StephUp Podcast

Welcome to this week’s episode of the StephUp Podcast! Thank you for your support and for coming back each week to listen. This episode features special guest, Louise Heite.

Steph starts out the conversation asking Louise for help for herself as she's been struggling lately. Louise advises that the first step is to identify why you want to do something and why it is important. We all have it in us to be a high achiever but many times, it is our limiting beliefs that can stop us from moving forward.

When Louise coaches her clients, she sees a lot of fear in being judged by what other people will say. But knowing what you stand for and having that confidence can propel you to achieve your dreams.

Louise notices that affirmations are very powerful but it is also important to believe them for yourself. If you speak random affirmations, they aren't as powerful as the ones that mean something to you. Louise also explains that instead of giving up when we are at those moment of discomfort, show up instead. That is how you overcome.

"It is in the moments of discomfort that our true growth lies. So when you feel like giving up, show up and meet that discomfort. It is exactly where you actually need to go."

Louise explains that sometimes we seek the comfort of not having to do something and make the excuses but it is important to have the vision of who we want to be and what we want to strive for. It's all about making those choices and doing it for ourselves. Life is hard no matter the choices we make. Not doing something can be hard but also doing something can be hard.

It is important to take ownership over our lives. No one else will do it for us and we have to take responsibility for our own lives. As Louise says: "You get to decide who you really are. If there is an aspect of yourself that you want to change or improve upon, you can develop that vision for yourself. And the more ownership you take of that, the less sensitive you will be of the opinions of others because you know who you are."

It all comes down to why you are doing what you are doing. In Louise's line of work, if she can positively impact just one person, her mission is accomplished. In the world we live in now with social media, more numbers seems to be the way to success. But that's not necessarily true. 

As Louise says, there are many different types of leaders in the world but we are all leaders in one way or another. We are leaders in our own lives and what we do and say impacts others. 

Follow Louise on her website, and all the socials: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

Check out Stephanie's children's book:

“What Should Dragon Do?”:

https://stephaniewebbcoach.wixsite.com/stephanieannwebb/author

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to this week’s episode of the StephUp Podcast! Thank you for your support and for coming back each week to listen. This episode features special guest, Mark Tinsley.

Steph and Mark begin their conversation by talking about what toxic leadership really means and how an incompetent leader is usually shown as goofy in the media but that incompetency can be many other things. As someone who has had a career in the army, Mark tries to live by their definition: leadership provides purpose, direction and motivation.

Purpose: the what and why

Direction: providing guidance on how to do it.

Motivation: providing inspiration.

"Toxic leadership: anything that we do as leaders that hurts the people that work in our organization or that hurts our organization.”

Many times, we think of a manager or boss as a person who is directing their employees but not necessarily someone who listens and motivates.

Mark explains that a lot of organizations want to promote people too fast, especially if they have a high level of education. But many times they do not have the experience, and leaders are made through their experiences.

Steph and Mark discuss the rise and fall of church leaders. On top of becoming famous too soon, there is also the element of maturity in one's faith. And holding leaders accountability is key. When you start to question or challenge leaders, especially in the church, you are told not to say anything because it's "from Satan". In contemporary Christianity, we've built this lie that we have to hide behind a facade of perfection.

Mark explains how a leader can be on the hook for their employees' negative actions if they did not have any accountability set in place. He also provides advice for employees to speak the truth but we also have to be sure that the environment and/or leader is truly toxic and that it isn't our own perception of toxicity.

Follow Mark on his websites: The Crock Radio and Cowboy country music radio website

Check out Stephanie's children's book:

“What Should Dragon Do?”:

https://stephaniewebbcoach.wixsite.com/stephanieannwebb/author

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to this week’s episode of the StephUp Podcast! Thank you for your support and for coming back each week to listen. This episode features special guest, Anne Michaud.

Anne is veteran political journalist and author. She published "American Czarina" and her new updated edition of "Why They Stay" this year. Anne has focused on social activism for women, political psychology, women's rights, and dysfunctional political marriages.

Anne tells Steph how her original book came to be and why the questions from people about Melania and Donald Trump prompted her to write a 2nd edition.

In her book, Anne explains the symbolic White Queen (Elizabeth Woodville) and why she gives each of the eight political wives in the book different white queen points.

Steph and Anne discuss that they both have an appreciation for Eleanor Roosevelt and Jackie Kennedy and Anne also has an appreciation for the stories about the Spitzers.

Patriarchy is a theme throughout this book and Steph asks Anne about this. There is a comment in her book that really stands out:

"As they stand on the podium with the cheating husband, modern White Queens receive a good deal of public scorn, even though it was the husband who strayed outside of marriage and is more deserving of condemnation."

Follow Anne Michaud at her website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and buy her book on Amazon.ca in Canada or Amazon.com in the US.

And Buy American Czarina on Amazon.ca or Buy American Czarina on Amazon.com

Check out Stephanie's children's book:

“What Should Dragon Do?”:

https://stephaniewebbcoach.wixsite.com/stephanieannwebb/author

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to this week’s episode of the StephUp Podcast! Thank you for your support and for coming back each week to listen. This episode features special guest, Clisver Alvarez.

Clisver is a mental health advocate and mindset coach. Her business is called Blue Greis Lifestyle.

Clisver shares her story about how she came to be diagnosed with bipolar disorder and how it affected her and her family. At the age of 16, she thought it was an asthma attack at first and walked herself to the hospital. As she dealt with the side effects of being put on medication, Clisver also tried to commit suicide by jumping off a roof. Thankfully, she reached out to someone during this time.

Steph asks Clisver if there is a difference between manic depression and bipolar disorder. Clisver thinks it depends on the person as some people deal more with hypomania, others are more manic and others have schizoaffective disorder.

Dealing with being diagnosed as a teenager was very difficult as Clisver was not only dealing with the side effects from her medication as well as missing school and having to catch up. Journaling was a huge help for Clisver during this time and it has now become part of her career as a mindset coach and mental health advocate.

"At the time, I saw my illness as my kryptonite, as my weakness. I remember crying and seeing myself as a victim. But I turned it into my biggest virtue."

As Clisver works with her clients , she creates a personalized 12-step program to help them with their confidence, working through their mental health and learning to advocate for themselves.

There are a lot of stigmas around bipolar disorder and mental health. Clisver is Hispanic and in her community, asking for help is a sign of weakness. She fights to help people work through these stigmas.

Follow Clisver on her Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and her website.

Check out Stephanie's children's book:

“What Should Dragon Do?”:

https://stephaniewebbcoach.wixsite.com/stephanieannwebb/author

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to this week’s episode of the StephUp Podcast! Thank you for your support and for coming back each week to listen. This episode features special guest Heather Ross of Heather Ross Coaching.

Steph and Heather begin their conversation by talking about Heather’s background. She is a life coach who mainly works with parents who have children struggling with addiction. She got into this field because she has a daughter who struggles with addiction. Before life coaching, Heather was unsure of how to help and manage her daughter’s addiction and do what she felt what right for her. She felt like she was doing everything wrong and just suffering in silence. After finally figuring out what worked for her as a mother and what worked best for her daughter, she felt compelled to share this information with others. 

“I felt that although I may not be able to help my daughter, I could help other kids by helping their parents.”

Heather initially thought that by being a perfect parent, she could prevent her daughter from being anything but successful (and she always was a good kid), but when addiction took over, Heather blamed herself. And this is how a lot of parents feel. A lot of time is spent trying to figure out what went wrong, which means there is no focus on the solution. Heather was finally able to bridge the gap between her and her daughter when she accepted that she had done the best job she could as a parent. Heather committed to learning as much about addiction as possible and having a good relationship with her daughter, no matter what stage of addiction or recovery she was in. Heather also realized that the more she open she was with others about what she was going through with her daughter, the more help and support she received, which really helped her heal.

Steph and Heather talk about how there are other kinds of addictions besides drugs, such as food and television (which seem to be more acceptable) but regardless, there is still something deep inside us we are searching for which fuels this addiction. We can be very judgmental of other’s addictions without realizing we have one ourselves. We need to stop focusing so much on the addiction and more on what the addiction is trying to show us.

Over the years, certain kinds of addictions have increased, such as opioid addition, which is what her daughter struggled with. In Canada, marijuana is legal, but Heather doesn’t necessarily feel that it will lead to a more serious addiction, any more than alcohol can. It just depends on the person and where they are in their life. Some people can handle substances and others can’t. 

Steph talks about how when she was in high school in the 90’s, things like anxiety and depression weren’t as openly discussed as they are today. But kids in the 90’s didn’t have the same struggles and experiences, like with social media for example. Heather thinks that societal pressures today can negatively impact and fuel addictions in kids. Listen in to hear the rest of their great conversation and please remember to rate, subscribe, and share with your friends!

Connect with Heather

·    On her website

·    On Instagram

·    On Facebook

·    Listen to her podcast, Living with Addiction

Check out Stephanie's children's book:

“What Should Dragon Do?”:

https://stephaniewebbcoach.wixsite.com/stephanieannwebb/author

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello and welcome to the StephUp Podcast!

On today's episode, I'll be talking through Judy Dyer's book, "The Highly Sensitive" with stories from  my own experience as being a highly sensitive person and finally feeling understood.

0:01 What is an HSP?

0:43 "The Highly Sensitive" by Judy Dyer intro

1:25 Feeling Emotionally Overwhelmed

6:08 Saying No and Setting Boundaries

9:13 My Experience with an Unhealthy Relationship

11:45 Depression: My Experience

15:15 Overstimulation is so challenging for an HSP

19:57 Anxiety in my own life

21:07 Sensitive startle reflexes is so me!

23:17 Healing through personal growth and authentic conversations

27:03 Subscribe, rate & review BYEEEE

Buy Judy Dyer’s book on Amazon.com or on Amazon.ca.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to this week’s episode of the StephUp Podcast! Thank you for your support and for coming back each week to listen. This episode features special guest David from the Graceful Atheist Podcast.

Steph and David begin the episode by talking about the primary theme of the Graceful Atheist Podcast, which is deconstruction and deconversion. David has guests who have varieties of life-altering faith. They have lived this faith out over many years and have come to a point where they can no longer believe-which can be a joyful, or even a painful thing. David talks about the concept of secular grace, loving and accepting others unconditionally, which is a more of a human need than a supernatural thing. David also talks to Steph about his first experiences with other atheists, which was very debate-orientated and aggressive, which wasn’t what he was looking for. David wanted more of a meaningful conversation, which is what he now does on his podcast.

 David discusses with Steph his past as a believer, which began when he was about 19 years old. He attended church faithfully each week and even helped out in the youth group. Because of that experience, David went on to bible college to become a preacher. During that time, David referred to himself as a “grace junkie” and made that the primary focus of his ministry-to teach others grace. Fast forward about 20 years, David began to read non-Christian authors for the first time, which led to a long and slow process of deconversion. After reading some apologists, David was bothered by their arguments, which just didn’t seem right to him. He accepted the conclusion by faith, but the arguments weren’t sound. His "grace-colored" glasses came off and he had the sudden and shocking realization that he no longer believed. This led to David creating his podcast, because the process of deconversion is a lonely one.

 “As soon as I had the sudden realization that I no longer believed, I began to look at what I did believe in, which was people. I was a humanist.”

 
Steph and David go on to talk about what it means to be an Evangelical Christian, which in general means a focus on scripture, the humanity and divinity of Christ, the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, and salvation through Jesus alone. Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism are similar, but Fundamentalism has more of a negative connotation, so it tends to be rejected more.  

David ends his conversation with Steph by saying that he is not pointing his finger at believers or attacking them, but rather he is just expressing how at one point, he was a strong believer but now he is not. The apologetic arguments that he once found to be convincing no longer make sense to him.  

Listen in to hear the rest of their great conversation and please remember to rate, subscribe, and share with your friends!

 Links mentioned in the episode:

Sean McDowell chats with Genetically Modified Skeptic

Kalam Cosmological Argument

Connect with David

·       Instagram

·       Twitter

·       Facebook

·       YouTube

·       Subscribe to his podcast!

Follow StephUp Podcast on Instagram and check out her website!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to another bonus episode of the StephUp Podcast in which I collaborate with JR Sparrow from WV Uncommon Place.

Let's Talk about Coffee and why we love it! Check out our conversation about our favourite blends of coffee, how much of it we drink and why we started in the first place!

So grab a cup of your best coffee and sip along with us as we chat about coffee!

Follow WV Uncommon Place IG and FB

Follow StephUp Podcast on IG and on her website

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to this week’s episode of the StephUp Podcast! Thank you for your support and for coming back each week to listen. This episode features special guest Randy Spelling. Randy is an author, credentialed life coach, and a passionate practitioner of change and result. Today Randy talks to us about getting clear on our boundaries and communicating them to others with confidence. 

Steph and Randy begin their conversation by talking about how they often both compare themselves to other people. Randy is not only a life coach to others, but also to Steph! When she first met him, she was nervous of course, since she used to watch him on TV, but soon realized how kind and down to earth he was. There was no reason to compare herself or feel nervous! Randy often feels the same way Steph does, but towards other celebrities or experts. The one thing he has learned through his work though, is that everyone has problems. We all struggle on some level with something, and no one has a perfect life. We are all more alike than different.

Steph and Randy also talk about boundaries, which is one of Steph’s favorite topics. Most people have an idea of what boundaries are but don’t always think they are good at respecting them, good at setting them (and wonder what others may think of them if they do), or don’t feel like they have any at all. Randy says that setting boundaries is one of the most loving things we can do for ourselves. When you learn to speak up when a boundary has been crossed, you let others know how they make you feel, which gives them the opportunity to change.

 It’s important to remember that other people can’t read your mind and may not know when they’ve crossed one of your boundaries. They will only know if you communicate with them. 

If you are someone who struggles to communicate how you feel, being assertive about your boundaries may come across as mean or bitchy. In the beginning, give yourself grace to be a bit clumsy and over time, you will learn how to better communicate how you feel. The more you practice, the better you get. When you are dealing with people who are manipulative and have no respect for boundaries, Randy suggests that we not “take the bait”. Don’t let someone make you feel guilty for asserting yourself. Make your boundaries very clear, as well as the consequences for breaking them.

Randy goes on to talk about how setting boundaries is another form of self-love, a way of advocating for yourself. Most of us view boundaries as the way we come off to others, such as how we look or sound. But learning to look at boundaries as a way of advocating for ourselves and then communicating that to others is one of the biggest hurdles we can overcome.

“Setting boundaries is a form of self-love”

Steph and Randy finish their conversation by discussing whether boundaries can have cultural differences and similarities, which they can. One of Steph’s best friends is Hungarian and her culture just say’s it how it is, whereas in Canada, Steph states they tend to be more passive aggressive. 

Listen in to hear the rest of their conversation and please remember to rate, subscribe, and share with your friends!

Connect with Randy!

-on his website

-on Instagram

-on Facebook

-buy Randy’s book

Follow StephUp Podcast on Instagram and Facebook check out her website!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.