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

Join me today for my interview with Paul Smith

Paul Smith is one of the world’s leading experts in business storytelling. He’s one of Inc. Magazine’s Top 100 Leadership Speakers of 2018, a storytelling coach, and bestselling author of the books Sell with a Story (#1 Amazon bestseller in Sales and Selling), Parenting with a Story, and Lead with a Story (#1 Amazon bestseller in Business Communication) already in its 11th printing and available in 7 languages around the world. Paul is also a former consultant at Accenture and former executive and 20-year veteran of The Procter & Gamble Company.

As part of his research on the effectiveness of storytelling, Paul has personally interviewed over 250 CEOs, executives, leaders, and salespeople in 25 countries, documenting over 2,000 individual stories. Leveraging those stories and interviews, Paul identified the components of effective storytelling and developed templates and tools to apply them in practice. His work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Inc. Magazine, Time, Forbes, Fast Company, The Washington Post, PR News, and Success Magazine, among others.

Paul delivers professional workshops and keynote addresses on effective storytelling for leaders and salespeople. His clients include international giants like Hewlett Packard, Google, Ford Motor Company, Bayer Medical, Abbott, Novartis, Progressive Insurance, Kaiser Permanente, and Procter & Gamble.

Paul holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He lives with his wife and two sons in the Cincinnati suburb of Mason, Ohio. He can be found at www.leadwithastory.com.

Tune into the audio for my candid discussion with him and hear some of his favorite teaching stories.

To buy his books or follow his work:

Web: www.LeadWithAStory.com

Books:

Bored? Been doing a lot of the same things lately? Talking to a lot of the same people? Dealing with the same old problems?

Have you ever watched a movie or read a book where every day was exactly the same? The reason there is only one movie like this – Groundhog Day – is because it’s a reallllly boring story. We, humans, have active minds and novelty, freshness, bright and flashy squirrels grab our attention. Today’s podcast is about the richness of bringing novelty into your story.

We all have ways of doing things. We all have things that work for us.

I like my flavor of tea, I like to drive my Subaru, I like my house clean, I prefer my ripped jeans, and if I had my druthers I would wear high heels maybe only 5 times a year. I have my favorite Burt’s Bees lip color. And frankly, it’s taken me a lifetime to get all my favorites pinned down. I’m not saying get rid of the good stuff. But I am opening a discussion about bringing a little va-voom into your love life, into your family relationships, into your exercise routine, into your career….where could your life use some novelty? Let’s shake it up.

Cambridge Dictionary defines novelty as the quality of being new and unusual.

Have you ever been in a place where someone did something completely unexpected? They busted out a dance move, or started singing at the top of their lungs, or threw you over their shoulder. What about the dance mobs that show up in a shopping center or the giant bouquet of balloons someone sent you at work? These things are unexpected and they are fun, interesting and memorable.

Let me start with a question for you – which part of your life is a little flat? I have a rather easy solution for you. Just requires a little thought, maybe just some spontaneity.

The solution is novelty.

Today’s discussion is going to be short, sweet and to the point – just a reminder to add some spice and keep things interesting. I’ll keep it short so you have more time to figure out the fresh, new thing you’re going to add to your life story today.

Research into brain health and longevity suggests that regular experiences of novelty are essential to a long, happy life. Why is this?

It’s simple – according to Brain World Magazine, novelty makes us happy because a rush of dopamine accompanies fresh experiences of any kind. In one study published in the journal Neuron, participants were shown a set of pictures – mostly commonplace images like landscapes, faces, interiors, then randomly an “oddball” image was thrown in and when that happened the pleasure centers of the brain lit up resulting in that dopamine rush.

This programming has probably helped us seek learning and growth through the ages. The attraction to novelty motivates us to explore and adventure and this gives us more information for survival.

But how does it help us live better now? Is novelty important in our safe modern world?  I’m going to suggest it’s exactly the same. Maybe we’re not exploring new lands or maybe we are, but what if something as ordinary as the survival of a relationship requires something a little new and fresh? Frankly, it’s impossible to thrive without novelty and understanding this about the human condition is a powerful tool to living better and creating better relationships at home, work, and in the world around us.

When you do the same thing all the time with the same person life becomes WAY too predictable, less fun, and sometimes just boring. Maybe the best thing for your love life or a relationship that’s getting a little dull is to shake it up. Do something you haven’t done before, or done for a while. Do something unexpected.

So here are some ideas for you:

I surveyed a dozen people about novelty ideas to spice up relationships. Aside from all the sexual remarks that popped out- which is also a great idea,  other ideas included:

Speaking of memory –

Learning, whether academic, job-related or personal all relies on novelty. New experiences stimulate the memory centers of the brain as well ,that’s why you remember the out-of-the-ordinary event that happened in high school, or the craziest date you ever went on, or the person who shoved a pie in their friend’s face, or the greeter at Walmart that sang you a beautiful song while you were at self-checkout, or hippies in the park having sex, or the streaker at the College basketball game, or the kid that takes his shirt off at the bowling tournament. These were real events that the people in my survey remembered…. This is also why good teachers and leaders are looking for new ways to approach otherwise mundane topics that are fraught with the known or expected. It’s the novelty that cements them in your memory. I’m preparing a public presentation for next month and I’m trying to think of something unexpected and novel I can do to get their attention and make it memorable….

So we have the dopamine – increased happiness. We have the memory centers that are stimulated by novelty – for retaining our experiences. But we also have motivation and engagement created by the dopamine. People cannot maintain interest in any topic for long if novelty is not present. We need dopamine to keep us motivated, or we’ll look for pleasure and interest in other places. This is a great thing to understand when you want or need to keep people or a person interested in a topic, a relationship, an idea. Novelty again is the key.

What about professionally?

Career success is also dependent on this. People become bored and unmotivated at work- that’s nothing new.  We need new challenges. Creativity and innovation is practically impossible without novel experiences. Our brains are never challenged to consider new perspectives or to integrate new information without novelty.  So, let’s bring it to work too.

One of the participants in my informal survey said that she controls the novelty of what she wears to work each day, so she keeps that interesting. Maybe it’s something that small.

As I close up I will end with the ever-popular Latin phrase Carpe Diem – Seize the day.

Your challenge today is to add some novelty – something unexpected and fun into your story. People who actively seek new experiences throughout life live happier, healthier lives. Translation – they live and create better stories.

What will you do today to make your story more unpredictable? Have fun creating your best life story.

Remember to head to www.loveyourstorypodcast.com for a link to buy my book LIFE Living Intentional and Fearless Every day. To pick up your LYS T-shirt, to sign up for story coaching or to tune into any of the over 130+ episodes available on just about any topic you can think of for living your best life story.

Thanks for being here.

Welcome back to the Love Your Story podcast. Today is Part 2 of the Suicide Panel Discussion. If you missed last week’s discussion – go back and grab it – these 4 panelists are a powerhouse, and I must admit, just when I thought I knew what one of them was going to say, they surprised me with a different insight. I put together this panel because of my own shock at what is being called the suicide “epidemic.” It used to be that every once in a while you’d hear about someone taking their own life, but it wasn’t often and it was said in hushed tones. Now, it seems like every week I hear of someone else committing suicide and I’m shocked and filled with questions. What has cause the increase in suicide? Why now? What’s going on out there in battle for our lives?

We all know that space of feeling disconnected, of being frustrated that life/relationships/career didn’t turn out as we expected. I’m sure at one time or another we’ve all felt alienated. It’s when those feelings of disconnection and alienation combine with the hopelessness that things will never change that suicide has become an all too familiar option. But what is the cause of so much hopelessness?

Tune in for the rest of our discussion with this dynamic panel:

Cherie Burton

has worked as a group counselor at a psychiatric hospital, an addiction recovery center and a behavioral facility for teen boys.  She has stepped away from clinical work to inspire women worldwide to reach their full potential through books, workshops and retreats. Her work as an author, podcaster, international business owner, speaker, mom of 5, emotional release facilitator and leadership development trainer has helped thousands of women magnify their gifts and find wholeness. Cherie’s sister took her own life and this has affected Cherie’s work.

Link to Cherie Burton’s podcast: Women Seeking Wholeness – https://cherieburton.com/category/womenseekingwholeness/

Ganel-Lyn Condie

is a popular motivational speaker – known for inspiring others with her unique honesty, authenticity and spirit. She is dedicated to her family, faith, and inspiring others. Ganel-Lyn loves teaching others with speaking and writing. She has experienced healing from a major chronic illness and is the mother to two miracle children. After the heart-breaking suicide of her 40-year-old sister, Ganel-Lyn is constantly working towards prevention. Ganel-Lyn lives with an open heart and feels passionate about sharing principles that will empower others to live life with more joy. She is a regular television and radio guest. Ganel-Lyn’s talks and books have now encouraged thousands of people all over the world. She loves growing older with her cute husband Rob and aims to keep learning and loving.

For links to Ganel-Lyn’s books, talks, and platform: http://www.ganellyn.com/

Megan Cook Johnson

received a Masters Degree in Social Work from BYU in 2008. She has been a therapist at LDS Family Services for 10 years where her focus has been treating Depression and Anxiety. She had recently been trained in Hypnotherapy and is working on starting a private practice. Megan is the Co-Founder of The Emily Effect Foundation, an organization that honors her late sister Emily and seeks to raise awareness and improve resources for those experiencing Postpartum Mood Disorders.

Link to the Emily Effect Foundation: https://theemilyeffect.org/

Seth Adam Smith

is a best-selling, award-winning author and blogger whose writings have been translated into over thirty languages and featured on the Huffington Post, Good Morning America, Fox News, CNN, the Today show, Forbes, and many other news outlets around the world. In 2015, his book “Your Life Isn’t for You” was awarded a gold medal for inspirational memoir.

A survivor of a suicide attempt in 2006, Seth has become an advocate for resources and understanding concerning depression and suicide prevention, and he regularly writes about these topics in his books and on his blog. He and his family currently live in Arizona.

Seth’s Book: Your Life Isn’t For You: https://www.amazon.com/Your-Life-Isnt-You-Selfless/dp/1626560951/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=Seth+Adam+smith&qid=1557957868&s=gateway&sr=8-2

This second episode picks up after our introductions to each panel member and their stories. Let’s hop right into the questions.

Thank you for tuning in to this intense and meaningful discussion on the topic of the epidemic of suicide. We’ve talked about connecting with self, about seeing other people beyond ourselves, about healing, about mental illness, about darkness vs. light and the idea of mental warfare between good and evil and so much more. I invite you to share this podcast, to be the hope for someone else, to connect with your own wholeness, to remember that you are a miracle and we all need each other. I invite you to reach out for tools when you are in need, to help remove shame around the topic of suicide so we can be open and find solutions. I invite you to follow or connect with any of these panel members through their books, workshops, blogs, therapy sessions or in any way that you need to. Their contact information will be in the show notes.

The human soul is precious – everyone. Stay in the battle finding the moments of joy and fighting through the moments of darkness because there is always hope. Good things always come.

Don’t forget your resource –  www.loveyourstorypodcast.com to buy my book LIFE Living Intentional and Fearless Everyday, to listen to all 130+ podcast episodes on all types of topics related to creating your best life story, or to share any of them. We’ll pick up next week with the rest of the discussion.

According to SAVE – Suicide Awareness and Voices of Education (who uses the most recent data available from the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization) the following facts show us the current state and rate of suicide in the US.

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2. Suicide is the 10thleading cause of death in the US for all ages. (CDC)
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5. Every day, approximately 123 Americans die by suicide. (CDC)
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8. There is one death by suicide in the US every 12 minutes. (CDC)
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11. Depression affects 20-25%of Americans ages 18+ in a given year. (CDC)
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14. Suicide takes the lives of over 44,965 Americans every year.
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17. 80% -90% of people that seek treatment for depression are treated successfully using therapy and/or medication.
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Welcome back to the Love Your Story podcast.

Every human soul is precious. We all know that space of feeling disconnected, of being frustrated that life/relationships/career didn’t turn out as we expected. I’m sure at one time or another we’ve all felt alienated. It’s when those feelings of disconnection and alienation combined with the hopelessness that things will never change that suicide has become an all too familiar option.

What is the cause of so much hopelessness? Why is suicide so prevalent now that the word ‘epidemic’ has been used to describe it? What is the cause and what is the solution?

Today I have an amazing panel put together on the topic of suicide. These men and women have personal experience with suicide – either with family members or in Seth’s case, his own personal experience. We have put this panel together because we care. Because suicide as a supposed solution is out of control and we need to find answers, reduce shame, and shine a light of hope.

Let me introduce the panel members and we’ll see if we can answer any of these questions and gain some insight and even hope.

Cherie Burton

has degrees in psychology and sociology and has worked as a group counselor at a psychiatric hospital, an addiction recovery center and a behavioral facility for teen boys.  She has stepped away from clinical work to inspire women worldwide to reach their full potential through books, workshops and retreats. Her work as an author, podcaster, international business owner, speaker, mom of 5, emotional release facilitator and leadership development trainer has helped thousands of women magnify their gifts and find wholeness. Cherie’s sister took her own life and this has affected Cherie’s work.

Link to Cherie Burton’s podcast: Women Seeking Wholeness – https://cherieburton.com/category/womenseekingwholeness/

Ganel-Lyn Condie

is a popular motivational speaker – known for inspiring others with her unique honesty, authenticity and spirit. She is dedicated to her family, faith, and inspiring others. Ganel-Lyn loves teaching others with speaking and writing. She has experienced healing from a major chronic illness and is the mother to two miracle children. After the heart-breaking suicide of her 40-year-old sister, Ganel-Lyn is constantly working towards prevention. Ganel-Lyn lives with an open heart and feels passionate about sharing principles that will empower others to live life with more joy. She is a regular television and radio guest. Ganel-Lyn’s talks and books have now encouraged thousands of people all over the world. She loves growing older with her cute husband Rob and aims to keep learning and loving.

For links to Ganel-Lyn’s books, talks and platform: http://www.ganellyn.com/

Megan Cook Johnson

received a Masters Degree in Social Work from BYU in 2008. She has been a therapist at LDS Family Services for 10 years where her focus has been treating Depression and Anxiety. She had recently been trained in Hypnotherapy and is working on starting a private practice. Megan is the Co-Founder of The Emily Effect Foundation, an organization that honors her late sister Emily and seeks to raise awareness and improve resources for those experiencing Postpartum Mood Disorders.

Link to the Emily Effect Foundation: https://theemilyeffect.org/

Seth Adam Smith

is a best-selling, award-winning author and blogger whose writings have been translated into over thirty languages and featured on the Huffington Post, Good Morning America, Fox News, CNN, the Today show, Forbes, and many other news outlets around the world. In 2015, his book “Your Life Isn’t for You” was awarded a gold medal for inspirational memoir.

A survivor of a suicide attempt in 2006, Seth has become an advocate for resources and understanding concerning depression and suicide prevention, and he regularly writes about these topics in his books and on his blog. He and his family currently live in Arizona.

Seth’s Book: Your Life Isn’t For You: https://www.amazon.com/Your-Life-Isnt-You-Selfless/dp/1626560951/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=Seth+Adam+smith&qid=1557957868&s=gateway&sr=8-2

Tune into the audio program to hear each of these amazing panel members discuss their thoughts and ideas on the topic of suicide. Did we find some answers? I think we did. This is part one of a two-part series.

Tune in next week to hear the full panel discussion as we finish up with Part 2 and the brilliant ideas these panel members share on disconnect, on healing, on hope, and incredible insights into why to stay in your body and fight the good fight.

Don’t forget your resource –  www.loveyourstorypodcast.com to buy my book LIFE Living Intentional and Fearless Everyday, to listen to all 130+ podcast episodes on all types of topics related to creating your best life story, or to share any of them. We’ll pick up next week with the rest of the discussion.

Welcome to the rest of Amanda Grow’s story.

Did you know that the United States has the highest maternal mortality rate in the developed world? Because severe childbirth complications have become very rare, it is easy to forget that childbirth can be life threatening. Amanda Grow, a wife and mother of 4 children – 1 daughter and 3 sons, experienced an extremely rare complication of childbirth known as Amniotic Fluid Embolism which has a mortality rate of 80%. Last week you heard about her rapid blood transfusion that nearly drained the hospitals blood supply and left her in a medically induced coma for a week.

This week we’ll get more of her story and talk about the importance of healing.

Amanda’s story today isn’t just about a miracle and the healing of her body. It’s also about the toll such an event takes on us mentally as well as physically, and today we’re looking at the total process of finding meaning in brokenness and the process of rebuilding.

Amanda is the owner of Strategic ACT Prep, a business she built over 10 years that helps high school students prepare for standardized tests. At the time of her medical crisis, she had 12 employees and three locations. The crisis necessitate major life changes as it took many months to regain mental and physical functioning. She and her business partner summoned the courage to shut down all 3 locations and let all the employees go. In the aftermath of the crisi, Amanda has also experienced mental health challenges characterisctic to Post Intensive Care Syndrome, situational drpession, and post traumatic stress. She has also struggled through a deep identity crisis as she no longer has the energy to the “do it all” mo, business owner and community member she once was Amanda has a bachelors degree from Brigham Young University and a Master’s degree from the Univesity of Utah. She and her husband now serve on the Patient and Family Advisory Council for Intermountain Medical Center.

In this two-part series we are talking about recovering from accidents, loss, death. Sometimes we may gloss over the real process of climbing out of those dark holes that take us to the brink of strength. Mental and emotional recovery can be significantly harder than a physical recovery. It can be a long road to becoming whole and even then we will most certainly not be the same. Sometimes what must be grieved is the loss of who we were before. This is all a normal part of growth and life. It’s worth the two episodes to get the whole story and to learn about giving ourselves space to heal.

Tune into the audio program for the rest of the interview with Amanda.

To follow Amanda and her story on Facebook: Miracles for Amanda Grow

Your challenge for this week – the same as last week (while we’re on the topic)  is to think about your own journey. Is there a space where you have expected yourself to bounce back more quickly, or expected someone else to bounce back and get back to normal without a sensitivity to the length and depth of the process. Consider what this looks like in your circles and see if there isn’t a place where you need to check in, allow, and nurture, yourself or another.

Remember the website – You can go there to get your copy of my new book: LIFE – Living Intentional and Fearless Everyday. The 21 Life Connection Challenges. Or hop on Amazon.

On the website you can also buy t-shirts, listen to all the past episodes, and reach out if you would like to contact me. See you next week.

Did you know that the United States has the highest maternal mortality rate in the developed world? Because severe childbirth complications have become very rare, it is easy to forget that childbirth can be life-threatening. Amanda Grow, a wife, and mother of 4 children – 1 daughter and 3 sons, experienced an extremely rare complication of childbirth known as Amniotic Fluid Embolism which has a mortality rate of 80%.

Amandas story today isn’t just about a miracle and the healing of her body. It’s also about the toll such an event takes on us mentally as well as physically and today we’re looking at the total process of finding meaning in brokenness and the process of rebuilding.

Amanda is the owner of Strategic ACT Prep, a business she built over 10 years that helps high school students prepare for standardized tests. At the time of her medical crisis, she had 12 employees and three locations. The crisis necessitate major life changes as it took many months to regain mental and physical functioning. She and her business partner summoned the courage to shut down all 3 locations and let all the employees go. In the aftermath of the crisi, Amanda has also experienced mental health challenges characterisctic to Post Intensive Care Syndrome, situational drpession, and post traumatic stress. She has also struggled through a deep identity crisis as she no longer has the energy to the “do it all” mo, business owner and community member she once was Amanda has a bachelors degree from Brigham Young University and a Master’s degree from the Univesity of Utah. She and her husband now serve on the Patient and Family Advisory Council for Intermountain Medical Center.

Tune into the audio program to hear about her rapid blood transfusion that nearly drained the hospital’s blood supply and left her in a medically induced coma for a week.

We’ll discuss questions like:

You said, “A crisis or trauma is not just one chapter in your life…it is a deep canyon that affects everything going forward from that point.” Tell me a little about that.

What do you feel is the most important part of your story?

What was your biggest struggle?

What has been your most important growth or insight gained?

How are you doing now?

To follow Amanda on Facebook look for: Miracles for Amanda Grow

So often we are talking about recovering from accidents, loss, death….the stories we tell here are always about the victors who find their way out of the dark, and they shine a light for us so that if we are having similar experiences we can learn from their stories. Sometimes is hindsight I think we may gloss over the real process of climbing out of those dark holes that take us to the brink of strength. Mental and emotional recovery is significantly harder than physical recovery. It can be a long road to becoming whole and even then we will most certainly not be the same. Sometimes what must be grieved is the loss of who we were before. This is all a normal part of growth and life.

Amanda’s story and feelings about her story focus on these concepts of acknowledging the real journey.

Your challenge for this week is to think about your own journey. Is there a space where you have expected yourself to bounce back more quickly, or expected someone else to bounce back and get back to normal without a sensitivity to the length and depth of the process. Consider what this looks like in your circles and see if there isn’t a place where you need to check in, allow, and nurture, yourself or another.

Remember the website – You can go there to get your copy of my new book: LIFE – Living Intentional and Fearless Everyday. The 21 Life Connection Challenges. Or hop on Amazon.

On the website you can also buy t-shirts, listen to all the past episodes, and reach out if you would like to contact me. See you next week.

Welcome to the Love Your Story podcast. Today is episode 2 with co-host LaurannTurner on deck for another imporatnt LIFE hack conversation.

Your hosts are:

Lori Lee – author of LIFE – Living Intentional and Fearless Everyday: the 21 LIFE Connection Challenges

and

Laurann Turner  – author of: Every Single Day

Today we are talking about Speaking Your Truth. What does it mean to speak your truth?

Barbara De Angelis is an American relationship consultant, lecturer and author, TV personality, relationship, personal growth adviser and spiritual teacher. She said, “Living with integrity means: Not settling for less than what you know you deserve in your relationships. Asking for what you want and need from others. Speaking your truth, even though it might create conflict or tension. Behaving in ways that are in harmony with your personal values. Making choices based on what you believe, and not what others believe.”

I start out this audio conversation by asking Laurann, “What is speaking your truth to you?”

Tune into the audio program for our important discussion on why you “aren’t Willie Wonka so quit selling sugar.”

To buy Laurann’s book go to Amazon.com

Thank you for tuning into the Love Your Story podcast. Please leave us a review on whatever format you listen to your podcasts. We would so appreciate that love from your side of the world.

Welcome to the Lori and Laurann Series. During the month of May I will have Laurann Turner on to co-host with me on two important life-hack topics.

Your hosts are:

Lori Lee – author of LIFE – Living Intentional and Fearless Everyday – the 21 LIFE Connection Challenges

And

Laurann Turner  – author of – Every Single Day

Today we are talking about how you WILL see what you look for. I want you to do an experiment with me. Wherever you are listening to this I want you to look around you for 15 seconds and notice everything that is red …….Okay now close your eyes.

Tell me everything that you noticed that was blue.

The first time I did this it clarified this idea of the power of my focus as a person. I could only remember the red because that was exactly what I was focused on. I quickly saw how this applied to other aspects of life.

If I’m looking for good I’ll find it, at the exclusion of all else. If I’m looking for bad and focusing on the unfair and negative aspect of a situation, I won’t be able to see the good. Stay tuned as Laurann and I kick around the idea.

Tune into the audio program for our discussion on how you WILL see what you look for. You don’t want to miss it.

Martha Beck said, “No storyteller can describe everything that ever happens to a hero; as autobiographers, we build our stories from a very limited selection of facts. The information we choose to include or exclude determines whether we see our lives as comedy, tragedy, romance, or adventure.”  In other words, we will create our story by what we look to include in it. Will yours be a tragedy or a comedy? Will it be a love story or an inspirational how-to? You decide.

To buy Laurann’s book go to Amazon.com

Thank you for tuning into the Love Your Story podcast. Share this episode with someone who could use it today. Share the love.

Welcome to the Love Your Story podcast. Today I want to start out with a question: Have you ever had something really horrible happen in your life, and you came to the understanding that your story could go one of two ways – you could hide, wallow, wear the cloak of victimhood, lose yourself in the sadness or self-loathing or embarrassment, or whatever emotion was kicking your ass at the time, or you could write a life story with a resilient main character? When I talk about this I know it sounds a little flippant as if doing this is easy and must be done, but the truth is that it’s anything but easy. It’s the space where the battle is waged in our hearts and minds, but the outcome is what determines if our story is a tragedy, a comedy, and inspirational how-to.  That crossroads is a crucial space in all stories. Today my guest is Christine McAlister, a woman who gave birth to a full-term stillborn daughter and stood staring at this very crossroads. “I would have much rather died,” she said to me.  Stay tuned for her story and struggle at the crossroads.

Christine McAlister and her husband and “rainbow baby,” Fiora, live with their 2 rescue dogs, near their Arabian horses, in Louisville, Kentucky. She is a lover of books and stories and an entrepreneur, business coach, and the author of the #1 bestseller The Income Replacement Formula: Seven Simple Steps To Doing What You Love And Making Six Figures From Anywhere. An expert on turning tragedy into triumph, she founded her company, Life With Passion, after the full-term stillbirth of her first daughter, Maeve. She’s been featured in Inc., Business Insider, The Huffington Post, and the Entrepreneurs On Fire podcast. Christine is a big self-knowledge junky and she helps high-achievers all over the world to replace their incomes and ditch their 9-5s, by building businesses out of their passions.

Join me on the audio program to hear Christine’s story of birthing a stillborn child and how she decided which crossroads to take.

To follow Christine:

Your challenge this week:

Walt Whitman said, “Happiness, not in another place, but this place…not for another hour, but this hour…” What story could you reframe – if it were possible to reframe it, where you would shift you from a place of victim to resilient hero/heroin?

Share this episode with someone who could use it today. And don’t forget you can find my book: LIFE – Living Intentional and Fearless Everyday on Amazon or on the website: www.loveyourstorypodcast.com

See you next week on the Love Your Story podcast.

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In 1992 Wayne’s World came out. A silly show about 2 slacker friends who are trying to promote their cable show. One of their famous cult lines is “We’re not worthy.” They would sing out this phrase whenever something particularly good happened. We used to use this saying to elicit a laugh within our group of friends. I don’t know if any of us ever actually felt that way, we were just goofing around and being silly, but as I talk with people as I do my current work with story one of the primary issues that repeatedly pops up is that many people feel unworthy. Unworthy of good love. Unworthy of a good life. Unworthy of being treated well. They play small because they feel they deserve to be disregarded, heck they don’t deserve something better.  Whether it’s a voice in their head that capitalizes on mistakes they’ve made, or something they have marinated in over the years as others made thoughtless comments, these feelings are no joke. They create small lives and relationships where people feel like they deserve to be treated badly. Let’s talk about why the idea of unworthiness is a lie – in EVERY case.

Am I worthy? Sometimes this isn’t even a question we ask ourselves, it’s just a sense – a feeling we harbor that influences whether we dare to think big, act big, and demand respectful treatment.

I think the first question is… worthy of what? Am I worthy to be loved? Am I worthy to be treated well? Am I worthy of happiness? Am I worthy of good fortune?

One of the ways that I test an idea is comparing the light it brings. Let me explain:

Often times the idea of “worthiness” has something to do with God. Worthiness and God have been linked for as long as we have records/scripture.

So here is the question I ask myself. Does God want us to live small – beneath our capability? Does God want us settling for unhappy, abusive or dark situations because we’ve deemed ourselves unworthy?

One distinct scripture comes to mind: “The worth of souls is great in the sight of God.”

Notice it did not say the worth of a clean soul or a perfect soul is great in the sight of God….no it said the WORTH of a soul is great.

If God deems the worth of every soul as great do you think that changes because someone else on this planet told you you weren’t worth much? No. Who do you believe? God or the other?

Who creates feelings of self-doubt and unworthiness – would that ever be God? Does that create light or love? No.

One of my favorite scriptures is 2Timothy 1 – “For God does not give us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

We are worthy simply because we are children of God. Any other feeling is NOT from him. Our worthiness is not even dependent upon our actions or the side of the tracks we come from, or what other people think of us or say about us. We are worthy of love, happiness, and all good things because we are here.

I asked Laurann Turner, the author of Every Single Day and proponent of self-love and acceptance — you’ll remember her from an episode last month– about the idea of worthiness, we ended up in a big conversation.

Tune into the audio program for our conversation.

We are worthy, YOU are worthy, just as you are, to lift your eyes to the light, to seek after good things, to embrace all you are and can be, and go make great things happen. You are worthy of happiness. No one, no action, no way of being can take that away from you. You are worthy of being treated well and expecting that treatment. You are worthy of your greatest happiness.

In the Doctrine and Covenants 71:6 – a scripture—it says, “For unto him that receiveth it shall be given more abundantly, even power.”

This tells me we need to accept our own worthiness as a child of God. That we need to accept the gifts he has for us, and we need to keep accepting the joy and right to create a beautiful life that is inherently ours.

Your challenge this week is to think about what spaces in your life you might feel unworthy of really good things. Follow that thought train backward and discover where that feeling comes from, and then kick that feeling out. Practice shifting into the things we’ve learned today – the proof that the worth of our souls is great. That God does NOT give us the spirit of fear but of power and love and a sound mind, and that as we receive all the good that is inherently for us we will be given even more abundantly. Love ourselves is a crucial key before we can truly love others. Accepting our own deep worthiness for living our biggest and best story on purpose – changes everything! You ARE worthy. Now live like it.

www.loveyoustorypodcast.com has all past episodes, you can buy t-shirts, you can buy the 21 LIFE Connection challenges book or reach out to me. See you next week! Live a Great Story!