The Intentional Advantage

Today, I want to share a quick story with you about my first bite of Jeni's Ice Cream, and how that led me to learn more about her story, buy her cookbook and set a small culinary goal for myself. After this mini-episode, I think you'll feel more inspired to figure out and follow your passions and set small goals to work towards them. Is there something you can't stop dreaming about? What can you do today or this week to make it happen?

It's time to weed through our ideas and look at them with a fresh perspective. Learn how you can let go of old, stale ideas in order to pursue your new, tweaked ones. I'll share ways you can boost and foster your creativity, as well as tips for getting past your creative roadblocks. After listening to today's episode, you'll be able to embrace the whitespace and allow yourself to work effectively and creatively going forward.

What's In This Episode:

• Examples of how you may be living in idea debt, causing you to stand still instead of move forward. • Actionable tips on ways you can increase and foster your creativity right now. • What to do with your stale ideas so you allow yourself to work effectively towards what really matters most. • Three ideas for how you can get past roadblocks and allow yourself to think freely and creatively. • Why boredom is actually a good thing, and how to start embracing your whitespace.

When I go to speaking events and conferences, I usually talk with people about their personal goals and dreams. The question, "What's holding you back?" often comes up. They say they're just waiting for the perfect time or opportunity, but that never actually happens. I'll share how this relates to why I started my podcast and where I record my episodes… and here's a hint - it's not in a glamorous recording studio that I dreamed up.

Today, I'm talking about the reasons why we allow ourselves to feel overwhelmed by our ideas, and how that can keep us from working toward our goals. I'll share solutions for your overwhelm and tips for narrowing in on your ideas. We'll discuss the importance of being a beginner and how to embrace the whitespace in life so you can actually work more effectively.

What's In This Episode:

• How to stop your feelings of overwhelm and push through barriers that are holding you back. • The top six reasons why we allow ourselves to feel overwhelmed with our ideas. • Solutions for overwhelm and how to narrow in on your ideas and tasks so you can accomplish your goal. • Why being a beginner is a good thing that you can use to your advantage. • Ways to embrace the silence and whitespace in your life that will allow you to work more effectively.

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Recently, I came across a documentary about writer, director and producer, Nora Ephron, with the same title as this mini-episode. Nora said, "Why would anyone write fiction when what actually happens is so amazing." Learn how Nora thinks we can all 'win' when we own our stories… the good and the bad. In turn, we can be heroes in the midst of struggle and tragedy.

I'm continuing my conversation with blind adventurer, Erik Weihenmayer, in part two of his interview. Today we're discussing failure, how trauma affects us and being confronted with setbacks. Erik has kayaked through rapids and climbed numerous mountains around the world including Mt Everest. He uses his experiences to inspire others through his No Barriers mission. His mindset and advice will inspire you in your own life.

What's In This Episode:

• Erik's advice for jumping back in after a setback or when you feel like you've failed.
• Why being brave is stronger and better than being fearless.
• Stories of Erik's expeditions and teammates of overcoming traumas to achieve big dreams.
• How sometimes you have to go back to the beginning to retrain our brains and rework our processes in order to move forward.
• What 'invisible barriers' are, who has the obstacles and how to use that in that a positive way.

Throughout season 4 of the podcast, I've talked a lot about making choices, and how our attitudes and mindset directly correlate to decisions we make. Today, I'm sharing what we can learn from an study on choices to help understand what motivates us. I'll also share one of my favorite quotes from my guest this week, Erik Weihenmayer, about how we are more likely to push ourselves and choose challenges when we have choices and focus on priorities.

Erik Weihenmayer is a blind adventurer who has climbed Mt. Everest, tackled the Seven Summits and kayaked the Grand Canyon. Today he's sharing his journey, struggles and traumas. After listening to our conversation today, I know you'll walk away feeling inspired to overcome your own obstacles, big or small. This interview was so powerful, I've split it into 2 episodes so part two will follow next week.

What's In This Episode:

• How Erik achieved one of his big goals of climbing Mount Everest while blind.
• While being blind is an obstacle for Erik and others, he explains other challenges we all face and how strength can outweigh those hardships.
• Erik's three categories we fall into when facing a challenge: Quitter, Camper and Climber.
• Why it's important to grow our "muscle of suffering"
• The importance of giving and receiving help and seeing that as an advantage when dealing with challenges.

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This week on the podcast, I talked about the power of choices and our internal locus of control - the belief that we have control over the outcomes of situations and decisions throughout life. Today, I want to share with you how to instill a locus of control in your own kids. Learn how giving your kids more choices will prepare them for success in the future.

Today, I'm talking about how we all have the power to make our own choices and decide which opportunities we want to take on. I'm sharing 5 actionable steps you can take to change your attitude from "I can't" to motivated and driven. After today's episode, you'll feel more inspired and ready to begin making purposeful choices that lead you towards big dreams.

What's In This Episode:

• How 'learned helplessness' may be a major factor getting in the way of working towards and accomplishing your dreams. • What internal locus of control is, and how it will help you be more successful and make improvements for the future. • Examples of people who have little to no choices, and how they deal and develop. • 5 steps for strengthening your internal locus of control and creating motivation for yourself.

For show notes go to inkwellpress.com/podcast