the way you hoped it would.

Whatever the curveball is, think about it.

And I walk you through it using the four principles I write about in How to Handle Anything.

🔒 Bonus Elixirs are available to paid subscribers, and are released a couple weeks after each main episode as a space for deeper reflection and integration. To receive this and other Bonus Elixirs, and other paid subscriber benefits, join as a paid subscriber.

In this episode of How to Handle Anything, we talk parenting, entrepreneurship, and the many curveballs that come with trying to manage a life you can't fully control. Alyssa shares how she's learned to navigate the unexpected—from the ups and downs of building her own business to a particularly chaotic stretch of parenting that included a thrown-out back, a sick kid, an ER visit, and, yes, a household-wide case of lice. Along the way, she shares how community, humor, and learning to play the scene she's in have helped her find a little more ease amidst the chaos.

We discuss…

- Why finding your people can make life's unexpected moments easier to navigate

- How to know when you need advice, a sounding board, or simply someone to listen

- What "playing the scene you're in" looks like when you're dealing with a situation you really wish you weren't in

- Focusing your energy on what you can control—and learning to let go of what you can't

- Finding the humor in difficult moments without minimizing how hard they are

- How parenting and entrepreneurship can challenge our desire to optimize, plan, and control everything

- Why intentionally building your "ensemble" (at work and in life) can help you handle whatever comes next

A bit about Alyssa…

Alyssa Greenfield is a business owner and trusted thought partner and ghostwriter to venture firms and startup founders. She helps leaders bring clarity to their stories and meaning to their message—building visibility without sacrificing substance. Her clients range from first-time founders to seasoned investors, and her approach blends editorial rigor with a deep understanding of how ideas move in the venture ecosystem.Before launching her own business, Alyssa led global content programs in-house and at agencies, and brings more than a decade of experience across complex industries. She’s also a parent, which means her days run on sharp time management, clear priorities, and a deep appreciation for the kind of work that matters. When she's not writing for leaders, you'll likely find her with her six-year-old daughter, crafting, playing outside, or having a dance party in the living room.

If you enjoyed this episode, or found something inspiring or useful in it, share it with others, so they can enjoy it too!

This conversation is part of How to Handle Anything my ongoing interview series with people about how they’ve handled uncertainty, change, and unexpected moments with more ease, flexibility, and humor. To receive bonus content, please consider becoming a paid subscriber.

Lorraine C. Ladish had a literal tree through her roof. The obvious responses are frustration, stress, dealing with insurance, getting the tree removed—all of which still had to happen. But alongside that reality, she asked, What can I do with the scene I’m actually in? She put boots on the tree. She danced with it. She joked that the hole in her roof was a skylight. That playfulness didn’t remove the problem, it just changed her experience of the problem.

That’s such a perfect application of If it feels weird, do it, and inspires this month’s Bonus Elixir for paid subscribers.

This Bonus Elixir, for subscribers only, is designed to help you try the ideas in your own life, not just hear about them.

During this episode of How to Handle Anything, we talk life’s literal and metaphorical hurricanes. During this episode Lorraine shares how she’s navigated life’s unexpected curveballs, from rebuilding her career after losing everything during the 2008 financial crisis to finding humor after a hurricane sent a tree through the roof of her home. Through stories of resilience, improvisation, and reinvention, she reminds us that while we can’t always control what happens, we can choose how we respond.

We discuss…

How an improvisational mindset helped Lorraine navigate life’s unexpected challenges with more flexibility, humor, and resilience

Why the principle yes, and can help us move forward instead of getting stuck in resistance

How a tree through her roof became an opportunity for creativity, connection, and millions of people to laugh alongside her

The importance of staying curious, embracing change, and letting go of rigid rules about how life “should” unfold

How an improvisational practice has helped Lorraine become more authentic, take creative risks, and show up more fully in her work and relationships

Why listening is one of the most powerful skills we can practice

A bit about Lorraine…

Lorraine C. Ladish is a lifelong communicator dedicated to helping women and others achieve their goals. She is the founder and CEO of Viva Fifty!, a bilingual community celebrating life after 50. Lorraine has worked as an editor, writer, content creator, and social media strategist, and is a regular contributor to NBC News, HuffPost, AARP, BabyCenter, and Mom.me. Her work has also appeared in People en Español, The Palm Beach Post, Purple Clover, Latina, and Redbook. Her latest book on embracing age was published by HarperCollins in 2017. Above all, Lorraine is a woman, a mom, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a writer, an entrepreneur, and a yogini. She also writes the Substack newsletter Aging Like a Legend, where she explores strength, reinvention, and aging boldly on your own terms.

If you enjoyed this episode, or found something inspiring or useful in it, share it with others, so they can enjoy it too!

This conversation is part of How to Handle Anything my ongoing interview series with people about how they’ve handled uncertainty, change, and unexpected moments with more ease, flexibility, and humor. To receive bonus content, please consider becoming a paid subscriber.

Bonus Elixir (Subscribers Only): How YOU Can Handle Crossroads

In this Bonus Elixir, I share a way to literally pick a decision, which is a technique to use for actually making and taking a decision.

This short, actionable episode introduces a simple decision-making technique that helps you move beyond overthinking and tune into your intuition. Whether you're navigating a major life crossroads or deciding what to have for dinner, this exercise helps reveal what you truly want by paying attention to your immediate emotional response.

You'll practice:

- Moving from analysis to action by making a choice

- Using your emotional and physical reactions as valuable information

- Letting intuition complement logic when making decisions

- Building confidence that there may not be one "right" decision, but there may be a decision that's more right for you

This Bonus Elixir is designed to help you try the ideas in your own life, not just hear about them.

🔒 Bonus Elixirs are available to paid subscribers, and are released a couple weeks after each main episode as a space for deeper reflection and integration.

During this How to Handle Crossroads episode Ben shares how burnout, unexpected career changes, and a season of deep self-reflection led him to reclaim his heart and rethink what it means to navigate life’s transitions. Together, we explore stillness, letting go of control, and how embracing uncertainty can open the door to a more authentic and fulfilling life.

We discuss…

How burnout became an invitation to reconnect with what mattered most

The role of stillness, journaling, nature, and subtraction in navigating life’s transitions

Why letting go of control can create space for unexpected opportunities

The masks we wear to achieve, perform, and please others—and how to begin letting them go

The importance of trusting the process, even when the path forward isn’t clear

How embracing uncertainty can help us live more authentically and align with who we truly are

A bit about Ben...

Ben Katt is a spiritual coach, meditation teacher, and author of The Way Home who has spent over twenty years accompanying proven leaders on the spiritual journey from role to soul. Ben serves as Faculty In Residence at Modern Elder Academy—the world's first midlife wisdom school. He holds a Master of Divinity degree, is a certified advanced meditation teacher, and served as an ordained minister for over a decade. Ben has accompanied the dying as a hospice chaplain, taught meditation in prisons to hundreds of incarcerated individuals, and served thousands of people experiencing addiction, mental illness, and homelessness as founder of Aurora Commons. When he's not guiding leaders on the journey within, Ben enjoys trail running, karaoke nights with friends, and walks, meals, and road trips with his wife and three children in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Here’s a sneak peek, a clip of Ben sharing a tip about how to find time for things we don’t always find time for, but want to...

If you enjoyed this episode, or found something inspiring or useful in it, share it with others, so they can enjoy it too!

This conversation is part of How to Handle Anything my ongoing interview series with people about how they’ve handled uncertainty, change, and unexpected moments with more ease, flexibility, and humor. To receive bonus content, please consider becoming a paid subscriber.

We’ve been there - a delayed flight, missing a train, getting sick in another country, or sitting next to someone on a flight that seems to have to get up every four minutes when we’re on the aisle seat.

Traveling is destined to bring up unexpected curveballs and situations outside of our control. The only thing we can control, in these moments, is how we handle them.

So, today’s bonus elixir is especially for those moments when we’re facing one of those unwelcome, unpredictable travel curveballs. Listen before traveling, during traveling, or after traveling to equip yourself with the mindset and techniques you can use to handle anything that comes your way during your travels.

In this Bonus Elixir, I share a simple but powerful technique inspired by the How to Handle Traveling conversation.

The Elixir: Meet the Moment

This short, actionable episode invites you to practice techniques to meet the moment, and reminds you of the power within you to handle whatever comes your way when facing unexpected travel curveballs. Using the Core 4 Principles of The Improve Method™, you’ll practice:

Focusing on what’s in front of you, by playing the scene you’re in.

Choosing to affect what’s within your control, and let go of what’s not by saying yes, and.

Reframing the curveball by taking everything as a gift.

Finding joy or creating joy amidst adversity by practicing if it feels weird, do it.

This Bonus Elixir is designed to help you try the ideas in your own life, not just hear about them.

🔒 Bonus Elixirs are available to paid subscribers, and are released a couple weeks after each main episode as a space for deeper reflection and integration. So if you’d like to receive this bonus elixir and others, please join as a paid subscriber.

In this episode of How to Handle Anything, we talk travel. During this episode Cameron Mofid shares what it was really like to become the youngest person ever to visit every country in the world—and how travel challenged his relationship to control, uncertainty, discomfort, and fear along the way. From being detained in Djibouti to navigating remote parts of Africa with only a backpack, Cameron shares how curiosity, openness, and learning to “go with the flow” helped him handle the unexpected.

We discuss…

How traveling to every country in the world changed Cameron’s relationship to control and uncertainty

What it’s like to navigate travel disruptions, detentions, and unpredictable situations in unfamiliar places

How curiosity and openness can challenge preconceived notions about people and places

The connection between travel, presence, and playing the scene you’re in

Why some of the hardest travel moments often become the best stories later

How meeting people from different cultures can expand empathy and perspective

A bit about Cameron…

At 25, Cameron Mofid became the youngest person to visit every country in the world, completing his journey in North Korea. Growing up with debilitating obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Cameron set out on a seven-year trip as a form of real-world exposure therapy. During that time, he traversed war zones, was detained in jail cells, and ventured through some of the most remote places on Earth.

Today, Cameron draws on his experiences to share practical insights on overcoming fear, navigating uncertainty, and redefining what we believe is possible.

He is also the founder of Humanity Effect, a nonprofit organization that has supported more than 1,000 children through two schools and an orphanage in Lagos, Nigeria. His story and work have been featured in major media, including CNN, Forbes, CBS, FOX, BBC, and Business Insider.

To learn more about Cameron and inquire about his speaking engagements visit cameronmofid.com.

Bonus Elixir (Subscribers Only): How YOU Can Handle Stress

In this Bonus Elixir, I share a simple but powerful improv-inspired technique inspired by the How to Handle Stress conversation.

The Elixir: Where are You Clenching?

We can carry stress, whether we realize it or not. In this Bonus Elixir I guide you through a technique to practice letting go of stress, and remind you of the power of your mind in handling stress.