Little Waves Project - Stories That Inspire

“I wanted to create a space where people can connect with others who are as curious as they are” - Breanne Kiefner This episode left me feeling enlightened, like I had grown from hearing a new perspective. Breanne brings so much wisdom from her experiences into our conversation. Because she was instantly able to drop into the present moment, I found it easy to talk with her about her learnings as a mother, business owner, and more. Breanne is the creator and owner of Root Adventures, a company that designs trips and online experiences that allow all types of people to connect with nature, people, and become their best selves. She speaks to some of the challenges of owning a travel company during the pandemic and also gives us a sneak peak into the exciting virtual programs she is designing to make sure she can help as many people as possible connect during this challenging time. I so appreciated her honesty about what it was like to become a mother, deal with mental illness and work through challenges with her partner. We can all take a page out of Breanne's book as we strive to show up as our true selves, to make sure we can live as our best selves.

“Everyone deserves to be heard.”  - Cole Egger This episode is a perfect example of how a little wave can turn into a tidal wave. Cole Egger comes to us as the Co-Founder and CEO of Listeners On Call, a company that focuses on providing a platform for human connections based on shared experiences. Cole shows up to tell us about his mission with Listeners On Call as well as his personal experiences that led him to starting this company. I think Listeners On Call is going to make a massive ripple effect, changing the game for mental health awareness and providing quick support for people who are struggling to find it today.

"You don’t need someone else to validate you." - Megan Louise Megan is such a bright light amongst so much darkness in the world. Transparent about her experiences growing up with ABS, she shares about her struggles with anxiety, depression, and body image. Megan advocates for mental health and disability awareness so that future generations can grow up knowing that humans come in all different shapes, sizes, and colors and should be treated equally. Despite her fears, Megan gets energy and finds more self love by sharing her story and helping others accept themselves as they are.

“I lead others in the way that I want to be led.” -Shafqat Islam Shaf is someone who leads with extreme transparency and vulnerability. He is a shining example of someone who regularly builds trust by being genuine and honest. Shaf believes that he has a responsibility as a CEO to his company and his community. He has launched multiple projects over the years to help his community. We talk about his project he started and continues to execute for front line workers during COVID in NYC. He sheds light on his journey through many countries and how he landed in New York with his family. We speak about the role that fear plays in our lives as we pursue the unknown. Shaf is a special person with an incredible amount of humility and motivation to learn, adapt, and act.

“There is no greater rate of return when you invest in nourishing your body.” - Esther Remington Esther brings a holistic approach to life. I find her so comforting to listen to as she speaks from her heart and reveals her journey to living a healthier life, free of the toxic things that have effected her in the past. Esther lives her life with purpose as she works towards her passion of helping others and herself through nutrition for the mind, body, and soul. She is already creating a ripple effect by living her truth and taking care of herself so that she can show up fully in her life.

“Don’t always put the learning labor on the people who hold the knowledge.”- Carter Stepanovsky How do I describe this episode? Words come to mind like; rich, vulnerable, enlightening, honest, and personal. Carter has an ability to stay present and speak from an honest, authentic place about their experiences, challenges, discoveries, and requests. We talk about staying curious and not making things personal to take advantage of learning moments and grow as a human. This skill applies to many situations in life. While challenging to take your ego out of it, the advantages of learning, growing, and connecting are everlasting and create opportunities for you and all humans.

“Positive Legacy’s intention is to integrate music and service to benefit people and the environment.” - Kristen Sommer-Swager On this episode, we got to hear from, Kristen Sommer-Swager, who truly believes in the power of music to unite people from all different backgrounds. She is the Executive Director of Positive Legacy, which is a not for profit organization, utilizing music as a platform to improve the world’s environmental and humanitarian conditions. Kristen is also the COO of Symbiotic Event Services, an event management company who does production for events like ESPN’s X Games in Aspen just to name one. I enjoyed a deeper look at what happens behind the scenes at music events as well as what they are doing to survive this time of uncertainty for the industry.

"Flow states are the most meaningful moments of our lives." - Jeremy Jensen Jeremy is the creator of the Adventurepreneur podcast and cofounder of Outwild, which is a community and event-series for people who want to create more outdoor, value-driven lifestyles. Jeremy is an outdoor sports athlete and speaks to the topic of flow states, which he describes as the most meaningful moments of our lives. I really loved this conversation because Jeremy is so genuine in everything he does. His journey is one that, I think, many of us can relate to. He speaks to a time in his life when he was lost and unsure of what to do next. Taking an honest look at what he was afraid of allowed him to move forward in a way that made him feel alive. We talk a lot about how hard and important it is to acknowledge your fear and doubt but move forward anyway.   Jeremy gets into the concept of Flow States, these moments we all have where we actually feel alive, perform at our best, and where time seems to slow down. He speaks a little to the neuroscience of flow and how we can actually actively induce these states by being present so that we can have more meaningful lives.

“Self compassion delivers everything self improvement promised us.” - Taylor White Moffitt This first episode was more like a tidal wave than a little wave! Taylor comes to us with loads of experience. She’s been a psychotherapist for 25+ years and a yoga teacher, leading transformational retreats for the over 10 years. Within the first 5 minutes you can tell that Taylor is comfortable in her own skin. She shares her journey to where she is today as well as her wisdom from working with over 1000 people who are all going through what she calls “the human experience.” I absolutely love Taylor because she is so fantastic at relating to all types of humans and makes her message easy to understand.

The intention of this project is to share stories of people who are willing to be vulnerable, speak truth, and share learnings from their experiences. Through my story and powerful stories of others, I will offer resources that will inspire us to be our best selves, our real selves. As we take our realness out into the world we can create a powerful ripple effect of love, positivity, and authenticity. This journey means venturing to accept all of who we are so we can own our story and step courageously into whatever awaits. Let’s step into our greatness together.