Stacked Keys Podcast

One Shot At Everything

She tries to build community around her and she’s interested in the comings and goings and soaking up the local aspects. Professionally she’s in higher education and has many stages to that aspect of her life. Meet Lacy Babich. We talk of the changes in higher education and thinking through some of what we all see in colleges and the new wave of how students are learning to the shift of how we actually teach. Her advice to a student looking at advance learning is to look at the goal and teaching and think toward the end game — focus on what you want to do in five years. She believes in meeting the student’s actual goals and treating them as a person and not a number or dollar sign makes a better outcome for all.

Lacy has moved a lot and has enjoyed a wild journey. She has a military life background.

We talk about travel and the impact it has on her life—any opportunity to travel, she takes it. Have you ever thought how simply traveling to a new community can rejuvenate or step further away to get a shift in absorbing other cultures and gain a broader perspective. Taking the opportunities to travel whenever she can is always underlying in what makes up her life and she 100 percent says that the outlets she has from everyday life rely on travel. Travel provides the little joys of handling this life. 

We talk about how you travel and how you choose your travel partners so that you don’t just focus on going from point to point, but enjoying absorbing what’s going on around you at the moment. A schedule on a vacation changes the whole meaning of a break for Lacy as she prefers not to over plan.

Lacy has lived abroad and learned to find her comfort in the coming and going and accomplishing the daily tasks —and what it is like to live with family so far away. She talks about some points of what it’s like to be in the Air Force and helping others to learn cope and handle the distances and staying in the loops so you can feel somewhat involved.

Loving the water at a young age gave the opportunity to develop skills as a competitive swimmer and that helped her get organized and keep a schedule. She found her own discipline that helped her to attend college with scholarships. After that sport, Lacy found herself into beginning competition for IronMan—she likes the structure of training and schedule out how she moves.

You’ll hear talk about her dissertation for her doctoral degree and she’s deep diving in one incident of original documents and investigating an aspect of the Civil War. She treats life by figuring out  puzzles and digging to find answers. 

Role models and mentors played important parts for Lacy and Lacy talks about how she learned to be tactful, but yet get answers by just asking questions. She applies her experiences to make situations easier for those in similar situations as herself.

Finances can be a huge issue when you are living outside of the US and figuring out the tips and tricks are super important to be financially aware. It is staggering what one may take for granted.

This episode also gives a little insight as a couple and how they openly communicate and set their goals together. They deal with the hard conversations and work on establishing end goals and functioning as a team is super important to Lacy.

Life Can Be Short, I Don’t Want to Waste It.

Tune in!  Music “STOMP” used by permission of artist Donica Knight Holdman and Jim Huff

Music "STOMP" used by permission of artist Donica Knight Holdman and Jim Huff

It’s always interesting to talk with ladies as they reflect on who they are and how others see them. Always a communicator and one who finds her love of people and their stories is what immediately comes to mind to introduce this guest. She has the talent to zero in on the positives of focusing on the passion of people and on how they want to tell their stories in creating their own brands. She likes to think of herself as a collector of stories. 
Meet Chellie Phillips. She is a communicator and writer. Currently she’s authored three books … the first is a self help motivational book with a personal reflection on various aspects of life, the second book is about helping people with careers get where they envision that they want to be in a career… and the third will be out this year and focuses on building a human centered culture, in the workplace—that we put people first. 
Chellie is involved in personal coaching where she helps people create their own brands and learn how to talk about themselves in a way that they can actually highlight the parts that they want people to know. We talk about story telling and journalism. 
You’ll hear her refer to “her tribe” several times because she can’t imagine where she’d be without those very important people surrounding her. Chellie says, “I am incredibly blessed with the people that have been in my life, the ones that have encouraged me to take some chances to step out of there. Maybe, you know, they may have been thinking in their mind. Oh, she's lost her mind. She's crazy. But let's let her try and see what's going to happen.” 
We talk about growing forward and what it takes to get to your goals and methods to put in place. As a female, she has learned how to come across as knowledgable and present that she has something of value to add. We discuss what women can bring to the table and making the most of the opportunities that are put in front of each one of us every single day. Chellie comes back in her work roles to put women in places as she has a chance. She encourages that we take the time to grow each other and to celebrate each other. 
In this episode we talk all about coaching, life’s hard knocks and being prepared to relay your story and protect your boundaries. We talk about her circle of people and the idea that she took on a 1/2 marathon and had to set goals and how to accomplish something way out of her comfort zone. She makes you laugh, think about your own set of circumstances and offers a challenge.

Tune in!

Some topic highlights include questions like these--
What did you think of yourself as a kid?  
The importance of telling your own story.
The most uncomfortable part of personal branding. 
The importance of having a tribe. 
Taking time to enjoy and celebrate your accomplishments.
Were you an organized kid? 
How to communicate your needs. 
Protecting your boundaries. 
How did you know you’re ready to leave? 
What does it mean to grow great? 
The impact of having a great mentor. 
Coaching is listening and empowering women. 
Beating the impossible by beating the impossible. 
You got this, you can do this. 
What she’s most proud of. 
When in doubt delete it. 
How to get noticed and get hired. 
Building a value culture in the workplace. 
The power of human-centered culture.  
Advice for people who are considering a career change. 

Music "STOMP" used by permission of artist Donica Knight Holdman and Jim Huff

This episode features two business women who are coming in contact with women everyday who are looking to improve how they feel and how they look each day. If you visit their business website, the tagline slogan is  “We Relax Your Soul, Refresh your Mind & Renew Your Sparkle.” 

Meet Pamela Laviolette and Whitney Williams who both work with AMS Studios, the River Region’s premier MedSpa —the place to go to experience a quiet, true spa atmosphere. 

These two ladies are spectacular in their careers and in so many other areas of life. You’ll hear their passion in advice like this life insight and advice from Pamela, “I would say don't feel bad about what you choose to prioritize, and what's important to you, no matter what it is, if it's something personal, if it's family, if it's work, if it's what you feel like your calling is, or is, you know, your ultimate, don't apologize for it. Find balance, you know, and everything. But ultimately, what calls you is, is what calls you it. It is you.” Whitney follows with this wisdom, “I would say slow down, take a look around, take a minute to savor the moment that you're in right now. Appreciate it, even though sometimes it seems stressful and crazy and chaotic, because it won't come again, and you will miss it. You will miss it very much one day. So just take it all in.”

Pamela and Whitney introduce themselves and talk about their character traits. 0:00

Pamela talks about the importance of self-love and self-worth. 3:58

The 30s are hard for many women. 9:31

The importance of relationships in the business world. 14:14

What are the medical aspects of what they offer? 19:25

How social media is changing the skincare industry. 24:53

How do you create boundaries?28:49

Pamela’s goal is to have her kids not feel like they’re on their own. 33:26

How to get back to your boundaries in your life. 38:45

Pamela’s advice to those in her age group and others 42:32

Tune In!!

Music "STOMP" used by permission of artist Donica Knight Holdman and Jim Huff

Meet Christina Tatum on this episode. She is caring and helps people through the most difficult moments as she helps to care for their loved ones. She is a giver and has seen a lot of the toughest emotions play out right in front of her. You will learn from this episode and maybe see yourself in the conversation. She feels tremendous responsibility in her career and yet she says that she is exactly where she wants to be and doing what she wants to as well.  You can find her at Premier Care - An Assisted Living Community. Follow them on facebook. 

This conversation inspires both in options for the older population and in seeing the leadership style of someone as involved as Christina and her team. Tune in!

Christina’s personal and professional background. 0:00
The hardest part of working with dementia patients and families. 1:35
How do you encourage people not to lay blame on one another within the family? 8:30
Being an administrator over assisted living. 11:30
What’s your leadership style? 17:14
Why you need to listen to your employees -.20:03
What’s the scariest thing you’ve done? 26:42
The older you get, the clearer your mind becomes. 31:16
Dealing with dementia and Alzheimer’s. 33:48
Why is it that we’re willing to distraction and diversion with a toddler and not with an elderly? 39:36
Where’s the literature to help people with dementia? 42:16
How do you know when you’re losing abilities? 48:09
Learn as you go with dementia. 51:08
What is the biggest sign of dementia in your home? 57:39

Music "STOMP" used by permission of artist Donica Knight Holdman and Jim Huff

Meet Laura Longmire. She’s a mom and an entrepreneur who went into a business to help women feel more confident to handle all of their  roles efficiently. “it's so funny. Now we've got people we have people who come help us clean our houses or even you know, minimalist coaches who come and help us pare down all of the stuff in our house. We have people to deliver groceries or even send us boxes of groceries with the meal planned out. And yet, figuring out having somebody help us figure out what to wear seems to be like a bridge too far for a lot of women”, says Laura.  And “How you present yourself, sends them a message before you ever get to open your mouth.”

There’s much in this episode for every listener. Tune in!

How she defines who she is in every interaction. 1:59

What drew you into this profession? 6:33

“The longer I’m with my husband, the more confident I am.”. 11:27

What is business casual? What is loungewear? 17:58

Why you have to pick someone who will be honest. 22:44

Are you a rules girl or do you put rules in place in specific areas of your life 28:38

Being rich can mean a lot of different things.  33:33

If you don’t dive in and get it figured out pretty quickly, you’re going to be treading water. 39:42

Laura’s advice for new moms. 46:07

What is your lifestyle? What do you need? 51:09

What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever done? 56:23

Laura’s message to men: say the nice things to the women in your life. 1:01:44

The conversation is full of gems that are precious and encouragement for the soul. Laura says, " I  tell women especially that it's it's never too late to love who you are and how you look. And the right time to do it is now the time to boost your confidence is now the time to go get that job that promotion or that man, whatever it is. Wear the thing you love, find what you love and wear it with confidence and see what changes in your life."  Stomp to your own drum!

Music "STOMP" used by permission of artist Donica Knight Holdman and Jim Huff

Amanda Curran is outgoing, outspoken and she says she’s bit loud and a bit sassy— yet professional. In getting a glimpse of her through this interview she is pure delight with confidence and direction both personally and professionally. She’s authentic. You might know her from her online presence as a meteorologist for WSFA TV if you are in the Montgomery, Alabama market. She’s always loved weather, always had a fascination with clouds and always had an inherent want for knowledge. What a brilliant career path she's taken. She also chose this line of work  to be of service to her community. 
Even though she comes across very much in control and brilliant, she says she definitely doesn’t have it all together. Amanda says, “For me, I mean, the crazy thing about meteorology and weather in general, it's science, but it's not an exact science. And I don't think it ever will be an exact science. We call some events textbook, it's exactly how the atmosphere should interact with these elements and these ingredients. The forecast is rarely textbook, this is exactly what should happen. So I think that's part of the exciting thing is you're always learning and it's always different. It's never something that you can master.  I have my degree and  an understanding of what's going to happen, there are plenty of times when Mother Nature throws a curveball that nobody sees not me, or the meteorologists I work with at the station, other competing stations, National Weather Service offices, national government organizations, we could all be on the same page about the forecast.  Mother nature puts a little spin to it. And it's like, wow, that just reminds you how fascinating and interesting weather is and how we have absolutely no control over any of that.”
Amanda has confidence in herself and that was developed through life experiences that her mom coached her through. “My mom tells the story when I came home and I said, I hate myself. She picked me up quickly and brought me in the bathroom to look in a mirror and repeat— I like myself, I love myself.” That helped Amanda learn to dig deep and get encouragement from within. We talk of confidence and putting on the happy face and doing her job to the best of her ability. We discuss living life as a single young woman and finding friends and areas of life to be fulfilled. We talk dogs—her love for dogs and her special fur baby, #Tanner
Amanda lives by budgeting and shopping in her ability to be classic in her styles and frugal. She lets us in on some tips, “I’m naturally a really frugal person, I've always been  good at saving money. You don't have to spend a million dollars to look like a million dollars. There's always a promo code, there's always a coupon, and you can always find it somewhere for cheaper.”
Amanda discusses core values like trust. “My big thing about trust, and this is more on like a personal side versus a professional side, my big thing is that I give everyone the benefit of the doubt until you give me a reason to not trust you, I think that we all have good in us.
We talk about friends and her philosophy of having the right people is super important. Her thought us that relationships are for a reason or for a season and that's okay. She says, “sometimes I think they're there to teach you something. Sometimes they're there to help you grow and sometimes you don't know what that reason or season is until after it's done. But I think surrounding yourself with people who make you happy—and this is kind of a selfish thing to say, but like, if I'm going to give you my time and energy, I'm hoping that you're also bringing value to my life, because having a one sided relationship is not good for anybody involved. So if I'm giving --  I want to be given to. I think you should be able to give in relationships.” 
Tune in for more!

Music "STOMP" used by permission of artist Donica Knight Holdman and Jim Huff

Music "STOMP" used by permission of artist Donica Knight Holdman and Jim Huff

Music "STOMP" used by permission of artist Donica Knight Holdman and Jim Huff

Music "STOMP" used by permission of artist Donica Knight Holdman and Jim Huff

Music "STOMP" used by permission of artist Donica Knight Holdman and Jim Huff