Bringing together friends from different walks of life. The anxiety around first time being a guest, bringing a guest, or allowing unknown guests at your thing. Being hospitable and inviting of newness and strange. Having new conversations, seeing new perspectives and bringing new concepts to the table in your existing friends and relationships. remembering people’s names, and love through connecting with each other.

Reference: Kwik Brain Podcast (I think episode 113 - Boost your Focus?!)

This week we sit down with Jon Potts and talk white-kid suburbia, “takers,” & helping someone when you aren’t perfect yourself. Flipping cars, their failed intervention, and when Jon stopped disliking Liz. Caring about oneself first and then the desire/ability to care for others only after self-care. Exercise leading to having your best clarity. Martial arts & confidence. The need for women to walk confidently - Ronda Rousey’s “do-nothing-bitches;" the power of words and putting effort into yourself. Not being afraid to look stupid. Follow him on IG @pottsbjj

The concept of “just a box” is from Jen Pastiloff’s On Being Human; we intentionally downplay what we’re doing because we aren’t proud, or worse, because we’re ashamed. The progress paradox is in competition and the negative side of ambition; no matter what you get/do, you always want more. If you’re “just an actress, just a waitress, just in retail…” you shape the entire experience using a negative connotation, therefore altering the experience entirely. Comparing our experience to where others are or where we "should" be, takes away from the opportunity to make NOW what we want it to be. We have the choice to show up differently.

Summary on what has gone down in the first 7 episodes so far and where we'll head going forward. Hoping to get more feedback and topics for conversation from you guys! If anything has resonated with you so far along my journey, leave me a review to show your support.

Perfectionism: not doing the job because you’re afraid of failing. Would you rather be right, or happy? Sure you can fail, but you can also learn. Failing is scary and hard, but it’s the only way we learn. Do I want to be fake happy, or do I want to actually? Being happier for ME makes me see the world differently, everything becomes possible.

Was there less depression in Europe because of more self-expression? Was their verbiage different in speaking to one another looking for honesty? Or was it because there was more weeknight socializing? Is there more honesty/directness among Europeans; or was I being more honest and therefore they were being more open too?

What do you care about and how can you step up to make a difference? Realization that you can’t outrun your problems. You can only BE YOURSELF. When you accept yourself, the rest starts to get easier.

Resources: Melissa Hartwig-Urban’s Podcast Do The Thing: Procrastination vs. Striving for Excellence.

In this episode, Cristina and Liz discuss the difficulties and fears of being the first person in a given position in a company to step out of the traditional role (and ask for more freedom, creative license and budget) then Cris' decision to start her own Public Relations company. How believing in yourself and trusting your abilities and choices impact the confidence and drive you have during the hustle season.

Above all, communicating fully with trust and respect, and having a support system in her family and especially in her marriage are what make it all work.

Cristina expresses the ups and downs of early days of entrepreneurship, and how far she’s come in her business and in her work relationships. How her daughter’s birth earlier this year has deepened her love for her husband, family and C Bee PR even more. Find her on IG: @crisbis12 and @CBeePR

Honestly you have to just listen to the episode. Alcohol, Kratom, Weed, Psychedelics and the hard stuff. And facing the hard stuff. 

References:

The Insight Timer App - 5 Minutes of Self Compassion; Brene Brown - The Power of Vulnerability; The School of Greatness Podcast with Guest Cal Newport - The Power of Digital Detox; The Joe Rogan Experience - Episode 876 with Chris Bell

Living your life in the game vs. in the stands, or in our heads. In the stands is the inner critic. Brene Brown calls the Court “in the arena.” Living your life fully, like a gladiator in the arena, is taking risks and being vulnerable.

If you're in the stands for life, it can quickly pass you by; judging yourself, talking negatively towards yourself, and preventing yourself from making choices; just cheering on the game, and never being in it. 

Get on the court today. Notice when you’re talking yourself down from something. The inner critic is there as a defense mechanism. He wants to keep you alive and keep you from living outside of safety and -- but instead of a life, what you get is death by sadness or boredom if you always listen to him. Remember, no one is getting out of this thing alive. Notice when your inner critic is fully controlling your life, and physically pull yourself back to reality and out of that anxiety.

References: The Landmark Forum - created by Werner Erhard; Daring Greatly - Brene Brown; On Being Human - Jen Pastiloff

Brandon (BJ) & Liz talk about the spiritual significance of Bali; Brandon's basketball career, as well as paving his own way throughout college and his Masters in college in London. How his vision, role models, and dreams worked together to push him through moments of fear and to embark on his life's greatest adventures thus far.  Liz shares some of the confronting and difficult conversations she had as a result of the Landmark Forum class in NYC 2 weeks earlier. We tackle the lessons we learn from our parents, and seeing them as humans. We are the only ones who decide how our life really turns out. Liz & Brandon discuss the impact of support from those around you,  how important it is to believe in yourself, and why we must allow our dreams to transform as we do. It is up to us as a generation to give up our secrets. Helping each other grow and succeed will help us all rise together - no more secret recipes. Check out BJ's recruitment company for Americans to play sports abroad at www.intlsportrecruitment.com and @intlsportrrecruitment, as well as his personal brand IG @basquiatmarley

The more you do hard things, the easier it becomes to do hard things. Everyone is imperfect and no one is lucky or without struggle. Go after your dreams - stop settling for mundane. Communicating our needs and being more self-expressed to lead more fulfilled and honest lives. We can all make a difference, but you have to choose WHAT matters to you, and then take action.  Taking compliments - not playing small or being modest anymore. Compliment yourself. Teach yourself that it's okay to love yourself. Recovery by Russell Brand - being of service to others improves our sense of self-worth (and gets you out of your heard for a minute usually). The Little Book of Lykke by Meik Weiking - the importance of intergenerational relationships. Give compliments and stop letting fear hold you back from making connections with people.

Abby Wombach's Wolfpack - we are all leaders. We CAN and will all make a difference.

Still working on the audio here. Really echo-ey-- skip ahead to ep 3 and come back to this one when you can listen with patience and volume control. Explaining my three months backpacking Europe and learning to make friends and open up more to strangers. Someone doesn't have to be a close friend to share an intimate memory or story. A new perspective after traveling. Human search for answers and purpose. Cultural universals of human struggle, and sharing in our struggles, relying on the support of the community. We are all misfits; facing that the distraction by our screens and our activities is because we are afraid of feeling alone. Despite we live the opposite, we are all just desiring connection.