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

Episode 254: Building Emotional Resilience by Understanding Who You Are and Embracing Your Strength: Part 1

In Life, the Truth, and Being Free, Steve Maraboli says, “Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient.”

In this crazy world we live in we come up against things people in no other time have had to deal with. Our mental and emotional resources are taxed with mental illness, with severe deviations like all the confusion around gender, like the high suicide rates, like access to all sorts of depravity with the click of a button and the knowledge of all the terrors taking place across the world. We have experienced the trials of being secluded during a pandemic, and that negative voice in our heads telling us we are worthless seems to be at shouting level. Emotional Resilience is something we need like never before. I really like what Steve said, though life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient, but like any skill, that often takes intentional work on our part - so let’s fight for our lives and our peace of mind. Let’s learn and practice resilience. Stay tuned for Part 1 of this 5-part emotional resilience series: Understanding who you are and embracing your strength.

I joined an emotional resilience group a few years back. There was a physical therapist, a composer, a nurse, a home economics teacher and me, a Realtor. We did not know each other before hand, and we were doing this course on-line because it was during Covid. This group was put together by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in an effort to support people in learning emotional resilience during a hard time, but it turns out, of course, that emotional resilience isn’t something just for Covid sequestered people, it is a set of skills we all need in order to navigate life successfully and not end up shattered on the emotional rocks at the bottom of life’s cliffs.

The class focused on learning and practicing spiritual and practical skills to better care for the body, mind, emotions and relationships. We did the class as a council, sharing personal experiences across our Zoom windows. We made phone calls to support each other outside of class, and we practiced different skills like healthy thinking patterns, managing stress, overcoming anger….all the good stuff. Everyone took different things from the sessions, because we’re all at different places on the path - we need different things. And, like that class, everyone will get something different from this series as well.

As we close out 2023 I have put together 5 episodes that glean some of my biggest take-aways from this 188 page 10 week course. I hope these will support you in your own quest for choosing emotional resilience skills. I’ll share stories, use content I’ve pulled from the manual, and I have experts on each of these episodes to share some perspectives beyond my own. Take from it what resonates with you, that you may navigate your life with a bit more resilience. One step at a time.

What is emotional resilience? As a child I pictured my future with all the good things. I pictured happy relationships, a nice home, a successful career, lots of friends. As children we don’t know or understand how deeply difficult life will be in the future. We don’t picture the divorce, or the depression, the anxiety, the cancer diagnosis, the death of someone we love, the sexual assault, the disloyalty of a friend. We don’t picture the emotional gauntlet that we will be forced to navigate because of the nature of being in the world. Emotional resilience is the ability to adapt to emotional challenges with courage and faith, helping yourself, helping others, and reaching out for additional help when needed. We throw around the words “Emotional Resilience” every where - it’s a catch phrase, but let me just repeat that definition: Emotional resilience is the ability to adapt to emotional challenges with courage and faith, helping yourself, helping others, and reaching out for additional help when needed.

The mind is where all the battles of life are won or lost. Choosing to strengthen our mental capacity and mental muscle in order to better deal with the real journey of the hero, is a choice to arm yourself for the battle. Learning emotional resilience is the armor. 

Kathryn Reynolds is a licensed marriage and family therapist. She practices solution-focused therapy and is passionate about helping women with anxiety or depression regain their sense of identity, expression, and purpose, so I pulled her in for this series to get her take and expertise on some of the things we’ll be discussing in the next 5 episodes.

I asked her what she thought emotional resilience looked like:

Listen to the podcast to hear her comments.

The ability to rise. What mindsets can help us pull on that strength when we need it?

In this episode there are 3 points I wish to make that will help us as we learn about emotional resiliency: First - Remember who you are. Second - Spiritual growth and learning is the WHOLE reason we are here. Third - We get to choose how we respond to the things we encounter in life, and with that choosing we build our characters one struggle at a time. These, I hope, will set a foundation for the following four episodes in this series that get more specific with emotional resilience techniques.

Let’s start with #1 -

Our first step to finding strength, self-love, and resilience is to know who we are and who we are not. Let me share some quotes to lay this groundwork - 

 In the Doctrine and Covenants it says, “Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.” 

Boyd K. Packer said, “You are a child of God. He is the father of your spirit. Spiritually you are of noble birth, the offspring of the King of Heaven. Fix that truth in your mind and hold to it.” 

Dallin H. Oaks said, “Be careful how you characterize yourself. Don’t characterize or define yourself by some temporary quality. The only single quality that should characterize us is that we are a son or daughter of God.” 

One of the greatest battles we fight is against the mindset that we are unworthy. Even unworthy before God. Satan uses discouragement to cause us to doubt God’s love for us and to doubt our divine nature. This is a powerful play on his part, because if he can make us believe that we are nothing, and as he did in the Garden of Eden when he told Adam to go hide, if he can get us to hide from God, then we, of our own will, choose to separate ourselves from our greatest source of strength and spiritual reinforcement. From a stand point of war (in this case a spiritual war) that is the equivalent of getting you to leave the walls of your fortified city and wander, confused, out onto the battlefield. That make us easy prey.

When I look at my boys I see soooo much! I see tremendous beauty, talent, ability, potential. They often shrug off my praise because it’s just coming from mom, but on the contrary, this is exactly the eyes they should look through to see their glory - the eyes who see it clearest. I think about how much I want my boys to accept their strength, beauty and power. How much I want them to live into their obvious greatness, how much I want them to be unaffected by the critics and insecurities brought on by society, culture, expectation, and I know God wants the same for me - that I will accept, not doubt my own glorious ability and potential. A parent seeing a child for all they are and all they could be and hoping that they will embrace it with boldness and not shrink in fear. We can relate, and I think is also helps us understand what God hopes for us too. 

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints said, “Much of the confusion we experience in this life comes from simply not understanding who we are.” 

The Apostle Paul wrote a hymn to Charity, translated in part it says, “for now we see through a glass darkly.” The original actually reads, “We see in a mirror dimly.” In other words, we do not fully see ourselves or understand who we are, it is why we seek to know who we are, to know our relationship to God. Some of the big questions we ask as we navigate life: Who am I? Why am I here? Once we embrace the answers we become stronger. Who am I? A child of God. Why am I here: To learn, grow, experience.

Spencer W. Kimball, past president and prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints said, “God is your father. He loves you. He and your Mother in heaven value you beyond any measure. You are unique. One of a kind, made of the eternal intelligence which gives you claim upon eternal life. Let there be no question in your mind about your value as an individual.” 

If we will accept this premise, really accept it, that we are loved by a benevolent god, that we are his and he is ours, we will most certainly make different choices. We will find courage rather than fear. We will square our shoulders, even when we doubt. We will have the spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind, as Timothy said in the New Testament.

My 2nd point: Our progress spiritually is the reason we are here. Orson F. Whitney said, “No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable…and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire. So, the gauntlet, while difficult isn’t all bad. There is purpose.”

Plato, a voice from Greek philosophy - believed that our paramount moral duty was to become like God, as far as was possible. This means that we will have to know many things, experience many things, be pushed into the workshop of life where we can try out such things as patience, love, forgiveness, faith, etc.

The Apostle Peter, a voice from the New Testiment - noted that we seek to emulate the divine. This will cost us everything. Acquiring divine nature is not for the weak. It is a space of meekness to gain understanding.

Enoch’s - A voice from the Book of Mormon - experience with God, that he sees him weep over his creations, shows that God deeply loves and suffers with us. But God rejoices and commands Enoch to rejoice also when Christ is come to heal and create a returned space to Heavenly Father. This is a comfort as we face the painful stretching of spiritual growth.

My 3rd point: Let’s bring things into our own control now - less divine and more about how we navigate the path. In all aspects of life - the good, the bad and the ugly, we always get to choose how we respond. We always get to choose the story we create about it. We can believe we are victims, or we can choose to use our agency to choose better mindsets. This puts a lot of responsibility on us for regulating our emotions and taking responsibility. So, sometimes it’s not a favorite, but let me share this quote by David A. Bednar, Apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. “As sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, we have been blessed with the gift of moral agency, the capacity for independent action and choice. Endowed with agency, you and I are agents, and we primarily are to act and not just be acted upon. To believe that someone or something can make us feel offended, angry, hurt or bitter diminishes our moral agency and transforms us into objects to be acted upon. As agents, however, you and I have the power to act and to choose how we will respond.” 

I wanted to get Kathryn’s take on this idea as well, and she clarified things a bit - I think her comments keep this idea real. Here’s what she said:

Tune into the podcast to hear her comments.

I firmly believe that it is in the struggle to do so that we build mental and emotional muscle - and often it’s where we find the gifts that are waiting for us. It’s like a treasure hunt for the persistent. So if we start with awareness - notice when we have “natural man” responses like blame, complain, find fault, doubt, give up, procrastinate, anger, self-pity, fear, etc. and then when we see these things in ourselves we get to choose a better response. 

In episode 241 Samantha Hawkins, she shares the story of not getting a job she felt she was qualified for - she had the choice to be angry, to blame others, to let self-doubt creep in, to quit trying, or she could rally, get feedback, learn new skills that would help her get the job next time. Here’s a clip from her story. 

Tune into this episode to hear the clip from Samantha

You can see from her example that the mindset of blame and quitting is going to get very different results from the approach she took of making moves to get where she wanted - taking action to get better instead of just quitting when she was told no. This is emotional resilience - navigating touch emotional spaces well. Rejection is a tough emotional space.

Knowing who we are, why we are here, and that we have the power of choice answers some of the most pressing questions of life. With those answers we are empowered to face the struggles of living with more power and more peace. Knowing these things does not remove the challenges, it just helps us find strength in the navigation of hard things - it strengthens our emotional and mental resiliency. Your challenge this week is to deeply consider these things and see how they strengthen you. If these are true, how does that change your current mental approach to facing the challenges. I also would love to have you consider where you’re dealing with an emotional challenge and take your power to shift a mindset to serve you - shift into bouncing back, persistence, learning. 

Thanks for being here today, and thanks to NFA Coaching and her 5-star review titled: Inspiring the World with Meaningful Stories! “Such a wonderful podcast! Lori asks questions that highlight the heart and soul of people’s journeys. So relatable and insightful! What a gift this podcast brings to the world.”

If you leave a review, we’d love to share your thoughts as well.

Have a great intentional two weeks, until our next episode - Part 2 of the 5 part series on Emotional Resilence - Next we’ll be talking about healthy thinking patterns.

Episode 253: Coding the Subconscious for Success - Interview Riya Sokol

Welcome to the Love Your Story podcast. 

We are inspired by people who help us see the world in fresh ways. We often get stuck in our stories and perspectives, and those stories, many times, limit us. Further more, we don’t often stop to question those stories and perspectives. Let’s take the Corona Virus for example. How many people stopped to look for the positive things that came from our time of seclusion, fear, change and sickness?

My guest today, Riya Sokol, is an internationally acclaimed artist, speaker and viral content creator. She gained widespread recognition for her video poem, “Thank You, Coronavirus.” I’ll play a bit of it for you a bit later in the show. The poem has been translated into dozens of languages and received awards at several international festivals.

Today we’re going to talk about abundance mindset, divorce mindset, gratitude mindset. She’s growing in popularity due to her unique and life-changing approach, so stay tuned to hear our discussion.

Riya, usually we start out with your full story and then talk about the things you’ve learned from it, but as I’ve gone through your areas of expertise, what I want to do is address three topics, and as we get to each topic you can tell us your story about how you came to understand the things you’re teaching us.

First - let’s talk about the subconcious mind: You have been doing research and experiments on the subconscious mind and then helping people realize the potential of our subconscious and how understanding and using it helps us live a deeper life. Let’s start here:

First, tell us your story about how you got involved in this type of research and why you’re qualified to talk about it?

Tune into the audio program to hear her answers.

Second: Let’s talk about abundance mindset. You have been known to say that we each sit in a position of abundance despite our current situation, even if it doesn’t seem abundant. You say, lack only exists if you decide it does.

What is your experience in how you learned this, how you use this?

What do we need to know about how to shift into this mind set?

Tune into the audio program to hear her answers.

Third, You, like me, have gone through a divorce. In that situation you always have a chance to choose to separate in a friendly or unfriendly way. That is a very emotional space to navigate. You and your husband chose to “extend your family rather than break it.” 

Tune into the audio program to hear her answers.

Fourth, You started performing at the age of 6 - and as I understand it, that was a source of anxiety for you. This is a big deal - anxiety, depression, panic attacks. We’d love to hear your insights on these spaced.

Tune into the audio program to hear her answers.

To contact Riya:

Poem performance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgm9E_cmvWA

Bio: https://kitcaster.com/riya-sokol/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/riya_sokol/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/riyasokolcom

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@riyasokol

As you’ve heard me say, many times, all our greatest battles are in the mind. Riya, as a mindset mentor, has given us some incredible tools and insights into continuing our development of our understanding of ourselves and our own power to choose mindset. So glad you could be here with us today.

Join me in two weeks for our next empowering episode. And in the meantime, share the love, do some good by hitting “share” and sending this episode to at least one person in your life who you thing would enjoy or be blessed by this conversation.

Episode 252: Voices of Healing -Personal Stories of Life on the Healing Journey.

Welcome to the Love Your Story podcast.

We all die. We all pay taxes. Another thing we all have in common on this crazy ride called life is that we all need to heal. Why? Because in this rough and tumble life we all get hurt. We all have to heal from things mild to wild, the broken heart, the deep disappointments, the full-out traumas. As I’ve looked over the past episodes of the Love Your Story podcast, no matter the episode, over 90% of them involve discussion about the path of healing. Whether the stories shared are about a miscarriage, an injury, a rape, a divorce, an eating disorder, the death of a loved one, etc. the thing they all have in common is that healing is part of the process if forward progression is to be made.

As is obvious by the name of the show, we are all about coming to love our own personal life story. Often times the thing that stands between us and a full acceptance and love of our story are the broken times, the shameful times, the things we see as “failures,” the things we need to heal from.

I’m so glad you’ve joined me today for some voices of healing as past guests share what this looked like for them. Let’s shine a light on the healing journey and see what we can learn. We all have things to heal from.

As we start out this episode I want to start on a humble note. The things we heal from are deeply personal and I’m not suggesting that I know how everyone should heal - just do this or that and all will be well. If I’ve learned anything from listening to people’s stories, it’s that healing is different for everyone, it’s deeply personal. So what I share today are quips from other’s journeys and a few personal ideas about things that seem to consistently work for people. See what hits home for you. If you can take one thing that will shine a light forward on your healing journey or someone you love’s healing journey - then we are getting it right.

My first real heart break was in high school. My first love was my high school boyfriend. We shared a locker, we snuck out of our windows to be together. We both played percussion so we got up early every morning before school and practiced and stayed late after. Of course we spent every minute we could, together. We dated for years. One summer we had a fake wedding ceremony next to a stream up the canyon. We had a teddy bear that I named after him and it symbolized our future kids. I have boxes of letters and notes from him. I know, to say it out loud is to shine a light on the beautiful immaturity, and at the same time I think it also shines the light on the depth a young, unharmed heart can go to. ….Until one Friday night I found him drunk, making out with the girl who was my “best friend” at a party. We had a couple of these bouts before I reached 19 years-old, and finally my heart was too broken to ever be put back together by him again. I don’t have a great healing story to tell you, unless you count 25 years later when I finally had to heal from a life of heartbreaks, I had to reframe, I had to let go, I had to come to love my messy, broken story with all the deep pains and disappointments. All the betrayals, all the bad choices, all the disillusionment. Three marriages, three divorces, a handful of serious boyfriends that I hadn’t chosen to stay with. There was a lot of relationship healing for me. At any given time we can be on the path to healing. It’s not just something that we do once and everything is okay. Every time you get a cut or a broken bone you have to heal all over again. Of course it’s the same mentally, emotionally, psychologically - we need to heal whenever we experience hurt. So, we are off and on the path continually.

As I’ve gone back and listened to the healing stories of past guests, I mentioned that it really struck home how complex healing is. It’s not the exact same for everyone, and there are so many possible steps. But I came up with eight that popped up over and over. 

Tune into the audio program to see what they are.

Ijeoma (Ejoma) Umebinyuo is a Nigerian poet. She is considered one of Sub-Saharan Africa's best modern poets, she said, in her TedX talk, “We have a way of glorifying survival, but not the process of survival.”

Today we are talking about the process of survival. How do we heal? What does the struggle of that process look like?

LIjeoma (Ejoma)’s list of healing includes only 3 things: 

“(there are) Three routes to healing:

1. You must let the pain visit.

2. You must allow it to teach you.

3. You must not allow it to overstay.”

Let’s start with my and Ejoma’s first point - Allow the pain to be there. Stop the resistance. It must be acknowledged that when pain comes it comes whether we allow it or not. None of us choose pain on purpose, in fact, I dare say we do all we can to avoid it, but I believe what she is talking about is the idea of resistance and allowance. The equation: Pain + Resistance = Suffering, is well documented. Acceptance is the antidote to resistance.

Haruki Murakami said, ”Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.

What are we accepting? We are accepting that something hurtful has happened to us. We are accepting that we feel pain about it. We are letting ourselves feel that pain. We sit with it. We picture it flowing through us rather than making a home in us. Let it be there, let yourself have your emotions. It’s okay. If we spend lots of energy trying to push it away, we are by that very attempt keeping it in our focus and energy and increasing the suffering.

It is a well documented fact that acceptance of what was, is part of the healing process. We must come to accept our story, to stop resisting what is or what has been. Allow ourselves to feel the hurt instead of feeling shame for hurting or fear of hurting, just allow that it hurts and let it be what it is. 

In episode 220, I spoke with Margaret Meloni, author of Death with a Little d. We are discussing the importance of acceptance of life as it changes and doesn’t meet our expectations. She shares this tip for acceptance. Listen in:

Tune into the audio program to hear this clip.

Finding Hope:

When I was researching for this episode I asked the Love Your Story audience what they thought was most important for healing. One of my favorite listeners sent one word: Hope.

I was struck by the simplicity of the answer. In my own life I have been watching some loved ones struggle through some very difficult experiences. As I watch the struggle and listen to the various places they are on the path of survival, I have noticed that they are experiencing times of hopelessness. That is a DARK place. When there is no hope to get out from under the dark, no hope for light, for a better day, for release from suffering - this is the space where suicide gets considered. This is the darkness that can crush you. So HOPE becomes such a deeply important factor.

For me personally, I think Christ is the very foundation of hope. How do we talk about healing and about hope without talking about the very essence - the being we believe has brought us these things. Hope for a better day, hope to overcome, hope in letting go of things that have weighed us down. 

Vaughn E. Worthen, the Associate Director of the Counseling Center at Brigham Young University shared a few thoughts I want to share with you:

He titled them : The Healing Balm of Hope

First he shares the words of Jewish psychiatrist Viktor Frankl. He and his father, mother, brother, and wife were all imprisoned in concentration camps during World War II. He and a sister, who had emigrated before the war, were the only survivors in his family. During three years as a prisoner of war, Frankl witnessed and endured great suffering and cruelty. He noted, “It is a peculiarity of man that he can only live by looking to the future.” He warned that “the sudden loss of hope and courage can have a deadly effect” and that “the prisoner who had lost faith in the future—his future—was doomed.”

He then points out that hope has been heralded since the earliest recorded histories. “The writer of Proverbs states, “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick” (Proverbs 13:12), and Moroni, a prophet in the Book of Mormon warned that “if ye have no hope ye must needs be in despair” (Moroni 10:22). And then we have an Irish proverb which states, “Hope is the physician of each misery.” - YES! “Hope is the physician of each misery,” but where do we turn for hope? 

Referring back to Brother Worthen, who refers to the Book of Mormon, he brings up the story of Mormon, another Book of Mormon prophet…he says, 

“At a time when Mormon’s family, religion, and civilization were being destroyed, Mormon declared, “I would speak unto you concerning hope” (Moroni 7:40). To what source did Mormon look for unfailing hope? He instructs, “Ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal” (Moroni 7:41). This is the ultimate of all we might hope for. To possess this hope is to believe that today’s pain is only a way station on the road to deliverance. It requires patience with current circumstances. It is the belief that there will be a coming day when “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain” (Revelation 21:4). Divine hope is sustained not because things always turn out as we wish but because we know that “all things wherewith [we] have been afflicted shall work together for [our] good” and to the glory of the Lord’s name (D&C 98:3).

President Thomas S. Monson, who was a modern prophet of the Latter Day Saint church has taught: “At times there appears to be no light at the tunnel’s end—no dawn to break the night’s darkness. We feel surrounded by the pain of broken hearts, the disappointment of shattered dreams, and the despair of vanished hopes. … If you find yourself in such a situation, I plead with you to turn to our Heavenly Father in faith. He will lift you and guide you. He will not always take your afflictions from you, but He will comfort and lead you with love through whatever storm you face.”

If there is no hope, darkness prevails. To possess hope is to believe that today’s pain will come together for our good at some point. We will learn, we will grow, we will heal, we will find better than where we are today in our darkest hours. 

This next clip that I’m going to share with you is long - it’s Todd Sylvester’s story and how he learned that the human soul is more powerful than addiction after finally beating his own 25 yr. addiction. He then founded the non-profit, anti-drug entity Sly Dog “Drug Free That’s Me, which features a sought after education program for elementary schools. This story is his miracle story about how a sliver of hope that God might show up stopped him from suicide and brought about a his own personal healing miracle. For this entire interview - which has more wonderful details, go to episode 161.

Tune into the audio program to hear this clip.

When Diane Butterfield, from episode 79 & 80, shared her story of her two beautiful young daughters and their death in an auto accident, then eleven years later her husband took his own life, and within the next year so did her oldest son, we go to a place of such deep pain that hope seems a million miles away. For this sweet woman, under all this crushing loss, she has a moment when she realizes things will get better. Here is a clip from our interview. She’s just come home from a funeral…

Tune into the audio program to hear this clip.

When we are trying to come out of the dark places it’s very important to remember that there is a future - this is hope. There is something better and different available moving forward. Things will change, even when you can’t see how.

C. JoyBell said, “The sun shall always rise upon a new day and there shall always be a rose garden within me. Yes, there is a part of me that is broken, but my broken soil gives way to my wild roses.”

Now Let’s Talk about the step of asking for HELP.

Healing often requires that we get help - that we are brave enough to ask for help when it’s needed. In the last clip we heard a man’s story of asking God for help. In other interviews asking other support sources for help has been prevalent as well. Here are a couple more stories.

In episode 140, Amanda Grow shares her story of severe childbirth complications and her experienced of an extremely rare complication known as Amniotic Fluid Embolism which has a mortality rate of 80%. In the episode we hear about her rapid blood transfusion that nearly drained the hospitals blood supply and left her in a medically induced coma for a week. As she tries to heal she deals with many struggles, one of which is was her mental and emotional struggle that she tells us about here - but the key for her is that she asked for help…

Tune into the audio program to hear this clip.

One of the ways we can ask for help is through a professional. Trevor Lay, a trauma therapist joined me in episode 213 to discuss how we heal from trauma. One of the supports we have when we need to heal, is the choice to reach out to a qualified therapist. Here is a peak at how Trevor navigates the healing process.

Tune into the audio program to hear this clip.

This next part of healing seems like a no-brainer, but in sorrow and loss this one may be one of the hardest to muster, but I have heard it over and over in stories of healing. Look for the positive - Positive Mental Outlook makes all the difference

Annadel Lemon, in episode 65 shares her story: at 15 years old her father shot her mother and then killed himself in a tragedy that certainly created a difficult story for Annadel. Instead of letting her story hold her back Annadel, “The Freedom Warrior,” instead decided to use her experiences of overcoming negative emotional trauma to help others clearly see their potential and do the same thing, reframing with gratitude, perspective shifts, and allowing for the grief of the moment to be okay.

Here is one of her tips for healing:

Tune into the audio program to hear this clip.

Look for the positive things - Take back your power by refusing to be a victim. Rewrite the story…

Tune into the audio program to hear this clip.

In episode 168 with Michael O’Brien he tells how on the morning of July 11, 2001, he was riding his bicycle on a New Mexico road when an SUV hit him head-on going 40 mph. The crushing accident left him near death as the mede-vac helicopter descended to take his broken body to be pieced back together. Michael said that shifting into PMA (Positive Mental Attitude) was crucial to his healing, and he also noticed it was crucial to all those in the hospital who were actually getting better and moving forward. Here’s a little peak into his process.

Tune into the audio program to hear this clip.

And here, he notices who is healing and shares a little of how he starts his own shift into PMA.

Tune into the audio program to hear this clip.

In episode 166, my interview with Braxton Neilson, who on August 31, 2017 was crushed and paralyzed by a bucking bronco in a rodeo in Filer, Idaho. Growing up his dad always told him he was born to succeed. Those comments created a mindset that would serve Braxton as he faced a broken back. Here’s a little bit of his story.

Tune into the audio program to hear this clip.

Find meaningful lessons

Let’s hop back to Ejoma, to her second point - “You must allow it to teach you.” Every struggle has a gift for you in its hands. Sometimes it takes awhile to find that gift, but it is always there. This is also the fulcrum for a good reframe of a story. This is the gold in the dross.

Even Albert Einstein said, ”In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity."

Here’s Michael O’Brien again:

Tune into the audio program to hear this clip.

A Chinese Proverb says, “The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials."

Sometimes the things we earn ARE the reason - so focus on that new knowledge, on what you have gained in order to heal and find hope.

The next part of healing is often around the process of accepting your story, even coming to a place where you can share your story without shame - here on the show, we call it Loving Your Story.

This was a crucial step for my own healing. A really big part of letting go of all the disappointment and and feelings of failure came from accepting my story completely - for all it was - and then reframing my personal interpretation of it so that I was looking at the meaning and growth rather than the perceived failures and pain.

In episode 227 - Blooming with Carrington Smith, she tells her story and how she came to bloom through the struggle. One of her highlights was the life lesson that you need to claim and tell your story in order to heal. Here’s our discussion…

Tune into the audio program to hear her clip.

Carrington went from the rejection of her story when she tried to find support, to learning how harmful it is to keep that bottled up, to ultimately learning to give voice to her story and to claim the part it played in her life, and to claim the strength it gave her as she realized how strong she was.

I remember a workshop once where they had us list out all the difficult things we had made it through in our lives. They then asked the question, “If you can make it through those, what can you make it through moving forward?” That was a really powerful thought to me, because in those dark moments where I’d fear another relationship was falling apart, or that someone would do something to harm me, I automatically go back to that space of knowing I have already lived through it, or I’ve lived through things that were terribly painful. I now know of my own strength to survive.

Let’s go back to Ejoma’s third step - “You must not allow it to over stay.” Another way of saying this is be willing to let go..

Be Willing to Let Go

In episode 219: Come Off Conqueror, Bonnie Randall, creator of Come off Conqueror, a group for helping women who have experiences with sexual abuse. We discussed the importance of being open to healing, being willing to let go of the hurt and how you’ve let it define you. Take a listen:

Tune into the audio program to hear this clip.

Letting go is often much easier said than done, but it becomes crucial if you want...

Episode 251: How to Overcome Money Block Stories: Insights from Dr. Amanda the Money Healer

When I was growing up we didn’t have a lot of money. My dad was a teacher and we grew up growing our own food in the garden, mom made homemade bread, which now is very cool, but back then it just meant you were poor. My parents were frugal because they had to be and I gained a money mindset of lack. Over the years I’ve spent a lot of time working to shift that - focusing on gratitude and abundance. I’m so grateful for the abundance in my life - for which I have a great deal, but I also know I still have money fears, that I have to focus on generosity at times, that I have a tendency to save money rather than invest it. We all have our perceptions and comfort levels with money. So today I have Dr. Amanda - the Money Healer on the show. Stay tuned and let’s all see if we can take one more step on our money mindset ladder.

 

What is money mindset? Your money mindset defines how you think about money and influences how you save, how you spend, and how you manage your debt. It's your core beliefs about money and your attitude towards it. This includes: What you think you can and cannot do with money. So this is a topic for everyone because we all use it. Mindset and money have been hot topics, because everyone wants more money and everything in our lives is about what’s going on in our heads - the stories we are telling ourselves.

 

Dr. Amanda Barrientez - known as "The Money Healer" - is the founder of NFA - No Fooling Around - Money. She’s a bestselling author, an international speaker, the host of The Woman Entrepreneur Podcast, and the NFA Money YouTube Channel. She's been featured on over 150 podcasts, sharing tips on how to up-level your money mindset to manifest easier money in your life and business.

Today we’re going to hear her story of going from food stamps to building a 6-figure business. And once she got that figured out she decided to teach people how to transform their relationship to money so they can attract abundance from their Zone of Manifestation™.

Welcome to the Love Your Story podcast Dr. Amanda.

Join the audio program to hear her story.

We talk about the biggest money blocks for people.

Her NFA Money Formula

Her techniques with Affirmantras, and a lot more.

 

Buddha said, “We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.”

As I researched money mindset I found quotes from everyone from Suze Orman, Benjamin Franklin, Brigham Young, Robert Kiyosaki, Tony Robbins, Warren Buffet:

They all said, it’s not how much money you make, money is a tool, it’s not where you set your heart but getting money allows you to free up time in order to pursue the things you want - money doesn’t bring happiness, but it gives you time to create your own. They stressed the importance of not spending beyond your means, the importance of letting it work for you.

In all the wisdom from these money minds we come back to the fact that money isn’t happiness it’s a tool. But as I’ve discussed, a lack mindset sometimes stops you and keeps you small.

I’d like to end today’s discussion with these ideas - Mindset, one of abundance and gratitude has been proven to create such better living by opening to the flow of all good things. Just like we heard about today. I’d also like to tip my hat to the wisdom of being a wise money manager. If you don’t care for your money in the right ways, it won’t matter how much comes to you, it will also flow right out again. How many lottery winners have to prove that? There is a balance of responsibility and a generous flow I think we need to find in our peaceful heart of hearts.

We are all in different places of getting to this peaceful relationship with money. Dr. Amanda has a proven 3-step formula to help you begin reprogramming, if that’s something that would serve you. See below.

If you enjoyed this episode, or if it made you think, you’re going to love the book I wrote, L.I.F.E. - Living Intentional and Fearless Everyday. Go to Amazon and grab a copy for you and a couple friends, to do the 21-challenges together. This is a full-color book that provides 21 great life hacks you can practice for creating your best life on purpose. See you in two weeks for our next great episode.

Check out her proven 3-step formula to begin reprogramming your money mindset now: www.NFAMoneyFormula.com.

Check out Dr. Amanda's resources to uplevel your money vibe here: www.NFAMoney.com.

Episode: 250 The Kindness Effect: One Woman's Journey to Heal through Compassion - Interview Megan Snedden

Welcome to the Love Your Story Podcast

When Megan lost her father in a plane crash and her brother in a car accident, her heart and life plummeted. Mental health issues brought her to rock bottom, but sitting at the bottom and looking up, she choose to find happiness despite her despair. On today’s show she tells us her story and introduces us to The Kind Effect, a movement she started that includes a 3-day Random Acts of Kindness Challenge. Stay tuned for her take on why “practicing random acts of kindness is a good way for people to introduce more regular joy into their lives and their stories…. I think she’s got some good stories to share.

Megan Sneeden is the founder of af kindness movement the Kind Effect. She says, “The journey of advocating and sharing kindness hasn't been plain sailing, but kindness has taught me vital lessons.” Today Megan is here with us, and I’m looking forward to hearing her story, her rise from the dark spaces, and what has come sense. You know that we are fans of Random Acts of Kindness on the show, since it is the first of our 21-Challenges.

Join the audio program to hear my interview with Megan. Some of our topics include:

1. Her story- take us back to the path that led you to where you are - the death of your brother and your father…
2. How did you first find your footing here as you were finding your way out of the dark?
3. What have you created? What is the Kind Effect?
4. What are some of your favorite RAK stories?
5. What advice would you give people who are really hurting in their lives. When you are caught up in your own pain, it’s hard to think of looking outside that….

To contact Megan:

Instagram @TheKindEffect or download her free guide The Changemaker's Action Plan. 

Past president and prophet of the LDS Church said, “Along your pathway of life, you will observe that you are not the only traveler. There are others who need your help. There are feet to steady, hands to grasp, minds to encourage, hearts to inspire, and souls to save.”

I know how hard it is to try to think of others when you are in a state of pain, but often the way out of that pain is to turn your focus outward, away from the internal suffering and look to others, see what you can do to bring light, one small random act at a time, and before you know it there will be other feelings in your heart besides the heavy ones.

Your challenge this week is to keep RAK forefront in your mind and heart…look for opportunities, make opportunities. Put kindness into the world because its a win/win. Lifting our sights, lifting our energy, lifting the world.

Please share this episode with one person today as your first act of kindness and we’ll see you in two weeks for the next fun episode of helping you create an intentional life story filled with all the good stuff.

Episode 249: Trusting Your Gut: How Intuition and Curiosity Can Shape Big Life Stories - Interview Taylor Proctor

Welcome to the Love Your Story podcast peeoooopppplllleeee!

A bit ago, Taylor Proctor, a spicy little red head and the host of “Creating with Confidence” — an internationally acclaimed podcast, was meditating, and the idea of being an 8-figure business owner came to her mind. Now….8-figures is a minimum of $10m, and she initially thought….ya, there’s no way that is possible. But then she decided to explore what would happen if she leaned in curiosity instead of pulling away for the sake of reality. Stay tuned to hear her story because I LOVE the idea of leaning into curiosity. That idea comes up a lot when we talk about what’s possible, about not judging, about knowing ourselves better….curiosity can take us to some new places!! Stick with us and let’s see where curiosity took her…..

Taylor Proctor is an intuitive business strategist and coach who uses her skills as a mentor to help high-performing business owners confidently create the life and business they love. As I mentioned in the intro, she’s the host of Creating with Confidence — an internationally acclaimed podcast — and she loves to work with entrepreneurs to uncover their unique intuitive strengths while scaling and propelling their businesses through her proprietary IMOVE method. 

Tune into the audio program to hear our conversation and topics like:

1. Let’s talk about this idea of intuition - this seems to be a big part of your system and experience. What do you know and believe about intuition?
2. I think, when we are talking about how to make our best life stories, that intuition is a really interesting piece of the puzzle. We haven’t talked about this at all, but I think we should.
3. Also, curiosity - let’s talk about that. What does that look like for you? What has your experience been?
4. What does IMOVE mean and how do you help people with it?

“When you reach the end of what you should know, you will be at the beginning of what you should sense.” ― Kahlil Gibrán

To Contact Taylor:

8 Crazy Actions to an 8-Figure Business Opportunity — Free Access: https://8crazythings.taylorproctor.com/8 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/taylor.proctor.31/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creatingwithconfidence/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylor-proctor/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSv02tDGqO2_gyUbtMfVKNg

Website: https://www.taylorproctor.com/

Podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/creatingwithconfidence

Quotes on Intuition:

“Intuition is the whisper of the soul.” - Your challenge this week is to tune into your intuition. What does it tell you? 

Alan Alda said, “At times you have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover is yourself.” 

As we close today’s episode we’ve heard an important story of intuition at work. Whether you have a business or not, whether you reach out to Taylor or just receive inspiration from her story, I think we can all take away some encouragement about getting curious, about listening to our own intuition as we create our best life stories.

Thank you for being here today. Let me know what you thought of the show. Leave a remark on the website www.loveyourstorypodcast.com - there is a remark section under each show, or please leave us a review.

We’ll see you in two weeks for the next episode of the Love Your Story podcast.

Episode 248: Raising Great Humans - Parenting Hacks from the Gallery

Welcome to the LYS podcast. I’m a mom of two fantastic boys. They’re grown now, in their 20’s and in some ways they are even harder now than they were when they were small. We never stop worrying about them, wanting the best for them. Watching them suffer with hard things is much harder than suffering ourselves. When they were growing up I always followed the Love and Logic parenting model because I wanted to teach them responsibility, how to make choices, how to deal with the consequences of their choices. I’m sure each of you parents have your own favorite parenting styles. I dare say most of us parent with intention. Today’s episode gleans the fabulous parenting quips from past shows and puts them in one place. With this one episode you’re going to get all sorts of parenting value bombs.

So stay tuned for a little parenting pep-talk, ideas and inspiration.

First - We have a Mothering Coach on hand today. In episode 229, Lara Johnson, talks to us about her work coaching mothers for reaching their full potential and being the best moms they can be. Let’s jump right into some of her wisdom….

Here's a link to her full episode. Tune into the audio program to listen to just her clip.

https://player.captivate.fm/episode/43c93f12-52f6-4d12-aa88-0e66424ea09e

What I hear Lara saying is that moms need to not sell themselves short. We need to take care of us. Honor our dreams and our potential. We are the main engine of our family eco-system, and that engine needs to be acknowledged and taken care of. You can listen to the whole episode and hear about how she sets up systems in the home to do that, Again, that’s episode 229, but this is a great jumping off point for all of us - Taking care of you and your dreams is an important part of living a fulfilling life that keeps you healthy for your kids. I dare say it also sets an example for your kids of the importance of self-care and living your best life.

Second - One of the things kids need is time and priority. In episode 203 - It’s all about family - in my interview with Jason Martin, we talk about his book “This is Your Captain Speaking,” that he wrote for his family, so he could share bits of wisdom with his kids.

Tune into the episode to hear the clip I chose from Martin's episode.

C.S. Lewis agrees with him: "Children are not a distraction from more important work. They are the most important work." - C.S. Lewis

Here is Martin's entire interview:

https://player.captivate.fm/episode/68b2f2e0-d7dd-412e-9ba3-f913d47ee43c

Now, We’ve talked about talking care of us so we can be our best for our children, we’ve talked about making our kids/family our priority, and we’ve heard a bit about the importance of spending individual personal time with each child.

What happens when they enter the teen years and communication gets a little harder?

Third - On episode 236 and 237 I talk with Josh Brazier and Hollie Henderson, authors of Bang Head Here, about how to talk with troubled teens more effectively.

Listen to this episode to hear the clip or go to their full episodes to hear all they have to share. They have part 1 & 2 -

https://player.captivate.fm/episode/a1da3b55-15ab-4588-b48b-7e57cf594bf6

https://player.captivate.fm/episode/90f2ee15-7be5-42b2-b018-577b79867dfc

Building communication trust. Wow. That’s a big one. The idea where you don’t go into solving mode, where you listen with curiosity to who your child is and what makes them tick. The safe sounding board….. great advice.

Our last brilliant tip comes from Paul Smith, who is one of the world’s leading experts in business storytelling, 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.

In this clip he shares a story of an experience with his father and how sharing that story with his children helps to give them roots, and life skills. I have to tell you that I really connect with this one because it’s using story to teach. You can got to episode 145 to hear all his story ideas, but listen to this audio program to hear this hand-picked example.

I hope this episode on parenting has given you some new ideas, or reinforced great things you’re doing with your family relationships. Creating your best life on purpose absolutely involves kids, family, parenting - these are our most important relationships to curate with intention.

Join me in two weeks for my interview with Taylor Proctor, a spicy little red head who has what she calls the IMOVE method that teaches us how to lean into curiosity and possibility to create really big dreams.

If you enjoyed this episode, or if it made you think, you’re going to love the book I wrote, L.I.F.E. - Living Intentional and Fearless Everyday. Go to Amazon and grab a copy for you and a couple friends to do the 21-challenges together in this full-color book that provides 21 great life hacks you can practice. You can also find the link to purchase on my website www.loveyourstorypodcast.com. See you in two weeks for our next great episode.

Episode 247: Embracing Your Journey: A Gratitude Coach's Guide to Loving Your Story - Interview Holly Bertone

Who has ever heard of a gratitude coach? What a great idea. On today’s show I am speaking with Holly Bertone, a gratitude coach, and we are going to be talking about how to unwrap resilience and build fortitude in our lives with the very lovely and important tool of gratitude. Stay tuned and let’s see if she’ll give us a little coaching.

After all, as Tony Robbins says, “When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears.”

With us today is breast cancer survivor, Hashimoto’s warrior, #1 Amazon bestselling author, and host of the Grateful Warrior Podcast, Holly Bertone. Holly spent 25 years rising through the ranks of consulting and federal government service before her failing health shattered her corporate dreams. Since then, she has leaned into her path of true purpose and fulfillment as a Gratitude and Mindset Coach by helping women view their cancer or autoimmune diagnosis as a gift so that they can unwrap their resilience to build fortitude with gratitude. 

Holly, Welcome to the Love Your Story podcast.

Tune into the audio program to hear us talk about things like:

1. What is your story and who are you and what’s the story that brought you into your wisdom?
2. Have you come to love your story?
3. I want to talk about How Gratitude Builds Fortitude During the Storms of Life. Tell me your thoughts on this…. 
4. What does gratitude coaching look like?
5. Coach the me and the listeners for a minute - what is a basic technique we can practice to help us really embrace the power of gratitude.

To connect with Holly:

[email protected]

Fortitude.Academy

 https://academy.pinkfortitude.com/podcast-landing-welcome

IG: @Holly.Bertone

FB: Pinkfortitude1

Deepak Chopra said, “Gratitude opens the door to the power, the wisdom, the creativity of the universe. You open the door through gratitude.”

Use it, people. Use gratitude to live with joy, wisdom and power. 

In the spirit of gratitude I want to deeply thank all who are taking a moment to scroll down on your app and hit the “leave a review” button. Thank you. And, if you haven’t yet, I’d love to hear from you, we’ll even share your review on the show. 

Here’s one: 

Podcast Review: 

Title: Such a treat! Author: Claribelleee from the Philippines

“Empowering, brilliant, and I learn so much!! Love this awesome show!”

Thank you so much Claribelleee from the Philippines. I appreciate your time in cheering me on!!

Your challenge for the week is to bring a larger dose of gratitude into your life. Where ever you are at on the gratitude scale - an every day event, or less, just move it up one level and start to open your being to all the beauty that surrounds and flows to you in your life.

See you in two weeks. Please take 5 seconds and share this show with someone you love and want to see succeed.

Episode 246: Seeing Things Differently - Personal Stories of Shifting Perspective

One of the great life truths is that life is all about MINDSET. When you shift your focus the perspective changes, and when the perspective shifts your reality shifts. BOOM! Dropping truth.

Once we accept this and learn about the power we have to reframe events and the stories we tell ourselves in order to support our learning and living, once we fully embrace the power of perspective and the flexibility of it, we become unstoppable.

For example. With my personal story - I was married and divorced 3 different times. I can focus on the hurt, the betrayal, the struggle, the cynicism I gained from my experiences. Or I can reframe and look at what I learned, the great people I met because of the various experiences, the people who got to leave my life, the empathy and understanding of some really hard things that I gained. I can focus on the learning and growth, the empathy, the people, the places my adventures took me, or I can focus on the pain and all the messy bad stuff. That is my choice. 

So, reframing and changing perspective are really the same thing. Do you realize how big that is? It’s everything. It’s how you interpret the world. Stick with me….

Today we’re going to look at some perspective shifts about some of the most common things, and how those various shifts create a whole different world for you to live and thrive in. 

In Donald Miller’s book Hero on a Mission, he talks about the importance of keeping the perspective of being an agent in your own life - being responsible for choosing the way you look at your story and taking action in your story. - Let’s start with that. In episode 221 Jessica Burrell and I discuss the book and this idea of taking responsibility for doing the work in our lives. Keeping the perspective of our own power. 

Tune into the audio program to hear this clip. Or, you can find the whole episode here:

https://loveyourstorypodcast.com/captivate-podcast/hero/

Check in with yourself. Do you need to make the perspective shift into being the agent of action in your life? Are you taking responsibility for your own life? If not, this is a powerful shift in perspective. If you’re already doing this, then excellent, let’s move onto the next perspective idea.

In episode 132 Rebecca Cookston and I discuss the book Deviate - the science of seeing things differently in order to get different results. This step is all about thinking outside the box in order to make life work for you. Rebecca is on the show because she implemented this deviate mindset in big form.

Tune into the audio program to hear the clip, or find her whole episode here:

https://player.captivate.fm/episode/3403d294-4172-4a85-bf5d-9e216106f778

This book, this discussion with Rebecca, this idea that we can stop doing things the way they have always been done, that we can shift our mindset and look for new solutions was one of the most powerful ideas I’ve processed.

In episode 160 Jo Marie Taylor was talking with me about her story of being a hostage in Iraq and how that experience shifter her perspective on the worthiness of all people. We’ve talked about shifting our perspective to take advantage of our power over our own life. Then we talked about thinking outside the box to find new perspectives to the same old things in order to see things differently and make them better. Now we’re talking about shifting perspective about the people that we come in contract with on our journey and how that changes life completely.

Tune into the audio program to hear this clip or find the entire episode here:

https://player.captivate.fm/episode/42b51a2e-a723-4660-bd68-81909857d457

Another area that we often need to shift perspective on is our bodies and loving ourselves. Looking in the mirror has for many, become one of the most uncomfortable things we do. Uncomfortable because the minute we do the inner critic hammers away. It’s universal. You’re not alone. Criticizing the physical form we each inhabit is a rampant and pervasive story no matter where you live or who you are. In Episode 76, entitled Body Talk there is a lot of good stuff and I encourage you to go to that episode, but today I want to jump to episode 26 where I talk with Natalie Kristine Burrage and shifting perspective about ourselves and turning to self love.

Tune into the audio program to hear this clip, or hear my entire episode with Natalie here:

https://loveyourstorypodcast.com/captivate-podcast/episode-026-self-love-interview-natalie-kristine-burrage/

Is it a perspective shift to be kind to you? to forgive you? to live in gratitude for who you are? Everyone of these shifts we’ve discussed today are life changing. LIFE CHANGING! 

What perspective shift will serve you most right now? It can be hard even impossible to shift all the perspectives at once, but if one of these really struck a cord with you today, do a little research, maybe listen to the entire episode that I took the clip from, take it to your meditations and prayers. These perspective shifts change your entire experience of living.

I want all the best for each of you, that’s why I work so hard on this show. Thank you for being here today and I hope you had an ah ha moment. Pass this episode along to a friend. Share the love. 

If you enjoyed this podcast you’re going to love the book I wrote, L.I.F.E. - Living Intentional and Fearless Everyday, the 21- LIFE Connection Challenges. You can find it on Amazon or on my website at loveyourstorypodcast.com. Grab a copy for you and a couple friends and make it a fun friend event this year to do the 21 challenges together and cheer each other on.

See you in two weeks for our next episode… just a little teaser….we’ve got a gratitude coach on board. Who doesn’t love free coaching. 

Episode 245: Forbes declares, "One of the Best Storytellers of the Year." Interview Max Stossel

Dear Listener…welcome back to the Love Your Story podcast. Today I have a special treat for you….really. It’s performance time… to welcome in the warmer weather and all good things we are getting a little Max Stossel.

 Max Stossel is an award-winning poet, artist and filmmaker named by Forbes as one of the best storytellers of the year. Spanning across five continents, from Lincoln Center in NY to the Hordern (HORDEN)Pavilion in Sydney, Max’s performances have been described as "a rare opportunity to experience so many different emotions in the blink of an eye — the best bang for your buck of knowledge dropping, therapy, standup comedy, and wisdom-sharing. It’s an hour of purity."  

Tune into the audio program because Max is with me today and he is going to perform two of his poems from his poetry special: Words that Move, and it’s REALLY good stuff.

Max Stossel’s work has been translated into fourteen languages, won multiple film festivals, and has been viewed over 20 million times online. He's been featured on BBC, CNN, TEDX, and a handful more.

His new release "Words That Move" is a first-of-its-kind Stand-Up Poetry Special told on stage at the Brooklyn Kings Theater. 

This is nine original poems where Max guides us to see the world through different eyes, while articulating the deep-seated kernels of truth that we so often struggle to find the words for ourselves. Taking on topics like heartbreak, consciousness, social media, politics, the emotional state of our world, and even how dogs probably (most certainly) talk, Max uses rhyme and rhythm to make these topics digestible and playful. Love me some poetry…

In the audio program Max performs 2 of his poems for us and we talk about creativity and how we all have it.

You don't want to miss this.

Find Max and watch Words that Move:

wordsthatmove.com/special; https://www.instagram.com/maxstossel

Thank you so much for being on the show today and sharing your work. So happy to share space with your lovely poetic soul. You have an important way of seeing the world; poets always do.

I am a lover of poetry, a writer of poetry. If you recall, back in September of 2017 we had the poet laureate of Logan, Utah on the show, which was fun. I’ve had a handfull of poems published in the past, but one thing I know about poets, is that in general its a thankless art. It’s a quiet art published in small chapbooks and read at open mics in coffee shops and University campuses. I’m really impressed with how Max has used technology and performance to share his poetry, his unique insights into the world with the rest of us.

The lesson I’m taking away today is one about thinking outside the box. Just because something has always been done a certain way, doesn’t mean you can’t breach new boundaries, break down walls, find and use new ways of sharing.

Your challenge this week is to take one thing you’re doing in your life, especially if you feel stuck with it, and do a little brainstorm session that is strictly outside the box thinking, and see what you come up with. We always create our own boundaries. We also have to be the ones to break them down.

Have a great couple weeks and we’ll see you on the next episode of the Love Your Story podcast.