Your Life: The Sequel

John James is an imposing and dynamic character at 6'4 with a head full of ginger locks and a big personality to go along with it. He has been a successful events and interiors person for years, until COVID hit and changed his life. Listen to how this entrepreneur let go of his old way of making a living and opened a retail store in the middle of the pandemic at a time when most businesses were closing their doors. His success will be an inspiration to all.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

See John's work at https://www.johnjamesdesigns.com and learn more about his new venture at https://www.shopjohnjames.com

We are very excited to chat with The Chef Sisters: Kristin Bryan and Karista Bennett; identical twins making a name for themselves in the cooking world. Learn how they made their switch from corporate work to cooking experts with 2 book titles to their credit.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHEF SISTERS MEDIA

Hi, we're The Chef Sisters, both chefs, and twin sisters. We believe in really good food. We also believe in telling the stories of those who are an integral part of growing, raising, brewing, and creating the food we eat. From farmers to restaurants, to the home chef who loves to cook, The Chef Sisters media is a platform designed to inspire, encourage, innovate, educate, and make a difference in how we eat and what we eat. 


The Chef Sisters Media offers fresh, down-to-earth food content, recipe development, digital cookbooks, food product partnerships, food R&D, food photography, food marketing, and product reviews. We're thrilled you're here to visit us, feel free to reach out for more information at [email protected].

About Kristin Bryan

After a 15-year marketing career in the start-up space and then launching my own eCommerce start-up, I found myself at a crossroads, and a new passion emerged. Working under my sisters' instruction and training, I developed recipes and marketing initiatives for culinary partners, learned the art of food photography, and used my storytelling skills to write about the culinary industry. Together in 2016, we combined forces and formed a culinary media company. 

In the spring of 2018, with a desire to further expand my culinary skills, I accepted a position at an Orlando theme park signature restaurant, where I am currently a chef.

Sometimes cooking isn't just about the food. It's about the people, the place, and the journey to the table. Cooking good food is a gift of experiences in each bite and an adventure on every plate. Cooking allows me to share delicious moments of joy in a way nothing else can. Because when the meal is gone, and the table is empty, the memories will be with us forever. That is the beauty of life." 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 About Karista Bennett

In 2002, after attending Scottsdale Culinary Institute, I began my culinary career as a private chef. During that time, I also worked as a culinary instructor for the IACP Award-winning culinary school, PCC Cooks in Seattle, Washington, and wrote a monthly food column for The Issaquah Press.

After a move to Oregon in 2013, I took a position as Sous Chef at Oregon State University before transitioning into full-time food writing, food photography, and working as an on-air recipe expert and culinary ambassador. My first cookbook, The Oregon Farm Table Cookbook with Countryman Press, will be released on September 1, 2020.

"I’ve always had a poetic view of food. Hunger-enticing aromas swirling about my place at the table and causing a deep soul-filled joy. With the first bite, I pause, relishing the beauty of the flavors dancing on my tongue. Food is the element that brings us to the table, where life is lived and memories are made." 

About Christina McFadden:
Christina specializes in executive presence, group dynamics, and identifying verbal and nonverbal communication patterns while helping leaders become aware of their impact. Through her 15+ years of experience in leadership and as a facilitator, she has helped multiple leaders and teams develop skills that support rapid growth.
Learn more about Christina and her work at Blue Door Partners.

In this episode of Your Life: The Sequel Podcast, Rick Rochon and Melissa Carlson are with Christina McFadden and will talk about growing the “germ” of change. Christina is an executive coach and facilitator. She works with folks all over the world or companies all over the world who want to make a change. 

How would you talk to someone who is just in that pre-change “I really think it might be good if” 

[3:08] 

According to Christina, some of the things she would help someone think about is what's important? what are your values? And we might do some digging around the understanding. Like what's actually really important to me? And then notice, how aligned am I with that purpose or those values. 

 [7:53] 

 One of the things Christina love to do with folks is do some education around their inner critic or their saboteur so they can start understanding that we actually have multiple voices in our head. 

 [10:01] 

 Our saboteur is usually looking for one of three things; 

1. Safety
2. Dignity
3. Belonging

 How does shame work into change?

 [13:00]
 
 Notice that when that voice shows up, check in with it, is it trying to keep you safe? Is it trying to help you feel like you make sure you belong? Or is it protecting something?
 
 [15:07]
 
 Step one to change is starting to just notice that voice without judgment. The fact that you just saw that voice right now is the first step in having a new relationship with it.

 [18:36]
 
 Celebrate the steps. Celebrate the success.

 [21:46]
 
 The thing is we are our toughest critics. When we let that inner critic, voice come alive and let it drive, it just crushes us because it doesn't want us to change. It wants us to stay where we are at.

 [23:00]
 
 Christina shares that she loves the acronym for fear, which is False Evidence Appearing Real.

 Tactics that are meaningful for people to document their journey

 [25:51]
 
 Think about that bigger goal. It's about making those incremental tiny changes one step at a time. With any changes, you're just going to have to give it a try. You're going to have to know that you're going to fail and your inner critics can be like, you cannot fail. But the thing is that's the only way to change is to actually fail, to actually try things out and figure out what works for you.
 
 [29:22]
 
 When you want to make a change, if you can build a stronger relationship with that part of yourself, change has a different flavor because all of a sudden you're in choice versus just she's a designated driver of all change.
 
 Tune in to the podcast by visiting: 

 

Website: https://yourlife.buzzsprout.com
 
 

Follow Rick Rochon at his socials:
 
 

Website: https://www.rickrochon.com/rick-rochon
 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/realestateinsf | https://www.facebook.com/rickapedia
 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickrochon/
 
 

In this episode of Your Life: The Sequel Podcast, Rick Rochon and Melissa Carlson are going to talk about making big decisions in life. As they experience the struggle of transitioning to their new found lives, Rick and Alyssa dives into planning your life, mental resilience and being inspired to your accomplishments.

Deciding to start a podcast

[2:02]

A lot of people have done the right thing. They went to college and got a job. Maybe they liked the job. Maybe they don't like the job they got into raising their family. For Rick, he has a really strong core belief, which is we are all meant to do something. And a lot of people may never have even endeavored to try the thing that they were made to do.

[3:36]

When Rick was about 40 years old, he decided that he wants to take a sabbatical and do something fun. He started this company called Ludlow and did it in Seattle. He opened a store and it was like a 2,500 square foot store. He was getting published in all the magazines that you want to have a design store published in. 

[4:29]

At the age of 50, Rick feels that he’s not happy doing the work that he has. He then asks himself if what does he love doing. He then decided to be a real estate agent in San Francisco. 

[8:07]

Rick reached out to different friends who are going to help him with the podcast. But it didn't happen overnight and it won't happen quickly—he broke it apart into simple pieces so that it's actionable.

Making a change

[11:44]

A career could be an important thing for somebody else. Rick started making perfumes about two and a half years ago.

[13:29]

For Alyssa, pitfalls and screw-ups are crucial as we go on to a journey towards success.

[14:38]

Alyssa thinks that humans are overly fixated on things that we failed to do and things we succeed upon doing. We forgot essence behind the experience—which is to understand the lesson behind the struggles.

[15:04]

The important thing for people is if you don't know who you want to be, who you were meant to be, who was that little kid in the playground start trying things, that's why we're going to bring you people who are going to teach you how to write and how to dance and do any kind of thing. 

[17:07]

Alyssa advises to get out of your own way and hopes that people should do the same. People learn a lot of things from the stories that we hear and information that we get from anyone—it helps us.

[17:40]

For Rick, wake up every day with a goal—to learn something you haven’t yesterday. Try to enjoy your day, it may not be fun but you need to move. Come up with a plan and get someone to help you along the way.

Tune in to the podcast by visiting: 

Website: https://www.revital.ist/

Follow Rick Rochon at his socials:

Website: https://www.rickrochon.com/rick-rochon

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/realestateinsf | https://www.facebook.com/rickapedia

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickrochon/

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------