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

We all know fear. We’ve come up short as the fear of rejection stopped us from being vulnerable with someone, or stopped us from creating a relationship, or stopped us from sharing ourselves or an idea. We’ve known the fear of failure as we’ve contemplated doing something risky and then done an about-face as the wash of “what-if-it doesn’t-work” engulfs us.

Fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of rejection are internally generated. These fears come from evolution –based circumstances. A need to be part of a community (so not wanting to alienate others), a need to know outcomes (fear of the unknown), a need to survive. Fear of the dark stems from being in a space where our senses cannot inform us of what is around us. It’s very natural to fear not-knowing. Fear is a big part of the human experience, but facing fear is the only way through it. Stay tuned for a head-on tackle of this all too familiar topic.

In order to manage fear and to gauge which actions we will take and which ones we won’t, we ask “What If” questions. What if I try this and I fail? What if it doesn’t work? What if I make a decision and in a few years I’m not happy? What if people think I’m stupid, or if I ruin my reputation? What if my idea is too elementary? What if I get told no? What if I get hurt?

It’s normal to ask these questions. It’s how we gauge risk. But there is a point where these questions quit serving us and they simply hold us back, paralyze us, keep us small.

Here are a few other questions to ask yourself after you’ve listened to all the self-preservation questions: What IF it didn’t work out? Does the world really end? Would I regret the courage and adventure of trying for this, of attempting to live bigger, of loving and risking for the life with the most potential? What if it DID work out? What adventures might I find along the way? What will I learn as I let myself focus on success instead of fear? What’s really possible if I chose courage and possibility instead of fear? Do I want to still be who I am and where I am now, five years from now?

Let me share a personal story:

A few weeks ago I headed out on a backpacking trip with nine other people into the Wallowa mountain range. You’ll remember Lydia McGranahan, the woman who found Annie Schmidt’s body and Marty Newey, the man in Annie Schmidt’s search party from episodes 73, 74 and 75. I was invited to join this group on their annual adventure because we all wanted to meet, and because we all love nature and adventures, and because with my experience as an outdoor recreationalist – being a hiking guidebook writer – they believed I would be up for the challenge. As did I. We carpooled to Oregon, a group of 9 people. I had four in my car, with every intention that we would be spending the next 5 days together in the mountains. The plan was that we’d start out with a 6-mile day, then a 12 mile, then a 5 mile, then a 10 mile and then a 4 mile with daily side hikes tacked on. Well, I have spent many years backpacking and I know my limits well. I know that with a full pack I can punch out 8 miles a day before my feet and resolve have worn out. But, I had really wanted to come with this group and I figured if Marty, who is almost 60 could pump out that type of mileage, I could push through it. I went in with hope, but by the end of day 1, which had actually turned out to be about a mile and a half longer than projected, I was at my max for the day and I didn’t want to think about getting up bright and early as the sun warmed my tent, strapping my pack back on my aching hips and shoulders, and kicking out an additional 12 miles. The pace would be grueling. We’d climbed 3000 feet with a full pack on day one. It had been a good day, but now we were at a beautiful mountain lake, 7.5 miles into the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest and setting up a base camp was what I would do if left to my own devices. I’d set up a base camp, do day hikes without the pack and take time for taking it all in. My 17-year-old son was feeling similarly tired and I contemplated how to deal with the situation. We had driven 500 miles to backpack with this group of people that I was anxious to spend time with. We had been invited because they felt we were capable of the trip. I had a reputation as an outdoor recreationalist and expert in some cases because of my books. And now here I was contemplating the best step forward which might include some type of separation from the group. I considered the fear of disappointing others; the fear of damaging my reputation; the fear that I was being selfish. As I discussed it with my son he said, “Mom, I’d love to stay and do a base camp, but you just can’t. These people really look up to you and you will blow your reputation.”

Well, with my typical inability to bottle my thoughts and emotions, that night I faced the fears in order to be true to what I felt like I could reasonably do. At first, I think Lydia thought I was joking around, but I finally said, “You know, I do nature differently than you do. You guys are incredible athletes and you put your head down and you challenge the mountain and you cruise through it. I like to BE in it. I like to sit by the lakes and spend time writing and meditating in the trees. I like to go at a pace that allows me to lift my eyes off the rocky trail and see what I’m hiking through. I want to set up a base camp.

We had a group prayer before bed and I told them all I loved them, and then I crawled into my tent. I tossed and turned a lot of the night trying to decide if I dared actually break away from these beautiful people I had come to spend the week with. I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to miss this opportunity to spend days and nights in the mountains with them. I wanted time with each of them, but I knew my limitations. In the morning Marty approached me, in his thoughtful way and tried to make it sound as if I’d be doing him a favor if I could stay with a base group of others who weren’t wanting to tackle the aggressive schedule either. As it turned out we broke into two groups. A group of 5 headed off over the passes and pumped out 50 miles over the next 4 days, and my group put in 20 miles and 4000 feet of elevation gain. As we parted ways that day I said to Marty, “Everything is turning out exactly as it’s supposed to.” That was my consolatory comment as I broke up the group he’d so carefully put together. I didn’t know that the “supposed to” was going to look like, but I knew that facing my fears, my limitations, providing a space for others to enjoy the different way of experiencing the trip felt like the right thing to do. And was it ever!! What we got was time swimming in 3 different lakes – Aneroid, Wallowa, and a small pond along the trail; a night sitting under the eve of a cabin during a thunderstorm watching the lightning while our friends were backpacking their way over the passes and sloshing through the storm; we played cards and met Dennis the groundskeeper, who managed a collection of 100-year-old rustic cabins up around the lake. We talked and laughed and hiked, and in the end, four people who hadn’t known one another before the trip were the best of friends. Like family. We had time to really get to know one another in a way we certainly would not have with the dilution of the larger group.

I tell this story, to illustrate my personal fears that popped up. Was my reputation damaged? Did I disappoint others in the group? I don’t know the answers to those questions. I think perhaps, a little, but by facing those fears instead of letting them dictate and push me into a space I was not comfortable in, the right things happened. It was interesting to watch the wonderful serendipity that accompanied our group. Megan had brought a sleeping bag that wasn’t warm enough for the 32 degree nights. She started throwing out the idea of finding another camper and buying a blanket off them. Then Dennis shows up – in the rainstorm he offered us shelter and when she broached the subject of buying a blanket from him later he gave us 3 big wool blankets we could use during the cold night at higher elevation, and then return them to him so it was not a weight added to the pack – best possible scenario. In order to keep Megan warm Ethan and I crowded 3 people into her two-person tent, which turned out perfect because the elastic in my tent poles was shot and my tent had to be Jimmy rigged into a claustrophobic low rider that wasn’t fun for anything but laying flat on your back. Dan’s decision, the fourth member in our party, to join us was perfect because his sense of humor and easy-going nature, his connection with Megan and appreciation of Ethan made the group dynamic exactly what it needed to be. I had time alone with Megan to conduct an interview with her for this podcast and we were able to talk about her attempted suicide and her story leading up to those events in her life. We sang at the top of our lungs as we drove home. We laughed and ordered pizza and found suckers with scorpions, which was apparently on Ethan’s bucket list. In short – it was exactly what it needed to be and it was made possible because I faced my fears of social rejection through the damage of my reputation, and as it turned out, facing my fear of upsetting others because I had a desire to take a different approach to our situation was instead met with others who also appreciated the opportunity to take my desired approach. If I had let the fears dictate my direction, an entirely different experience would have unfolded.

Nelson Mandela said, “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid but he who conquers that fear.”

If you are living a life that is not fulfilling, a life dead with boredom, a story where the possibilities for rich passionate living have been left in the past, on the table, lost in the recesses of a younger you, or maybe your life just needs a bit of an update or you want a relationship you don’t have or to learn something new. Your choice is to either stay in the comfort zone that has brought you to your current space or to manage the questions and fears that keep you creating what you are creating.

Events themselves only hold the power we give them. Even the information our senses bring to us do not have meaning in and of themselves, they are information that we then give meaning to.  We are the meaning creators. That means we also have the capability to shift the meanings that we are giving our fears. Fear of failure is a projection of events into the future. What if the projection was one of success instead?

Let me share a couple of things to consider as we discuss overcoming the fear of failure.

Another quote from Thor in Ragnarok that I love from the “story” perspective is, “I choose to run toward my problems, not away from them, because that’s what heroes do.”

So, here’s an example of a hero move – a woman named Christine Lavulo shares her story of running up against fear in her career and how she dealt with it.

Listen to the audio recording to hear Christine’s story.

There is a story I will end with. It’s called The Giant.

I found this story in the book -Lead with a Story, by Paul Smith. (American Management Association, 2012, Pg 144-145)

Once upon a time, in a land far away, there lived a very bright and trustworthy young woman. Having learned all she could in her own village, she set out to explore the neighboring lands. After some time, she came upon a great city surrounded by a huge castle wall. “Surely I can learn something new from the people here,” she thought to herself. But after entering the city, she found its people too frightened and depressed to share any wisdom. “Why is everyone here so sad?” she asked. One trembling citizen answered, “Today is the day the giant comes.”

“Giant?” she scoffed in disbelief. “There’s no such thing as giants.”;

“Oh, but there is,” came the response. “He stands over 10 feet tall! So tall, he can’t rightly be called a man at all.”

Skeptical, but intrigued, the young woman pleaded, “Tell me more of this giant.”

So the frightened citizen nervously explained to her, “Every year, on the same day, and at the same hour, he comes down from the mountain where he lives. He stands at the edge of the clearing and yells, ‘Send out your bravest man for me to fight, or I will knock down these walls and kill everyone inside!’ Each year, one poor valiant soul steps out to face the giant and there he stands, mesmerized by the giant’s enormity and the impossible task ahead. Every year the giant slays the poor warrior where he stands before he even draws his sword. The warrior doesn’t even move. It’s as if he is hypnotized.”

Eyes wide with fascination, the woman begs, “Can I see this giant?”

“The only way to see the giant,” the citizen explained “is to face him in battle.”

“Eager to learn, the woman responded, “Then that is what I will do.”

Shortly thereafter the voice of the giant rang through the village and the woman stepped out to meet him.

She looked out across the clearing to the edge of the forest at the foothills of the mountain. Sure enough, there stood an enormous giant! For a moment, she just stood and stared at him from a distance. There was a gentle rise in the ground separating the two, so she could only see him from the waist up. It was difficult to tell exactly how big he was, but he was clearly taller than any man she had ever seen or heard of. She was struck with the same awe and terror all of her predecessors surely felt at that moment. The giant was real. Facing him today she would surely die. She considered running back inside the castle walls, but she had given her word to the people to face their giant, so with all the bravery she could muster she began to walk tentatively toward the giant. And, the giant began to walk toward her.

After a few paces up the gentle incline, she gained a full line of sight to the giant and she could see his whole form. With the better angle, she could tell he was not nearly the 10 feet in height she first believed but was perhaps only 7-feet-tall. He was still massive, but at least now in human proportions. She was still no match for him, but at least she would meet her defeat at the hands of something recognizable.

With that element of the unknown removed, she was able to walk at a normal pace and after a few more steps the giant appeared to be smaller still. Was this some strange optical illusion? The giant appeared to be not much bigger than she was now. She might actually have a chance! With this new hope, her pace quickened. And with every step, she could tell it was no illusion. The giant was actually shrinking before her very eyes and the faster she ran, the faster the giant shrank.

Her terror had turned to hope, and now that hope and turned to confidence. Certain of her victory, she was now in an all-out sprint toward the giant. As she reached the middle of the clearing she stopped and stood toe-to-toe with the “giant” who was now only 12 inches tall and still shrinking. She reached down and picked him up in the palm of her hand. She only had time to ask one question before he disappeared. “Who are you?” she said.

The giant responded in a tiny and dwindling voice, “I am known by many names, but to your people I am known as fear.”

When I started the Love Your Story podcast there was fear of many things. Fear of being thought pedantic, fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of vulnerability and sharing too much, fear of telling my own story, fear of wasting time and money. I still feel fear when I create something new. When I created the 21 Challenges I feared no one would sign up. When I create classes and tools I fear no one will want them. As I create the retreat coming up in January 2019 I face the fear that no one will sign up. In hindsight, I rejoice that I faced and overcame each fear – that I pushed past them because of what I have created, because of the people who have been on this path with me, because of who I am now vs. who I was then. The giant is so small now around so many things I have to look back and remember oh ya, I WAS afraid.

This past weekend I was at a rappelling event and I watched a woman who had never rappelled face her fear. The going was VERY slow as she let herself off the cliff and the rap down was inch by inch, but once the fear was faced the giant was smaller. Her second time down was twice as fast and her anxiety was significantly reduced. One step at a time we move forward. One step at a time the giant shrinks. Take the step before you – just one step at a time.

Take Action! We all make mistakes – lots of them, that’s part of the game. Don’t let the fear of not hitting the home run stop you from getting in the game. If you don’t step up to bat you are just gonna sit on the sidelines, and that’s not much of a story. Everyone who ever learned how to walk fell down over and over again. Everyone who learned to play an instrument has hit a thousand wrong notes. Everyone who learned to play a sport missed lots of shots. We don’t ever learn something new without making mistakes, they are a fact of life. So, when the fear boils up in you – the fear of making a mistake, the fear of rejection, the fear of failure, just remember that facing the fear is what will make it smaller, facing the fear is the only way to go, learn, be or do anything that sits on the other side of the block, and that may be exactly what you need is found on the other side of that fear. Courage creates possibility – and one hell of a better story.

Thanks for being with me. Your challenge for the week is to find one thing you’re afraid of, just one thing, and do it! It becomes easier with practice. The more you face your fears, the smaller they get. Go face one. It’s what heroes do.

Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcasts, if you like the podcast, and share it with a friend. The more people who listen the more good these ideas can do. Share the love people.

Welcome to the Love Your Story podcast. Today Part 2 of my interview with Taunia Dawn Terry hits the airwaves.

If you’re just joining us, go back and listen to her story in Part 1 because Part 2 is a our candid discussion about a woman who has beautiful spiritual gifts of intuition and healing, but Part 1 tells you how she got there. This two-part series includes a story of living through a Satanic ritual, five marriages/divorces, and a transformational path where she discovered how to listen to her higher power, how to face fear, how to pay the price for freedom, and how to uncover and use her spiritual gifts.

Taunia Dawn Terry brings a unique approach to personal transformation. She currently works as a transformation coach, where she is known for her intuition in the Healing arts, Neurofeedback and life coaching. Taunia is an expert at guiding her clients through the chaos of change so they can transform their pain and fear into wisdom and courage. Wh is all about maximizing freedom, joy, peace, and abundance for living an ideal and authentic life.

When speaking of healing and transformation, Taunia said,

“There’s a price to pay for your freedom and joy. Though there is definitely a Divine grace that bestows those gifts, it is also something that must be earned. It would not be valued if you didn’t recognize the cost – in order to heal you must learn the lessons, grow, and change. You can’t have anyone else take your life tests for you.”

Tune into the audio program for part 2 of a 2-part series and the story of how one woman survived the unspeakable, stood for change, and did what it takes to create a new story.

We talk about the process of Awakening, Exploring, Choosing and Being. It’s good stuff.

To contact Taunia Dawn Terry: [email protected]

Business Phone: 385-352-3233

Welcome to the Love Your Story podcast. Today I have a double treat for you. My interview with Taunia Dawn Terry is one that involves one hell of a story, but spoiler alert, it ends with a woman who has beautiful spiritual gifts of intuition and healing. This two-part series includes a story of living through a Satanic ritual, five marriages/divorces, and a transformational path where she discovered how to listen to her higher power, how to face fear, how to pay the price for freedom,  and how to uncover and use her spiritual gifts. Stay tuned for my interview with Taunia and the first episode in this series.

Taunia Dawn Terry brings a unique approach to personal transformation. She currently works as a transformation coach, where she is known for her intuition in the Healing arts, Neuro  feedback and life coaching. Taunia is an expert at guiding her clients through the chaos of change so they can transform their pain and fear into wisdom and courage. Wh is all about maximizing freedom, joy, peace and abundance for living an ideal and authentic life.

Tune into the audio program for part 1 of a 2-part series and the story of how one woman survived the unspeakable, stood for change, and did what it takes to create a new story.

When speaking of healing and transformation, Taunia said, “There’s a price to pay for your freedom and joy. Though there is definitely a Divine grace that bestows those gifts, it is also something that must be earned. It would not be valued if you didn’t recognize the cost – in order to heal you must learn the lessons, grow, and change. You can’t have anyone else take your life tests for you.”

To contact Taunia Dawn Terry: [email protected]

Business Phone: 385-352-3233

Academy Drum and Bugle Corps is a world-class professional marching band out of Tempe Arizona. 

Today’s episode is a group interview with some of these impressive and talented young musicians as we sat out on the field after they finished up a 10-hour practice on a hot July day. Stay tuned for their stories of learning, self-discipline, overcoming, and motivation.

I loved talking with these kids because these young adults choose to be involved in a tremendously demanding program that requires strict discipline, and they choose this course rather than a summer of video games, strolling the malls, and snap chatting aimlessly with their friends. It’s a choice to create a story of excellence, family-like bonds through the hours of working in synchronicity with one another, and living on the road, sleeping on gym floors, and bringing their all on the competition field.

In 2001, The Academy Brass & Percussion Ensemble was formed to give some of Arizona’s finest young musicians an introduction to the incredibly unique activity of drum and bugle corps. They started out with a membership of 50-60 musicians. In 2004, the group added the final element of the color guard, was accepted as a DCI sanctioned unit, made the name change to The Academy Drum and Bugle Corps and began competing for the first time.

In 2006, the corps had grown to 135 members and competed for the first time in Drum Corps International World Championships in Madison, Wisconsin where they earned the title of Division II World Champion. 2007 marked their first year competing in Division I, now called World Class, where they continue to compete today. In 2009, The Academy was named the official drum and bugle corps of the City of Tempe. 2016 marked a historic season for the corps with its first appearance in World Class Finals competition and the corps is now in the middle of another stellar season – touring and competing.

Today I interviewed a group of the musicians, as they finished up their final practice for the day.

To hear the interviews listen to the audio show where we get the inside scoop and discuss some great tools:

For more information on the Academy drum and bugle corps go to: www.arizonaacademy.org

Thanks for tuning in to today’s episode. I hope you found one takeaway that inspires you! Keep creating your best life story, and if there is someplace you’ve been holding back, maybe you’ve been afraid to try for something, join some group, get in the game…remember, you DON’T make 100% of the things you don’t try for. Let’s get in the game.

www.loveyourstorypodcast.com for access to all the 100+ episodes, each one full of inspiration and empowering ideas for living your best life story. You can also sign up for the 21 LIFE Connection Challenge on the site. Join us for the next group challenge and start creating new results in your life. ! See you next week.

Welcome to the Love Your Story podcast. For those of you that are loyal listeners, you’ll already be familiar with the Kjars – the family traveling to all 50 states in 52 weeks in their motor home, meeting with other kids and families to see how other people in our country live.

In the first interview – episode 45 they had just shadowed kids who were real-life cowboys – spending their days on ranches, and weightlifters competing and training.

In our second iinterview, episode 61, they had just finished spending time with the Amish and walking the sacred ground of Gettysburg.

Now they’ve just finished up Hawaii and Alaska and they are here to tell us the stories of their latest adventures as they finish up the 50th state and return home. Stay tuned to catch up with the Kjars.

Tune into the audio program for my interview with Matt and Lindsay.

You can see their adventures on 50×52.com  and on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/50by52InYourShoes/

https://www.50by52.com/

Welcome to the Love Your Story podcast. You are tuned in for episode 100, and today we are talking about the third story archetype (the third one I’ve tackled on the podcast) – the Mentor.  Joseph Campbell, in his book The Hero of a Thousand Faces, claimed that the most popular stories over millennia and across cultures, share a specific formula- the hero’s journeHero’s hero’s Journey has a specific plot structure, but it also has a repeating cast of characters, known as character archetypes. Archetypes tell us the role a character plays in the story – for instance, the hero is one of the archetypes, the threshold guardian that talked about in episode 72 is another, and the Herald that we talked about in episode 93 is yet another example. The archetype we’re talking about today is the MENTOR.  You’ll want to tune in today because nobody does this thing called LIFE on their own. We need each other. It’s why the MENTOR is such an important archetype in the story formula and in the stories of our lives. Today we’re going to start a discussion about those special people who show up at the cross roads for us, about the wise who give us sage advice, about the moments those mentors gift us with the perfect magic elixir we need in the moment, and about how we also play that most important role in the lives of the people in our story. Why is the Mentor such an important character? Because who hasn’t wished for a fairy godmother from time to time, or wanted their own Obi Wan Kenobi to show up and give them a light-saber, or when we are walking through the dark forests of our lives running from danger – who couldn’t do with the 7 dwarves showing up to give you shelter and safety as they did with Snow White? When you’re out on your scariest, out-of-your-comfort-zone stretches in life, like Dorthy in the Wizard of Oz, have you noticed how people show up along your path to give you clues, advice, and heart? Have you noticed that people show up to walk your path with you, like the Lion, the Tin Man or the Scarcrow? Stay tuned because it’s important to realize and acknowledge how much we need other people and  how important it is for us to show up for them as well.

When I was 16 my parents and I got in a fight. The final shake out was a ultimatum – follow the rules or find someplace else to live. I moved out. I moved to Southern California with my aunt and uncle and therein started a type of mentor relationship with my Aunt Katie.  When I moved to California I was frustrated at not being trusted and not being listened to at home. I was coming from a really good home with really strict rules, and the big fight in question happened because I tried to do my laundry on Sunday – and that was a no-no. I, as the hero in this story, was on a journey of growing up. I knew what I wanted, where I wanted to be, how I wanted to do things and I certainly didn’t need shackles and restrictions or other people’s ideas of how to do things. Heck I was 16 years old and had it figured out. No really. I did. So, when I moved to Orange County California and my aunt listened to me, treated me like an adult, wore cool clothes and did cool things I felt excited with new possibilities. She was wise and we would talk about real life. That was new. She gave good advice but didn’t push me. She gave me the gifts of shelter, food, ideas and respect that this little hero needed at this stage of her story. I went back home after spending a summer at the beach and working at the local theatre and I was further along my hero’s journey because a woman who would prove to be my mentor in many ways and for many years showed up at that crossroads.

Who are the mentors in your life? Can you think of them right off the bat? If not, here are a couple leading ideas…. The mentor character is the person who teaches, protects and gives the hero gifts along their path. Mentors often seem endowed with divine wisdom – they say the right thing at the right time.  Think Merlin guiding King Arthur, or in my interview with the Kjars a couple weeks back they talked about Jodie Moore, their life coach podcaster telling them ‘not to hold back’ and those words being key in their decision to sell their home and travel the country. Who have been your teachers or trainers?

Another primary function of a mentor is as a donor or provider – one who temporarily provides the hero with some type of gift, a magic weapon, a clue, medicine, food, advice, a key. In the Hunger Games Hamich played the mentor role, bringing Katniss the silver pods that would parachute down with the gift she needed at the time. As is common with this aspect of story, the hero usually must do something to earn the gift – past a test, be kind along their path, in the case of the Hunger Games, Katniss had to convince the masses that she was in love with Peeta before Hamich would give her the medicines or healing balms she needed in the games. Can you recall the people along your life journey who suggest just the right book, or the right podcast. Maybe they bring you something you need very much but you didn’t even know you needed it.

Last week my neighbor came over to see what the big mess on my lawn was about. I told him the story about the contractor I had hired to seal my foundation cutting my main sprinkler lines, taking the money and refusing to finish the work thus leaving my lawn dying and the front of my house a mess. He looked at me and said “that’s what I do ya know…. I’ve worked with sprinkler systems for 25 years. Let me take a look at it.” He then proceeded to pull parts and pieces from his truck and an hour and a half later my main sprinkler line was in working order and I could try to revive my ailing lawn. He wouldn’t take any payment. Now, that’s a mentor. He came, he provided a gift I dearly needed, and he relieved an anxiety that had me totally held up on this part of my path.

Mentors also show up just at the right time – Cinderella’s fairy godmother showed up just in time to get her to the ball.  A few week’s back in my interview with Mark Shurtleff he talked about a time things got bad enough, that he thought about ending it all, jumping into the subway train, but just at that moment a dear friend called and ended up saving his life. Thank God for the people listening to the promptings and intuitions to make a call, show up, and reach out.

One of the reasons I think this topic merits a discussion, is because those mentors who show up and give us insight, who gift us with just what we need in the moment, who help us overcome fear and anxiety in our places of struggle, these are the magic folks. These are our fairy godmothers and fairy godfathers. These are the people that deserve a thank you note, a hug, a dinner, an acknowledgement. If you’re behind in sharing your gratitude with the mentors in your life, let me launch your challenge for the week. Make a list of all the mentors you can remember who have inspired, gifted, guided and showed up for you, and let them know the difference they have made for you. Let them know how much they mean and meant. You can never give too much appreciation and no one deserves it more than those people who light our paths so we can move forward. Those people with the magic words.

Another role of the mentor is to motivate the hero along their path. Who motivates you? Who helps you overcome your fear of moving forward into whatever life adventure awaits? Has anyone had to kick you in the butt, throw you in the pool of life, push you a little to get you out of your fear space or your stubborn space, or your self-doubt space? That’s a mentor. Have you seen the movie Forever Strong? The rugby coach guiding the delinquent high schooler. Another great movie – if you haven’t seen it, I recommend it. It’s about a champion high school rugby team that succeeds because their coach is about guiding them by the highest principles, not only in the game, but also in their lives. The clean living, the commitment to team, the honesty in school and dealings with others creates a space of exceptional power. Highland Rugby’s 35-year varsity record (1976–2012) is 419 wins and 10 losses, including 19 USA Rugby national championships in the 26 years USA Rugby sponsored a national championship. This was possible because of a man who mentored day after day, year after year, guiding heroes into their highest selves.

Another role of the Mentor is to teach specific skills. In Greek Mythology the gods were often tutoring their favorites in wrestling, horsemanship, archery, weapons-handling, etc.  Who has taught you?

What about a mentor as the protector. Think Dumbledore guiding Harry Potter. He was often Harry’s protector, removed as he was. Who in your life watches over you – actively or from a distance?

We all have a series of mentors in our stories. We learn from siblings from parents, from our friends, teacher, lovers, role-models, people we work with, neighbors, therapists, it could be anyone….in fact sometimes the mentor role is filled by someone who is young, or by someone who has made the big mistakes  so others can learn what NOT to do from them.

We also fill the role as mentors in other’s live as we do what we do… parent, teach, love, and listen to the spirit or intuition – whatever you call it – that guides you to be in the right place at the right time for someone else. Do you want to be the one at the cross roads handing out the magic elixir just when it’s needed most? Do you want to share wisdom, teach, guide? Do you want to protect, donate, walk with someone down their yellow brick road? Guess what? You already do! But, there’s no harm in paying closer attention to your intuition, to the spirit that prompts you to do something unexpected.  There’s great good in looking for ways to lift and protect each other. I think that most of the time we have no idea who we will touch or how we will make an impact. It just comes down to caring, listening, using your gifts and talents, and then things just come together. There is something about the magic of our life stories, and maybe the orchestration of angels,  that somehow the right things, ideas, books, people and magic elixir finds its way to us.

Thanks for being the mentors you are in your world. Thanks for being here today, and don’t forget the challenge to show appreciation to your mentors this week.

Loveyourstorypodcast.com has all the podcast episodes as well as story tools to help you  create your best life story – the on-line course: the 5 steps to reframing your past stories that hold you back, as well as the 21-Day LIFE Connection challenge that gives you a new tool for creating connection and possibility in your life story ever day for 3 weeks.  You can find them all on the website.

Thanks for being here, we’ll see you next week for the next episode of the Love Your Story podcast.

Welcome back to the Love Your Story podcast. It’s a beautiful summer day for creating fabulous moments in your life story, so let’s get a little inspiration for doing something that your future self will thank you for.

Today I have Dan Davis, the owner, and creator of Stiry – stories that stir, with me today. He and his team have told video stories of over 60 individuals and organizations from around the world. From the everyday Joe to the billion dollar CEO, each and every story is a journey of discovery.

Stay tuned for a peek at his story and the process he’s learned for peeling back the layers of living to discover your own story and the realization that your life is more than just a list of chronological events. This is about changing the world.

Dan Davis has run a variety of multi-million dollar companies in various industries. He’s worked in sports marketing, film production, healthcare, and digital marketing. He’s currently the CEO of Stiry, a video storytelling platform used to help people discover their full potential through stories that move you.

Tune in to the audio program for the interview.

For more information and to contact Dan:

[email protected]

www.stiry.com

facebook.com/stiry,

instagram:@stiryofficial

Youtube: Stiry

Welcome to the Love Your Story podcast! Where I get to interview people with amazing life stories; where we discuss tools for living our best life stories, and really often we get both at the same time. Like today! Today I bring you Talie Davis Weir from Ohio. She is a life and personal development coach that focuses on empowering leaders to create profound impact centered in JOY. I have met Talie and worked with her and she truly impersonates that JOY. She is a mom, a ballroom dancer, and a leader of retreats, but the reason I’ve asked her on the show today is that she has a really interesting life story that involves living in a religious commune, separating out of that community, divorcing her minister husband and making her way into a life of purposeful creation.

Stay tuned for her story AND some tips on mindset, joy regardless of circumstances, and a few inside coaching tips from her.

Tune in to the audio program for our discussion.

To contact or get more information on Talie:

Instagram: coachingwithtalie

Facebook: www.facebook.com/coachingwithtalie

Text morningsalive to 48421

The vonNiederhausern family consists of Rachel the mother, Steve the father and six children ages 14 – 4 months. Steve and Rachel have a very powerful way of living – on purpose. They say that sometimes it feels a little weird to buck the cultural norms of not owning a house and putting down roots, but instead of using their money to buy cars and a house and eating out regularly, as much of America does, Steve bikes to work, Rachel bargain shops, they rent a basement in a home in a good neighborhood, and they homeschool their kids.

They then turn around and put all their money into a project called Family Humanitarian where they travel to Africa and South America to help the poor across the world by helping them create better living conditions. This they do with all their kids in tow, and other families as well.  We’ll hear their story, and also a little about how their lifestyle and Steve’s savvy with social media has garnered them 50,000 plus followers on Instagram where it caught the attention of Royal Caribbean Cruise lines and turned into a partnership of cruising the Caribbean on the cruise line’s dime, sharing with their followers a story of creating an unorthodox life, on purpose.

Tune in to the podcast for my interview with the Von Neiderhauserns and their stories of how and why they started Family Humanitarian, what that looks like, and some thoughts on the poverty and wealth matrix.

For more information about the von Niederhauser’s:

@thevonfamily

familyhumanitarian.org

cacheloavesandfishes.org

Thanks for being here today for a dose of love your story and how service changes lives.

Welcome to the Love Your Story podcast. Today you are joining me for an interview with Mark Shurtleff the former three term Utah Attorney General. He is the founder of Shurtleff Consulting Group and Law Firm, and the owner of the Commercial clean energy project development company. He is the author of a historical novel Am I Not a Man? The Dred Scott Story and a former U.S. Naval Officer. He also is the father of five children and has 8 grandchildren.

I’ve invited Mark on the show today because that little intro doesn’t even skim the surface of his story. In June of 2014 Mark was charged with bribery and corruption charges as the Attorney General. His home was raided by the FBI and as the next two years evolved until the criminal case was dismissed in July of 2016 there was quite an ordeal. If that’s not enough his story also involves a devastating motorcycle accident that involved 15 surgeries and a fight against cancer.

Our discussion today is not about politics. Our discussion today is about the human side of struggle. About the story from Mark, on the inside. The hero of a story always has two journeys – the outward journey that involves the milestones and the outer struggles – the mountains to climb, the obstacles to overcome, but it also involves an inner journey of emotion, mental fortitude and failure, struggle = and sometimes that’s the bigger story. So, stay tuned as we get the inside story from Mark Shurtleff

Tune into the audio program for the interview with Mark Shurtleff. For more information or to follow Mark:

Adversity comes to each of us in different packages. Regardless of where others feel we stand – whether you feel Mark is right or wrong for sueing the state, for example, the adversity, his adversity is a tale that we can all relate with in our own way. It’s a tale of deep struggle. The things I take away from this discussion are:

Thanks for joining us today – Love Your Story is about inspiring and empowering each of you wonderful listeners to find the strength to live your best story. I have provided tools on the website for reframing your past stories that are holding you back – a 5 part course you can sign up for. And, I have also created the 21-Day Life Connection Challenge that gives you 21 new tools – 1 a day for creating more connection and possibility in your life story as you move forward creating what you want on purpose. Please join us on FB in the Love Your Story Groupies FB page where we are sharing stories, notes on the podcasts we like, sharing the 21-Day Challenge together. Join us! Love to have you on