By Lisa Tilstra
4.8
2525 ratings
The podcast currently has 187 episodes available.
My guest today is Alicia Ford.
Alicia is a seasoned US diplomat with more than 17 years at the U.S. Department of State. She has experience serving domestically and overseas in over a dozen different consular and management roles. She is bilingual in English and Spanish and has lived in Honduras, Peru, Barbados, Türkiye, Romania, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Alicia is also the Editor, Curator, and Co-Author of Diplomats, a book about US women serving as diplomats around the world. In this book, each contributor shares her unique approach to living this dynamic lifestyle – career, family life, personal ambition, and life goals. The book also serves as a guide for careers in International Affairs and Diplomacy for anyone seeking a global career. One of Alicia’s motives for publishing this book was to help people and this directly aligns with her current role as a US Diplomat.
What was happening behinds the scenes of this recording is a great example of the resiliency of diplomats because Alicia was managing a crisis before, during, AND after our conversation on a Saturday morning.
Alicia, thank you so much for this conversation. Thank you for the work you do in service to the United States of America. And thank you for your passion for telling the stories of amazing women in the world of diplomacy!
You’ll find links below to Alicia’s book and resources.
The views expressed in this interview are in Alicia’s personal capacity and are not necessarily those of the U.S. Government.
Read Alicia's book: Diplomats: Experiences of Women Serving at U.S. Embassies Around the World
Instagram: @Diplomatsthebook
Sign up for the Newsletter: https://forms.gle/yfLMUF17rkAh5PXi9
Alicia and her husband in the New York Times
Find the Oasis: Sports Complex, Barbados
Make Life Less Difficult
My guest today is Nane Bittencourt.
Nane is a leadership coach with a mission to empower leaders to achieve their full potential. Nane is originally from Brazil and now lives in the US. With over eight years of coaching leaders in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, she helps clients unleash their full potential to drive their careers, seeing their work as a meaningful part of their lives rather than just a job and strategizing accordingly.
Nane is dedicated to empowering leaders to provide clear, empathetic, and innovative guidance in today's interconnected world. I find inspiration in my understanding of culture that goes beyond borders.
She’s been interested in living and working internationally for most of her life and has intentionally pursued these dreams, bringing them to fruition.
Nane and I met through the Georgetown Institute for Transformational Leadership Alumni Network, most specifically because she was intrigued about a Story Slam that I was hosting at the Network’s annual conference.
Along with agreeing to tell a story at the story slam, Nane also agreed to come on my podcast and share pieces of her journey.
We talk today about the challenges of moving to a new country, learning to find and express oneself in new languages and new cultures, and strategies to find an anchor in the midst of these transitions.
Nane, thank you for sharing these pieces of your story. Thank you for sharing the vulnerable reality of facing your fears, stepping into the unknowns, asking for help, and bravely stretching yourself. You are courageous, wise, and inspiring and I’m so glad we’ve gotten connected!
Connect with Nana on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nanebittencourt/
Make Life Less Difficult
My guest today is Vinay Kumar.
Vinay is an executive coach who partners with executive to accelerate their growth from the inside out. He’s also the co-author of Language and the Pursuit of Leadership Excellent: How Extraordinary Leaders Build Relationships, Shape Culture and Drive Breakthrough Results. His book is required reading in MBA programs and Leadership Development and Leadership Coaching Programs at several major universities and beyond.
Rising from humble beginnings, and growing up in a multicultural family, his 35+ years of experience includes Fortune 100, federal government, small business, and consulting. Vinay successfully spearheaded and led a privately held business before becoming a leadership coach, author, and speaker.
Vinay has extensive experience with an array of roles including leadership, management, project management, business development, marketing, client services, training, and operations. Vinay brings a calm and warm presence, deep wisdom, deep listening, and keen insights into how to achieve breakthrough results.
I’ve known of Vinay and been impacted by his work for several years and it is thanks for Joan Fletcher (who was on episode 164) that we got connected directly for this conversation.
Vinay shares pieces of his journey of learning the cost of reactivity and choosing responses rather than being subject to that reactivity. Learning that we have a story and having the conscious awareness of that story, so the story doesn’t have us is another piece of the conversation and inspiration from Vinay.
Vinay, thank you for this beautiful conversation. Your thoughtful reflections, your stories of growth and development, and your wise perspectives are so inspirational. I know you have already touched so many people in this world and am honored to share this conversation so a few more people can be touched by you!
There are links below to Vinay’s book, website, and contact information.
Make Life Less Difficult
My guest today is Istvan Rab.
Istvan is a leader and consultant at a global management consulting firm, working with clients across the globe on strategy and innovation topics. While his interests and his job took him to many places in the world, for most of his life he had lived in Europe and had only recently moved to Vancouver, Canada – where he and his family are ‘starting new’, from building new friendships to rediscovering new-old passions in life.
Istvan and I met at mutual work events and his energy, humor, and expertise make a wonderful blend. As I heard bits and pieces of his story, I knew I would like to hear more and invited him to come on the podcast.
In our conversation Istvan shares about having a daughter with special needs, finding the upsides of the unknown, and managing international relocations.
Istvan, thank you for saying yes to this conversation! Thank you for sharing these insights into your journey, your discoveries, your reflections, and your wisdom.
Make Life Less Difficult
Before I introduce my guest today, I want to take a moment to recognize this as the three-year anniversary of the Make Life Less Difficult podcast! What an amazing journey it has been! This started as an experiment and has grown into an incredible passion project for me.
The conversations here fill my heart and soul and I hope they do the same for those who listen – whether you listen to just one or many of them! Every person who has joined me here shares vulnerable pieces of themselves, their story, their reflections, and their wisdom. Most of my guests begin with the sense that their stories aren’t interesting, and they don’t have any wisdom, but 100% of the time, their stories are amazing and their wisdom is profound.
I love meeting people and having these conversations and I’m honored to have listeners in 128 countries around the world according to Buzzsprout statistics!
I have a list of people who I want to have on my podcast and am humbled that that list only grows over time! I’d love to discover ways to invest even more time into this podcast and these conversations, so we’ll see what the future holds!
In the meantime, thank you for being part of the journey! Today’s conversation is a fantastic example of the amazing people in the world and how they make a difference just by being true to themselves and their path of life and discovery.
My guest today is Shawnette Rochelle.
Shawnette is a certified executive coach, a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, and an insatiable world traveler. She has more than 20 years of experience leading and coaching high-performance individuals, teams, and organizations in both peacetime and wartime.
Shawnette describes herself as always being deeply invested in helping others drive change, even as a kid. She has a passion for supporting those who are challenging the prevailing norms.
In our conversation, Shawnette shares how true leadership begins with leading ourselves. She began learning this lesson early in life at West Point Military Academy. Another piece of our conversation that stands out is what Shawnette calls the acceptance mindset. I’ll let her share more about this, but this aligns so much with my philosophy of making life less difficult.
Shawnette, thank you for sharing these pieces of your journey and story. Thank you for sharing your reflections, your moments of awareness and growth, and wisdom. I’m so grateful to have had this chance to connect with you!
If you would like to learn more about Shawnette and her work, you’ll find links below.
Shawnette's Website: https://excellenceunbounded.com/
Connect on LinkedIn
Make Life Less Difficult
My guest today is Alicia Rodriguez.
Alicia is on a mission to help people connect – to their deeper, essential selves, to spirit, and to nature – so they can get clear, get bold and get ready to embrace limitless possibilities to forge powerful futures.
Alicia is a mentor, guide, and truthteller. Through 1:1 work, immersive retreats, writing, and speaking, Alicia partners with her clients to help them find what they need to take life-changing action.
In our conversation today, Alicia shares pieces of her journey from success in the corporate to building a retreat center in Ecuador, to southern Portugal where she now lives. We also talk about her journey of writing her recently published memoir, The Shaman’s Wife, A Mystical Journey of Surrender and Self-Discovery. This book tells her incredible story with courage, vulnerability, and strength. I highly recommend it!
Alicia, thank you so much for this conversation! Thank you for your courage, wisdom, energy, and light. I’m grateful for this time we got to spend together and look forward to (hopefully) more in the future!
You’ll find links below to learn more about Alicia’s work, to find her book, and explore her offerings.
Connect with Alicia:
Make Life Less Difficult
My guest today is Max Palomeque.
Max is an executive coach and educator for the FBI, Department of Defense, U.S. Air Force, Georgetown University, and many other clients. His company, Infourge Leadership brings his philosophy of coaching and leadership development to executives, entrepreneurs, and leaders in both the private and governmental sectors.
Max is a proud and distinguished veteran after serving as an intelligence officer, as well as a respected former FBI agent specializing in human intelligence. He has captivated audiences as a public speaker and lecturer, taking his highly-researched approach throughout the US, as well as across the globe to Europe and Australia.
Max and I recently connected through mutual work, and I am so pleased to share this conversation with you. One of the quotes Max shares is “We don’t learn from our past and experiences; we learn from reflecting on those experiences and past.” And Max lives out this in his own life – I know you’ll be inspired by his reflections.
Max, thank you for sharing these pieces of your journey. Thank you for your thoughtful and wise reflections on your own past and experiences. Thank you for sharing the ways you have chosen growth in your own life and continue to do so. You share in a way that inspires action!
There are links in the show notes to find more about Max and his work, and, in particular, to find his recently published book, The Infourge Compendium of Models and Theories for Coaches, Facilitators, and Consultants. This is an incredible resource to have in your library, so you won’t want to miss it!
Connect with Max:
The Infourge Compendium of Models and Theories for Coaches, Facilitators, and Consultants: Get it on Amazon | Get it on Barnes and Noble
Make Life Less Difficult
My guest today is Sophie Cerella.
Sophie is a student at the International School in Como, Italy, where she lives with her family. Originally from the US, Sophie has lived in a number of places around the world because of her father’s military career.
It is a distinct honor to have Sophie on as a guest, and in fact, my youngest guest up until now! Sophie and I connected after both her dad and mom were guests. If you haven’t had the pleasure of listening to those conversations, take some time to look up Tony Cerella’s episodes and Bethany Cerella.
Sophie and I talk about a variety of things including how she manages her time on social media and technology, what it’s been like for her growing up internationally, acting now to get the most out of life, and more.
Sophie, thank you for this engaging and inspiring conversation. At 15, you have a tremendous amount of wisdom and a thoughtful approach to life. I hope to have many more conversations in the future! And I look forward to seeing how life continues to unfold for you.
Make Life Less Difficult
My guest today is Patrick Murphy.
Patrick Murphy is a leadership coach and facilitator based in Brooklyn, NY, and owner of Project Murphy, LLC. He is committed to bringing passion, joy, and contagious enthusiasm to leadership development.
I had the pleasure of meeting Patrick through a mutual work engagement and immediately wanted to learn more about his story! Fortunately, he said yes to coming on the podcast!
In our conversation today, Patrick shares pieces of his journey as he tried to figure out what his professional life would be focused on. Starting out in the film industry, Patrick was met with repeated obstacles that were frustrating and disappointing.
In reflection, Patrick shares that he learned to trust the process of development and also, very importantly, that he didn’t need to do it all alone!
We talk about the beauty of making a healthy mess in times of exploration, the differences between happiness and contentment, and so much more.
Patrick, thank you so much for this fantastic and inspiring conversation. The reflections and wisdom you share are beautifully partnered with vulnerability and honestly.
I’ve included links to Patrick’s website below if you’d like to learn more about him and the work he does.
Project Murphy, LLC
Make Life Less Difficult
My guest today is Ravi Ram.
Ravi is the Vice-President of Enterprise and Executive Education at Springboard, an online learning platform that prepares students for the tech industry’s most in-demand careers. Ravi also works as an independent leadership coach and trainer. Earlier in his career he was a management consultant with McKinsey & Co.
Ravi and I met through mutual work engagements and I immediately wanted to have him on the podcast. I remember hearing Ravi introduce himself at a workshop where we were serving as coach faculty and was so impressed with his down-to-earth, authentic, vulnerable style that embodied such a wonderful balance of personal and professional connection.
In our conversation today Ravi talks about being challenged early on in his life to disturb his equilibrium. He’s stepped into this repeatedly in his life and he shares the beauty this has created as well as the difficulty. We also talk about the challenge of unlearning early beliefs, sorting through the internal vs external voices when making life decisions, and how improv has helped him be present and feel alive.
Ravi, thank you SO much for this conversation! I’m incredibly grateful for your willingness to dive into the deep end of life and ask the type of questions that don’t have easy answers… maybe even no answers. I’m a better person for knowing you and I know the listeners of this conversation will be as well! I can’t wait for future conversations!
Connect with Ravi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ravisram/
Make Life Less Difficult
The podcast currently has 187 episodes available.