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Amanda Ripley is a New York Times bestselling author, an investigative journalist, and the co-founder of Good Conflict, LLC. She writes for the Atlantic, the Washington Post, and Politico, and she spent a decade writing about human behavior for Time magazine in New York, Washington, and Paris.
Listen in as Amanda and Traci explore what High Conflict is (and how we get out) drawing on research, insights, and experience across astronauts on space missions (yes, really!), the Israeli-Palestine conflict, intimate relationships across political divides, gang warfare, and racism.
High Conflict: Why we get trapped, and how we get out (Amanda’s book)
Find | Sidewalk Talk
At sidewalk-talk.org
On Instagram: @sidewalktalkorg
On Twitter: @sidewalktalkorg
Find | Traci Ruble
At Traciruble.com
On Instagram: @TraciRubleMFT
On Twitter: @TraciRubleMFT
On Facebook: @TraciRubleMFT
Find | Amanda Ripley
At https://www.amandaripley.com/
On Twitter: @AmandaRipley
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Michele Gelfand is a Professor at Stanford University, and an expert on negotiation and cross-cultural psychology. Her book Rule Makers, Rule Breakers explores how tight and loose cultures wire our world, and in doing so offers unique insights on how we might bridge today’s cultural divides.
Michele and Traci chat about the impact of culture on everything from international negotiation to couple’s arguments over chores… in a wide-ranging and fascinating conversation that might just shift how you see yourself and the people around you.
Rule Makers, Rule Breakers (Michele’s book)
Find | Sidewalk Talk
At sidewalk-talk.org
On Instagram: @sidewalktalkorg
On Twitter: @sidewalktalkorg
Find | Traci Ruble
At Traciruble.com
On Instagram: @TraciRubleMFT
On Twitter: @TraciRubleMFT
On Facebook: @TraciRubleMFT
Find | Michele Gelfand
At https://www.michelegelfand.com/
On Twitter: @MicheleJGefland
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Melody Wilding is an executive coach for Sensitive Strivers - smart, sensitive high-achievers who are tired of getting in their own way. Melody is a Sensitive Striver herself, a licensed social worker, professor of Human Behavior and a contributor to Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and Business Insider. She’s also the author of Trust Yourself, described by Susan Cain as “essential reading for every introverted, sensitive professional”.
Listen in is as Melody and Traci take us on a tour of what it means to be a Sensitive Striver, the constellation of challenges facing sensitive people, and how the characteristics of Sensitive Strivers make them the leaders of the future.
Trust Yourself - Stop Overthinking and Channel Emotions for success at work (You can download a free chapter of Melody’s book)
Find | Sidewalk Talk
At sidewalk-talk.org
On Instagram: @sidewalktalkorg
On Twitter: @sidewalktalkorg
Find | Traci Ruble
At Traciruble.com
On Instagram: @TraciRubleMFT
On Twitter: @TraciRubleMFT
On Facebook: @TraciRubleMFT
Find | Melody Wilding
At https://melodywilding.com/
On Medium
On Instagram: @melodywilding
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Hailed as a “blistering new literary voice”, Minna Salami is a Nigerian-Finnish and Swedish writer and social critic, and the founder of the multiple award-winning blog, MsAfropolitan, which connects feminism with critical reflections on contemporary culture from an Africa-centred perspective.
Traci talks with Minna following the publication of her new book, Sensuous Knowledge, which was described by Bernadine Evaristo as “intellectual soul food”. Their conversation is a deep, rich and wonderful romp through Minna’s muti-faceted identity and how her experiences have shaped her writings on Black feminism, Minna’s fresh cultural insights and the need to create space for growth and grappling in today’s world.
Sensuous Knowledge (Minna’s book)
Find | Sidewalk Talk
At sidewalk-talk.org
On Instagram: @sidewalktalkorg
On Twitter: @sidewalktalkorg
Find | Traci Ruble
At Traciruble.com
On Instagram: @TraciRubleMFT
On Twitter: @TraciRubleMFT
On Facebook: @TraciRubleMFT
Find | Minna Salami
At https://msafropolitan.com/
On Instagram: @minnasalami_
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In this episode of the Sidewalk Talk podcast, Traci is in conversation with Natalie Koussa, a trauma-sensitive visibility coach and podcast guesting strategist who supports high-integrity entrepreneurs to bring their work into the world in a bigger way.
Traci and Natalie explore how Leadership Designs (a trauma-aware way of understanding how you move through the world, show up, create and lead from your core) can support us to understand our core needs, and the vulnerabilities of letting ourselves be seen, just as we are.
This episode will be a balm for you if you’re feeling the call to show up in your life in a bigger, more true-to-you way. Listen in, and let yourself come home to yourself.
The Leadership Designs Assessment
Find | Sidewalk Talk
At sidewalk-talk.org
On Instagram: @sidewalktalkorg
On Twitter: @sidewalktalkorg
Find | Traci Ruble
At Traciruble.com
On Instagram: @TraciRubleMFT
On Twitter: @TraciRubleMFT
On Facebook: @TraciRubleMFT
Find | Natalie Koussa
At www.uncommon-people.com
On Instagram: @nataliekoussa_
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Dr. Stan Steindl brings a fresh take to compassion in this week’s Sidewalk Talk conversation. Stan’s a clinical psychologist with over 20 years experience as a therapist, trainer and researcher, and he’s also an adjunct associate professor at the School of Psychology at the University of Queensland, Australia. Last year, Stan published his first book: The Gifts of Compassion.
Stan and Traci explore the 3 flows of compassion, bringing a new light to a timeless topic. If you’ve ever been curious about what compassion truly is, how to cultivate more of it in your life, and why it can be so damn tricky to receive… Stan brings some fascinating ideas and practical ways of incorporating compassion into your daily life.
Find | Sidewalk Talk
At sidewalk-talk.org
On Instagram: @sidewalktalkorg
On Twitter: @sidewalktalkorg
Find | Traci Ruble
At Traciruble.com
On Instagram: @TraciRubleMFT
On Twitter: @TraciRubleMFT
On Facebook: @TraciRubleMFT
Find | Dr Stan Steindl
At www.stansteindl.com/
On Youtube
On Instagram: @dr_stan_steindl
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Traci and Kristina share a deep and rich conversation, in which Traci asks the kind of big questions Kristina thrives on. Questions like…
You’ll leave this episode with a renewed sense of wonder, and a deeper understanding of how archetypes can help us access wisdom and creative energy beyond the confines of our rational mind.
Aziph Mustapha is a weirdo. As the head of culture transformation and employee engagement at Malaysian telecommunications giant, Celcom, Aziph has built a career on disrupting social norms. But being weird isn’t just good business, for Aziph it’s the only authentic way to live.
On this episode of The Sidewalk Talk podcast, Traci gets to talk with—and really, make space for—Aziph as the two discuss creating psychological safety in the workplace, what it means to be a weirdo in a formal culture, and the importance of vulnerability and authenticity. As their conversation progresses, Aziph gets real with Traci, sharing that he’s struggling to process a number of the tragedies happening in the world right now, including the latest Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic. Traci thanks Aziph for his willingness to share, and together the two embark upon a time of listening and making space for the other. This is a powerful exchange between two great listeners that you won’t want to miss.
Episode Milestones
[00:07] Intro
[03:02] Meet Aziph
[06:15] What Aziph makes for breakfast and dinner in Malaysia
[09:08] Creating psychology safety and cultural transformation in the workplace
[14:19] Aziph’s vision for Celcom
[20:46] Being a weirdo in a formal culture
[25:31] Discerning when to be contrarian versus when to go along with social norms
[30:07] Volunteering, community, and providing space for one another
[37:38] Aziph’s willingness to be vulnerable and authentic
[44:42] Aziph’s word for you
[47:04] Outro
Resources Mentioned
Ted Talk: To Be the Best, Be a Weirdo
Celcom
Standout Quotes from the Episode
“Every person or group we touch with our business we consider a distinct society, and our job is to advance them in one way or another.”
“Sometimes you need to make those conscious efforts to change even simple things, like language, simple terms people use to humanize that relationship.”
“Success gives you confidence.”
“You need to grasp on something, you need to have a bit of control in this vast, chaotic storm.”
“Maybe these human beings just talking to each other could help in small way.”
“People need to be listened to, and there’s just not enough people willing to listen to them in the world.”
Connect:
Find | Sidewalk Talk Podcast
At sidewalk-talk.org
On Instagram: @sidewalktalkorg
On Twitter: @sidewalktalkorg
Find | Traci Ruble
At Traciruble.com
On Instagram: @TraciRubleMFT
On Twitter: @TraciRubleMFT
On Facebook: @TraciRubleMFT
Find | Aziph Mustapha
On LinkedIn: @AziphMustapha
On Twitter: @aziph_mustapha
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Restless in the often too structured world of academia, Anna Katharina Schaffner carved her own path as a professor, researcher, writer, coach, and modern thinker. In her forthcoming book, The Art of Self-Improvement: Ten Timeless Truths, Anna sets out to shift the way we think about self-help and how to better ourselves by taking cues from our ancestors’ ways of thinking and living that still remain true today. Traci was thrilled to sit down with Anna for this latest episode of The Sidewalk Talk podcast to chat all about Anna’s new book, how metaphor shapes our human experience, and where to find the soul in today’s culture of human as computer.
As the two talk, they make discoveries about the benefits of growing as a collective versus as an individual, explore the concept of loneliness, and talk about mutual messy interactions they’ve had in the past. Towards the end of the episode Anna shares a few of the “timeless truths” from her new book, including the truths of controlling your mind, using your imagination, and being humble. In a time where we’ve increasingly been told that we simply need to “rewire” our brains in order to function better as humans, Anna and Traci explore a different way of thinking—one that helps us examine the metaphors we use about ourselves, and become more vulnerably human in the process.
Episode Milestones
[00:07] Intro
[02:25] Meet Anna
[06:40] What made Anna restless in academia
[08:41] Provoking to leave a legacy
[12:09] How metaphor shapes our human experience
[16:32] A shift to growing as a collective
[20:28] Learning from Eastern cultures and ways of thinking
[23:39] Where’s the soul?
[26:35] Questions and definitions of loneliness
[29:40] Messy interactions
[33:25] Anna’s discoveries about self-improvement
[37:06] “Timeless truths” of self-improvement
[39:57] Anna’s word for you
[42:15] Outro
Resources Mentioned
Perspectiva
Exhaustion: A History
The Art of Self-Improvement: Ten Timeless Truths
“You’re not a computer, you’re a tiny stone in a beautiful mosaic”
Standout Quotes from the Episode
“I like to take issue with what everyone accepts to be the case. I like to look at ideas that we take for granted, and that we don’t really investigate very much.”
“I think it’s always very important to have a questioning mind.”
“The language we use to talk about the psyche is very very telling because it reveals the models of the psyche that we believe in as people, but also as a culture.”
“This focus on self-actualization and self-realization has begun to sound very tired, and very unsatisfying.”
“Stories can give a lot of solace.”
“Self-help reveals our models of selfhood.”
“Be aware of the kind of language you use to think about yourself, and inner voices, and reflect on it because they will tell you a lot about your deeper values and deeper models.”
Connect:
Find | Sidewalk Talk Podcast
At sidewalk-talk.org
On Instagram: @sidewalktalkorg
On Twitter: @sidewalktalkorg
Find | Traci Ruble
At Traciruble.com
On Instagram: @TraciRubleMFT
On Twitter: @TraciRubleMFT
On Facebook: @TraciRubleMFT
Find | Anna Katharina Schaffner
At AnnaKSchaffner.com
On LinkedIn: @AnnaKatharinaSchaffner
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David Pearl is a true Renaissance man. A self-title “experience engineer,” David has done it all—from writing books and starting a nonprofit to advocating for social change and even working as an opera star. Our current reality may seem anything but magical, that’s far from the truth in David’s eyes.
On this episode of The Sidewalk Talk podcast, Traci gets the chance to sit down with one of her new favorite European friends to talk about his nonprofit Street Wisdom, doing soul-work in the paradox of the here and now, and why simplicity is at the heart of what David and Traci are both doing with Street Wisdom and Sidewalk Talk. This is a playful and fun conversation between two people with an urgency to see our society, and the world at large, become a more inclusive, and magical, place. Come along for the ride and discover your own version of magic, today!
Episode Milestones
[00:07] Intro
[03:34] Meet David
[11:09] David’s time on the street and what it taught him
[15:00] Street Wisdom and serendipity
[19:37] Making connections with perfect strangers on the street
[23:30] How Street Wisdom is finding its future
[27:42] Finding the magic in the everyday
[35:25] Play and breaking the rules
[39:23] Doing work in the paradox
[45:14] The urgency to grow Street Wisdom and Sidewalk Talk
[47:25] Embodied intelligence
[49:40] Simplicity and a shared sense of being seen
[57:49] David’s word and song for you
[1:03:02] Outro
Resources Mentioned
Street Wisdom
Wanderful: Find wonder in the every day. Every day.
Standout Quotes from the Episode
“For me, the brushes I had with mental breakdown were the wellspring of why I’m here today.”
“Serendipity is only surprising if you think you’re a separate human being who ends at your skin.”
“How could you be the perfect stranger for those strangers?”
“As soon as we take the problems to be real, they become heavy and difficult to move.”
“People don’t always see the work behind the apparent spontaneity.”
“The wandering is the new straight and narrow. When the world is as wobbly as ours, you’d have to be nuts to go in a straight line—you’d end up in the wrong place.”
“The way we change things is through a million simple things.”
“If you’re prepared to see the magic in the ordinary you can have a conversation, you can have a dialogue. And we need a dialogue because the one inside your head isn’t great.”
“There’s a certain urgency, and yet we can enjoy everything that happens.”
“Being lost and feeling lost are not the same thing.”
Connect:
Find | Sidewalk Talk Podcast
At sidewalk-talk.org
On Instagram: @sidewalktalkorg
On Twitter: @sidewalktalkorg
Find | Traci Ruble
At Traciruble.com
On Instagram: @TraciRubleMFT
On Twitter: @TraciRubleMFT
On Facebook: @TraciRubleMFT
Find | David Pearl
At DavidPearl.net
On Twitter: @DavidPearlHere
On LinkedIn: David Pearl
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