The Perfectly Imperfect Journey

The Privilege of a Lifetime

Carl Jung said: “The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are”  and that’s what we’re talking about in today's episode.  Authenticity is a somewhat overused word today, but that doesn’t mean we are overachieving in being our authentic selves.  There’s so much that can get in our way - the suit and floppy tie dress code during Sherry’s early career, the imposter syndrome Anne experienced in her mid career, our own limiting beliefs, or those put on us by others- that we often end up playing small in this game called life.  Join us as we explore what it means to live an authentic life, how to start adding more authenticity in your life, and why it’s important to be mindful about the choices we make in our quests to be more authentic.

From Brene Brown’s work: (authenticity is)  “a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It's about the choice to show up and be real.”

Just keep going with Nichelle Tramble Spellman

Nichelle Tramble Spellman joins us this week and shares her journey from being an aspiring writer as early as grade school, to published novelist,  to Hollywood writer, producer and showrunner. Join us as Nichelle shares her thoughts on the importance of lifelong friends, listening to mom and how being true to yourself is the key to success.   We hope you love this interview as much as we do.  Nichelle tells some fantastic stories  - we were laughing so hard during parts of the interview, we had to pause to catch our breath!

Nichelle Tramble Spellman is Showrunner/Executive Producer of the Apple drama series, Truth Be Told, starring Octavia Spencer and Kate Hudson. Nichelle won a NAACP Image Award for Best Writing in a Dramatic Series for the pilot episode of TRUTH BE TOLD called "Monster". Previous to that she spent three seasons on the critically-acclaimed CBS drama THE GOOD WIFE, FX's JUSTIFIED, and she recently served as a Consulting Producer on SNOWFALL Season Four. Nichelle is also the author of the novels THE DYING GROUND and THE LAST KING  published by Random House/Ballantine.

Freeing Ourselves from the Prisons of Our Own Making and the Enneagram with Susan Olesek

In this episode, we speak with Susan Olesek, Founder of the Enneagram Prison Project (EPP). Early in her journey of learning the Enneagram, Susan was invited into a prison in Texas to work with a group of incarcerated individuals. She was both inspired and blown away by the power of the work and the life-changing impact of the participants. She knew she’d found her purpose and she EPP was created to bring the Enneagram teachings into more prisons.  Susan shares how the Enneagram provides an opportunity to be more honest and kind with ourselves and to learn how to get out of our own way. We all come into the world with a divine spark, and a beautiful innocence that can get twisted and, at times, shut down.  The Enneagram highlights some of our unconscious habits and patterns and invites us to choose, with more consciousness, how we show up in the world.  Ultimately, the Enneagram “frees us from the prisons of our own making” and facilitates falling a bit more in love with ourselves.  Please join us to hear about Susan’s amazing journey - from the nonprofit she built to finding freedom from the prison of her own making. 

 

“Your definition of who you are is your prison. You can set yourself free at any time.” Cheri Huber

 

Susan Olesek is an unapologetic “Idealist” and the founder of the Enneagram Prison Project (EPP), a paradigm-shifting model of how to bring self-awareness education to those incarcerated, now scaling across the globe from California’s San Quentin State Prison to Belgium. Born outside of Boston and schooled in Hong Kong, Tokyo, and England, Susan is a “Human Potentialist” - a social entrepreneur in pursuit of what’s possible for people. She runs a consulting practice teaching the Enneagram to Fortune-500 leaders, but her heart is dedicated to helping all people - on both sides of the bars - to realize the “prison of our own making.” She lives in California with her three children, and Rick Olesek, her husband and Executive Director of EPP.

 

Links:

Enneagram Prison Project: https://enneagramprisonproject.org/

Susan’s website:  https://susanolesek.com/

One of the books Susan references, the Wisdom of the Enneagram:  https://www.amazon.com/Wisdom-Enneagram-Psychological-Spiritual-Personality/dp/0553378201

Our favorite tool to determine your type:  https://integrative9.com/enneagram/

Getting (more) comfortable with being uncomfortable

All of our recent guests have talked about times in their lives when change was either thrust upon them, or they consciously undertook some kind of transformation.  And, all of them shared that the work process was often  challenging and uncomfortable.  In today’s episode we talk about why choosing to get a bit more uncomfortable can actually be good practice for when those big waves of change are coming at us.  

Why is this important?  Often what sits between where we are now and where we’re trying to get, is a whole lot of discomfort. And like many things in life, it is easier to practice, and to start building our “discomfort muscle” when we’re not in the midst of major change.  Please join us to hear a bit about our own journeys with being uncomfortable and some practical tips to start building your own “discomfort” muscle.  

 

From this great Ted Talk by Luvvie Ajayi Jones: Fear has a very concrete power to keep us from doing and saying the things that are our purpose

 

https://www.ted.com/talks/luvvie_ajayi_jones_get_comfortable_with_being_uncomfortable#t-175831 

Sherry also wrote a great article about this topic:  www.flow-dynamix.com/get-discomfortable/

When Everything Changes, with Mike Robbins.

In his early 20’s, it looked like Mike Robbins’ lifelong dream of being a professional baseball player was set; a recent graduate of Stanford, Mike was drafted by the Kansas City Royals and started playing with one of their minor league teams. However, after a couple of seasons, Mike injured his elbow in a game against the Durham Bulls and his baseball career was suddenly over.  Everything Mike had been dreaming about suddenly changed.
Mike’s perfectly imperfect journey took a few twists and turns and he is now the author of 5 books and a globally sought out speaker.  We had such a great discussion about the power of meditation and taking care of yourself,  how it is often those darkest moments that lead to the brightest days and how a little persistence can lead to deep connections with those that inspire you.  

 

Mike Robbins is the author of five books, including his new title, WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER: Creating a Team Culture of High Performance, Trust, and Belonging.  For the past 20 years, he’s been a sought-after speaker and consultant who delivers keynotes and seminars for some of the top organizations in the world.  His clients include Google, Wells Fargo, Microsoft, Genentech, eBay, Harvard University, Gap, LinkedIn, the Oakland A’s, and many others.   He and his work have been featured in the New York Times and the Harvard Business Review, as well as on NPR and ABC News.  He’s a regular contributor to Forbes, hosts his own podcast (called We’re All in This Together), and his books have been translated into 15 different languages. Links: WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER: Creating a Team Culture of High Performance, Trust: https://mike-robbins.com/together Website:  https://mike-robbins.com LinkedIn:   https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrobbins/ Twitter:      https://twitter.com/mikedrobbins Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikedrobbins/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mikerobbinspage/

Strong Like Water with Laila Tarraf

Join us as we speak to author and HR executive, Laila Tarraf, to hear about her amazing journey of self discovery.  Through a series of  painful life experiences, Laila learned how important it is to let her whole self be seen, to allow for the vulnerability that she had pushed away her whole life, and to give herself time to pause and reflect.  One of the beautiful things about what Laila shares with us is that this was not only a personal journey, but it transformed the way she leads at work.  This podcast is full of insight and deeply moving reflection and fully embodies the flow between eastern and western philosophies.  

Laila’s growth and her modeling of a new way of being remind us of the Mariann Williamson quote:

“...And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Laila Tarraf is a senior human resource executive with over 25 years of professional experience.  After graduating with her MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley, she became one of the founding team members at Walmart.com.  She then served as Chief People Officer at Peet’s Coffee and Tea, an iconic Bay Area premium coffee company. Currently, Laila is currently the Chief People Officer at Allbirds focused on leading through a global pandemic and broad social unrest. She is also a trusted advisor to entrepreneurs and investors and is a regular guest lecturer at Berkeley Law School.

 

Laila’s book: https://www.amazon.com/Strong-Like-Water-Lessons-Learned-ebook/dp/B08F2CC76F

Laila’s website:  https://www.lailatarraf.com/ 

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

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/laila.tarraf/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lailatarrafauthor/  

Awareness, Choice and Mindset

We have had the huge pleasure and honor to welcome some amazing guests over the past few weeks.  While they sometimes used different words for it, each person has inspired us to think about awareness, choice, and mindset as it relates to the way we operate in the world.  In this episode, we share more of our own stories and how at different times, we need to deepen our awareness, expand our mindset, and recognize that we always have a choice (even if sometimes it doesn’t seem like awesome choices).  This happens in big ways that can seem obvious, but it is often the micro  - day by day, hour by hour, moments that add up to a fulfilled life and add richness to our perfectly imperfect journeys

As both Annie Dillard and Sherry’s newsletter remind us: “The way you live your day is the way you live your life.” Through this episode, we encourage you to consider all the ways you are living this one precious life.

Follow Your Bliss with Leslie McGuirk

In this episode we welcome Leslie McGuirk to the podcast.  When she was young, a teacher told Leslie she lacked creativity; she heard this same refrain from publishers years later.  And yet, Leslie knew she had something to say.  With a little nudge from an astrologer that she met when she was 19, Leslie became an internationally recognized illustrator and book author.  That nudge led to a deep curiosity about astrology.  Listen in as we hear about Leslie’s journey, her strong belief that astrology is like an orchestra and with the right guide, all of us can play our most beautiful music.  We are inspired by Leslie’s guidance to follow your bliss, own your gifts and never play small.  

 

“Follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be. If you follow your bliss, doors will open for you that wouldn’t have opened for anyone else.”  ~Joseph Campbell

 

About Leslie McGuirk: Leslie McGuirk is an internationally acclaimed astrologer who is breaking new ground in the world of mental health as she collaborates with western trained doctors to put forth a new vision for holistic healing.  Her book, THE POWER OF MERCURY (Harper Collins 2016)  explains how she sees humans as having an owner’s manual or pattern which is your natal chart showing where all the planets and constellations were at the time of birth.   

For twenty years, she has been a presenter at Rancho La Puerta (the number one destination spa in the world) along with Red Mountain Spa, Paul Gaughin Cruise Line, Campowerment, and many corporations.   Her popular talks on astrology as human design (not fortune telling) have been breaking attendance records for years.   

Leslie’s passion is to instruct people how to read astrology charts.  She is the founder of The Astrology Wisdom Academy where she brings astrology to life using creativity and storytelling.

Links:
Website: www.Leslie McGuirk.com
TEDx talk: The Importance of Being Wrong | Leslie McGuirk | TEDxHollywood
The Power of Mercury: Understanding Mercury Retrograde and Unlocking the Astrological Secrets of Communication: https://www.amazon.com/Power-Mercury-Understanding-Astrological-Communication-ebook/dp/B01B1AFT30/ 

Social Media:
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/luckystarleslie
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-mcguirk-750b728/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lesliemcguirkastrology
Instagram: @lesliemcguirkastrology 

A conversation with Darren Gold on building an extraordinary life

In this episode we welcome Darren Gold, Managing Partner at Trium Group, and author of Master Your Code.  Darren shares his philosophy around building an extraordinary life and some of the amazing lessons he has learned throughout his life.  Our  discussion was full of rich wisdom around paying attention on purpose, not getting stuck in either / or  thinking and finding inspiration in continual learning.  Darren believes we all have a superpower around choosing the meaning we give the circumstances of our life - the perfect, the imperfect and everything in between.  He  encourages us to pay attention both to our gut and to our rational minds, which reminds us of one of our favorite Albert Einstein quotes:  

 

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” Albert Einstein

 

About Darren Gold: I am a Managing Partner of The Trium Group, where I serve as an executive coach to the CEOs of many of the world’s most influential companies. I am the author of the book Master Your Code: The Art, Wisdom, and Science of Leading an Extraordinary Life. The book has received significant praise from the CEOs of companies like The Home Depot, Lululemon, Dropbox, StubHub, Roche, and from experts in the field of leadership and personal development like Greg McKeown, author of the NYT best seller Essentialism. The feedback has been tremendous, with some calling Master Your Code “the most important thing I’ve read in years” and “one of the great personal development books of our generation.”

 

Links:

https://www.darrenjgold.com/

Master Your Code: The Art, Wisdom, and Science of Leading an Extraordinary Life: https://www.amazon.com/Master-Your-Code-Science-Extraordinary-ebook/dp/B07XJ1M4S1/ 

Darren’s recent TedX talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/darren_gold_the_secret_to_an_extraordinary_life 

Twitter:  darrenjgold

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrengold-unlockingpotential/

A conversation with Donna Peek on grit, grace, and finding wisdom in unexpected places

In this episode we welcome Donna Peek for a conversation about her  perfectly imperfect journey. Donna has exemplified grit and grace throughout her life as she has sought to find joy even in her darkest moments, reminding us that joy can be present even when happiness isn’t.  So much of Donna’s story is about actively choosing to see the positive, even when incredibly difficult.   We are inspired by Donna’s ability to find wisdom from expected and unexpected sources, and the way she has heeded that guidance to create an amazingly fulfilled life.  Donna leaves us with strong wisdom about about how setting boundaries is really about loving ourselves, which reminded us of this Anna Taylor quote:

Love yourself enough to set boundaries. Your time and energy are precious. You get to choose how you use it. You teach people how to treat you by deciding what you will and won’t accept. – Anna Taylor