Podcasts about story email

Today I'm talking with Amanda Rush - a wife, mom to three wild and wonderful kids, and creator of the All Moms Have a Story Podcast. We talk about Amanda's journey since signing up for one of my coaching programs a few years ago, her recent experience in a yoga teacher training program, taking time to be with and learn more about ourselves, choosing to adopt an abundance mindset during the confusing and scary times of Covid, and her recent decision to start her own podcast. Amanda's podcast is a supportive space in which moms can listen and relate to real-life stories from fellow moms. Her greatest hope is that by sharing these stories, all moms will feel supported and connected in the often-isolating world of motherhood, and realize that we're all more alike than we may think. You can find Amanda: Instagram: @allmomshaveastory Facebook: @allmomshaveastory Podcast: All Moms Have a Story Email: allmomshaveastory@gmail.com Enjoy! Follow me on social @sausha.davis or on saushadavis.com and share this episode with a friend!

This week, Jodi and Eliot talk about how emotions in business relate to dental hygiene and peanut M&M's. Trust us – it makes sense. Why is that important for business? Often people are apologetic about the emotional component of their response in business. Somewhere along the way, somebody made up this rule that business never has anything to do with ever feeling a personal emotions. And because of that made up, unspoken rule, no one has ever made it okay to do the emotional version of brushing your teeth in business, and then the plaque  builds up and it’s problematic. Then the emotional build up gets in the way of what really needs to be dealt with. Whoever said “it’s not personal, it’s just business” is an idiot. The word “hygiene” is important here, because it alludes to a regular practice of cleaning and getting rid of what doesn’t need to be there anymore. We don’t apologize for needing to clean your teeth, and we need to get as comfortable with emotional hygiene. Not clearing the plaque results in the explosive conversations that start with “you always do ____”. A resentment that you didn’t practice good hygiene on has come up, and now it is plaque. Resentment is always something that you have let build up; it comes up because you didn’t address something. Resentment is always yours. We practice good resentment hygiene in the smallest, most inconsequential ways. Most grievances can be dealt with by dealing with the next act. You don’t need years of ammunition to justify your grievance; you just need to deal with the little things as they come up. And when you start with raising objections to little things, your tone and language and demeanour has to be befitting a little thing. If you have decided that the content of the conversation is on the little incident, you can’t punctuate it with 2 years of rage over similar little things. Sometimes, a third party is necessary to help you get at the real issue, and that’s okay. And it is important, in good emotional hygiene, to be clear on what is yours, and when you are ascribing intent to someone else. The language is so important. Because how you approach an issue will determine, often, how the conversation will go. Emotional hygiene is knowing when you need the pause, when you need to talk it through with someone else because you can’t find the clarity in it, right-sizing your attack, and lastly, being clear on what outcome you want. Emotional hygiene is the ability to separate the perceived slight from the actual need. Do you need to fix the slight, or is there a different way to get your need met? But the first step is acknowledging that it is okay to have emotions in business. What story do you want to tell? So we told you our story – now it’s time to tell us yours! Go to SoHeresMyStory.com and share your story. Want to Connect? You can connect with us or tell your story… via our confidential toll free line at 1-833-83-STORY Email: talktous@heresmystory.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHMSpodcast Twitter: @SHMSpodcast Want to support us? Review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to the podcast. Visit our Patreon page. (http://www.patreon.com/SHMSpodcast)

Jana und Leon sind zurück, man palabert über Bodypaint-Disaster, Stadtliebe und Kochshows. Heute mit Popkultur-Kuschelecke Kontaktiert uns mit Fragen für die Random Questions, Shoutouts, Ideen, Feedback oder Kritik (oder einfach einer coolen Story): Email: grossstadtamateure@gmail.com Instagram: @grossstadtamateure Leon: @leonpnoel Jana: @jana_mller

Frisch geflickt sind Jana und Leon wieder zur Stelle: Die Amazonasbrände, Post-It Dilemmas, identitäre Krisen; alles wird heute gefragt und beantwortet. Die beiden Amateure plädieren für Umweltschutz und Zukunft und geben ihr bestes, die Welt nach pflichtbewusst mit jeder Menge Halbwissen zu versorgen. Kontaktiert uns mit Fragen für die Random Questions, Ideen, Feedback oder Kritik (oder einfach einer coolen Story): Email: grossstadtamateure@gmail.com Instagram: @grossstadtamateure Leon: @leonpnoel Jana: @jana_mller

Mit frischer Urlaubsenergie starten Jana und Leon wieder ins Podcaster ein. Man palabert übers Reisen, warum Die Sims wohl das genialste Computerspiel aller Zeiten ist und haut sich in Rekordtempo Flachwitze um die Ohren. Kontaktiert uns mit Fragen für die Random Questions, Ideen, Feedback oder Kritik (oder einfach einer coolen Story): Email: grossstadtamateure@gmail.com Instagram: @grossstadtamateure Leon: @leonpnoel Jana: @jana_mller

WIR SIND ZURÜCK! Die Großstadtamateure sind mit einem kleinen Special zum Pride Month-Ende zurück. Warum wir Pride feiern, was das heute noch bedeutet und eine Michael Moore Filmempfehlungen sind Stationen des heutigen Sprachabenteuers. Haben euch lieb! Kontaktiert uns mit Fragen für die Random Questions, Ideen, Feedback oder Kritik (oder einfach einer coolen Story): Email: grossstadtamateure@gmail.com Instagram: @grossstadtamateure Leon: @leonpnoel Jana: @jana_mller

HAPPY PRIDE! Jana und Leon erzählen sich nach einer Woche der Trennung von Fetischparties und Morden. In den "Random Questions" wird hitzig diskutiert, wer von den beiden wohl am ehesten für was verhaftet werden würde und wessen Klone die bessere Zivilisation bilden würden. Alles und noch mehr wie immer nur für euch! ! Wir machen Sommerpause ! (Alle Folgen bleiben aber verfügbar bis wir wieder da sind, meine Lieben!) Kontaktiert uns mit Fragen für die Random Questions, Ideen, Feedback oder Kritik (oder einfach einer coolen Story): Email: grossstadtamateure@gmail.com Instagram: @grossstadtamateure Leon: @leonpnoel Jana: @jana_mller

Jana und Leon palabern über ihre Woche: von IDAHOBITA* und Homophobie über Sushi und Waschmaschinen ist diese Woche alles dabei. Jana entführt die beiden mit ihren "Random Questions" in eine bessere Welt, in der Nora Ephron die Regie übernimmt. Leon ist überfordert von einem einfachen Wortassoziationsspiel, welches ihm im Sinne der Erneuerung gestellt wird. Kontaktiert uns mit Fragen für die Random Questions, Ideen, Feedback oder Kritik (oder einfach einer coolen Story): Email: grossstadtamateure@gmail.com Instagram: @grossstadtamateure Leon: @leonpnoel Jana: @jana_mller

AB JETZT FREITAGS: Heute diskutieren unsere Podcaster Haarprodukte, die Shitshow, welche sich gerade in Alabama abspielt, sie lechzen Leons attraktivem Tanzlehrer nach und begrüßen den ersten Gast bei "Großstadtamateure", Janas Mama Gabi, im "Random Questions"-Segment. Kontaktiert uns mit Fragen für die Random Questions, Ideen, Feedback oder Kritik (oder einfach einer coolen Story): Email: grossstadtamateure@gmail.com Instagram: @grossstadtamateure Leon: @leonpnoel Jana: @jana_mller

Wir bauen um und es wird lustig: Der Podcast bekommt einen neuen Anstrich und Jana und Leon nehmen sich der Aufgabe voll motiviert an: Leon erzählt von Bienen und Onlinedating; Jana philosophiert übers Blut spenden und Bernd das Brot und grillt Leon in der zweiten Hälfte im neuen „Random Questions“-Segment. Alles das und mehr wie immer nur für euch von den Großstadtamateuren! Kontaktiert uns mit Fragen für die Random Questions, Ideen, Feedback oder Kritik (oder einfach einer coolen Story): Email: grossstadtamateure@gmail.com Instagram: @grossstadtamateure Leon: @leonpnoel Jana: @jana_mller

Jana und Leon, international renommierte Mental Health Professionals, laden zur Therapie: Heute geht es um die Psyche. Wie viel das Gespräch mit einem Profi bringen kann, wie schwierig es ist, ausgewogene Beziehungen aufzubauen und warum uns die Boys manchmal alle guten Vorsätze über Bord werfen lassen, all dies und andere Probleme teilen unsere Podcaster heute nur für eure Ohren mit den endlosen Weiten des Internets. Kontaktiert uns mit Fragen, Ideen, Feedback oder Kritik (oder einfach einer coolen Story): Email: grossstadtamateure@gmail.com Instagram: @grossstadtamateure Leon: @leonpnoel Jana: @jana_mller

Motivation – Morning Routine This week, Jodi and Eliot talk about how motivation and routine are linked, and what filing cabinets and pit stops on a race track have to do with business.  Why is routine important for business?   When we are especially busy or stressed, it is easy to forget to do, or convince ourselves we don’t have time to do, the very things that keep us centered. And it is only in returning to those routines that we find ourselves able to navigate the work effectively again. Even though absolutely nothing might change, the way you see those things in your business or life changes.    Interestingly, the things we tend to skip when we are busy are literally the things that help our brain to work its best – down time, sleep, exercise and good eating. These are critical for your work, yet the things that you often cut first.  You have to be able to step outside of the experience you hare having and contextualize it. Clues that you need to recalibrate before continuing can be when it feels hard or slogging or like nothing is fun, but you have to learn your own cues.  Far more harm is done than good by stepping over our own vulnerabilities.      Poll Quotes  Be around people who remind you where the spark is.   You need to not only understand your own low fuel” indicator, but also what fuel goes in your tank.   What about you? So we told you our story – now it’s time to tell us yours! Go to SoHeresMyStory.com and share your story.   Want to Connect? You can connect with us or tell your story… via our confidential toll free line at 1-833-83-STORY Email: talktous@heresmystory.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHMSpodcast   Twitter: @SHMSpodcast     Want to support us? Review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to the podcast. Visit our Patreon page. (http://www.patreon.com/SHMSpodcast)  

Feeling like you can’t get clients to understand your value? This episode of So Here’s My Story is all about showing potential clients the difference between your work as a commodity, and your work as an art form. Why is that important for business? It often feels like a billable hour model punishes efficiency and rewards inefficiency. Just as you don’t care how many hours workmen put into building your car, you want clients to see the value in the end product.  But it is often a much more complicated thing to get clients to understand, and appreciate, that value.  It requires you to educate clients on the art of what you do, the relevance of the art, and the downside of options that are less artful in their delivery.  But as with butter and margarine, sometimes people don’t care about the difference. A client may not be your client if they don’t care about the difference between you and your competitors. This requires you to be very honest with yourself. If you provide value and your target market doesn’t find it valuable, it’s not actually value. You must find the value in what you offer, which means you have to understand your clients’ needs. Part of that value may very well be in helping clients digest what they already have purchased from you. Points of distinction that matter to your target market – that’s what value is. If you don’t have points of distinction that matter to your market, that is the definition of a commodity, and you can expect to be paid as such. What story do you want to tell? So we told you our story – now it’s time to tell us yours! Go to SoHeresMyStory.com and share your story. Want to Connect? You can connect with us or tell your story… via our confidential toll free line at 1-833-83-STORY Email: talktous@heresmystory.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHMSpodcast  Twitter: @SHMSpodcast  Want to support us? Review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to the podcast. We are in the process of rethinking our Patreon involvement. Stay tuned for more information about how you can support us!

New Year’s Evolution It's New Years. Want to avoid setting the same ole' “just add water, have shame in 3 weeks" resolutions? This is the episode for you! It’s that time of year where many of us make some resolutions. But we have a love-hate relationship with New Year’s Resolutions, and think it might be a time to rethink how we make them.   Why is that important for business? What you measure will determine so much about your business. New Year’s is a great time to notice what and how you measure. Resolutions are often large by their very nature, yet breaking them down into chunks is often much more effective. It’s like what Coach Krzyzewski at Duke University said about winning a game with a 20 point deficit: instead of focusing on the seemingly insurmountable spread, think about winning just the next 5 minutes. Once you string together some 5 minute wins, the bigger deficit will take care of itself. With resolutions, often the goals themselves are laced with shame to begin with. Like with diet, sometimes it is more effective to focus on adding in the good, not so much about what you need to take out. When you focus only on what is not working, it fuzzes out the system. Focus on what you need to be adding more of in your life instead.   The new year offers the opportunity of a fresh start. Instead of feeling like a failure in 3 weeks, setting looser goals based on a theme or a guidepost – a litmus test for your decisions that year – can be more effective. And always remember to ask: How do I want to feel? What do I want to feel more of? Not in the moment, necessarily, or you may end up having eight more shortbread cookies. But in your life – what do you want more of? If you are so focused on the goal and not on the feeling that you want, you might miss a better opportunity to achieve that feeling you are seeking. This isn’t about doing away with resolutions, but right sizing them, bring some kindness and grace to them, focusing on the right parts (not numerical achievement, but how you want to feel) and finding a rhythm of measurement that feeds you, as well as the right kind of support. Support more like that described in Winning with Accountability: The Secret Language of High-Performing Organizations – accountability not as punishment, but as an opportunity to set self up to not go off the rails in first place; tether back to what you want, because you will get off track.   What story do you want to tell? So we told you our story – now it’s time to tell us yours! Go to SoHeresMyStory.com and share your story.   Want to Connect? You can connect with us or tell your story… via our confidential toll free line at 1-833-83-STORY Email: talktous@heresmystory.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHMSpodcast  Twitter: @SHMSpodcast    Want to support us? Review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to the podcast. We are in the process of rethinking our Patreon involvement. Stay tuned for more information about how you can support us!  

Sometimes we set goals – like business growth – not because they are true goals, but because it feels like we are a failure if we don’t achieve them... Have you started your 2018 goal planning? We have some ideas on how to make that planning more effective, and we share them in this episode. Jodi also speaks Swedish-ish and coins the term “Zen Mama”, so there’s something for everyone! Why is that important for business? The practice of hitting pause and looking back is incredibly important, in life and in business. To be myopically focused on where the gaps are – what you have yet to accomplish, what you still have to do – cheats you out of something. You need to recognize what you have achieved and the solid ground that you can build on for the next thing. There is also a fierce, tough love piece to this: a need to insist on this reflection, because if you don’t, you are skipping the true and honest act of looking in the mirror. Sometimes we set goals – like business growth – not because they are true goals, but because it feels like we are a failure if we don’t achieve them. But the only thing that grows for the sake of growth is cancer. And kudzu. Cancer and kudzu. (Hey! That’s the title of this episode!) A better question than how much did we grow: How well did we do in advancing our core principles? It is harder to paint yourself into a corner if you are looking around regularly. Don’t forget that there is somewhere in business that we wanted to go, and the occasional pause is helpful in making sure we are still on that path. And there are breadcrumbs along the path that indicate what is truly important to us. As in politics, we vote with our feet; we can tell where we stand by our behaviour, not what we say. So, it is important to ask: What tasks am I putting to the top of my list? What things do I have to force myself to do? It is a deeply kind act to make someone pause and check why didn’t do something. Often, a goal set and not done would have required them be someone they fundamentally are not. Rather, it is better to plan your business around your quirks and idiosyncrasies and your natural autopilot, so you can enjoy it. What story do you want to tell? So we told you our story – now it’s time to tell us yours! Go to SoHeresMyStory.com and share your story.   Want to Connect? You can connect with us or tell your story… via our confidential toll free line at 1-833-83-STORY Email: talktous@heresmystory.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHMSpodcast  Twitter: @SHMSpodcast    Want to support us? Review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to the podcast. We are in the process of rethinking our Patreon involvement. Stay tuned for more information about how you can support us!  

Quack, Quack You know those early American Idol contestants? The ones with…less than stellar singing skills? Have you ever wondered why none of their friends pulled them aside and said “listen, dearest friend – you can’t sing”? This episode is all about the business version of “you can’t sing”. And Jodi and Eliot have a few different perspectives to share about it.     Why is that important for business? We make assumptions that there is only one way to do things when we give advice, instead of trying to custom fit the advice to the person. When people stop trying to fit into a solution, they can come up with a solution that is a fit for them. This doesn’t mean we can’t help push friends and colleagues out of their comfort zone. But we have to make sure that the path they are on is their own; if you push your comfort zone on someone else’s path, you won’t get traction.  There is a difference between pushing past something that is scary, and pushing a limp noodle. The problem often isn’t that someone doesn’t like the means so they shouldn’t pursue the end; it is that they are the wrong means. The “it” has to fit. It is flawed to think that there is only one way to do something and if that way doesn’t fit, you can’t succeed. We all need a custom fit version of business development. We don’t have to change end goal, we just have to back it up and custom fit the means to the end. We need to get super clear on exactly what problem we are solving. And then often there is a way faster way to get to the solution than the way we are imaging.   It’s a special kind of hell to get your ducks in a row, only to realize that they aren’t your ducks. You have to bake a cake that you are going to want to eat. What story do you want to tell? So we told you our story – now it’s time to tell us yours! Go to SoHeresMyStory.com and share your story.   Want to Connect? You can connect with us or tell your story… via our confidential toll free line at 1-833-83-STORY Email: talktous@heresmystory.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHMSpodcast  Twitter: @SHMSpodcast    Want to support us? Review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to the podcast. We are in the process of rethinking our Patreon involvement. Stay tuned for more information about how you can support us!  

Are you in the mood for a rant? This week, Jodi and Eliot air some grievances about the newest changes to the Patreon fee structure, all in the spirit of championing honest business practices and taking care of you, the listener. Why is that important for business? Patreon, the organization we work with to help fund our podcast, has changed its policies in a frustrating way. They have raised their fees, and have decided those extra fees will be added to the money pledged by the patrons. And all of this has happened without the consultation or consent of us, the beneficiaries of that patronage. The fees are a small amount, but the amount isn’t the point. When you are dealing with such small amounts, it is just proof that it isn’t just about it being “worth it” in the sense of dollar value alone. Sometimes, fee changes are about pushing some button far more core or primal than they are about the dollars. And often that comes down to how the change is communicated. When trying to control a message so that people react in certain way, that is not communication. Don’t navigate their reaction and call it communication. Most importantly, this is a great time to look within. When something like this happens, something that triggers a passionate response, it is important to look at your own business and your own business practices – what specifically is frustrating me, and is there any where in my business where I am doing this? What story do you want to tell? So we told you our story – now it’s time to tell us yours! Go to SoHeresMyStory.com and share your story. Want to Connect? You can connect with us or tell your story… via our confidential toll free line at 1-833-83-STORY Email: talktous@soheresmystory.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHMSpodcast Twitter: @SHMSpodcast   Want to support us? Review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to the podcast. We are in the process of rethinking our Patreon involvement – obviously – so stay tuned for more information about how you can support us!

Episode 26 Have you ever found yourself adding unnecessary steps to a project? Made something simple way too complicated? This week, Jodi and Eliot talk about the mental feng shui that happens when the mundane creates space for real business magic. Why is that important for business? Often, we overcomplicate things in our business. It may just be the way we have always done something, or it may be that we are too close and cannot see what is possible – often we need someone else to point out where our processes are overcomplicating things. When a process is developed, it initially served a purpose. But where do we stop trying to make things better or more efficient? Perhaps it is not only a matter of having a rock in your shoe, but it is about also having at rock at the exact time when you are in a position to be able to take off your shoe. Fixing an issue with procedures isn’t just about the irritant being sufficiently…irritating, then. It is also about having the time and resources - and perhaps even the personality - to no longer put up with the irritant. Maybe we all need someone in our life that has no patience for little irritants, and helps us to fix them. Sometimes irritants somehow make it into our blind spots, and here, there is value in the pause. Training someone is such a great way to uncover your issues and processes that aren’t necessary. It is a great way to pull out magnifying glass and see where there are places where things can be easier. There is the innate value that increased efficiency brings, obviously, but an even more important benefit comes from simplicity. Efficiency doesn’t just buy you productivity; it buys brain space. It helps you create less overwhelm moving forward. It creates mental feng shui. Instead of focusing on tasks, you are focusing on pathways and harmony, even in something as mundane as office procedure. Processes and procedures can feel mundane, but there is something so magical about what they can unblock. There is more to what a really well-honed process can do for an organization than just make sure Ts get crossed. They can free up really smart people in a company to be able to act as really smart people.   What story do you want to tell? So we told you our story – now it’s time to tell us yours! Go to SoHeresMyStory.com and share your story.   Want to Connect? You can connect with us or tell your story… via our confidential toll free line at 1-833-83-STORY Email: talktous@heresmystory.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHMSpodcast Twitter: @SHMSpodcast   Want to support us? Review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to the podcast. Visit our Patreon page. (http://www.patreon.com/SHMSpodcast)

Episode 24 We’ve all had the experience of feeling like a company doesn’t care about us, but how many of us have examined how our own clients experience working with us? This week, Jodi and Eliot talk about Thanksgiving and whiskey, Saturday Night Live spoofs, and how all of it relates to keeping your customers and clients happy. Why is that important for business? "You see, this phone system consists of a multibillion-dollar matrix of space age technology that is so sophisticated - even we can't handle it. But that's your problem, isn't it? So, the next time you complain about your phone service, why don't you try using two Dixie cups with a string? We don't care. We don't have to. We're the Phone Company." – Saturday Night Live, September 18, 1976) Companies often differ in how they treat external and internal customers. As an acquaintance of Jodi’s once said – you date the external clients, and all of your effort goes there. Your internal customers are the ones you already married – they’re stuck with you, and you get complacent. Sound horrible? Setting aside how pleasant it may or may not be to be married to the person making the analogy, a lot of businesses do this. It often feels like they are primed and ready to not care about issues from internal clients. Part of the problem is with company culture – there may be an issue of not setting up the organization and operations to make anyone care. Zen of the Hand and the Chair. Every part of the chair has its own function. If someone takes a leg, all other parts of the chair will notice. Despite knowing they are all going to fall, they can do nothing to stop this. The hand, on the other hand (pun probably not intended), cares. If someone wants to cut off the pinkie finger, the entire hand will curl all of the fingers into a fist to defend against it. So which is your organization – the hand or the chair? If someone were to talk to anyone and everyone in the organization, would they all know the key problems and the key threats to the health of the organization, but no one does anything about it? Or do you have a culture at your business where your people, if they see a problem or threat, come together to solve it? (speaking of chairs, be on the lookout for Jodi’s Booby Trap Chair on Chairs in Predicaments: https://www.facebook.com/chairsinpredicaments/) It is easy to see and even to rant about these problems as something those companies do, but it is critical that we uncover where we do it. Often it is a matter of falling into the trap of taking care of the squeaky wheel and ignoring your other clients. And remember: it is one thing to avoid making people feel unimportant; it is a completely other thing to make people feel important. But that is the level at which you create loyalty and a stronger relationship. And it doesn’t cost a lot to make someone know that they matter. (Check out the book The Power of Moments by Chip and Dan Heath.) One of the most important places to make someone feel important is in that first contact with someone who is upset. If you don’t communicate empathy, especially in moments when someone is angry and frustrated, it doesn’t matter how well you do your job - what they will remember is you not appearing to care. Just by creating transparency, you can make people feel like you care. Helping people understand what is going on behind the scenes can alleviate frustration. So how are you treating your internal customers? Or, for that matter, your husband/wife? What story do you want to tell? So we told you our story – now it’s time to tell us yours! Go to SoHeresMyStory.com and share your story. Want to Connect? You can connect with us or tell your story… via our confidential toll free line at 1-833-83-STORY Email: talktous@heresmystory.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHMSpodcast Twitter: @SHMSpodcast Want to support us? Review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to the podcast. Visit our Patreon page. (http://www.patreon.com/SHMSpodcast)

This week, Eliot and Jodi discuss Taylor’s car shopping experience, implicit bias, and the benefits of curiosity. Why is that important for business? As Taylor’s story illustrates, ignoring a decision maker is an excellent way to lose a sale. Who we choose to ignore often relates to our implicit biases, about who is important and who is not. (Check out this episode of the NPR podcast, Hidden Brain, for more on implicit bias). The hardest part of addressing your biases is that you cannot actually self-diagnose. They feel like rational conclusions, not biases, and are hard to see, let along overcome. Nobody wants to see themselves as the person who makes these judgements, yet they continue to happen, and they cost us more than just sales. So how do we deal with these biases if we don’t even know they are there? The best first step is to start all interactions by being curious and seeking to understand. And the better you know something, the more curious you need to be; you have to counter-steer your own knowledge. Bias often feels like knowledge; be curious instead. It can also help to seek outside observers who can see issues with a fresh set of eyes. Asking for feedback from different areas within your business – suppliers, workers, and customers – can help leaders see their blind spots. Make an effort to do outreach and get feedback about work you didn’t get – what went wrong? And when someone asks a question, direct the answer to the person that asked. And most importantly, be curious about your own biases. You can’t resolve a problem if you adamantly refuse to acknowledge that you have one.   What story do you want to tell? So we told you our story – now it’s time to tell us yours! Go to SoHeresMyStory.com and share your story. Want to Connect? You can connect with us or tell your story… via our confidential toll free line at 1-833-83-STORY Email: talktous@heresmystory.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHMSpodcast  Twitter: @SHMSpodcast    Want to support us? Review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to the podcast. Visit our Patreon page. (http://www.patreon.com/SHMSpodcast)

This week, Eliot and Jodi talk about those moments in business where we have irrational, emotional reactions and what that intrepid traveler, Indiana Jones, teaches us about how to deal with them like adults. Why is that important for business? We need to remember that it’s not just business; it’s personal. And when things get personal, we don’t always have the capacity to respond rationally. We all make irrational decisions; we all think like petulant children sometimes. And even though these irrational reactions are by definition irrational, they are still every bit as real. Ignoring them, or dismissing them as silly, is dangerous. Acknowledging “yes, I am having the emotions of a 5 year old” and owning it helps you move past it. As long as, in these emotional states, it feels like an issue of winning or losing, there is no place to go. When your value feels threatened, blood goes away from your smart, nuanced prefrontal cortex and goes to your instinctual fight or flight lizard brain, making it very hard to see the gray scale in the middle.Things start feeling binary, and you can’t see the options in between. In these moments, our brains are amazing at generating unsatisfying solutions. And just like in Indiana Jones and The Holy Grail, when you have to deal with these uncomfortable and irrational emotions, you have to walk the path and just have to have faith that there is something solid under your feet. Because, as Susan Campbell’s important work points out, most of communication is trying to get someone to react or not react a certain way. That is not communication; that is control. When talking about these hard things, you have to talk about what is real. And instead of focusing on winning or losing, in these conversations you need to focus on the third entity: the relationship. What does a healthy next step forward look like for the relationship? When you are standing in the ocean, the place where waves crash hardest are when the water is at torso level. You have to either push through to get to the deeper water so you can ride the current, or retreat and go shallower. When you go deeper with these conversations, even if doesn’t go the way you were hoping for, it is still way easier than the crashing waves where you were. There is no way, in that place of being battered by the waves, that you can do your best work. So ask yourself: what helped release the tension of those irrational fears in the past? Is there a way to do that with intention the next time you recognize yourself standing where the waves are crashing into you the hardest? What story do you want to tell? So we told you our story – now it’s time to tell us yours! Go to SoHeresMyStory.com and share your story. Want to Connect? You can connect with us or tell your story… via our confidential toll free line at 1-833- 83-STORY Email: talktous@soheresmystory.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHMSpodcast Twitter: @SHMSpodcast Want to support us? Review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to the podcast. Visit our Patreon page. (http://www.patreon.com/SHMSpodcast)

This week, Jodi and Eliot talk about that famous business poet, Rudyard Kipling, and what he has to say about riding the ups and downs of business. Why is that important for business? “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster, and treat those two impostors just the same.” -- from Rudyard Kipling’s If. Just as in life, business involves both triumph and disaster. Sometimes people are better with the triumphs and some are better with the disasters. But it is important to remember that both the peaks and the valleys are temporary. There is a special hell that comes sometimes after you have achieved what you wanted to achieve, and the effort of keeping that success becomes your torment. And there is nothing inherently wrong with triumph, of course; it is the imagining that the goal is to get to triumph and STAY there that is the problem. The white knuckle attempt to keep the success often makes us less agile; the fear of another valley, of the next disaster, can actually cause the next valley. The imposter in Kipling’s poem, then, is any sense of permanence. If you can treat both failure and success as being temporary – if you can make it so they don’t define you, they are just the current state of being – entrepreneurship and business become easier. Because business and entrepreneurship change so much that there really isn’t a point where you “make it”. Every entrepreneur worth their salt knows it is like a saw blade, with ups and downs. And you need to invest more energy in riding that saw blade than in either revelling at the top or despairing at the bottom. In Mandy Len Catron’s “A better way to talk about love” Ted Talk, she talks about how love is a collaborative work of art. And just as the trick to really wonderful art from young children is to take it away from them before they finish (and fill every inch with every color) the trick to love is to know when to start a new canvas. The same is true in business: not having a good relationship with impermanence can make us hold onto businesses long after they are no longer serving us. And the businesses that stick around need a relationship with impermanence – they need to embrace evolution. They need to develop a strategic sense of impermanence to succeed over time. You can fail without being a failure. And you can succeed without making it your identity.   [We also recommend you check out Derek Sivers “Why You Need To Fail”] “If you’re not failing, you’re not trying hard enough”.  Jillian Michaels If you are simply hanging out in success, what you are experiencing is actually stagnation. It just looks like success because you are comfortable. Real success is allowing failure and allowing evolution. Because evolving inherently involves trying new things that you aren’t good at yet, and letting go of things that no longer fit. Triumph and Disaster aren’t destinations; they are simply milestones.   What story do you want to tell? So we told you our story – now it’s time to tell us yours! Go to SoHeresMyStory.com and share your story.   Want to Connect? You can connect with us or tell your story… via our confidential toll free line at 1-833-83-STORY Email: talktous@heresmystory.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHMSpodcast  Twitter: @SHMSpodcast    Want to support us? Review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to the podcast. Visit our Patreon page. (http://www.patreon.com/SHMSpodcast)

Ahava Story This week, Jodi and Eliot talk about their interview with Ahava Leibtag of Aha Media about why she started her unique business, the worst day of her business, and the heartwarming best day. And of course, being Eliot and Jodi, they also make time to discuss the perils of putting beans up your nose, all while making it relevant to your business.   So what DOES this week’s episode say about your business? Ahava has a big “why” for her business. But yours doesn’t have to be as life or death as hers to matter. What if you just started with asking yourself: “what’s broken in the world, or my industry, that I want to fix?” What do you have the power to fix? What you are frustrated by can be the opening for you to really grow your business. If you are daunted or frustrated by something in your industry, chances are you are not the only one. Knowing this North Star is also a great way to know when you are going off track as well, and help you get realigned with what matters to you. It doesn’t have to be world hunger, but you do have to connect to something higher than just your profit margin. What enables you to do your best work? And even more importantly – what is your best work? And who do you do your best work for? And remember: there is enormous value in the entire span of real – the really good stuff and the really bad stuff - and trying to skip over any of it, like with a “silver lining”, can make for some missed opportunities. There is a gift in contrast that allows you to see more clearly. If it is lonely at the top, you’re doing it wrong. It really does take a village. There is so much to gain by trusting the smarts and the heart of the character of your team.   What story do you want to tell? So we told you our story – now it’s time to tell us yours! What was your best or worst day at your business? Go to SoHeresMyStory.com and share your story.   Want to Connect? You can connect with us or tell your story… via our confidential toll free line at 1-833-83-STORY Email: talktous@heresmystory.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHMSpodcast   Twitter: @SHMSpodcast     Want to support us? Review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to the podcast. Visit our Patreon page. (http://www.patreon.com/SHMSpodcast)

We watched the new Will & Grace, and at the risk of losing diehard fans, we have some ideas about how it relates to your business. This week, Eliot and Jodi talk about knowing your value, and the importance of white space. Why is all of that important for business? Sometimes, in TV and in business, people are not clear with what their real value is. When you don’t know what value you are actually bringing, you can put all of this energy and attention on aspects of your product or service that are not only not what your clients want, but actually detract from the experience. And yet - what happens when you as a company feel called to change and shift into something different, and people know and love you for something different? You are allowed to change, but you need to be aware of what people loved if you want to make that change effectively. So many companies guess instead of just asking. You have to think about business as a science experiment: you have to isolate the variables, change one thing at a time, and see what makes a difference. But you never guess when you can ask. Sometimes the magic happens when there is no agenda. Often, the value that you bring is in the things that don’t sound sexy or impressive; a lot of times, the value sounds insignificant to you, but it is loved by your followers. “God is in the hallways.” It is not in the structured service at the pulpit that makes a community, but the value is in what happens in the conversations in the hallways. We often think we have to fill space with activity, but unscheduled and relaxed space and time is equally important. The magic is not only in the structure; epiphanies come in the spaces between. There is actual neuroscience to back this up: for you to have an epiphany, you have to have alpha, relaxed brainwaves present. You need to be in touch with that ah-ha part of your brain to be successful, and you need chill time to make that ah-ha space available. The last thing that anyone needs is more frenetic energy. It is enough just to be what you are. How can you design things in your business with enough white space, and with enough awareness of the value that you bring? That’s where the magic lives.  What story do you want to tell? So we told you our story – now it’s time to tell us yours! Go to SoHeresMyStory.com and share your story. Want to Connect? You can connect with us or tell your story… via our confidential toll free line at 1-833-83-STORY Email: talktous@soheresmystory.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHMSpodcast Twitter: @SHMSpodcast Want to support us? Review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to the podcast. Visit our Patreon page. (http://www.patreon.com/SHMSpodcast)

This week, Jodi and Eliot talk about the psychology of loss, VIP sections, and goldfish the size of a continent, terrorizing the ocean. It all makes sense in the context of the divide between your own expectations, and those of your clients.   Why is all of that important for business? Many businesses and events have a system that allows clients and participants to engage at different levels. But what happens when these levels inadvertently cause valued clients or peers to feel unappreciated? This all relates to the psychology of loss. If you have different levels of service or product, how can you address the psychology of loss without making people feel less satisfied with what they have already received, while still demonstrating the value of the higher level? There are many places where customers set their own expectations, and it is a challenge to navigate those unspoken – but never promised - expectations. Nature abhors a vacuum, and in the absence of certain information, people will fill in their own information and their own expectations. Like goldfish, if you put them in a bigger container, expectations often get bigger. Ronald Reagan used to stress the importance of speaking positively – framing situations in terms of what people can do, not what they can’t. Sometimes this framing prevents this disappointment. Business owners: How do you gage, evaluate and respond to your clients’ expectations and the potential mismatch between the perceived value and worth of what you are bringing and what they are getting out of the exchange. How can you anticipate where your most important clients might feel this psychology of loss? How can you ensure that they feel in control of moving out of that place of loss? But beware: there is a careful dance you have to do with feedback. It is all important, but you have to remember to “Eat the fish, spit out the bones”.  You have to practice responding to the nutritious and meaningful parts, and know that part is not for you to respond to, but to spit out. There is a point when not everyone is a fit. How do you make people really happy with the decision they have already made, while maintaining the gap to want to move up the ranks if that is a better fit?   What story do you want to tell? So we told you our story – now it’s time to tell us yours! How big is your goldfish? Go to SoHeresMyStory.com and share your story.   Want to Connect? You can connect with us or tell your story… via our confidential toll free line at 1-833-83-STORY Email: talktous@heresmystory.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHMSpodcast  Twitter: @SHMSpodcast    Want to support us? Review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to the podcast. Visit our Patreon page. (http://www.patreon.com/SHMSpodcast)

This week, Jodi and Eliot talk stereo equalizers, Top Gun, and goals, and how they all relate to your business.   Why is that important for business? Sometimes, defining a minimum can be more important than, or at least as important as, setting a goal. Where is the line drawn in the sand of minimum participation in your habits? “God loves us just the way we are, AND he loves us too much to let us stay that way.” Letting someone grow means first loving who they are. The same with goals – goals that extend you beyond what you thought you can do are great. But where is the setting for knowing what is “good enough” without turning off the drive for something better? Creating a solid foundation of enough actually makes it easier to get to the stretch goal. We spend a lot of time focusing on stretch goals, but we don’t spend much time talking about what is dipping below the “okay” mark. You don’t need to keep all of your tanks on full, but you need to know that there is a low gas indicator somewhere. Part of the art of leading is knowing which dials to move to a 10 and which then have to come down to a 2 or 3, just like an equalizer on a stereo. Everything can’t be at a 10 at the same time. In “The One Thing”, author Gary Keller talks about how a lot of different balls bounce if you drop them; others break. You need to know which balls are going to drop.  When you decide that one or two things are a priority, you have to be clear on the minimum level of care required by the things on the back burner – you still need to keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t start smoking. Knowing what your minimum is allows you to safely put things on the back burner while you focus on other priorities. Knowing where the equalizers are for the rest of your team is also important. Is there a second zero, a second baseline, which you can set to keep balls from completely dropping? Or, like in the movie Top Gun, what is the hard deck below which you cannot go?   What story do you want to tell? So we told you our story – now it’s time to tell us yours! What is your hard deck? Or maybe you have a story about “if people only knew this about my job…” – we would also love to hear those stories right now! Go to SoHeresMyStory.com and share your story.   Want to Connect? You can connect with us or tell your story… via our confidential toll free line at 1-833-83-STORY Email: talktous@heresmystory.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHMSpodcast  Twitter: @SHMSpodcast    Want to support us? Review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to the podcast. Visit our Patreon page. (http://www.patreon.com/SHMSpodcast)

This week, Jodi and Eliot talk about bringing the wrong size of clothes into the dressing room, comedian Kumail Nanjiani, and Jodi’s seeing eye dog, which is apparently our team member Kristi. And somehow, it all makes sense relative to this weeks topic: confidence. Why is all of that important for business? In an interview recently, Kumail Nanjiani, from the sitcom Silicon Valley and the movie The Big Sick, said: “I’ve learned that there is no difference between being confident and pretending to be confident. Nobody else can tell the difference. Even your own body can’t tell the difference. Through the exercise of “fake it till you make it”, I was learning to trust myself. I was learning to trust my decisions and my thoughts and my abilities. Because, all those famous comedians who were so confident in that New York show? They didn’t know what they were doing either. Nobody really knows what they’re doing. Some are just better at pretending like they do.” People talk about confidence as if it is something you can get and then have. And it doesn’t work that way. For some, it is developing a working relationship with your insecurities. You may have the fear that if you haven’t done it, you cannot do it; you can accept that as valid, but you can also make friends with it. Other people get anxious imagining what the worst things that could happen, and need to blindly step forward despite those fear. For these kind of people, it is important not to worry too many steps ahead. Like chess, the game changes with each move. For all of us, it is important to act “as if” - that is the same, biochemically, as confidence. There is an immutable connection between belief, behaviours and results, and results reinforce the initial belief. The trap can be imagining that you can change the belief directly. Instead, acting “as if” changes the behaviours, which affects the results and, ultimately, the belief. There are hacks in the moment to create confidence. See, for instance, Amy Cuddy’s TedTalk where she talks about how body language may shape who you are. But mostly, confidence is the thing you get from doing the thing; it doesn’t come before you do the thing. Just as in the documentary Euphoria, some things cannot be pursued directly – they can only be attained obliquely, as with happiness. Confidence may be the same thing – you cannot build it; it is a byproduct of taking action. And when you don’t have the confidence to start? What’s one tiny step you can make on this? It is rarely so binary as “you either do it or you don’t” – there is usually one little step you can take to get you started. This also shows up in companies – in their culture and in their leadership: the idea that confidence is something you must have before you act paralyzes movement. Especially if you are looking at what other people in the industry are doing: “we can’t do that because no one else does”. Looking to outside guidance is a great place to look for what not to do, never where you look for what to do.   What story do you want to tell? So we told you our story – now it’s time to tell us yours! What is your favourite confidence hack? Go to SoHeresMyStory.com and share your story.   Want to Connect? You can connect with us or tell your story… via our confidential toll free line at 1-833-83-STORY Email: talktous@soheresmystory.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHMSpodcast  Twitter: @SHMSpodcast    Want to support us? Review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to the podcast. Visit our Patreon page. (http://www.patreon.com/SHMSpodcast)

This week, Jodi and Eliot talk about jiu jitsu, palm writing, and other interesting things that totally make sense once you listen to the episode.      Why is that important for business? The whole premise for this episode is based on a story - that accomplishments should be written on your hand, and you should celebrate them only until they fade. The idea is that you should absolutely celebrate the moment, but that as it fades, you don’t continue to have it be “your thing”. That it not be part of your routine to wander through your trophy room. None of us should ever be resting on the thing that we did last week. Sometimes it helps to personify your company, to elevate the conversation above individual needs. What does that company need? Built into a lot of compensation structures is the idea of resting on your laurels; of being rewarded for past accomplishments.  Be conscious about what you reinforce. What do you want your organization to value enough that you would like you to write it on the limited space of your palm? And yet - everyone has a different pace. Some people, what is written on their hand inspires them immediately to the next thing.  For some, longer periods of work and longer periods of celebration are important. This can be an important concept when hiring. In times of stress, you go back to what you are hardwired to do. What do you want people to be hardwired to view as accomplishments, and does that gel with your organization? Or, maybe it is not about what we write on our palms at all, but figuring out where we are all headed, and along that path, if we get there, will we celebrate? There is magic when everyone is rowing in the same direction. And the skills that have gotten you where you are are not the skills that are needed to get you to the next stage.   What story do you want to tell? So we told you our story – now it’s time to tell us yours! Go to SoHeresMyStory.com and share your story.   Want to Connect? You can connect with us or tell your story… via our confidential toll free line at 1-833-83-STORY Email: talktous@soheresmystory.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHMSpodcast   Twitter: @SHMSpodcast     Want to support us? Review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to the podcast. Visit our Patreon page. (http://www.patreon.com/SHMSpodcast)

This week, Jodi and Eliot talk about how emotions in business relate to dental hygiene and peanut M&Ms. Trust us – it makes sense.   Why is that important for business? Often people are apologetic about the emotional component of their response in business. Somewhere along the way, somebody made up this rule that business never has anything to do with ever feeling a personal emotions. And because of that made up, unspoken rule, no one has ever made it okay to do the emotional version of brushing your teeth in business, and then the plaque builds up and it’s problematic. Then the emotional build up gets in the way of what really needs to be dealt with. Whoever said “it’s not personal, it’s just business” is an idiot. The word “hygiene” is important here, because it alludes to a regular practice of cleaning and getting rid of what doesn’t need to be there anymore. We don’t apologize for needing to clean your teeth, and we need to get as comfortable with emotional hygiene. Not clearing the plaque results in the explosive conversations that start with “you always do ____”. A resentment that you didn’t practice good hygiene on has come up, and now it is plaque. Resentment is always something that you have let build up; it comes up because you didn’t address something. Resentment is always yours. We practice good resentment hygiene in the smallest, most inconsequential ways. Most grievances can be dealt with by dealing with the next act. You don’t need years of ammunition to justify your grievance; you just need to deal with the little things as they come up. And when you start with raising objections to little things, your tone and language and demeanour has to be befitting a little thing. If you have decided that the content of the conversation is on the little incident, you can’t punctuate it with 2 years of rage over similar little things. Sometimes, a third party is necessary to help you get at the real issue, and that’s okay. And it is important, in good emotional hygiene, to be clear on what is yours, and when you are ascribing intent to someone else. The language is so important. Because how you approach an issue will determine, often, how the conversation will go. Emotional hygiene is knowing when you need the pause, when you need to talk it through with someone else because you can’t find the clarity in it, right-sizing your attack, and lastly, being clear on what outcome you want. Emotional hygiene is the ability to separate the perceived slight from the actual need. Do you need to fix the slight, or is there a different way to get your need met? But the first step is acknowledging that it is okay to have emotions in business.   What story do you want to tell? So we told you our story – now it’s time to tell us yours! Go to SoHeresMyStory.com and share your story.   Want to Connect? You can connect with us or tell your story… via our confidential toll free line at 1-833-83-STORY Email: talktous@soheresmystory.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHMSpodcast   Twitter: @SHMSpodcast     Want to support us? Review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to the podcast. Visit our Patreon page. (http://www.patreon.com/SHMSpodcast)

PLEASE Don’t Say Please What does thawing bait in the microwave have to do with boundaries in business? This week, Jodi and Eliot discuss hard boundaries and why it’s not always kind to be polite.  Why is that important for business? Often, in an effort to be nice or polite, we make ill-kept or porous boundaries. We try to ask for things politely, when really, we want to be setting a hard boundary. Sometimes, we are prioritizing the person’s feelings over the boundary. And other times, in the want to keep the possibility open, we put off the boundary. Yet, there is a soft hostility, or soft torment, to something less than a definite answer. Allowing expectations to linger can be crueller than a hard boundary; being more definitive about expectations can be a relief. This lives at the intersection between kind and nice, and they are not always the same. It shows both empathy and compassion to let no be a complete sentence. What story do you want to tell? So we told you our story – now it’s time to tell us yours! Go to SoHeresMyStory.com and share your story. Want to Connect? You can connect with us or tell your story… via our confidential toll free line at 1-833-83-STORY Email: talktous@heresmystory.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHMSpodcast Twitter: @SHMSpodcast   Want to support us? Review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to the podcast. Visit our Patreon page. (http://www.patreon.com/SHMSpodcast)

Tamsen Interview This week, Jodi and Eliot interview Tamsen about when Imposter Syndrome shows up in organizations.  Why is that important for business? Imposter Syndrome is usually an issue with individuals: perfectly accomplished people who are worried about being “found out” as not expert enough, or just faking it. But organizations are just communities of people, and the neuroses and insecurities of those individuals often gets imbedded at an organization level. Imposter Syndrome can be deep seated, even in large, established, and respected organizations. This is why branding and marketing exist. At some level, as an organization, you understand there is something valuable in what you have. So you start to put it out into the marketplace. But at some point, some organizations just don’t have faith in what they can truly offer. No matter who we are, whether we are an individual or an organization, we think differentiation comes down to characteristics. But differentiation is actually the product of our decisions. If you can go back and re-create those decisions, then you can reveal to yourself exactly what you do differently. One of the hallmarks of an institution suffering from Imposter Syndrome is the degree to which they are using other organizations as the benchmark for how they want to represent themselves. Competing on price, feeling like no one gets you, trying to differentiate on the slight variances on commodity product or service – these are all signs that your organization is suffering from Imposter Syndrome. The answer is usually simple, and if we could just see what other people see, we could see what is truly different about us. It is the Curse of Knowledge: once you know something, you cannot imagine what it was like not to know it. People have to see the backstory and see how you became this thing. You need to put yourself in the position of seeing yourself with fresh eyes, and ask the questions to see objectively. Then the Curse of Knowledge becomes the Blessing of Knowledge.   What story do you want to tell? So we told you our story – now it’s time to tell us yours! Go to SoHeresMyStory.com and share your story.   Want to Connect? You can connect with us or tell your story… via our confidential toll free line at 1-833-83-STORY Email: talktous@heresmystory.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHMSpodcast Twitter: @SHMSpodcast   Want to support us? Review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to the podcast. Visit our Patreon page. (http://www.patreon.com/SHMSpodcast)  

This week, Jodi harasses Eliot into seeing how critical it is to be able to take a compliment. Why is that important for business? Knowing your value, and using it as a foundation for growing your business, is the only way to create a truly wonderful experience for your clients and customers. It is typically easier to have a “hard conversation” and tell someone the “bad” stuff about them than it is to get someone to sit still and listen to a genuine compliment. But here’s the thing: Giving and receiving of any kind is a finely balance ecosystem. If I want to give something to you – a compliment or a favor or anything – you have to be willing to catch that ball, or it doesn’t work. It can’t be a one-sided exchange. There has to be someone on the other end of the seesaw. When someone tells you that you are wrong about a compliment – “no, no, I’m not actually that good” – they are taking something that is yours. They don’t actually get to weigh in on what you think (and admire and appreciate) about them. There is a responsibility to recognize that you are wrecking something for someone else when you refuse to take a compliment. You also can’t grow as a person or a company unless you are building on a solid foundation of what is working well. And even if you can’t accept what you are good at, through someone else’s eyes, the least you can do is simply say “thank you”, so you don’t disrupt that ecosystem. This allows you to create space for the possibility that this might be true, and it allows you to create a foundation to build on. This is merely accepting that someone else’s experience of you is ____. It is an important practice to be able to be with both ends of real and authentic; to be able to take both genuine criticism and genuine compliments. We are all hungry for that spotlight, but once we’re there, we deflect out of it as soon as possible. But if we can stop and take a breath in that space, and just say “thank you”, it can be an opportunity. What story do you want to tell? So we told you our story – now it’s time to tell us yours! Go to SoHeresMyStory.com and share your story. Want to Connect? You can connect with us or tell your story… via our confidential toll free line at 1-833-83-STORY Email: talktous@soheresmystory.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHMSpodcast Twitter: @SHMSpodcast Want to support us? Review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to the podcast. Visit our Patreon page. (http://www.patreon.com/SHMSpodcast)

Nutrition and business – how much do they have in common? This week on So Here’s My Story, Jodi and Eliot talk about the importance of taking a break, in nutrition, and in business. Why is that important for business? In nutrition or in business, there is a level of performance that yields results, and a level that means almost identical energy output, with diminishing returns. It is often better to take a week off and come back at full focus than to continue to work at a capacity that isn’t working. It’s important to play strategic hooky. So why don’t we? There is almost universal buy in on the smaller part of that picture – we know we get our best idea in the shower or walking the dog because of the mental break. But where people tend to get off the boat is making it strategic, because that seems like an abdication of responsibility. But everything – from yoga to nutrition to exercise – has built in ebbs and flows, and it is in the rest period that you actually gain the strength. It is counterintuitive, but it’s in the period of not doing that you actually make the leaps forward. Everyone tells the story of the lumberjack stopping to sharpen his saw, but when the rubber hits the road, most people don’t have the courage to actually live that story. It’s even more insidious than “that’s how we’ve always done it” – this is perfectionism, and this is pride.  Perfectionism is not a quest for the best. It is a pursuit of the worst in ourselves, the part that tells us that nothing we do will ever be good enough. Julia Cameron When they do studies, people are often completely mentally exhausted, and also completely unaware of their cognitive degradation. By the time you are feeling exhausted, taking a break is the most important thing you can do, but it often feels like the last thing you can do. Your brain is not meant to run marathons; it is meant to run sprints. If you build a routine, and schedule your downtime, it makes it strategic. You also need to set up your company culture to value clarity, and not penalize people for seeking it. Not stopping is often a point of pride, and that value can be very misguided. Taking a break can be the most responsible thing you do. What story do you have about playing strategic hooky? So we told you our story – now it’s time to tell us yours! Go to SoHeresMyStory.com and share your story.   Want to Connect? You can connect with us or tell your story… via our confidential toll free line at 1-833-83-STORY Email: talktous@heresmystory.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHMSpodcast  Twitter: @SHMSpodcast    Want to support us? Review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to the podcast. Or visit our Patreon page. (http://www.patreon.com/SHMSpodcast)

Why would you need a safe word in business? This week on So Here’s My Story, Eliot and Jodi talk about clients we don’t love. Why is that important for business? What do you do with clients that you feel like you can’t do your best work with? First, you have to know what IS a good client, so you can figure out when a non-ideal client shows up. Sometimes, we lack the courage to disappoint. We can get better at it if we get better at acknowledging the economic realities and responsibilities of a business. Sometimes we take these clients on because of those pressures. But the opportunity exists when we take these clients on because we haven’t crystalized what a fit is enough that we can say it out loud. Creating a “Go/No Go” chart can be helpful for this kind of clarity, and this episode talks about how to come to those decisions. Like when your wheels are out of alignment in your car and the steering wheel pulls, you can also feel that pull to say “yes” every time you respond to a request from a client that isn’t a fit. The better a business is at framing the concept of “if…we’re not your guys”, the better that business will do. If the culture isn’t so clear that nobody says “I don’t want to work there”, it probably isn’t clear enough. The same can be said about the clients you take on. Part of this is getting clear on deal breakers. If someone is a 9/10 on a checklist of assets, they can still be a bad fit if the 1 is a deal breaker. A great litmus test: “If you do this, what would make you call me in 6 weeks begging to leave?”   What client have you regretted taking? So we told you our story – now it’s time to tell us yours! Go to SoHeresMyStory.com and share your story. You can connect with us or tell your story… via our confidential toll free line at 1-833-83-STORY Email: talktous@heresmystory.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHMSpodcast  Twitter: @SHMSpodcast  Want to support us? Review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to the podcast. Visit our Patreon page. (http://www.patreon.com/SHMSpodcast)

Just Say… THAT What could parenting anger possibly have to do with business? This week on So Here’s My Story, Eliot and Jodi talk hard conversations and, somehow, Sam Shepard (except, she REALLY meant Sam Elliott!!). Why is that important for business? You know those moments where something happens that makes you mad, but you know there is no satisfying outcome? It can be so hard to walk away, like you are giving a victory to the other side. How do you just STOP being angry? Whether it’s about your kids or about your work, it can be hard. But sometimes the value of these conversations isn’t a solution; sometimes it is simply about being heard, and seeking to understand. There might not be a satisfying outcome, but it may still have value. There is a lot lost when you try to play out all the versions of a conversation, and then decide to not have the conversation for all of those imagined reasons. The temptation is to make it a binary choice- either I swallow this, and I carry this brick, or I hurl it with lethal force at someone else. But there are other options. We are really bad at predicting other people’s intentions. Sometimes, just being curious relieves the problem without conflict. When your sense of value feels threatened, you have the same biological fight or flight response in your body and brain as if a tiger walked into a room. You can’t not have the response, you can only get better at dealing with it. Sometimes, it is enough simply to identify that you are triggered. Susan Campbell in her book Saying What’s Real talks about how most of us communicate to get or avoid a certain reaction. But that’s actually controlling. An important part of being a leader is being able to look past the surface conversation and see what need is trying to be met. What bricks are you carrying? So we told you our story – now it’s time to tell us yours! Go to SoHeresMyStory.com and share your story.   Want to Connect? You can connect with us or tell your story... via our confidential toll free line at 1-833-83-STORY Email: talktous@heresmystory.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHMSpodcast Twitter: @SHMSpodcast   Enjoy this podcast? Review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to the podcast. Or consider joining in our Patreon page. (http://www.patreon.com/SHMSpodcast)    

This week, Jodi and Eliot talk about how motivation and routine are linked, and what filing cabinets and pit stops on a race track have to do with business. Why is routine important for business? When we are especially busy or stressed, it is easy to forget to do, or convince ourselves we don’t have time to do, the very things that keep us centered. And it is only in returning to those routines that we find ourselves able to navigate the work effectively again. Even though absolutely nothing might change, the way you see those things in your business or life changes. Interestingly, the things we tend to skip when we are busy are literally the things that help our brain to work its best – down time, sleep, exercise and good eating. These are critical for your work, yet the things that you often cut first. It is also crucial to “be around people who remind you where the spark is”. This spark is the beginning to becoming centered and returning to a comfortable head space. You have to be able to step outside of the experience you hate having and contextualize it. Clues that you need to recalibrate before continuing can be when it feels hard or slogging or like nothing is fun, but you have to learn your own cues. Far more harm is done than good by stepping over our own vulnerabilities. “You need to not only understand your own “low fuel” indicator, but also what fuel goes in your tank”. What about you? So we told you our story – now it’s time to tell us yours! Go to SoHeresMyStory.com and share your story. Want to Connect? You can connect with us or tell your story… via our confidential toll free line at 1-833-83-STORY Email: talktous@heresmystory.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHMSpodcast Twitter: @SHMSpodcast Want to support us? Review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to the podcast. Visit our Patreon page. (http://www.patreon.com/SHMSpodcast)

Christmas in July… We know – Christmas is a weird topic in the middle of the summer. But this week, Jodi and Eliot explore what Christmas traditions share with business structure, and what to do when neither are making magic any more. Why is that important for business? As kids, it feels like anything can happen during the holidays – it is a magical time. As adults, we often try to recreate those feelings by doing the same things over and over again. We end up creating the opposite of “anything can happen” magic in our effort to recreate it. It got me to thinking - where is structure and tradition valuable, and where is spontaneity and improvisation valuable? This balance comes up all of the time in business. If you are going to have rules, make sure they are your rules. You have to figure out what metric you actually judge great work by. Make sure they help you move towards the company you want to be and the service you want to have. Where is there space for you to re-organize or re-structure the rules so that both you and your clients’ needs are met?Where are you saying “well, that’s how we’ve always done it”, and is it serving you?  What is it you are ultimately seeking and is the structures of your business (or your Christmas) meeting that need? It’s like the classic business story: Two managers are talking about training their employees. The first asks, "Yeah, but what if we train them, and they just leave?" The second responds, "What if we don't train them, and they stay?" If you removed all of the rules and started from scratch, what would you put back in?   Resources Mentioned The Disciplined Pursuit of Less from the Harvard Business Review   What about you? So we told you our story – now it’s time to tell us yours! Go to SoHeresMyStory.com and share your story. You can connect with us or tell your story… via our confidential toll-free line at 1-833-83-STORY Email: talktous@heresmystory.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHMSpodcast  Twitter: @SHMSpodcast  Want to join the Patrons Circle? Review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to the podcast. Visit our Patreon page. (http://www.patreon.com/SHMSpodcast)

How could a couples' massage possibly leave you cranky...?  What do couples’ massages and unfulfilled expectations have in common? Probably not what you think! This week, and Jodi and Eliot talk about how a clear process can be just as important as a clear promise.   Why is that important for business? Sometimes, no matter how good the product or service is, disappointment can still overshadow the experience when expectations aren’t met. Often, this is an issue of operations knowing what marketing is doing. And sometimes it isn’t a communications issue, it is a clarity issue.  It can be even more of a challenge to get in front of expectations that you don’t even know to expect. What is clear is that there is something refreshing about setting authentic expectations – you don’t need to fluff up your promises like Ginsu knives for the promise to be compelling. If you know where people might be extra hopeful, or scared, or not know, then you can think about how you can address that before it happens. So often we are so focused on the problem that we have a solution for, that we don’t think about the thoughts and expectations that go through a client’s mind during the process. Sometimes, those fear are even more pronounced than the problem that brought them to you. Figuring out the process is one thing. The next level is to make sure it becomes part of the culture and operations of your company. It is so important to look under that rock of mismatched expectations. What about you? So we told you our story – now it’s time to tell us yours! Go to SoHeresMyStory.com and share your story.   Want to Connect? You can connect with us or tell your story… via our confidential toll free line at 1-833-83-STORY Email: talktous@heresmystory.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHMSpodcast  Twitter: @SHMSpodcast    Want to support us? Review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to the podcast. Visit our Patreon page. (http://www.patreon.com/SHMSpodcast) Photo Credit: Blackberry Farm Flickr via Compfight cc   

When Leadership = Looking Dumb?  “Are we weird?” is the topic at hand this week, and Jodi and Eliot talk about how a lot of business people feel that they should have the answers to all of the business questions that pop up.    Why is that important for business?   Because leadership is this wild vat of uncertainty, and almost every day, people want to know if their problems are weird.  But here’s the thing: leadership doesn’t look like knowing the answers. Knowing all of the answers is usually about wanting to look good; it takes courage to ask the questions.   Jodi quotes Julio Olalla from one of her favorite videos (http://bit.ly/2s9kehH) as saying “knowledge is a love affair of answers. Wisdom is a love affair with the questions…”    You earn the right to give direction by not having the answers and asking the questions.   The reason that people and companies need leadership is that there are nuanced complexities that have to be navigated, and you can’t see them until you ask the questions.   Sometimes the best thing to say is “tell me what you know”.  And sometimes, in that emotional insecurity, there’s a reluctance to admit sameness. Often, your problems are not as unique are you think they are. Like a teenager, business people are in this tension between standing out and fitting in – you want to know your problems aren’t weird, but you want to be different. The same push-pull exists between wanting to be on your own, but not; being captain of your own ship, but still being part of a loosely defined fleet.     You can connect with us or tell your story…    via our confidential toll-free line at 1-833-83-STORY  Email: talktous@heresmystory.com  Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHMSpodcast    YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/SHMSpodcast Soundcloud: htp://www.soundcloud.com/SHMSpodcast  Twitter: @SHMSpodcast      Visit the Patron's Circle...   Visit our Patreon page for special bonus content and other great perks we're dreaming up... (http://www.patreon.com/SHMSpodcast)   

Rule #1 What do a parking ticket and a cashier’s cheque have to do with business? This week, Eliot and Jodi talk about the importance of not making things complicated for your customers, and the difference between process and outcome. Why is that important for business? The confused mind says no. Having a catalog of options is great, but it still needs to be easy for your customers to choose. Sometimes, in an effort to make it so each individual in your marketplace finds that custom fit, you make every individual in your marketplace paralyzed with indecision. There is a certain complexity that comes with being out of touch with what the end user is going to need and want; that complexity is often the result of being too close to your offering. Great ideas tend not to survive their first encounter with the market because of this. And sometimes, the problem comes with creating global rules to one instance of a challenge; strapping a solution on a problem without thinking about the unintended consequences. Think: is this a situation that needs a policy versus something that just needs a conversation? Share your story So we told you our story – now it’s time to tell us yours! Go to SoHeresMyStory.com and share your story.   You can connect with us or tell your story… via our confidential toll free line at 1-833-83-STORY Email: talktous@heresmystory.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHMSpodcast  Twitter: @SHMSpodcast  Want to support us? Review us on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to the podcast. Visit our Patreon page. (http://www.patreon.com/SHMSpodcast)    

Pee my WHAT? What does peeing your pants have to do with better business? This week, Jodi and Eliot talk about the importance of sharing those vulnerable stories that businesses need to tell. Why is that important for business? There’s this weird counterintuitive perception that people don’t want to share those stories. And peeing your pants might not be the story that you are going to lead with the first time you meet someone (in theory). And yet what is also true is that given a moment where someone else is sharing their story, suddenly other people want to share. That is at the core of what we are getting at with this podcast. That safe space, where people can share their worst stories, can be created by the fact that the first person shared their own. There is safety in numbers. People are dying to tell these stories, and creating that safe space doesn’t take a lot of work, it isn’t magic. Our acknowledged shared humanity in sharing goofy embarrassing stories made even more vulnerable things easier to talk about. How do I start these conversations? To really get this idea of how one person can create this space, you really need to watch this Derek Sivers video on how to start a movement in 3 minutes or less: https://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_how_to_start_a_movement#t-52060 The first follower is what turns the Lone Nut into a Leader. We want to be the Lone Nuts of telling these business stories. And of course, we wouldn’t expect you to go it alone. So we tell our own Business Pee Pants stories in this episode (and probably future episodes!) Share your story… So what is your business version of I peed my pants story? The story doesn’t have to end well or be tied up in a bow; it can be something you are worried about NOW. What you are feeling, what you are thinking, what concerns you, the deepest darkest fears that you have that might be paralyzing you and causing you to spin in circles: these are the stories that so many of us have in common. We want to hear! So here are several ways you can connect with us and share your stories (and if you don’t want your name mentioned…. Just say so. We’ll paraphrase the important parts and completely obscure your identity, with no references to your name or company. You can connect with us or tell your story… - via our confidential toll-free line at 1-833-83-STORY - Email: talktous@heresmystory.com - Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHMSpodcast - Twitter: @SHMSpodcast - Get the INSIDE Story and special perks by becoming a Patron: http://www.patreon.com/SHMSpodcast

Education; Podcast; K-12 Education; Adult Education