Love Your Story

Episode 164: 23-Day Alaskan Wilderness Survival: Interview - Tyson SteeleHis last semester of grad school Tiberius Steele lived in his car. When the university revoked all the grad student teaching scholarships he was forced to find a way to continue on with his schooling, but he couldn’t afford rent, so Tyson removed the passenger seat from his tiny Hyundai Accent, built a bed where the seat had been and parked up the canyon at nights. “It was great,” he said, “No rent, fresh mountain air. From that point on I was hooked on the idea of budget, small living.” But that’s just the beginning. How do we get from here to surviving in the Alaskan wilderness—in the lowlands south of Denali National Park, for 23 days in below freezing temperatures after his home burnt to the ground, killing his best friend and dog - a lab who had been with him through six years of rough living, and eating from burned out cans of food with melted plastic in them from the fire that decimated all his belongings? Tune into the audio prog

Episode 163 Challenge #2 Clutter Edited: Interview: Ashley Stuart  Ta Da! Introducing a set of episodes that are going to get into detail on each of the 21 challenges in the book L.I.F.E - Living Intentional and Fearless Everyday - the 21 Life Connection Challenges. In May of 2018 I tackled the first challenge - to do a Random Act of Kindness. It was episode 89. We got a group together who went out and did RAK and then I recorded their experiences for you guys and shared it. Now I’m on to challenge #2. Challenge #2 in the book is about taking a step toward decluttering our spaces - about less is more, and about the incredible importance in this concept. The challenge itself is to start out by getting rid of just 1 unneeded item you have in your house. It’s a stepping stone to a bigger clearing. Stay tuned as I start the second in a series of episodes that will delve more deeply into the 21 LIFE connection challenges and we’ll talk about how and why these challenges are going to make your life better

Episode 162: The Mental Edge: How to Perform at our Highest Levels - Interview Jeff MeyerWe all do something. Are you a parent, a lawyer, an actress, a podcaster, a Realtor, a soccer player, a sales person, a teacher, a socialite? Whatever it is YOU do, staying in a space of peak performance is the surest way to find success in being your best YOU. Today I talk with the originator of the Mental Edge, a insulting firm that offers sports and management counseling to athletes - it's all about the science of developing mental toughness and the mental techniques that keep us at our sharpest. Guess what? Some of it is all about the stories we tell ourselves. Tune in to the audio program for my interview with Jeff Meyer. Jeff has worked with over 2500 clients, from pro athletes, performers, coaches, administrators, and corporations. Jeff is from Colorado and earned his bachelor's degree in Social Psychological Kinesiology. he went on to earn a Masters degree in Pedagogy. Both from the University of Noreen Colorado.

Episode 161 The Power of the Human Soul - Interview: Todd Sylvester Today let’s gather around the technological campfire and hear the story of Todd Sylvester, addict turned inspiration. How does our hero come to be addicted to drugs and alcohol as a teen and how did he find his way out of that dark hole? What led him to try and help teens and young people not make his same mistakes and instead take hope in who they are? Stay tuned. His story is featured in Simon Sinek’s new book, “Find Your Why,” and today we’ll get a sneak peak at HIS why. Todd Sylvester learned that the human soul is more powerful than addiction after he beat his own addiction over 25 years ago. In 1989 he founded the non-profit, anti-drug entity Sly Dog “Drug Free That’s Me, which features a sought after education program for elementary schools. This program has encouraged over 100 thousand school-age students while emphasizing principles of positive self-talk (the stories we’re telling ourselves), personal commitment, goal setting and cha

Episode 160 How Being a Hostage Set Her Mind Free - Interview: Jo Marie Taylor There are moments in our lives that change us – become defining moments because they challenge what we thought we knew and make us think about things differently.  On 2 August 1990 at 2:00 am, local time, Iraq launched an invasion of Kuwait with four elite Iraqi Republican Guard Division and Iraqi Army Special Forces. The main thrust was conducted by the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commando (c)ommandos deployed by helicopters and boats to attack https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuwait_City (K)uwait City while the other divisions seized the airports and two airbases. Kuwait didn’t stand for long and the Iraqi invasion quickly turned into a take-over. JoMarie Taylor, an American, was visiting Kuwait with her Kuwaiti husband found herself a hostage in the country, hiding and navigating the fear and daily threat of death; watching the destruction, rape, murder and mayhem of the invasion – all

Episode 159 The Art of Working with the Cards You're Dealt - Interview: Erik Jensen Each of us are dealt a deck of cards, so to speak, when we are born onto this planet. This deck includes where we are born, the family we are born into, the culture, geography, religion, expectations, a certain body, health issues, disabilitites, money or no money. We each get a different set-up. I believe we get the set-up that we need in order to learn the things we need to learn. Whether or not you are of that same mind set, we can’t deny that we all have a different set of circumstances and what we do with those circumstances determines who we are and how we live. We are the creators of our own lives, and like an artist we have a certain amount of clay, paint, or in today’s case, recycled computer keys to work with. Erik Jensen is a born artist – He’s also deaf. I met him at the Salt Lake City Arts Festival where he was showing his incredible keyboard keys art creations. It’s hard to explain without graphics, but basically

Episode 158 A Healthy Relationship to Fear: Interview with Kristen Ulmer Welcome to the Love Your Story podcast. Let’s face the fear.  Kristen Ulmer is a thought leader on fear and anxiety who draws from her tenure as the most fearless woman extreme skier in the world for 12 years, from intently studying Zen for 16 years, and from facilitating tens of thousands of clients on flow and peak performance. The author of: The Art of Fear: Why Conquering Fear Won’t Work and What to Do Instead, she’s known for radially challenges existing norms about what to do about fear and anxiety. Facilitating and speaking all over the world, some of her clients include Google, Citigroup, Olympic athletes, and the US Air Force. Her revolutionary work has also been featured in such media as NPR, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes Magazine, USA Today, Tim Ferriss’s “Tribe of Mentors,” the Megyn Kelly show and many more. She’s on the show today to share her story of being a world-class extreme skier and to teach us what

Episode 157 What if Nothing is Wrong with You? Happy 2020 my people! I know the new year is all about resolutions and what we can do to improve just a bit, and there’s plenty of time for that, but what do you think of the idea that we are pretty darn impressive just the way we are. What if nothing was wrong with you? I know….what if there really was nothing wrong with you and you just accepted that. How would that settle into your heart?  Stay tuned for today’s episode on self love, self acceptance, and the novel idea that we are acceptable here and now, just as we are. In fact we are more than acceptable – we are beloved and filled with magic. Since loving ourselves creates the foundation for loving our story – this topic is ideal for the Love Your Story podcast, so I wanted to pose the question to you – What if there is nothing wrong with you? I first heard this statement from Susan Henkel’s TED Talk, part of the “How to Be a Better Human” series, so let’s start there… Susan Henkels has worked as a psy

Episode 156 The Gift of Presence: Interview Rachel ReistOnce upon a time in a land of bounty there lived a woman who knew the difference between a Christmas present and Christmas Presence. She was one of only a few who had slowed down enough to think about the power of being with her people vs. the power of doing things and buying stuff, but the difference it made significantly changed the experiences for all around her, but especially for herself. As a woman, she saw herself as the guardian of her family. She had learned through many years of giving away and trying to meet outward expectations, that holding space for her to be herself and for her loved ones to be themselves, created a sacred space… held a space of sacredness for being present in the most important ways. She created traditions carefully and on purpose and as those traditions were executed and played out she didn’t rush through them, she stayed fully present and enjoyed each moment, each person, each smile, each shift in energy. As she held th

Episode 155 The Power of Flaws - Interview with Chantel Soumis  Augusten Burroughts said, “I, myself, am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions.” I love this quote because it is a simple statement of our beautiful individuality and the normalness of our unique qualities. Whether we would really actually call these things flaws, sometimes when they don’t align with societal expectation, they feel like flaws. For example, today’s guest is an advocate for the differently-abled community. Her own diagnosis of debilitating multiple sclerosis and her inability to get work after this diagnosis spurred her to fight for a broader more open view of our differences, handicaps, and challenges. Stay tuned for a discussion on the power of individuality and how flaws make us unique, beautiful and indispensable. Chantel Soumis a top LinkedIn Creator with over 30k organic followers in one year. Chantel is also the Founder and Creative Director of Stardust Creative LLC, a brand agency focused on em

Episode 154: 2nd Annual Stories of Appreciation: Giving Thanks Ralph Marston, the author of the Daily Motivator, said, “Make it a habit to tell people thank you. To express your appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. Truly appreciate those around you, and you’ll soon find many others around you. Truly appreciate life, and you’ll find that you have more of it.” I love his quotes – they are always so wise, and today his quote is going to usher in four stories of people who took the 2nd Annual Appreciation Challenge. What is the appreciation challenge? Last year in episode 62  we had the 1st Stories of Appreciation episode where I asked specific people to identify someone in their lives who was under-appreciated and to show them profound appreciation, and then to share with us the experience.  Stay tuned to hear the four stories and get ideas for how to plant these seeds in your own life. I have found that there is one thing everyone craves, and that

Episode 153 Climb Every Mountain: the quest to do hard things – Interview David Roskelly   Sitting atop the world at 29,029 feet elevation is not something everyone has on their bucket list, but David Roskelley had a whole lot more than just that day in 2013 on top of Everest. He also summited the other 8 highest peaks on the 7 continents. Math not adding up….I’ll let him explain that one to you, but suffice it to say, this incredible athlete and regular everyday guy, loves to do hard things and is here today to share why we can do hard things too. Join me for my discussion with David Roskelley the first American to climb the nine highest peaks on seven continents and the world’s tallest volcanoes on each of the 7 continents. I’m loving his story. David Roskelley is a partner in an environmental engineering firm called R&R Environmental, Inc., and teaches public health at the University of Utah’s Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health as an adjunct professor. Th

Episode 152 What Do You Love About YOUR Life Story? Welcome back to the Love Your Story Podcast. Today we are talking about what you love about your life story. I walked the streets, with microphone in hand, of Salt Lake City, Utah to find out what people love about their life story. Today I want you to think about what you love about your life story. Today we celebrate the things that are going right. The seeds you’ve planted that have born good fruit. What seeds have you sown and what fruit have you harvested? Ponder on that, but stay tuned to hear what people on the streets said when I put the microphone to them. At the most basic level of the Love Your Story movement we talk about how we are responsible for creating our best life stories on purpose – because we can. We celebrate the law of the harvest. We don’t get apricots because we plant lettuce. Your life looks the way it does because of your thoughts, your words, your actions. If you’re getting lettuce and you want apricots

Episode 151 Finding Your Way to Healing: Interview Bethany Wallace As we share stories around the technological campfire sometimes it seems the main tale is about the character who causes the harm and their path to destruction or learning. But there is also the other side of the story. The story of the victims, those affected by the poor choices of others. Today’s guest had an alcoholic father, two alcoholic husbands, and survived multiple sexual assaults and exploitations before the age of 20. Stay tuned as we hear Bethany’s story of triumph as we see proof of a 12-step recovery program giving her the strength and insight to overcome, forgive, learn and take action. Bethany Wallace is proof that 12-step recovery programs work if we’re willing to do the work. She has spent the past 12 years taking actions, often in spite of her feelings, to become a healthier person. She enjoys life with her husband and daughter in the Ozarks. Bethany loves working with others in recovery, advocating for sexual assaul

Episode 150: The Happiness Guru Is In: Interview with Andy Proctor Who doesn’t want to be happy? When you ask someone what they want in life, the most common answer is “to be happy.” Often the idea of happiness is considered one of chance, luck, or the blessed, but the truth is that your happiness depends only upon the story you create in your own mind about your life. Today’s guest is a certified positive psychology practitioner who has been teaching the science of human flourishing to mass media audiences for the past 5 years. He is the host of the More Happy Life podcast and has been featured in The New York Times, ABC News, Fox Business and many other national publications. He is currently on the board of TEDxBYU and is the director of the 1000 Words speaker series. Stay tuned for a 5 Tools for creating your own happiness and Andy Proctor’s story of how he found his way to the happiness path.   We are here to thrive, not just to endure. It’s true that difficult things will happen in each of our li

Episode 149 How is Your Life Like a Fairytale? Once upon a time, there was you…. And then what happened? When we are young we pattern our life dreams and expectations after the stories we hear and the movies we watch. Often, in American culture, Disney plays a major role in that. While the Disney rendition of fairytales is a butcher job of the originals, children only know what they are shown and taught and so we head off into our lives picturing a prince or princess and a happily ever-after. We all want love, magic, and riches. That sounds good – I’ll take that. I learned this week when I asked people how their life was like a fairytale, that the go-to mindset was to think about how it was a happily ever after. Fairytale seems to equate with perfection or the ideal. Stay tuned to hear my man-on-the-street quicky interviews where people got to share how their lives were like fairytales. When I first started getting the responses and everyone was going straight to the happily-ever-after,  I had to ask – h

Episode 148 Keys to Courage: Interview with Amy Perkins How many powerful manifestors do you know? What are the keys to being brave enough to get what you really want from your life story? Today I’m interviewing Amy Perkins, whose platform is the Keys to Courage. Tune in to learn from a lady who has learned to manifest powerfully, and let’s see if we can find some keys for writing the life story we want to live for ourselves. Amy is passionate about helping you live your best life. That dream life. The one you wish you had. Eighteen months ago, she got sick and tired of going through the motions. She felt there had to be more. She left a 25-year career in education after witnessing leaders who were not leading with integrity. She wanted a career that was fulfilling, one that made an impact and left a legacy. She sought a deeper bond with her family and she sought richer relationships with friends. So she went on a journey to find her purpose and live with purpose, and on that journey, she found the keys to

Episode 147 Both Sides of the Story: Inside Adoption – Interview with Cherie Burton and Wendy Toomer When Cherie Burton was 25 she got pregnant and was abandoned by the father. Her decision to adopt out her baby daughter was accompanied by all the birth mother grief, stigma, shame, and judgment that often accompanies an unwed mother and “giving a baby away.” She showed up on the adoptive parents’ doorstep when her daughter was just 3 weeks old and Wendy’s new family let Cherie wake her up and rock her back to sleep. Cherie is here today to walk us through her story of the decision of choosing adoption, the path of the toll that takes on the heart and mind, and the things she’s learned. The adoption was an open adoption and the adoptive family has always been open with Wendy about her birth mom. Cherie says “I learned we do not own each other. Parents merely have stewardship and a our souls are on “loan” from the Divine. We’re just all here to teach each other love, sacrifice, forgiveness, kindn

Episode 146 Carpooling With Death: Finding Peace in Loss – Interview Margaret Meloni   In my teens I loved the book series The Incarnations of Immortality. Thantos/Grim Reaper was one of my favorite characters.  As an adult, I guess that fascination held over because I dress up as the Grim Reaper for Halloween every year. I have a real scythe hung from the pegboard in my garage. That being said, for all the interest in the incarnation itself, I have only had my grandparent’s die and when my son was diagnosed with leukemia my mind would occasionally turn to the “what if” and I would immediately retreat. At the Western States Folklore conference this past weekend there was a paper presented exploring the use of a character – the Grim Reaper or the like – (and there IS one in every culture) – to represent an event that we each must face. One suggestion that was made was that we have created a figure to escort us from this life into the next because we don’t know where we are going. There are so many

Episode 145 The Power of Story to Parent and Sell: Interview with Paul Smith   Join me today for my interview with Paul Smith Paul Smith is one of the world’s leading experts in business storytelling. He’s one of Inc. Magazine’s Top 100 Leadership Speakers of 2018, a storytelling coach, and bestselling author of the books http://amzn.to/1RP5Stv (Sell with a Story) (#1 Amazon bestseller in Sales and Selling), http://ow.ly/C02R9 (Parenting with a Story), and http://amzn.to/S2Zf5n (Lead with a Story) (#1 Amazon bestseller in Business Communication) already in its 11th printing and available in 7 languages around the world. Paul is also a former consultant at Accenture and former executive and 20-year veteran of The Procter & Gamble Company. As part of his research on the effectiveness of storytelling, Paul has personally interviewed over 250 CEOs, executives, leaders, and salespeople in 25 countries, documenting over 2,000 individual stories. Leveraging those stories and interviews, Paul identified t