Earlier this year I received two mental health diagnoses. One did not surprise me at all, but the second did. 

I have been processing and thinking through the gift of diagnosis a lot over the last few months. Yes, the gift of diagnosis. 

Receiving these diagnoses was more affirming and validating than I ever could have imagined. Instead of feeling plagued by some parts of myself that have been bewildering since I was very young, I now feel stronger and more connected to who I truly am and WHY I am who I truly am. 

What a relief! 

My mental health diagnoses are not my weaknesses, they are my superpowers. Because of them I am more compassionate, more empathetic, more conscientious, more thoughtful, more intentional, more talented in unique ways, more creative, more adaptable to things others can’t adapt to, more capable in ways others aren’t, and more sensitive to the world and other people in so many ways that make me a better citizen.

So, ye, I am delighted by my diagnoses - and everything that comes with them. Including medication.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. I am sharing my story with you because mental health diagnoses are not something to be ashamed of. And mental health diagnoses are not uncommon - which I learned quickly as I shared my story with friends over the last few months and had so many of them quickly reply “me too.”

My hope is that this episode provides light and hope for anyone who might be struggling to see all their gifts right now. You are not alone. 

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Trudi Lebron is an entrepreneur, coach, consultant, podcaster, and speaker working with social impact leaders, and transformative coaches who want to increase the impact of their efforts. Trudi is the creator and head coach of BeABoss a personal and professional development program for Millennial Women of Color, works with entrepreneurs to help them start social impact businesses, and supports social impact executives with leadership coaching, strategic planning, and creating systems and practices to bring alignment between your personal values and the way you work.

I asked Trudi to come on the show because I knew her story around motherhood as well as the deep impact of her professional work. I have been dying to interview her for a couple years now - and I can tell you this conversation was worth the wait!

Listen in to hear Trudi share:

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I’m not going to pretend that boundaries are easy. They are tricky and sticky and often intimidating. But boundaries are also the KEY to liberating our time and energy and mental space. 

Telling you to simply “have better boundaries” is not helpful. It’s like telling a worry wart to “just stop worrying.” 

So, instead of telling you to have better boundaries, I’m going to give you three actionable steps you can take to start building better and more brave boundaries. 

I want you to have more time, energy, and mental space for YOU, as well as for the things and people who deserve the best parts of you.

Listen in to learn 3 steps you can take to build braver boundaries #everydamnday.

As you implement these over time, you’ll find that you feel increased ease and power throughout your days and within your relationships. This will feel totally liberating, my friend!

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Alison Tedford is an author, marketing consultant, and mom from Abbotsford, BC, Canada. Her work has been published on AlJazeera, CBC, Upworthy, and Today's Parent, and her debut book, Chronic Profit, is being released by Self Counsel Press in April 2021.

I have been following Alison online for a couple years now. She has always stood out to me as a leader and a truth teller. She speaks up to share her perspective even when it’s not comfortable. She is sassy and smart as a whip as she shares her experiences living as an entrepreneurial, Indigenious single mom with a disability. I deeply appreciate Alison’s work and her voice and I’m so honored to have her here with us for this conversation.

Listen in to hear Alison share:

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I don’t want to squash your dreaming. Dreaming is beautiful and powerful and necessary. 

But…

Sometimes our dreams can be intimidating. We see them out there and they look inviting and delicious - and also terrifying. 

I want to run a marathon - but how do I go from running 3 miles to running 26.2 miles?

I want to write a book - but how do I write an opening paragraph, let alone 300 pages?

I want to go back to school - but how do I find the time and money to commit to 2 more years of education?

Too often we hold our dreams as long term (seemingly impossible) visions with no action plan. 

We put off the doing required to achieve our dreams because we don’t know where to start. We don’t know what the first step should be - and all the first steps we can think of feel like massive scary leaps. And massive scary leaps sound hard. So, we decide to just wait…

And often - too often - the dream dies.

In this episode, we will talk about how to move from dreaming to doing by taking specific small action steps to get started moving in the direction of your dreams.

Are you ready to GET STARTED???

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Jessica's superpower is making brain science accessible and entertaining for children and adults alike. She is living this out as a clinical supervisor, nationally known speaker, author, and Shameless Mom of 3. She is also the founder and director of the training and resource platform BraveBrains.

This is Jessica’s second time on the show. I was so excited to have her back because talking to her about brain science is so incredibly helpful and insightful. Learning from Jessica makes me a better woman, leader, and mom. 

Listen in to hear Jessica share:

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Perhaps you’ve noticed that with changing times have come changing needs, changing goals, and changing desires. 

With that, perhaps you notice you’re saying YES to new things - and NO to new things.

Some of my yeses and no’s and have definitely shifted over the last year. In fact, I find myself saying yes to some things I thought I would never say yes to. Funny wildly unusual circumstances paired with a cultural uprising will make you rethink almost everything.

As you make space for new yeses, you’ll notice you’ll also be required to say no to new things in order to make space for those yeses. This is a process of discernment that requires you look closely at your core values so you can understand why each yes and each no is important to you right now.

Listen in to hear 9 things I’m saying yes to right now. It’s my hope that this may inspire your YESES (and no’s!) 

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Maya Luque is a strategist. She helps businesses craft smart, perceptive ways of communicating. The focus of her work is to help businesses build strong, long-lasting relationships with their customers. She has an M.F.A. and has created over 100 sculptures and installations. Her background as an artist helps her guide people towards an emotion; to help them feel connected. Art is great for strategy because art history is full of telling and re-inventing stories, themes, emotions. Maya has a passion for observing the ever-shifting puzzle of trends, human nature, and people. 

Maya is also the author of The Heart Of The Matter: EMDR Through An Adoptee's Eyes. She shared her book with me on social media asking if I would be interested in sharing it with my audience. I immediately knew I didn’t only want to share the book, I wanted to share Maya’s voice and entire story. I asked Maya if she would be up for this interview. I’m so honored that she said yes. Her book and her story are so important.

Listen in to hear Maya share:

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Ever since I read Michelle Obama’s book two years ago, I have been obsessed with this notion of becoming. 

We are always becoming. There is no way around it. 

Sometimes we are becoming more the person we know we want to be. Other times not so much. 

Sometimes we are becoming a person we did not want to be. Maybe even a person we feared we would be one day. 

What we must remind ourselves everyday is that WE GET TO CHOOSE. 

You have many times each day where you make choices that take you closer to or further from the person you want to become. This is comforting because at any time you can course correct. 

Make a crappy decision at 10 am? No worries. You can make a better one at 10:02. 

While that sounds super simple and maybe even annoyingly idealistic, it’s true. 

What matters most is your trend of becoming over time. 

So, what is your trend? And is it heading in the direction you want it to?

I have a task for you. As you listen to this episode, you will gain clarity on who you want to become and HOW to become her. Listen in and do the task. Then let me know, how are you becoming?

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Kim Evey is a Los Angeles-based actor, writer, and stand up comedian. She has appeared in numerous commercials and TV shows, written for children's animation, and created and starred in one of the first web series on Sony's Crackle.com entitled "Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show." She produced Felicia Day's trailblazing series "The Guild," a web show so successful that it was actually put on display in The Smithsonian American History Museum. As a stand up comedian, Kim's online clips have been viewed over 8 million times. She is the proud Mom of a boy who is five going on fifteen.

I met Kim through a story telling event where she shared her journey into motherhood through adoption. Her story touched me so deeply. I knew I had to invite her onto the show. What I didn’t know at the time was that Kim is also an adoptee. She was adopted from an orphanage in Korea when she was 2. Her journey from adoptee to adoptive mom so beautifully demonstrates the magic of adoption.

Listen in to hear Kim share:

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Episode art credit: Kevin McIntyre

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