Love Your Story: Stories and discussions about personal growth, mindset and living with intention

By Lori LeeSociety & Culture Health & Fitness Mental Health Education Self-Improvement

Love Your Story: Stories and discussions about personal growth, mindset and living with intention episodes

January 13, 2021Episode 184: Accept and Nurture Your Awesome
Episode 184: Accept and Nurture Your Awesome
No matter who you are, or where you came from, you are a beautiful miracle full of talents, ideas, light and potential.
There are a lot of messy things in the process of living that can make us feel unworthy, that easily create spaces of not-good-enough. One thing I know for sure is that those stories - those voices are NOT true. No matter who you are.
I’ve watched some of the most incredible people on the planet struggle with feelings of not being good enough, as I look on wondering how they could possibly even consider the idea that they weren’t incredible. If you’re one of those who feels unworthy in any way - because you were abused or unloved, because God didn’t answer your prayers, because some broken person or people told you you weren’t good enough, because you were the 7th grader that got shoved in the locker, because you didn’t get straight A’s, because you didn’t get the job, because you are ill and can’t do the things you wish you could do, because you have an addiction you’re fighting, because you have stories in your own mind - your own voice telling you and reinforcing that you are not okay, not enough. It doesn’t matter where the stories come from, there isn’t one of them that is true.
Stay tuned today because I’m sharing 4 life coaches to help you let go of things you need to let go of, recognize things you can’t see in yourself, and help propel you forward into your best life story.

The first step IS to accept this idea that you are a beautiful miracle, full of talents, ideas, light and potential.. To hold onto it - even if you can’t believe it right now. There is no one here that isn’t good enough to be here.
We were created by God, and that means we are good enough, worthy enough, and incredible. What you do from here - with all you’ve been given, is just the fun part. And yes, the messy part is inevitable, but once we start accepting ourselves fully we’ll also be able to watch how our stories shift.
Am I oversimplifying? Not regarding our value, but long held beliefs of unworthiness, of not-enough, are often not shaken easily. Just let the idea sit with you. One minute at a time. Start to make a place for it.
If you are one of us that has past wounds that are contributing to that unworthy/not-good-enough feeling, the work before you right now, is to first heal those wounds.
As Oprah pointed out, “The healing of our past wounds is one of the most worthwhile challenges of life.” The good news is that it’s no one else’s responsibility to fix it, but our own. This gives us control and power, because we each get to be responsible for our own lives.
“Buuuttttt…” you say, “what about when my ex-husband gave me an STD? What about when I lost my job? What about….”
Yes, sometimes other people use their agency to cause us pain and difficulty, but we ALWAYS have the choice of what we do with what other people shove at us. We can become bitter and cynical, or we can find learning and keep the joy.
As Viktor Frankl said, “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
Let’s start out this new year on the right foot - with the complete acceptance that we are worthy, fabulous, colorful, and messy and that’s just perfect.
But, what do you do if you’re not fully buying into that? If you want a little help in remembering who you are?
In today’s episode I’m going to introduce you to 5 different life coaches, and you can see if one of them speaks your language.
One of the difficulties I have with choosing my coaches is that I hate to waste money on someone I’m not going to connect with, and it’s always hard to know. Everyone I’m having on the show today I have worked with in one way or another and I can vouch for them. I’ll let you hear a little from them about what they do and you can see if someone strikes your fancy.
Listen to the episode to hear each coach discuss their services.
Contact Information for the coaches:
Emily Lee
Email: [email protected]
Website: physiologyoffaith.com/coaching
Text: 801-920-6191
Lara Johnson
E: [email protected]
W: larajohnsoncoaching.com
IG: @lara.t.johnson
Rebecca Thalman
Visionaryreframe.com
435-535-1071
Natalie Kristine Burrage
www.natalieburrage.com
IG: natalie_burrage
YT: https://www.youtube.com/user/lss7773
Email: [email protected]

Five Tips
What we focus on expands - focus on the things you love about yourself and living.

Let go of the past. All you have is the present in which to embrace living.

When a negative story about you pops up follow it backward to see where it comes from. Often this is the easiest way to debunk it.

List the things you are grateful for everyday - that gratitude is powerful in changing your energy and what you attract.

When experiences come up that make you face your weak spots, know that this is life giving you a chance to leave the past behind. It’s a chance to bring it front and center and deal with it so you can let it go. Choosing instead to embrace your magic self.

My hope is that you already are aligned with your awesome intrinsic value. But, if you’re feeling like you need support, I hope one of those coaches peaked your interest. And if you’re not considering the support and guidance of a coach, maybe one of the 5 tips struck a cord and you can focus on that this week.
Your challenge is to take one small step forward into supporting your awesome self and accepting your own magic.
My call to action today is to let you know that GROUPS are the big things for 2021. With Covid keeping so many of us separate we are finding exceptional connection in facilitating a group platform for people who have a group they would like to do the 21 Challenges with. Go to loveyourstorypodcast.com and sign up for more information and I’ll work personally with you to get your group rocking and rolling on a group platform to do the challenges together. We’ll create connection in this disconnected world, better lives that make us happier, and we’ll do it in a supportive and accountable platform that makes the journey all the richer.
See you in two weeks for the next episode.
31 min
December 30, 2020 Episode 183: The Best of 2020
The Best of 2020
As 2020 comes to an end, many of us won’t be sad to see it end. Many will be hoping that a new year will be bringing a clean, safe, healthy slate, a hope for better things than we’ve seen.
If that wasn’t just the craziest year to-date. We’ve had intense social unrest resulting in riots with serious injuries and massive property damage; we’ve had the circus we call elections, COVID, of course, which meant quarantines, higher than normal death tolls, and life as we know it cancelled. We’ve had fires and earthquakes, mask shaming and job loss.
And we can look at it that way, but as in all things, our realities are the stories we tell ourselves about the things going on around us.
We also have the choice to focus on the positive things that came from the past year. More time with family, more time in nature, focus on our homes and personal spaces, opportunities abounded.
Personally I’ve had my best year ever in real estate. It was a great abundant year. While I missed my usual social calendar it’s been a different and interesting experience to slow down without the same expectation of social interaction - even if that expectation is always just created by me. It was fun to get to say no to things and have an awesome excuse. I’ve enjoyed the things I’ve gotten done on my home and property because of the quarantine. I’ve sent more cards by snail mail to connect, and I’ve said gratitudes every morning and relied on faith rather than fear. I’ve tried to learn from my mistakes - my food storage may not have been all it should have been, but after the pandemic shutdown I was able to improve it. The podcast has continued on inspiring me and others with the wonderful interviews and ideas we share here.
As I look back on the 2020 podcast episodes I’ve shared, I notice a theme. The stories that have been shared are illustrations of real people doing really hard things in difficult circumstances, and coming out better and stronger on the other side of that struggle. They are stories to inspire us and show us what it looks like to stand tall when the going gets really rough. If it’s been a tough year for you, fill up on these inspirational stories that show how people make their way through tough things only to come out with massive growth on the other side.
That’s a message we’ve needed this year. Stay tuned for the Best of 2020 - the top 5 downloaded episodes.

The thing I love about a “Best Of” episode is that you get little quips - reminders - from the best stories. By listening to this one episode you’ll walk away with brilliant insights from 5 others, and maybe your interest will be peaked enough to go back and listen to the full story from the past episode, so you can get all the insight and brilliance of the vulnerable and triumphant tales each guest has shared.
Let’s get started…
I love every episode I put together for the show. I don’t ever publish a story or idea that I’m not proud of. So, I could feature every episode this year in the best of - haha, but I’ve decided to pull the top 5 episodes with the most downloads for the year. And, here they are….
Number 5 - In Episode 162: I interviewed Jeff Meyer from The Mental Edge and he talked to us about How to Perform at our Highest Levels.
We all do something - are you a parent, a lawyer, an actress, a podcaster, a soccer player? Whatever it is you do, staying in a space of peak performance is the surest way to find success in being your best YOU and creating your best story. This topic was something we could all use this year as we needed and wanted to stay sharp despite working from home, or learning to juggle kids schooling at home. I’m not surprised this one was a hit.

Here’s just a clip of our discussion about how being present is so important to creating real connection and performing at our highest levels as leaders and parents:
Tune into the audio recording for that clip.
Number 4 - Episode 158 I interviewed Kristen Ulmer and our relationship to fear.
Now, Kristen Ulmer is a thought leader on fear and anxiety who draws from her tenure as the most fearless woman extreme skier in the world for 12 years. I think this episode did so well because we are all trying to figure out how to navigate our fears. In 2020 there was a lot of possible fear, so this episode was embraced.
Kristen is the author of: The Art of Fear: Why Conquering Fear Won’t Work and What to Do Instead, she’s known for radially challenges existing norms about what to do about fear and anxiety.
Here’s a clip from our conversation about how fear needs to be acknowledged in order to he healthy.
Tune into the audio program to hear the clip or go to the whole episode to find out what to do instead of locking the “kids” in the basement.
Number 3 Episode 157 - Our 2020 New Year’s Episode was titled - What if Nothing Is Wrong with You?
I had mixed emotions about this episode being so popular. On the one hand I was thrilled that people were connecting with the show and that I hit a spot people needed to hear - I loved that. On the other I felt sad that so many of us truly think there are things wrong with us - so much so that an episode that shared the new and crazy idea that we might not be broken was something people clamored to. But I have to admit I loved this idea because of the spaces I feel broken in. It is just a universal space we all traverse - learning to fully embrace our beauty.
Above all, I hope the ideas helped people accept themselves. What if nothing was wrong with you? How would that settle into your heart?
This episode on self love, self acceptance, and the novel idea that we are acceptable here and now, just as we are. In fact we are more than acceptable – we are beloved and filled with magic, was one of the year’s favorites.
Tune into the podcast for that clip.

Number 2 Episode164 - I interviewed Tyson Steel about his 23 day Alaskan survival wilderness story in the lowlands south of Denali National Park, in below freezing temperatures after his home burnt to the ground. The fire killed his best friend– a lab who had been with him through thick and thin, and he spent the next 3 weeks alone in the Alaskan wilderness trying to survive. Let’s share again a bit of his story.
Tune into the podcast to hear his clip.
This interview took place very soon after the tragedy and Tyson had just returned to the states from Alaska. He hadn’t had time to process everything yet and was still in the beginning phases of sorting through what happened. His story is tragic, touching, and unnerving all at once.
Update: Tyson has since returned to his homestead to rebuild, and as you listen to the whole episode you’ll learn more about what that homestead is like.
Drum Roll…..
Our Number 1 most downloaded episode for 2020 was episode 160 - my interview with Jo Marie Taylor and how being held hostage in Kuwait during the Iraqi invasion in 1990 challenged the entire way she thought about life.

I love that this is our number 1 show, because it’s really the number 1 message for 2020. If there was one message that would help and bless us all through that list of things that went wrong in 2020, this message is the one that smooths them all over.
We need to accept one another. We need to open our minds and hearts. We need to allow for different ways of thinking and still give personal respect to another’s right to believe as they will. The examples shown in her story - in the full episode - of people risking their lives to help one another, shows the human spirit at it’s most valiant.
May we take this beautiful lesson with us into 2021 and let’s see what kind of magic we can make in the coming year.
A special thank you to all my loyal listeners and interviewees on the show who make this a place of sharing, learning, and growth. Blessings on all of you.
As we close up 2020, I hope you have got your copy - the tool I have provided for all seekers of a more connected live with greater possibility - of LIFE Living Intentional and Fearless Everyday - the 21 Life Connection Challenges. If you haven’t you can get your on Amazon! It will be a great program to start out the new year with! 21 Challenges for creating a life with more connection, more possibility, and more self care. We could all use that. Support the podcast and yourself and get your copy.
Have a wonderful holiday and I’ll see you in 2021.
37 min
December 16, 2020 Episode 182: Miracles Abound – Interview Richard Paul Evans
Episode 182:
Miracles Abound- Interview Richard Paul Evans and Christmas Box International Direcor, Celeste Edmunds
Welcome to the Love Your Story podcast. Today is our Christmas episode, and since Christmas is a season of love, of miracles, of family, of wintery fun and of treats. Well, I have a treat for you. Today Richard Paul Evans, author of the Christmas Box and 40 consecutive NYT Bestsellers, that always seem to come out around Christmas time, and Celeste Edmunds the Exec. Director of Christmas Box International are here to share a little of all of that - miracles, stories of family and children, gifts and all good things to set the scene for Christmas.
On top of that, The Noel Letters, Richard’s new book is out for Christmas and we’re going to hear about that as well, so stay turned.
To start, you have to know who these folks are
When Richard Paul Evans wrote the #1 best-seller, The Christmas Box, he never intended on becoming an internationally known author. The story was written as an expression of love for his then two young daughters. - It was a Chrsitmas gift he self published and handed out to family and friends.
Three years later, this quiet, simple story of parental love and the true meaning of Christmas made history when it became simultaneously the #1 hardcover and paperback book in the nation. Since then, more than eight million copies of The Christmas Box have been printed. Six of Evans’s books have been produced into television movies. There are currently more than 24 million copies of his books in print.
As an acclaimed speaker, Evans has shared the podium with such notable personalities as President George W. Bush, President George and Barbara Bush, former British Prime Minister John Majors, Ron Howard, Elizabeth Dole, Deepak Chopra, Steve Allen, and Bob Hope. Evans has been featured on the Today show, Glenn Beck, CNN and Entertainment Tonight, as well as in Time, Newsweek, People, The New York Times, Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, USA Today, TV Guide, Reader’s Digest, and Family Circle - we’re thrilled to have him here on the Love Your Story podcast.
Evans has won numerous awards, made the big bucks, and used that money to do really good things in the world. One of which is that during the Spring of 1997, Evans founded The Christmas Box House International, an organization devoted to building shelters and providing services for abused and neglected children. To date, more than 125,000 children have been served by Christmas Box House facilities.
That is where Celeste comes in. Celeste is his Executive Director of Christmas Box International.
This is kind of fun - almost 2 decades ago Celeste was Richard’s personal assistant. She was at his side fighting the good fight back when Christmas Box International was just a dream. Now, she’s the executive director of this international shelter. She is an exceptional advocate because she was a former foster child herself. It’s a bit like a fairytale.
So, with no further ado…. Welcome Richard and Celeste.
I want to first start with stories….
Richard - I just finished reading the Miracle of the Christmas Box, which for those of you who don’t know, it is a book that tells the story of all the miracles involved during the journey of the Christmas Box making its way into the world. It’s an inspiring and amazing book just to hear of that journey, and I wanted to read a little excerpt from that book…
It’s on page 224 and you have just spoken to a group and someone approaches you…
Tune into the audio program to hear the details of that reading, and to hear about Richard's experiences with writing the new book, why Christmas Box International was started, and to hear the tale of a LOT of miracles.

NEW BOOK
"The Noel Letters" is about an editor for a major New York publishing house who returns to her childhood home in Salt Lake City to see her estranged, dying father. What she believed would be a brief visit turns into something more as she inherits the bookstore her father fought to keep alive. Reeling from loneliness, a recent divorce, and unanticipated upheavals in her world, Noel begins receiving letters from an anonymous source, each one containing thoughts and lessons about her life and her future. She begins to reacquaint herself with the bookstore and the people she left behind, and in doing so, starts to unravel the reality of her painful childhood and the truth about her family. As the holidays draw near, she receives a Christmastime revelation that changes not only how she sees the past but also how she views her future.
To connect with the Christmas Box International on social media:
IG: thechristmasbox_intl,
FB: @TheChristmasBoxInternational
You can find Richard's books in all book stores.
The story of Richard Paul Evans and the miracles that surrounded his book, the healing, the momentum toward even more miracles with the children being cared for from the Christmas Box International, the Christmas Angels that have been placed around the country where parents go for healing, it’s truly a true story that leaves one in awe…it is a miracle that has created other miracles and the ripple effects go on.

As we move into the last part of the holiday season I encourage you to look for the miracles and the magic in your own life. To notice with gratitude the moments of intuition and serendipity that lead you to beautiful things. I believe in miracles. Today’s show has been a peek at real life miracles. Surround yourself with light, love, healing, and miracles as often as you can, and try to create those for others. That’s what Christmas is all about. The birth of Christ - who is love, who is the doer of miracles.
Have a beautiful holiday everyone, and join me in two weeks for the Best of 2020 and the unveiling of the top 5 downloaded Love Your Story shows/episodes for the past year.
Don’t forget to get your copy of LIFE - Living Intentional and Fearless Everyday - the 21 Life Connection Challenges. In 2021 I’m starting a new opportunity for groups to sign on and complete the challenges together for added momentum, accountability, and fun. Go to loveyourstorypodcast.com to get more information and to sign up your group. I’ll contact you personally as we get your group - women’s group, youth group, book club, church group, work group, started on the challenges for creating more connection, self-care, and possibility in your life story.
45 min
December 02, 2020 Episode 181 Challenge #7 – Pick ONE Thing for You.
Episode 181 Challenge #7
Pick ONE Thing for You
Elenor Brown said, “Self care is any action you purposefully take to improve your physical, emotional or spiritual well being.”
Today’s episode is part of a series that explores the challenges in the book: LIFE - Living Intentional and Fearless Every day - the 21 LIFE Connection Challenges. THIS is a PERMISSION episode.
Today we are on challenge #7 - to pick one thing you’ve been wanting to do or buy for yourself and just do it. I don’t know about you, but I often put off splurging on something I really want because I can’t justify the expense in my own head.
Tune in for today’s quickie episode about how and why this challenge is a beautiful one to embrace. And after you listen, I hope you’ll take the challenge. Because YOU matter.

I was talking with a friend the other day about the nature of the 21 challenges and she begged me to add it into the explanation. So, here it is - I have a tendency in life to pick and choose what I want to do. I suspect we all probably do. We have to make all kinds of choices everyday where to spend our time. But when I was doing my emotional intelligence training we quickly learned that we did not have that option. It made everyone severely uncomfortable, but we came to understand that if it was part of the program we HAD to do it or leave the program. Boy did we all push through some blocks and every time we learned from it. We found gems of insight and growth that getting OUT of one’s comfort zone brings.
Well, that to is the nature of the 21 challenges. If you start the challenges and then just pick the ones that feel comfortable to you, you don’t stretch, you don’t learn, you don’t get out of the program what it holds for you.
So, just a reminder - when you start the 21 challenges - commit, in your own head and heart, to push past your resistance and do EVERY challenge.
This series of episodes where I go over the challenges in detail with everyone who is listening, allows you to follow along in doing the challenges, but even better, to understand why the challenges are in the program in the first place.
This set of explanatory episodes started in episode 12 and then again in 89 were we who were doing Random Acts of Kindness together, talked about the experiences. These were episodes exploring Challenge # 1 -Do a Random Act of Kindness.
In episode 163 I spoke with Ashley Stuart, a de-clutter expert, and we talked about why challenge #2 - to get rid of one thing you no longer need - is so much more important than this simple act seems on the surface.
In episode 169 I tackled an in-depth on challenge #3 - this is where we looked at what it really means and looks like to find the lesson in something that doesn’t go your way. Great stuff with expert Leslie Householder on finding the gratitude and lesson in our trials or disappointments.
In episode 171 we got into detail about why Challenge #4 - a life hack I call “Success-file” is so important to living happy.
Challenge #5 was episode 174 where we got real about giving people the benefit of the doubt and why it’s a relationship saver.
And Challenge #6 - the Love Bomb in episode 176.
PLEASE catch up on those episodes if you missed them and take each challenge for yourself. They are included for very important reasons - as you’ll hear as you listen to those episodes.
But today let’s talk about challenge #7. This is the first challenge in the book that directly addresses self-care. The other challenges are about looking outward and doing for others and cleaning up the spaces we surround ourselves with - these all bless us with connection and clarity and less direct self care, - but THIS challenge is just plain and simply about treating you.
Let me finish Eleanor Brown’s quote - that I started in the beginning.
“Self-care is any action you purposefully take to improve your physical, emotional or spiritual well being. Too often, we do not make time for sufficient self-care because we’re too busy taking care of others. Life’s demands at home - even more so now during COVID, in our community and at work can take our lives out of balance. Self care can be getting more rest, eating healthier food, spending more time in thoughtful reflection, being kinder to yourself, smiling more, playing or engaging in any activity that renews you. By making time for self-care you prepare yourself to be your best so you can share your gifts with the world. Rest and self-care create a foundation and example of self love that inspires others and allows you to give your best. When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve others from the overflow. Self-care isn’t selfish. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.”
As I’ve mentioned, this challenge is to pick one thing you’ve really been wanting to enjoy, have, or do, and just do it. I’m giving you permission. Even urging you to do so.
What does this look like for you? Is it to get a massage? Take a nap? Buy a dress? Splurge on a membership to the gym or country club? Treat yourself to a pedicure or a movie. Maybe you order out instead of making dinner and then hit a bubble bath. What about a hike to realign your spirit in a natural space? Or maybe it’s 20 minutes for meditating. What have you been wanting or needing? This is personal…
Let’s talk about why for a moment. Deepak Chopra, a spiritual and physical physician and head of the Chopra Center, shared in his 21-Day Abundance mediation series, the answer in very simple terms….
“When you believe you are valuable you surround yourself with luxury, comfort and pleasures beyond those needed for everyday living. Luxury is not materialism. It doesn’t have to be an expensive car or opulent home. It can simply be the sweet fragrance of flowers picked from a garden, a drop of scented oil dropped in a warm bath, a piece of rich chocolate, or the sound of beautiful music. These are live’s small luxuries that cost very little but mean so much. Do you feel worthy of such luxury? Luxury is our natural state and abundance our birthright…by elevating your view of yourself you elevate the quality of your life. Your outer world will echo your thoughts beliefs and intentions that you are a treasured being. Take some time today to do something for yourself that you consider luxurious… make this a habit, the more you bring small luxuries into your life the more you will recognize yourself as a worthy spiritual being, deserving of love and abundance.”
I love the wisdom of Deepak Chopra and I’ve always been a fan of surrounding myself with lots of things that feel luxurious - little things as he mentioned, that I love, fresh flowers, yummy candles, massage, pedicures, chai tea, sushi…thinks that make me happy in small doses.
Sometimes we get too busy to focus on us. Sometimes we put off something we’d love for others. Sometimes, it just gets lost because it’s not our habit to set aside time or a little money or special attention for a joyful moment. Challenge 7 is the reminder. When you are doing the challenges you don’t get to pick and choose, you just do them. That’s part of the growth cycle. And this one is laced with fun.
Feedback I’ve received from those doing the challenge has been riddled with excitement on this particular challenge. A sigh of relieve in some cases. A push to do that thing for yourself that is waiting to give you a break, a joyful moment, a pat on the back.
One man explained to me how on Challenge 7 day, when others tried loading him with things to do, he simply told them, “No, today is my day. And he went and got a haircut and bought himself a few favorite treats and enjoyed some alone time. Another woman signed herself up for a workshop she had been wanting to attend. She was totally giddy about the investment in herself. Another gal booked a day at the spa. What would your fun self-care wish be?
I got on FaceBook last month and asked people what kind of things they did for self care. Here’s a short list: facials, hike, surf, mountain bike, ski, read, outside projects in the yard, shower, brownies and coke, cuddles, Zumba, hot yoga, mediation, gardening, play the piano, workout, do puzzles, take walks and look at the sunset.
Do those spark any ideas for you?
What do YOU do for self care? And, if you can’t quickly answer with a few go-to things, this challenge is even more important for you.
I’d like to share a TedX talk with you called “Self Care - what it really is.” Susanna Joy Winters suggests 3 restorative activities that focus on self care in a way that is simple, natural, and all about emotional and mental self care. See what you think of her ideas - she’s got some fabulous points about how self care - slowing down and sitting in stillness as a way of self-care, also helps us control the stories in our heads.
Tune into the audio program to hear this section of the show.
Whether your self-care is treating yourself to something you’ve been meaning to buy - showing yourself you’re worth spending the dough on. Or it centers on emotional and mental self care through stillness and moments with nature - a little “earthing”. Or your best self-care may be moving and feeling your body - getting the endorphins to get you a dose of happy and get the blood pumping, it’s definitely worth doing over and over. You start with one stretch - this challenge, the self splurge, but once you see how good it feels, I hope you’ll schedule in some self love on a regular basis.
Thanks for being here today for this quick talk about loving on ourselves. Your challenge this week is to take Challenge #7 and do something just for you. You have permission - I insist.
Get your own copy of the 21 Life Connection Challenges on Amazon (search the word LIFE and Lori Lee) or you can find the link on loveyourstorypodcast.com. Give it as a gift to the people you love and do the challenges together. It’s a way to build good energy and connection in this time of social and political distancing and upheaval. Take action to make your story just what you want it to be.
See you in two weeks for the next episode
20 min
November 18, 2020 Episode 180: Hearts of the Fathers – Interview Sheldon Lawrence
Episode 180: Hearts of the Fathers - Interview Sheldon Lawrence
Fleeing from a deadly head-on collision, a man descends into a hellish realm to hide from Heaven’s beconing light. God can rescue him from the darkness, but escaping Hell is only the beginning. The greatest test comes as he confronts his broken relationships and sees himself and others in truth.
Tune in for this week’s episode of the LYS podcast and Week 2 of story time.
It’s the season of gratitude and holiday prep. To aid in your holiday prep I am sharing with you, in each November episode, a book I think shares an important message - and maybe will make your gift giving experience easier and more fun.
Last week was Six and Spider Jungle, a kid’s book about accepting everyone with all their wonderful differences, and this week we get a little more serious as the author of Hearts of the Fathers, Sheldon Lawrence, joins me for a preview of his book. Stay tuned and see if you get what so many have gotten out of this book….a changed desire to really live and a greater trust in God’s love.

Inspired by the research of hundreds of near-death experiences, this book has transformed the way I view potential spiritual growth in a universe grounded in God’s love. Sheldon has put into fictional form - often the funnest form of reading - a possible look at what life after death might entail. The first time I ready this book I loved it because it aligned with my strong, personal belief that we will continue to grow and learn and progress after this life. It also really illustrated how the energy - good or bad - that we create here and now, travels with us as we leave this world. I’m excited to share this book with you because it’s going to give you some serious food for thought.
Sheldon Lawrence teaches writing at BYU-Idaho. His award winning personal essays have appeared in various journals and magazines. He earned a PhD in English at Idaho State University where he specialize in the study of spiritual autobiography. He lives with his wife and 4 children in Rexburg, ID. He is the author of the spiritual novel, Hearts of the Fathers and today he is here to talk to us about it.
Tune into the audio program to hear the interview with Sheldon.
Get a copy of the book on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Hearts-Fathers-story-Heaven-after-ebook/dp/B01IYJMR7W/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=Hearts+of+the+Fathers&qid=1601482891&sr=8-3
As we wrap up November I’ve given you 3 great ideas for holiday gift books: Of course there is the 21-Day Challenges in the book LIFE - Living Intentional and Fearless Everyday. I recommend getting that for everyone you love and then doing the challenges together as a way to build and bond with family and friends. It’s available on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/L-I-F-Intentional-Fearless-Connection-Challenges/dp/1793127328
There is Six and Spider Jungle by Jef Olsen that we previewed in last week’s episode - a wonderful story for the children on your list - and he’ll send you a free download link if you email him. Get his email in the show notes on loveyourstorypodcast.com
And today’s book - Hearts of the Fathers. Something for everyone!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. May you create a Thanksgiving story full of magic and happy moments. Remember to count your blessings everyday. It’s the key to abundant living.
See you in a couple weeks on the next episode of the LYS podcast.
37 min
November 04, 2020 Episode 179: Six in Spider Jungle – Interview Jef Olsen
Episode 179: Six in Spider Jungle - Interview Jef Olsen

It’s November and we are all starting to look for ideas for holiday gifts. Well, my two November episodes are going to provide you with some wonderful story gift ideas. Each episode will be a discussion with an author about a story book that may be just the thing you need. You’ll have to listen in and see, each week will be a very different type of book.
This week I’ll start out with a quote from Maya Angelou, she said, “If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.”
Maya’s words of wisdom starts out this episode perfectly, because today you get to hear a story about a spider named Rex who had 6 legs instead of 8. Read by the author Jef Olsen, this new book is a reminder that being yourself puts something wonderful into the world that wasn’t there before.

Tune into the audio program for a little story time, and a way to get a free digital copy for yourself or someone on your gift list.

Jef Olsen (that’s with 1 f) is an introvert who is occasionally happy to attend a gathering. He says he lived a very happy and stress free youth because when something was too difficult, he simply did not do it. He avoided the hard stuff. A lover of history, be got a BA in History from the University of Utah, then realized he needed money to pay the bills, so he went to law school. Currently he works as the senior in-house legal counsel for a vehicle service contract company, is married to a super human wife, and is the father of 6 children that he travels the world with. He’s a fan of Marvel comics, Star Wars and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Jef wrote this book, but he feels like he wrote it down as the ideas came to him, rather than made it up. Rex the spider is named after his first best friend. Jef says, “I like the idea of acceptance and appreciation. It costs nothing to be kind.” This book for me was simply that people are different and that we should look at acceptance instead of rejection of others that seem or look different.
I was thinking that an illustrated copy of this book might make a great Christmas gift. We’ll hope that Jef and Kate have copies ready for the holidays. You can reach him at his email to check up on that.

Jef Olsen: [email protected]

Angelina Jolie shared a peak into her childhood, “I want to say when I was little, like Maleficent, I was told I was different. And I felt out of place and too loud, too full of fire, never good at sitting still, never good at fitting in. And then one day I realized something – something I hope you all realize. Different is good. When someone tells you that you are different, smile and hold your head up and be proud.”
The best stories are created with interesting characters. Be who you are, and be good at it. Love your own colors and share them. To love your story, you cannot dislike your main character - YOU.
As we sign off today I want to ask you to hop on iTunes and leave a review for the podcast. If you’ll do this, then email me your address and I’ll send you a Love Your Story podcast sticker. Thanks for being all the wonderful that you are. I’ll see you in two weeks on the next episode.
28 min
October 21, 2020 Episode 178: Ghost Story Call-Ins
Episode 178: Ghost Stories
Welcome to the Love Your Story podcast, it’s our Halloween 2020 episode.
Have you ever seen a ghost? Experienced energy from the unseen? Felt something you couldn’t see or had doors slam for no reason?
The world is full of ghost stories. For Halloween I opened up the phone lines to have people call in and share their own ghost stories. Stay tuned for the call ins and get a little ghost story thrill to prepare you for Halloween….
I’ll start our spooky episode with this quote from George Q. Cannon -
"There are places....where the influence or the presence of invisible spirits are very perceptibly felt...and that...evil influences or spirits...affect (us)..... I have come to the conclusion that if our eyes were open to see the spirit world around us, we should feel differently on the subject than we do; we would not be so unguarded and careless and so indifferent whether we had the spirit and power of God with us or not; but we would be continually watchful and prayerful to our Heavenly Father for his Holy Spirit and his holy angels to be around us....
With that warning in mind, let’s listen to the call ins:
Listen to the audio to hear the call-in ghost stories.

Our time is already up, but those stories should get the holiday “spirit” flowing. I’ll be honest, I’m a little more freaked out than I was before I heard the stories, but all I can say is, “May the Halloween spirit be with you and may it be a friendly one.”
Join us in a few weeks for our November episodes which will highlight some great story gift ideas for the upcoming gift-giving season.
Our first November episode will be a discussion with the author of Six and Spider Jungle, for the younger kids on your list ,and a lesson in how our differences make us stronger. You’ll also get a free download, so listen in.
See you in two weeks, and Happy Halloween.

35 min
October 07, 2020 Episode 177: Dealing with Anger – Interview Lara Johnson
Episode 177: Dealing with Anger - Interview Lara Johnson
Welcome back to the Love Your Story podcast. Today we are talking about ANGER and how to deal with it. Anger, like all the “negative” emotions we feel, is often something we feel like we have to suppress in order to be a “good” person. But what happens when we suppress our feelings rather than allow and experience them? I’m not advocating for zero self-control, rather I want to explore with you a real life story that can show us what suppressed anger can do to us and how acceptance and allowance of our emotions helps us heal.
Today my guest is Lara Johnson. After being molested as a child Lara was angry. Anger became her constant companion, but also her shackles. Giving herself permission to BE angry changed her life and allowed her to move on once and for all.
Stay tuned to hear her story and to talk to this now certified life coach as she helps us with tips and understanding for dealing with our own emotions.
Tune in to the audio program to hear Lara's interview.
Thick That Hang said, in The Heart of the Buddhas’s teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy and Liberation, “Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness. If, in our heart, we still cling to anything - anger, anxiety, or possessions - we cannot be free.”
and, Mark Twain said,
“Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.”
All our emotions, the ones we label “good” and “bad,” are perhaps all here to teach us love. In this case the idea of self-love being key - giving ourselves permission to feel what we feel and love ourselves through those emotions we label as “negative” or “bad.” When the key to healing is allowing space for us to feel our way through the experience without judgement of ourselves, we can move more smoothly forward through our lives. We propel ourselves forward through the experiences that feel like road blocks. So much easier said than done, especially because this allowing may be in direct conflict with how you’ve been trained - not to allow a place for “bad” emotions. But today’s discussion is a beam of light on how we make it through with love and grace.
Your challenge this week is to choose a powerful emotion you are feeling - something WILL come up this week, and instead of fighting it off or feeling bad for feeling it, practice sitting with it and just letting it be with you for a bit, without judgement. Ask it how long it needs to stay and notice what it may be protecting you from. Some of these insights will give you the clarity to accept with love.
Thanks for being here today. Don’t forget you can get your copy of LIFE - Living Intentional and Fearless Everyday - the 21 LIFE connection challenges on Amazon - start the 21 Challenges to create more self-care, more connection and more possibility in your own life or give it as a gift and help someone else create these wonderful things in their life.
Would sure appreciate a review of the podcast, on whatever platform you listen. Those reviews help me know my work with stories is reaching and helping.
Have a great week creating your best life story.
33 min
September 23, 2020 Episode 176: Challenge #6 - The Love Bomb

18 min
September 10, 2020 Episode 175: 7 Tips from 7 Influencers
Episode 175: 7 Tips from 7 Influencers
Near the end of 2019 a group of influencers met for lunch. Their purpose was for each to come to understand better the good that the others were trying to do in the world and to see how they might support each another and help each other along their individual paths. At the end of that 4-hour lunch and cram session I asked each to share with me/my audience one piece of advice that they felt, from their experience, was most important - the piece of advice they wanted to leave for the world, and we proceeded to think, laugh, and share our way around the circle.
Stay tuned for these 7 tips on living well, from 7 people who aren’t just thinking about making a mark on the world, but are actually doing it.

In Oprah’s book, What I Know for Sure, she says, “I live in the space of thankfulness - and for that, I have been rewarded a million times over. I started out giving thanks for small things, and the more thankful I became, the more my bounty increased, That’s because—for sure — what you focus on expands. When you focus on the goodness in your life, you create more of it.”
I want to start out this episode acknowledging a gratefulness for these wonderful people and all the other wonderful people in the world trying to create good, do good, and make the world better, just because they can. THANK YOU.
I also think that my advice, if I toss mine into this pot, involves this very topic. To create your best life story is to stay grateful. Gratitude reminds you you are supported by something bigger than yourself. Gratitude releases chemicals that make you happy, Gratitude helps you focus on the good in your life, and that brings more goodness and magic, and greater abundance. Gratitude is the key living well, in so many ways. Gratitude is a foundational tool to creating a life story that feels like it’s full of magic.
Now here’s 7 more tips….Listen in to our conversation and excuse the background sounds of doorbells, background laughing and the occasional door closing.

Jennifer Anderson - Listen and Act on Inspiration - just take the first step.
Rachel Reist - Be present. Be here now, not longing for something past or future.
Ashley Stuart- Reassess and reverse your relationship with stuff. Connect with your life style and your people and the way you want to live and then proactively bring in only what you need.
Andy Proctor. - The happiness guru - I you feel like your stuck ask yourself if you’re trying to live a past dream that no longer serves you.
Lindsay Kjar - Mixed Faith Marriage Coaching: Meet your own needs. Know what your desires, hope and dreams are and then figuring out how you can meet those needs on your own so you aren’t waiting for someone else to create your happiness.
Mel Miller - Know that all the pieces/things you need in your life will show up. If you need to make something happen there IS a person in your life that can help you do what you need to do. Just show up with your vision and things will appear.
Rachel Von neiderhausern - Remember the power of 1. Each small act/choice to help others will ripple out.
Thanks for tuning in this week. This week’s challenge is to choose the piece of advise that really stood out to you, and consider how you are living it in your life. I know at least one of these suggestions probably grabbed your attention and made your mind wander into your own thoughts. Grab that piece and take two steps - 1. Think on it and why it caught your attention. 2. Act on it. What doe your gut tell you you need to do with that piece of advice.
A couple announcements - in 2020 I started a new section of Love Your Story called Tell Your Story. If you are interested in collecting your story in audio format for posterity, or if you have a family member or friend that you would like privately interviewed to collect their story, contact me at [email protected] with Tell Your Story in the subject line. For more information on it you can go to loveyourstorypodcast.com and click on tools and Tell Your Story. You can also still get links to get your copy of LIFE Living Intentional and Fearless Everyday - the 21 Life Connection Challenges.
Share the love people! Have a wonderful week.

20 min

About Love Your Story: Stories and discussions about personal growth, mindset and living with intention

From the publisher's feed

Love Your Story is a podcast about the power of our personal story, how we can use our stories to empower us, take the prerogative to reframe the stories that hold us back, all while celebrating the…

Share Love Your Story: Stories and discussions about personal growth, mindset and living with intention

Sign up to save your podcasts

Love Your Story: Stories and discussions about personal growth, mindset and living with intention

Love Your Story: Stories and discussions about personal growth, mindset and living with intention episodes

About Love Your Story: Stories and discussions about personal growth, mindset and living with intention