The Perfectly Imperfect Journey

West Meets East with Kristin Firpo

Sound healer and business consultant. Spiritual practitioner and innovation expert. American born and adopter of Balinese culture. Kristen Firpo, all of this and so much more, joins us this week and shares her “inside out” journey to well-being and growth through walking in both the eastern and western worlds. Please listen in as Kristen shares how she has developed freedom within the structure and found her deep passion for singing bowls as a medium of healing.  

And if you have trouble sleeping, Kristen has a new album out that will relax you, lull you back to sleep, and gently wake you up. You can hear samples on the podcast, and there is a link to the full album below.  

 

Bio: 

Kristen believes that we can use our mind, thoughts, sound, and the natural environment to help ourselves grow and heal in a variety of ways.

Her sessions guide you towards an understanding and appreciation of your own mind and body, often leaving you with a greater focus, clarity, and a sense of peace and wellbeing. Most people leave her sessions believing that issues that may have appeared dramatic or urgent no longer carry as much weight as before the session.

Using a combination of both Eastern and Western philosophies and practices, she helps individuals effectively navigate key life transitions from career speed bumps to personal growth challenges to health crises.

The foundation of her practice is Holistic Healing, a method that involves assessing all areas of your life and getting to the root cause of the imbalances and distractions that push you off-center. Once revealed, these can be removed, then we can create a new system.

This new system allows you to live from your ‘flow state’ — where things happen with greater clarity, focus, and ease. The overall goal is to learn to live your life by design, not default.

One of the modalities Kristen uses is sound healing. With her custom-made singing bowls, Kristen creates frequencies that heal nervous systems, manage energy fields and release tension resulting in feelings of rejuvenation and clarity.

Kristen is both a Holistic Practitioner and an International Innovation consultant to Fortune 100 companies. 

In both her innovation consulting and holistic healing work, she balances uncertainty with possibility. She straddles corporate challenges and spiritual practices, focusing on integrating real-world pragmatism and pressures with intuitive, alternative healing modalities, including sound healing.

She started Heal Anywhere with the purpose of teaching people how to heal and improve their lives from anywhere they currently are in their life.

Kristen’s new album:  https://kristenfirpo.com/sunset-to-sunrise

Self-care

Valentine’s Day got us thinking … we have a special day dedicated to showing our love for others, but we rarely take time, and there’s certainly no Hallmark card, focused on taking care of ourselves and tending to our well-being. And yet, it’s critically important. Please join us this week as we talk about what self care means (spoiler alert: it’s  something different to everyone), why it’s important, and how to introduce a little more self care into your life. 

From Angela Davis, activist:
“Anyone who is interested in making change in the world, also needs to understand how to take care of herself, himself, themselves” 

From Buddhist teachings:
“If your compassion doesn’t include yourself, it is incomplete.”

Guiding Lights with Donna Rhode

Donna Rhode spent her early years feeling like a misfit. Her teachers did not like that she had a mind of her own, her father struggled with bouts of depression, and she lacked strong role models to connect to. Combined with early and recurring trauma, Donna believes she may have ultimately dropped out of school if not for her second grade teacher, who saw her gifts, helped give her a voice, and became her first role model. Fast forward to college where another educator saw Donna’s gift, this time in the form of a university dean who encouraged Donna to attend business school. Throughout her career, Donna had great mentors and has provided mentoring to others. But her ultimate guide has been her deep spirituality. Please listen in to Donna’s perfectly imperfect journey as she explores the importance of guides in her own life, and how she now lends her expertise and guidance to others.

Bio:

Donna specializes in the marriage of strong business results and personal development.

She’s currently Community Relations Executive at Vaco Raleigh, a boutique provider of executive search, consultant, permanent placement, and strategic staffing services. She also provides coaching, leadership facilitation, and business consulting services.

Donna spent over 25 years in the high-tech industry in various capacities. She was Vice President in Global Sales Operations for Cisco Systems where she led multiple teams to drive, design, and implement innovative global programs and processes. She held other leadership roles in Strategy, Sales Enablement, Product Management, Government Affairs, Systems Engineering, and Field Marketing. Before Cisco, Donna was with IBM in Systems Engineering, Sales, and Brand Management roles.

She served as Program Director at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Executive Development Program, where she designed, developed, and executed custom leadership programs for corporate clients.

Certifications include EQ-I (emotional intelligence self-assessment & 360); Leadership Versatility Index (360); Insights Discovery Tool; Covey Leading at the Speed of Trust.

Donna received her B.A. in Economics with Minor in Psychology, and M.B.A with concentration in Information Systems, from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

She’s been an active member of the community for several years. She is/has been affiliated with the following organizations: American Red Cross (former Board Chair, 15 years Board Member); Dress for Success Triangle (Board Vice Chair); Triangle CHRO Association (Co-Founder and Co-Chair); NC Symphony (Board of Trustees, Digital Committee Chair, Strategy Committee, Friends of Note: 2 years Chair); American Heart Association (Circle of Red); Raleigh Chamber of Commerce (Board of Advisors, former Executive Committee, Education Committee Chair)); BEST NC; Triangle Family Services (Advisory Board); Raleigh Professional Women’s Forum (Past President); American Friends of the Château de Compiègne (Past Vice Chair); Athena Women in Tech (Advisory Board); Women’s Giving Network; International Women’s Forum (Comms Committee Vice President); Triangle Diversity Equity Inclusion Alliance. 

Having Faith with Aisha Ponds

Aisha Ponds joins us this week and shares her story, from her beginnings in a segregated neighborhood, to experiencing direct and indirect racism growing up and throughout her career, to her deep dedication to her work.  Aisha has an infectious laugh and an unwavering sense of optimism, but it is ultimately her faith, in herself and her god, that guides her perfectly imperfect journey. One of our favorite quotes from this episode: “FEAR is false evidence appearing real: (attributed to Iyanla Vanzant and others) which perfectly underscores Aisha’s commitment to faith.  

 

Bio: 

Aisha leads Customer Service Operations at Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina. She has been at Blue Cross NC since 2013, where she has held various leadership roles across Operations including her most recent roles as Director of Stakeholder Escalations and Customer Experience (2017 – 2021), Sr. Manager of Continuous Quality Improvement (2016 – 2017), and Lead Program Manager of Process Analysis & Improvement (2014-2016). 

Aisha is a Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, a certified Customer Experience and Analytics Professional, and a SCRUM MASTER, experienced in Change Management, Business Analysis, Process Improvement, Training and Development, Strategic Planning and Vendor Management.  

She holds a MS in Technical Communication and Organizational Information Systems from North Carolina State University and a BS in Technical Communication from Rochester Institute of Technology.  Aisha lives in Cary, NC and enjoys movies, Asian Cuisine, and serving and supporting local businesses and charities in her community.

Aisha talks about the importance of mentors and a personal board of directors.  This article does a nice job referencing both:

https://www.themuse.com/advice/personal-board-of-directors

Ditch the Resolutions

It’s the beginning of a new year, and you’ve probably spent some time reflecting on the previous year and considering what 2022 might bring. We’ve been thinking about this too, but unlike most of what you’re reading, seeing, or hearing in the media, we are suggesting that you actually ditch the New Year’s resolutions. 

Why? 

They can actually do more harm than good…and they usually end up making us all feel pretty terrible.

That doesn’t mean we suggest that you stop being thoughtful about what you want to bring into your life. Just the opposite! Listen in as we suggest an alternative to New Year’s resolutions and how to ring in the new year in a more mindful way. 

 

******

Here are some resources for you to think about what to do instead of resolutions:

 

This one is from a friend of ours you’ll hear from on the podcast later this year:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/vanessaloder/2014/12/31/the-anti-new-years-resolution-that-could-change-your-life/?sh=3267961c3609

 

On themes:

https://www.themuse.com/advice/better-alternative-new-years-resolutions 

 

How over-prescription of goals can be harmful:

https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6114.html 

 

During the episode, we discuss a framework that Sherry developed for more mindful goal setting called HEART goalsTM.

The HEART goals TM framework:

Harmony: How is your goal in harmony with who you are as a person, where you are in life and the tenor of your life?

Energizing: In what way does your goal give you energy?  How is it exciting to you?

Affirming: Describe how the goal is a positive force for you

Radical: Is the goal going to the root of what’s important to you?

True: Do you choose to believe it to be possible?

Live The Truth of Who You Are with Forrest Wright

What do Jeff Spicoli, Willy Wonka and The Price is Right have in common?  They are all inspirations for our guest this week, Forrest Wright.   Forrest grew up on the East Coast, and then found himself at UCLA in the late 80’s where he believed a simple move across the country could unlock his “true self” that he had been partially hiding.  What he learned was it would take a few more twists and turns in life, from working in the film industry, to getting his MBA and eventually launching his own branding company to learn that the more he shows up as his true self, the better his work, and the greater his success and fulfillment. He is now the author of 2 books, and an upcoming eLearning course, but most importantly he is fabulously, flamboyantly, and authentically himself.  Jeff Spicoli would be proud.  

 

Bio:

In 2009 I founded creative agency Page 90 to build compelling and authentic brand stories for organizations and individuals. Though the traditional paradigm is “mission leads the work,” I’ve realized that the opportunities that have come my way since then are responsible for evolving my mission.  Now I am driven to raise the collective imagination of the corporate world so they can go about solving the challenges of the rest of the world.  The way I do this is by facilitating Big Work: leading high functioning teams in solving their toughest challenges in the shortest amount of time for the largest impact. And, to have fun while doing it.  Over the years I’ve gotten to tackle interesting strategic initiatives with non-traditional approaches like:

• reimagining an STD testing campaign as a sexy lifestyle brand
• helping a team craft a personality for a new machine learning platform using film and literary archetypes as our departure point
• creating an animated series to influence biotech engineers to adopt a design thinking approach to their work
• redesigning the car buying process by letting go of everything that’s currently done in the auto industry

 

 At the core of projects like these is a commitment to helping people find the best possible approach to their work in a way that feels true, relevant and inspiring. 

 

 

I am a reformed film producer with a B.A. from UCLA and an MBA from UC San Diego.  I co-authored the book Being Different Matters on personal career branding with one of my professors at UC San Diego. And, my second publication, The Hello Book just came out.  It’s a fill-in-your-own-story book for adults who want to share who they really are with the children in their lives. My Big Work classes should be up on the Thinkific site by the end of the year. And I’m building out an Idea Ranch in southwest Colorado where I hope to bring creatives, business leaders and change makers together to solve their toughest challenges in an inspired setting.

 

Links: 

Page 90: https://www.page-90.com/ 

 

Being Different Matters: https://www.amazon.com/Being-Different-Matters-Jobseekers-Economy/dp/0999637509/ 

 

The Hello Book: 

https://www.amazon.com/Hello-Book-book-about-real/dp/0999637533/ 

Resilience with Jill Santa Lucia

Join us as we welcome Jill Santa Lucia, founder and owner of Raleigh, NC based Catering Works, to the podcast. Since launching Catering Works in 1989, Jill has been through both good times and hard ones. But losing millions of dollars all but overnight when the pandemic hit was by far the most difficult professional situation she’d ever navigated. Through incredibly hard work and steely determination, Jill pivoted her company to provide at home meals, feeding her customers and her employees.  During this same time period, she also lost her father and a good friend; any one of these things would have been reason to lose a little faith. But throughout it all, Jill has lived by the belief that you cannot control what is happening to you; all you can control  is your response to those things.  While she has let herself be sad, she has not given up hope.  Throughout all of this tragedy, she launched a new business called Ella’s Popcorn, which we can both attest is amazing.  Please listen in as we hear how Jill built her resilience muscle from a young age and the many ways it has served her well throughout her life.

Bio:
Jill is the CEO and owner of Catering Works, Inc. Her passion for cooking started in her grandmother's kitchen where Grandma made everything from scratch. Jill was fascinated with Grandma’s Leg of Lamb and her homemade chocolate iced cookies.

She graduated from Johnson & Wales University in 1987 with her Culinary Arts degree, and pursued further studies at The Culinary Institute of America in Food Styling and Healthy Cooking. Jill's recipes have won local and national awards including the $10,000 for the grand prize in the Bacardi Recipe Challenge, for her Tropico Napoleon and first place in the Kikkoman-USA contest in December 2002, for her delicious Pork Chop with Cranberry Apple Compote recipe, She was also a finalist in Rich's Food Winning is Sweet competition for a decadent White Chocolate Banana Creme Tart. Jill has also appeared on the Food Networks' "Food Fight" as a locally recognized chef and judge.

Not only is Jill passionate about cooking, she also has a passion for helping the local community through donations of food and service, including Interfaith Food Shuttle and many other charitable organizations.

Jill's commitment to quality has made Catering Works one of the top special event businesses in North Carolina. She was recognized in the YWCA Academy of Women, for the Business Entrepreneur category in 2003. Jill and her sister Lorin Laxton formed an LLC in 2005 and FIGS Market became the highly sought-after retail outlet of Catering Works and purveyor of gourmet gadgetry and supplies. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family.

Links:

Catering Works: www.cateringworks.com

Fig Market Heat and Eat Meals: https://www.figsmarket.com/ 

Ella’s Popcorn: www.ellaspopcorn.com

Grandma’s chocolate pie recipe: https://tinyurl.com/Jills-Grandma-Pie-Recipe 

Gratitude

Gratitude can change your life, in ways both small and profound. With the US Thanksgiving day coming up soon, it felt particularly timely to focus on gratitude. Being thankful is a powerful tool for all of us - it makes us healthier, happier, and increases the positivity of all of our relationships. There’s very little that gives us such a big return on something that’s accessible to everyone. Join us as we share some of the research about the impact of gratitude, tools you can use to build a sustainable gratitude practice, and stories from a few of our prior guests. We also share what we’re each grateful for, in that moment. Wherever you are in the world, we are incredibly grateful to you, our listeners, and wish you a very happy start to the holiday season. 

“It’s not joy that makes us grateful, it’s gratitude that makes us joyful.” ~ David Steindl-Rast, Benedictine Monk

Resources:

Giving Thanks Can Make You Happier:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/giving-thanks-can-make-you-happier 

 

Why Gratitude is Good:

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/why_gratitude_is_good 

Gratitude Is Good: Why It’s Important And How To Cultivate
https://www.forbes.com/sites/tracybrower/2021/01/03/gratitude-is-good-why-its-important-and-how-to-cultivate-it/?sh=3f6478972a0f 

 

Soul Pancake: An Experiment in Gratitude | The Science of Happiness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHv6vTKD6lg  

Shawn Achor: https://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_work

Links to prior episodes mentioned in podcast:
Mike Robbins: https://open.spotify.com/episode/670x4wp1Muhw9sqXN8CO0w?si=b3699454a0a145f2

Ali Ingersoll: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6bGZyOaOPD3nM8yp0VKVad?si=e6598e16e4cb449d 

Leaving perfectionism behind with Chris Tsakalakis

Chris Tsakalakis is (among many other things) the son of Greek Immigrants, a CEO several times over and a recovering perfectionist.  Chris told us:  “perfectionism is a deep level of insecurity...because deep down you feel imperfect.”  But he didn’t start out with that level of wisdom. 

Early in his career, Chris struggled with receiving constructive feedback, was tough on his colleagues, and generally chafed at authority.  Through deep reflection, help from mentors and professionals, and the twists and turns of a tech executive’s career path, Chris has emerged with a much deeper understanding of how he wants to show up in the world.  Chris is now the CEO of Kiva, a global non-profit and he joined us to talk about his really interesting path in the tech world and away from perfectionism.  

Love is the Biggest Weapon We Have with Chris Pierce

When we asked Chris Pierce to join us on the podcast, we already knew he was an amazing musician.  His music has been nominated for awards, he’s been featured on NPR and the TV show This is Us; you only have to listen to him sing a few bars to really appreciate the depth of his craft.  What we did not know, but will quickly be obvious when you’re just a few minutes into the episode, is what an amazing human he is.  Chris has not had a super easy life - among other things, he has been falsely accused and arrested, he has been beaten, he has witnessed a cross burning in his yard as a child, and perhaps most devastating to a budding musician, he lost his hearing at a young age (since partially corrected through surgery).  And yet, his enduring belief is that challenging times lead us to something even more beautiful than we could have imagined, and staying open to vulnerability leads to growth.  Chris believes love translates like nothing else; when confronted by an angry attendee at a recent concert, he responded in a calm, respectful way.  When we both marveled at the way he handled the situation, Chris told us: love is the biggest weapon we have.  

It is also a verb: we love Chris Pierce. Listen in - we think you will love him too.  

CHRIS PIERCE gained national prominence with “We Can Always Come Back To This”. His hit co-write aired on 3 episodes of the #1 NBC primetime series ‘THIS IS US’, then went on to peak at #1 on the Billboard Blues Chart, and #12 on iTunes Top 100. Pierce has done worldwide headlining tours and has performed on stage with: Seal, Cold War Kids, Al Green, Rodrigo y Gabriella, Jill Scott, Toots & the Maytals, Sara Bareilles, Buddy Guy, Keb’Mo’, Blind Boys of Alabama, B.B. King, Aaron Neville and others. Pierce’s 2020 collaboration in Americana duo WAR & PIERCE yielded the hit single “AMEN” which was featured on NPR’s WORLD CAFE and aired on 200+ AAA / NonComm stations, then racked up 2M spins on Spotify.  He also is part of a new project called LEON CREEK who will be releasing their first album in the fall of 2021.  Chris Pierce recently performed at NPR’s Mountain Stage which broadcast on 300 NPR Stations.  His 2021 album, 'AMERICAN SILENCE' has garnered massive critical acclaim from NPR, SiriusXM, The Bluegrass Situation, NoDepression, Rolling Stone Country, AmericanaUK and more. www.chrispierce.com