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Life is Short. Don’t Settle: What is the only thing of real value you can lose? Your life. Beyond that, we are already naked. 

When you know you have nothing to lose, you can choose excellence. You don’t have to put up with bullshit. You have the power to change your circumstances. Don’t settle for anything less. Don’t place value on the judgement of others (they have bad taste anyway!). Life is too short to feel pigeonholed — there’s always a way out. Say what others are afraid to say. Fight to do and be better. What happens when you realize you have nothing to lose? You can see clearly that you have everything to gain.

LINKS

• Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.
• The Roar of Freedom
• Navigating Your Way Out of The Matrix

Republic of Freedom Radio is a podcast by Republic of Freedom. Recordings and design by Heather Thorkelson. Shownotes by Jesse and Editing by Steph from EDITAUDIO.

 

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

Is “Easy” Worth The Cost of Your Freedom?: The modern role of “employee” has made most of us lazy. 

For most of recorded history you didn’t even have the option of applying for a job and receiving any sort of financial security — you had to have the initiative. Modern life has afforded us an easier option. We aren’t forced to take risks and distinguish ourselves. Is it really worth trading in self-determination because it’s easier to play into the matrix of modern employement? Are we being dulled down?

LINKS

• Working for yourself feel like a slog? Here’s how to fix that
• Republic of Freedom Radio: No Plan B
• All Wisdom is Recycled

Republic of Freedom Radio is a podcast by Republic of Freedom. Recordings and design by Heather Thorkelson. Shownotes by Jesse and Editing by Steph from EDITAUDIO.

If you’re not the real deal, I don’t have time: Do entrepreneurs give you trust issues? Does it seem like people are trying to sell you a dream without substance? Coaching, consulting, and entrepreneurship aren’t easy, but when buzzwords and bad marketing are leading to loss, it might be time to rethink your approach.

Most people’s lives do not change that quickly. That’s why you need to be careful when online businesses try to sell you a quick fix to complex problems. “Budget” is not a sexy word. “Work” is not a sexy word. Yet the truth is that if you want to keep your head above water — not to mention make six-figures — you need to acquaint yourself with both concepts stat!

There are so many bad practices that businesses engage in so that they can retain customers. Theresa Reed, The Tarot Lady, breaks down which of these practices piss her off the most — like encouraging an unnecessary addiction to a service, or selling expert advice without experience. We talk about how who you are as a person makes people trust you a lot faster than who you are on a business front — which means plagiarizing web copy is as stupid as it is shady. Don’t let businesses sell you a dream that isn’t realistic! Let yourself be discerning, and keep an eye out for these shady methods that are doing you a huge disservice.

LINKS

• The Tarot Lady
• The Tarot Coloring Book
• Copyscape plagiarism checker
• Subscribe and Rate us on Apple Podcasts

 

Feeling the burnout of content creation? You don’t want to content-create yourself into the grave! What’s the value of generating constant content when it feels like you’re fighting against the algorithm? One thing is certain: Growth never comes easy.

It’s not always about perfection, it’s about creating content that resonates. How do we know what resonates? By making little bets and embracing the possibility of failure. Why? Because it’s all data in the end.

Being a multi-passionate entrepreneur means looking for content that sticks while building trust. Sometimes that means feeling burned out when it seems like we’re constantly pushing content into the ether, to people we don’t matter to. Here’s the thing: If the content you create is authentic, accessible, and resonates with even a small group of people, you’re already leading by example. We can produce content that is authentic when we explore areas we are genuinely interested in improving. But hold up! It’s not about perfection! Your tools don’t matter as much as your ability to empower your audience by developing rapport and letting your integrity shine through your work.

“Your art contributed to my well being in a way that made me feel empowered.”   LINKS

• Heather Thorkelson
• Dave Conrey
• Dave Conrey’s Youtube Channel
• Selling Art Online
• Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge from Small Discoveries by Peter Sims
• So Good They Can’t Ignore You
• Stupid Easy Paleo — Steph Gaudreau
• Harder to Kill Podcast
• Subscribe and Rate us on Apple Podcasts

 

Republic of Freedom Radio is a podcast by Republic of Freedom. Recordings and design by Heather Thorkelson. Shownotes by Jesse and Editing by Steph from EDITAUDIO.

How is your body like a startup? Approaching both with a self-directing mindset can help! There’s a great divide between conventional learning and manifesting change — how can we become our own best expert, and what does it mean to become discerning?

 

We’ve already talked about how the Law of Attraction is total BS. Ali Shapiro helps us deconstruct meritocracy as one example of how privilege can cloud opportunities to grow. Creator of Truce with Food, an “online coaching experience to create lasting food freedom,” and host of the podcast Insatiable, Ali talks about adult development and how changing our mindset and learning are different processes alltogther.

In this episode, we discuss being comfortable with uncertainty and how authenticity changes. We talk about how certain lifestyles can dull the sense of self (looking at you, Corporate America!) by prioritizing group harmony over our own needs. What is the link between how we see food and how we understand ourselves? What are we really learning we’re constantly subjecting ourselves to confirmation bias? Change can get a bad rap, but when the dominant cultural narrative isn’t working, it’s more important than ever.

LINKS

• Republic of Freedom Facebook
• AliShapiro.com
• Truce with Food
• Insatiable Podcast
• “Live the questions now”
• Subscribe and Rate us on Apple Podcasts

Republic of Freedom Radio is a podcast by Republic of Freedom. Recordings and design by Heather Thorkelson. Shownotes by Jesse and Production by Steph from EDITAUDIO.

 

 

Have you thought about your backup plan? Not anymore! There’s a way to change your frame of mind when it comes to not having a plan B. That means rethinking failure, procrastination, and growth.

 

 

Every entrepreneur has had this thought: I don’t want to go back working for other people. Yet budding entrepreneurs fall back on backup plans or side-gigs all the time, and ultimately that might be inhibiting their growth. Why is that? Because not having a plan B can motivate you to cut the crap that’s preventing you from becoming the person you’re supposed to be.

Don’t get me wrong! Having no plan B doesn’t mean you’re not going to fail — but failure is inevitable. Failure means you’re getting better at what you’re meant to be doing and the direction you’re meant to go in. Failure is part of growth, and the expansion of growth can be terrifying. Not having a plan B means you need to get smarter about how you work. It means teaching yourself the skills to manage procrastination and outsmarting your own brain. Ask yourself, do I want growth now? Is the pain of expanding greater than the pain of staying the same? Do I want to loaf around getting paid less than I should and follow people who make me second guess myself? No! On this week’s episode of Republic of Freedom Radio, we talk about the key factors of existing in the mindset of having no plan B.

LINKS

• Republic of Freedom Facebook
• Drive by Daniel Pink
• The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
• Do The Work by Steven Pressfield
• The Subtle Art of Not Giving A Fuck by Mark Manson
• Subscribe and Rate us on Apple Podcasts

Republic of Freedom Radio is a podcast by Republic of Freedom. Recordings and design by Heather Thorkelson. Shownotes by Jesse and Editing by Steph from EDITAUDIO.

How can an email from a friend in the Mexican desert — swarming with danger, instability, and beauty — turn into the professional opportunity you never knew you needed?

 

Does it matter what the responsible thing is? Have you ever struggled with the idea that choosing the wrong path might lock you into something forever? Does it seem worth it to weigh the options between guaranteed security and a terrifying challenge? If you’re stuck trying to achieve personal growth, what you might be missing is the space to breathe.

 

 

Our work culture makes it difficult to find jobs that pay well, are challenging, and allow opportunity for growth. It’s easy to get roped into something you don’t really want to do. In this episode, we talk about navigating the forking road of choosing a career in an unfulfilling job market. 

We discuss the power of having space to breathe, in developing confidence that comes from putting yourself in a situation where you don’t know what the fuck you’re doing, and using it as a chance to learn. Afterall, isn’t it amazing how when push comes to shove, we can really get shit done?

Even if we don’t have all the answers at the end of the adventure, the chances we have to know ourselves better is absolutely priceless.

LINKS

• Republic of Freedom Facebook
• Heather Thorkelson
• Why You Need To Do Sh** That Scares You
• Can You Lead a Meaningful Life Without Taking Any Risks?
• Subscribe and Rate us on Apple Podcasts

Republic of Freedom Radio is a podcast by Republic of Freedom. Recordings and design by Heather Thorkelson. Shownotes by Jesse and Editing by Steph from EDITAUDIO.

 

If you just want to get a message across, sometimes it’s okay to tell a little lie if it means somebody doesn’t get hurt. We know, it’s counterintuitive, right? In this episode, we interview Randi Buckley, life coach and creator of the workshop Healthy Boundaries for Kind People. Cultivating boundaries can be difficult if you’re the sort of person who worries about negative reactions. We discuss how it’s possible to navigate conflict with kindness — both inwardly and outwardly. In the same way you can channel your genius into a livelihood (like life coaching, for example!), you can tap into this same reservoir of experience in order to develop a strategy of conflict resolution.

It’s not easy to reframe the conversation around setting boundaries. Traditional models don’t work for everyone, which is why we need to frame it around kindness. Sometimes, when things get tough, all you need to be your best self is a little inspiration from the mythology that created you.

LINKS

• Republic of Freedom Facebook
• Heather Thorkelson
• Randi Buckley
• How Randi Buckley Created a Cohesive & Effective Business Model
• Subscribe and Rate us on Apple Podcasts

Touch points for difficult decision making: Have you ever said the wrong thing to somebody you were fighting with? Do you ever find yourself afraid to verbalize struggles? Here’s the thing: There’s a wealth of potential hiding in your own genius, and there’s a way you can amplify it, draw on compassion, and search for resolutions through kindness.

Republic of Freedom Radio is a podcast by Republic of Freedom. Recordings and design by Heather Thorkelson. Shownotes by Jesse and Production by Steph from EDITAUDIO.

 

Manifestation vs. practical application: If Oprah loves it, can it really be bad? On this week’s episode, Heather deconstructs the Law of Attraction, an idea popularized for the modern age in Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret. In looking at the fragments that form Manifestation thinking, Heather proposes an alternative method of manifesting success through practical action.

 

The packaging of wellness for wide consumption often involves taking easily digestible, not-so-challenging ideas and using them as the crux of a brand. One of the most popular examples of this is Manifestation — the belief that by focussing on positive or negative thoughts, people can bring positive or negative experiences into their lives. When wellness companies are selling Manifestation and the Law of Attraction, they’re commodifying an idea that’s inherently problematic. 

In this episode we break down Manifestation. We ask ourselves, what’s wrong with the evidence? Where is the science? Who are the primary benefactors of Manifestation thinking and Law of Attraction ideology? We want to encourage the questioning of lazy assumptions and feel-good ideas. We want to challenge people to be critical thinkers and challenge ourselves to take practical action. We need to see ourselves as people who can make improvements in our lives by shining a light in our own dark corners.

LINKS

• Republic of Freedom Facebook
• Heather Thorkelson
• The Law of Attraction Is a Crock
• The Staggering Bullsh*t of ‘The Secret’
• Subscribe and Rate us on Apple Podcasts