Not Your Average Lives Podcast

Episode 238: Real Stories Of Becoming Who You Were Meant To Be with Ryan Lesser

mindset Jul 04, 2022

This week’s interview is with Ryan Lesser, Co-Founder and Life Coach at InnerShift. I met Ryan through his partner, Alex Paulos, who invented a unique personality typing methodology where your genetic characteristics are “read” to tell you who you were really born to be.

This reading includes an overall assessment of your general character as well as your unique personality traits, and lets you know if you’ve been operating in alignment with your inborn personality type or if you’ve been operating with a chosen personality that you’ve adopted, thinking it will help you more easily navigate life.

What happens when you don’t operate as the person you were born to be, you aren’t living in your truth - it’s like you are walking around with a mask on - which will take you off course and away from your true path and purpose. 

People who operate from a chosen personality often find themselves frustrated and feeling stressed, which will ultimately cause health challenges due to the impac...

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Episode 237: [JFDI #4] A Long-Delayed Random Act of Kindness Finally Done

In this month's episode of my "Just Friggin' Do It" series, I share a long-dreamed-about random act of kindness that finally came to fruition. You may wonder why it took me so long to do something so wonderful, and that is part of the reason I wanted to do this episode because it is the same question I’ve asked myself.

If I can dissect what held me back, then perhaps my reflections will help you take action on something you’ve been thinking about but not taking action on…

My curiosity about why it took me so long to do this random act of kindness led to the following questions and some answers, which I dive into in this episode:

  • Why did I hold back on taking action on something that kept coming up, even if it was just a simple, random, act of kindness?
  • Why were my feelings more important than the impact of my action?
  • Why did I finally act? What made the difference?

The feeling that I got from doing this was amazing and of course confirmed what I preach and teach: the magic...

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Episode 236: Geeking Out With What She Loves In Retirement, with Jill McCarthy

career mindset Jun 28, 2022

My guest this week is Jill McCarthy, also known as “The Geeky Grandma”, who has a passion for digital art & encouraging women. Jill has 4 adult sons & 6 grandchildren and has been married for 43 years. Prior to retirement, she taught 2nd graders for 25 years. She says you’ll most often catch her playing on the computer dressed in one of her favorite t-shirts imprinted with a cartoon character.

Jill’s been an avid follower and practitioner of personal development for 50+ years, long before it was a popular topic. She says she realized, about 10 years into her full-time teaching career, that her heart was not into teaching children and that she wanted to organize and run women's retreats. 

Retirement has not slowed her down one bit. In fact, it’s allowed her to fulfill her dreams of advocating personal development to her now adult students. She recently held her 14th retreat. 

In this episode, Jill and I talked about:

  • The story behind her brand “The Geeky Grandma”  
  • Why she tra...
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Episode 235: The Lesson In Regrets

lessons learned series Jun 23, 2022

This "lessons learned" episode was inspired by a download I had this past week about regrets that nudged me to share a couple of my own personal experiences with them.

One I share was a big regret for a long time, but fortunately it was diffused over time and is now no longer a regret at all. Another one was destined to be what I call a "deathbed" regret that I nipped in the bud because I finally took action to prevent that missed opportunity from happening.

As you can hear in my voice, I'm pretty passionate about this subject because I don't want you to get to the end of your life with ANY regrets! So start thinking about potential regrets you MAY have based on something you desire but haven't pursued.

And tune into why you desire them to ensure it's a desire of the heart because those will become the biggest regrets.

Perhaps the examples of scary actions I took to avoid future regrets, that have worked out pretty well for me, will inspire you to take action to avoid your own f...

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Episode 234: The Doula Decision That Changed Her Life with Valerie Trumbower

My guest for this week’s podcast is Valerie Trumbower, a DONA Certified Postpartum Doula, a Certified Lactation Counselor and a mother of three, including identical twins. Her online courses, The Bump-to-Baby Roadmap & Expecting 101...You’re Adopting™ have helped hundreds of families (and grandparents!) prepare for life with their newborns. 

Over the past 8 years Valerie has been helping hundreds of parents adjust to their new family so that they can approach the newborn stage with as much calm confidence as possible. And so that they know what to do with their little newborns.

In this episode, Valerie and I talked about:

  • Understanding what a Doula is and what they do
  • How she learned about postpartum and birth Doula and how she started
  • Best qualities to look out for if you want to be a Doula
  • Necessary tips for grandparents to best help our children navigate new babies

Many people are probably not familiar with what a postpartum doula is. You may decide to explore becoming...

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Episode 233: The Lesson About Our Perception Of Time

lessons learned series Jun 16, 2022

This "lessons learned" episode was inspired by my recent free training and the questions I've received by some who've attended.

It got me thinking about how, when we are trying to make a decision - especially when it's something we want (but something that may be a bit scary and out of our comfort zone), we use time as an easy excuse. And when we do this, it's through a lens of lack vs. a lens of abundance.

We look at what taking this action will COST us in time vs. what we will GAIN from the time we put in. Will it take time from our already busy schedule and cause more overwhelm, or will the time we take give us more quality of time in the future?

Two completely different perceptions when changing the lens we look through, right?!

Let's use some example questions to show the difference when looking through the lack vs. the abundance lenses. (I'll use questions related to enrolling in the Second Half S.P.A.R.K. School since they are what inspired this episode and the best examp...

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Episode 232: Case Study: From Long Covid to Job Loss to Cancer to Dream Life with Denise Hughes

mindset Jun 12, 2022

My special guest this week is one of my amazing Second Half S.P.A.R.K. School™ students, Denise Hughes. Denise shares her story of signing up at a very low point in her life, when she was suffering from “long” Covid with very little energy and very far from living her best life.

But fortunately, like all of my students who decide to take action, she was finally ready to do something about it and she knew she couldn’t do it on her own… 

Denise’s story is nothing short of remarkable as it shows how our path to the dream life we desire is not always what we think it will be. But Denise shows how once we shift our internal energy by changing our mindset, we begin to attract what we desire. 

She is also a testament to how staying in abundance, no matter how hard your journey gets, and continuing to apply the tools she learned in the Second Half S.P.A.R.K. School™ brought her to where she is today, with more balance and happiness than she’s ever had.

In this episode, Denise and I talk...

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Episode 231: The Lesson In How Downloads Can Make A Difference

lessons learned series Jun 10, 2022

Today's lesson is about a specific download I had recently that I shared in my free training series that really resonated with the women who were participating this past week.

This lesson was a great reminder to me that downloads aren't just messages that are for us but ones we are meant to share. It was so amazing to receive this download and then to turn it into a lesson for others and see it shift perspectives and make an impact.

So which of the 3 Ds, if any, are you most guilty of? 

It was wonderful to receive another example of how nudges, if we pay attention and act on them, lead us to where we are meant to go and teach us beautiful things - and often create a ripple effect.

And because I love alliteration, let me end by saying... Downloads are downright delightful and definitely make a difference! 😜

CLICK HERE to see the image of the 3 Ds that I walked through in the training.
 
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review and subscribe to (or follow) the podcast...
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Episode 230: Case Study: From Miserable To Hopeful To Happy with Frederica Wagner

mindset Jun 05, 2022

Today’s guest is Frederica Wagner, (aka "Fred") one of my students from the Second Half S.P.A.R.K. School™, who shares her story about how she transformed her life in record time, finding motivation, energy, and happiness, along with her authentic self who she had lost.

Fred - a 72 year old divorced mom of adult children, and a grandma, who recently celebrated 24 years of sobriety - recognized she had reached a new low point in her life where she had no direction, no focus, and sadly, no desire. In her words, she felt stuck, stagnant and miserable. 

Shortly after admitting to herself that she needed help, she stumbled upon the Second Half S.P.A.R.K. School™ where she found the support she needed. Once she made that commitment, she was ALL IN, and by following the program to a “T”, she got the breakthroughs she needed, becoming an inspiration to her fellow students.

Fred is a great example that if you show up and do the work, you’ll get the results you’re looking for, no matter wh...

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Episode 229: [JFDI #3] Life-Shifting Actions That Led To The Real Me

In this month's episode of my "Just Friggin' Do It" series, I talk about the 4 biggest actions I took that led me closer to the life that I believe I came here to live as the most authentic version of myself.

All of them came from my gut, meaning something deep inside of me pushed me to do them, while my brain was, in most cases, trying to talk me out of them. .

These were actions I had never done and all of these life shifts have happened in the last 16 years of my life, after I finally, at age 47, admitted to myself that I was not living the life I wanted to.

Looking back, I know my gut had been sending me signals of dissatisfaction in both my marriage and my career for a long time, but I ignored them. Then one day I found it more scary to keep living the life I was settling for than to start taking action and figure it out.

Little did I know where it would lead! And little did I know that that confused, empty, unlit version of me was totally misaligned with my authentic self ...

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