Think Courageously with Deb Cummins Stellato

Have you ever felt like your happiness was just one decision away, but recreating your life seemed "too complicated"? I know I have!

Jessica and her husband had reached their idea of happiness. They had been married for 17 years, had three boys, the huge suburban house, a job on Wall Street, and the ability to be a stay at home mom. All of their boxes had been checked, so how could something be missing?

Today, I welcome Jessica Klasnick on the Think Courageously Podcast for her to share her story of recreating happiness. Jessica and her husband have been on a 5 year journey of discovery! This discovery has included re-evaluating their priorities and values in order to rediscover full happiness.

Jessica's story is full of pivots, but it all started with a spark of courage. Jessica and her family used their savings to go on a year long trip around the world that started in New York City and ended in Sydney, Australia, hitting 23 different places in between! And if you thought that was the end of their pivots, their story had just begun!!

Jessica tells the story of when her husband quit his Wall Street job, they traveled the world, and came back home to  sell everything they owned. They moved into a 1200 square foot condo in the mountains of Colorado with their three kids and started living a life they loved!

We discuss breaking societal norms, sharing courage and pivots with your kids, discussing life changing pivots with your partner, the evolution of our values, and recreating your happiness. 

Today, Jessica is a women's certified Life Coach where she helps women get what they want out of life using causal coaching, meditation, future focus, and life principals. You can find out more about Jessica at the links below:

www.jessicaklasnick.com
www.facebook.com/jessica.klasnick
www.instagram.com/jessicaklasnick

What happens when overwhelm, anxiety and exhaustion knock you off your feet? When you feel disconnected from yourself and the world?

This is the story of getting very still and listening to the universe.

In this episode, I share a very personal journey.  An adventure that allows me the space to follow my intuition and trust the universe to bring me back into alignment.

It's a peek into my spiritual awakening and willingness to just listen.

This is the story of a trip into the woods, and my favorite little spot, Woodloch Lodge, with my most favorite human, my daughter Alli.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience".

During our 48 hour getaway (is it really a getaway), we pamper and play and adopt the pace of nature.

And, we meet with a medium.  Who allows us to tune in to creating pace in a new relationship with my mama.



 

Powerhouse...mother, lawyer, activist, former elite gymnast...meet Jessica Armstrong 

Today on The Think Courageously Podcast, Jessica shares her story of childhood sexual abuse by her gymnast coach. And the courage it took to overcome and redefine her story. 

As a survivor of sexual abuse, Jessica now advocates for individuals in elite sports. Her passion, supporting legislative initiatives that protect young victims from sexual abuse.

In today’s episode, we talk about facing shame head on, redefining success, allowing our stories to evolve, having compassion for ourselves, and understanding our complex identities. Basically how to become a badass! 

 And of course, we discuss success…

“I think that trying to achieve a level of contentment, happiness, and success in all aspects of your life- from parenting, to your relationships, to sustaining the friendships that are important to you, to working with your community there’s so much in that, that gives me a level of satisfaction. And so to me, success is less today about the external markers and more about being aligned with my values and working toward things that are satisfying.”

 Jessica and I talk about how sharing your story brings more confidence, courage, and power to it. We discuss Jessica’s passion to protect young victims from sexual abuse and the steps she took to become an advocate for them.  

 Today, Jessica practices law for St. Luke University Health Network in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Jessica acts as an advocate for athletes pursuing claims with Safesport and with individual athletic governing bodies.

Join me on today's episode, a replay from 2020, for a tribute to my mom. 

On this special Mother's Day edition of the podcast, I'm sharing the powerful stories that my mom taught me to face life courageously. 

You'll get a glimpse into my mama (otherwise known as The Force of Nature) and her childhood. I'll share some of the stories and lessons she shared with me that are foundational to my own mindset. And to Thinking Courageously.

I'll talk about spaghetti fights, being the daughter of a strong woman and how her lessons helped me navigate grief after she died.  

I'll also share a parable that I recently learned about from one of my own coaches, Alexandra Taketa. It's proven to be such a powerful story for me during this uncertain time. I think it will resonate with you too. 

Ever felt like you didn’t fit in the box others tried to put you in? Like a round peg in a square hole kind of situation? 

As a young child, Katharina describes herself as loud, outspoken, free-spirited, and open-minded. 

Her square hole dilemma…growing up in a traditional, strict German household with distinct mannerisms.... where she learned to be elegant and not “too much” for others. 

In today’s episode, I speak with Katharina Sturzl about not fitting in with the cultural norms of Germany, her big pivot to move to the United States, and the courageous steps she took to get where she is today. 

In 2016, Katharina applied to various internships abroad to continue her education of cultural studies. She landed a business internship for a manufacturing company and courageously took the big leap to move to America. During this time, Katharina describes finding her own voice and listening to her intuition instead of continually needing to seek advice, support, and opinions from her family and friends. 

During this episode, Katharina and I talk about her journey to courage, breaking out of the box, finding freedom, trusting her voice, and living a judgment-free life. 

And we discuss one of Katharina’s biggest successes, discovering her intuition… 

 “It takes practice to pay attention to your emotion. And it comes from your gut. Some people feel it in their heads. Some people feel it in their chest. Some people in their belly, it all depends on you. But it takes practice to listen to it. "-

She had the two kids, the giant house, and her college sweetheart. What more could a girl ask for? I talk with Heidi Esther about what it felt like to have this perfectly successful life but yet feel like it was a perfect façade. 

Heidi’s idea of success was to be the "typical" stay-at-home mom who loved sewing.  and  lived in the suburbs with her successful husband. 

Her idea of success came down like a wrecking ball when she realized she was in an emotionally unsafe marriage, hated sewing, and was definitely not perfect. Oh yeah…and that she was gay. 

In this episode, Heidi and I talk about trusting your intuition, listening and honoring your voice within. We discuss the harmful results of dismissing your emotions and the importance of embracing your raw feelings with authenticity and courage. 

Heidi and I discuss her journey of acceptance, self-compassion, empathy, depression, people-pleasing, and co-dependency.   

She opens up on the struggle with experiencing and living in shame when she realized she was gay. She explains that her biggest hurdle was accepting that she didn’t know the deepest and intimate parts of herself and the shame that came with it. 

And we explore the Shame Parfait...

 “We are all this parfait and we’re constantly consciously and unconsciously putting layers in. And the hard part is, at some point, it gets really unruly. And the more you accept, you kind of adjust like I accept that, you know I’m going to be a divorced person. All right, I’m going to eat that layer of having that divorce label. And the more you accept, the more that you can kind of enjoy your life.” 

Today, Heidi is building a community called the Mom-Munity where she starts a weekly conversation around a true story, poem, and reflection. Her mission is to assist moms in building self-awareness, joy, and acceptance in their lives. 

Heidi also has a book coming out this summer called Mom’s Sanity, The Wake-Up Call. 

You can find more out about Heidi at the links below:

www.heidiesther.com/

www.heidiesther.com/tricks-treats-and-the-bookshelves/ 

We. Need. This. Conversation. Now. 

Today’s episode features, Richonda Pelzer, a Rockstar of a woman! 

Richonda works at CliftonLarsonAllen as the Director of Engagement.. This woman has had one heck of a career, and that is only the beginning of her story!

In this episode of The Think Courageously Podcast, we get real about  self identification and the power of showing up as your whole, authentic self. 

Richonda identifies herself as a black woman, a lesbian woman, and a woman of faith living with epilepsy. 

Richonda discusses her experiences of being a black woman and the stereotypes that come with being the “first only and different” (FOD) individual in her professional career and in her personal endeavors. 

Richonda ignites passion when she talks about how we as woman can encourage and show up for individuals who are the “first only and different”.  

We chat about learning from each other, committing to building relationships and trust with others who are different than us.

 “I still need to have all of those pieces of me so that I can show up and truly be my authentic self. I can’t be my authentic self to make someone else feel comfortable because they feel uncomfortable about me having epilepsy or me being black or whatever part of my identity that they feel uncomfortable about that I need to then be flexible because of that.” 

We assess monumental opportunities for pivots and courage when we choose to allow others to give us feedforward, which we can use to grow. 

Richonda sparks a pivotal challenge to us all as we discuss becoming a better version of ourselves every single day. 

One step at a time, one day at a time, choosing courage and making pivots will fan into flame the best version in each of us! 

You can find out more out about Richonda at the links below:

linkedin.com/in/richondapelzer

Today I want you to meet Sarah Manuel, a truly courageous and inspirational woman. From birth, Sarah has had to make many pivots that shaped her as a person. Sarah shares her story about being born with a genetic disease called Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Doctors told her she would not live past the age of 4, and she beat those odds! 

Sarah tells about her life in a wheelchair, and recalls multiple stories from her childhood where she chose to make pivots to put herself out there and chase her goals. As a young adult though, she struggled with denial regarding her disability. It was difficult for her to come in contact with others with disabilities because it reminded her of her own. More than anything, Sarah wanted to be “normal” and live a “normal” life, but she soon realized her definition of “normal” wasn’t all that accurate.

Sarah tells the story of how she came face to face with her identity and her purpose. She embraced her differences and truly believed she had a story and purpose that was worth sharing. This led her to studying school psychology, where she began identifying and advocating for kids with disabilities. 

We talk about how doctors told Sarah she would not be able to have her own children. Since this was a dream of Sarah and her husband, she chose to defy the wisdom of doctors and instead embrace courage. Sarah defied the odds once again when she brought their dream baby into the world. 

Sarah’s message brings us all hope and a sense of perseverance. She tells me, “If your underlying belief and understanding is that differences are bad, they’re just different. I think that will empower you to take on the hard things that will allow your life to pivot and will allow you to show up courageously and will give you the success that you’re looking for.” 

Today, Sarah has a course called Destination: Tomorrow, which helps people destroy their self-imposed limits and reminds them of what they are capable of. She has another course that’s in the development process called the Purpose Discovery Blueprint which helps others identify their differences and how that should drive their purpose. Not only that, but Sarah is currently publishing a children’s book called Differences are Dynamite. 

You can check out more about Sarah at the links below:

https://sarahmanuel.com/destination-tomorrow/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahmanuel35/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manuelsarah35 
Clubhouse: @sarahmanuel35

Today, I want to introduce you to a fellow Jersey girl, Sandra Scaiano. She’s a web designer, digital strategist, branding guru, and Kajabi expert. But Sandra’s story doesn’t start there!

In this episode, Sandra shares her courageous journey to creating her own business. After spending 20+ years in fashion PR and marketing, her time in the corporate world ended on a Friday morning when her company abruptly shut down. The biggest kicker though was that she was nine months pregnant, and went into labor the following Monday.

We talk about how this critical point in Sandra’s life caused her to make many pivots and jump into the most courageous version of herself. Sandra shares about her short time doing consulting before she quickly had her second child. It was during this time that she made the biggest pivot and decided to learn how to code.

Sandra says, “I didn’t think of myself as breaking barriers or anything. I was like, I’m just going to do this.” But she didn’t stop with coding and web development. Sandra devoted her time to understanding all the digital tools and marketing that made a successful online business.

Today, Sandra comes alongside entrepreneurs to help them develop strategies from branding, tech support, social media expertise, website design, content development, and so much more. Sandra shares her passion for the “Long Game” approach to business, which entails the day in and day out work for long-term success.

You can find more out about Sandra at the links below, and be sure to check out her podcast “The Long Game” on your favorite Podcast platform.

www.sandrasky.com/

[email protected]

www.facebook.com/sandrascai

www.instagram.com/sandrascai/

www.linkedin.com/in/sandrasky/

We each have those defining, pivotal points in our lives that change and propel us in a different direction. That happened to Michele when her mother died of a sudden heart attack at the age of 58.

Michele shares how her mother committed her whole life to caring about other people, and in the end forgot to care for herself and her dreams. Michele also describes her 20 years as a federal litigator, which led her to a very dark place. And how her mother’s death brought her to make a professional pivot in her life. 

We talk about how Michele redefined her view of success and ended her time as a federal litigator. Today, she is a certified professional coach for lawyers and athletes. Michele's goal is to help others see that physical and professional success starts with nurturing their mental, emotional, and spiritual health.

Michele is a high-energy individual, a true adrenaline junkie, and a dog lover. Her driving force is helping others reach their full potential, so the life they live matches the life they have always dreamed of. 

Today, Michele is founder and owner of Life from the Summit. You can find out more about Michele below:

Website: www.lifefromthesummit.com 

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/michelewalter-lifefromthesummit 

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LifeFromTheSummit 

Instagram: @LifeFromTheSummit 

YouTube: Life From The Summit