The Perfectly Imperfect Journey

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. 

 

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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

Time to Celebrate

What started as a little seedling of an idea while walking down the beach in San Diego has now blossomed into our 20th episode!  Both of us deeply believe that reflection is an important part of being on a perfectly imperfect journey. And reflection is the core of this episode. We’ve taken some time to pause and reflect on what we’ve learned, how we’ve grown and how lucky we feel to have been joined by such amazing guests.  Please join us as we take a look at the journey of our podcast (thus far!) and consider some of the truly remarkable moments we’ve had with our guests.  Stay tuned all the way to the end to laugh with us and hear some of our favorite blooper moments.

We are also SUPER excited to announce the launch of our brand new podcast website: flowingeastandwest.com.  Please take a peek and download the infographic highlighting words of wisdom our guests would whisper to their younger selves. We’ve also made it printable so you can keep their wise words close at hand. We hope you enjoy it!

An Emotional Journey with David Richman

One would think riding your bike 5000 miles across the country would be all about the physical experience, but in the case of David Richman, the true poignancy of his story is the emotional journey he took.  David interviewed 15 people about their experiences with cancer - either as a survivor, a caregiver or a practitioner.  He then rode his bike across the U.S. to meet with many of them while he explored his own experience of his sister’s battle with cancer and wrote about all of this in his fantastic book, Cycle of Lives.  David’s book and the stories he shared with us is an exploration of physical, mental and emotional strength and he offers simple practices for building capabilities in each area.  Join us as we explore David’s personal journey, on and off the bike.  

Trigger warning: Suicide is mentioned in this episode between 25:32 and 26:32. 

 

Bio:

David is an author, public speaker, philanthropist, and endurance athlete whose mission is to form more meaningful human connections through storytelling. In his first book, Winning in the Middle of the Pack, he discussed how to get more out of ourselves than ever imagined. With Cycle of Lives, David shares the interconnected stories of people overcoming trauma and delves deeply into their emotional journeys with cancer.

He continues to do Ironman triathlons and a wide range of endurance athletic events, having recently completed a solo 4,700-mile bike ride. He is married, lives in Southern Nevada, and has twins who are in college.

David’s website: https://david-richman.com/

Cycle of Lives book page: https://david-richman.com/cycle-of-lives/

Untether Your Voice with Cara Jones

Cara Jones was born into a family who belonged to the Unification Church, popularly known as the Moonies.  Her family didn’t just belong to the Monies - they were very senior in the church's hierarchy and her memberships in both the church and her family were inextricably linked.  She grew up as a very active member of the Moonies and ultimately found herself standing in the Olympic Stadium in Seoul Korea, along with thousands of similarly dressed brides and grooms, marrying a man she barely knew. Although she had been a big believer in the church teachings, something didn’t feel quite right to her, even as she loudly proclaimed her commitment to the church and the man she had just married.  

Join us for this episode as we explore Cara’s journey out of the church as she navigated the path to finding her own voice and forging a new relationship with her parents.  

 

Tell the truth or be haunted by an unlived life.  ~ Cara Jones

 

BIO:

Cara Jones is a story coach, writer and former Emmy Award Winning journalist. She is the founder of film production company Storytellers for Good and director of the film Blessed Child (which premiered at DOC NYC in 2019 ). The film is a personal journey documentary about leaving her family's faith, one that is famous for arranged marriages and mass weddings. The 7 year journey of making the film inspires her current work as a coach helping entrepreneurs untether their voices through the telling of their personal stories. Cara is also a MOTH story slam winner and her writing has been featured in the Washington Post, HuffPo and the Boston Globe.

 

Show notes

Cara’s website:   http://cara-jones.com/ 

Blessed Child film: https://www.amazon.com/Blessed-Child-Cara-Jones/dp/B08CGL6Q5J

Friendship

When we figured out we could finally be in the same place at the same time, after 2 years of not being able to connect in person, we decided to ditch the virtual world and record an episode together, in real life.  And what better topic to discuss than Friendship. 

We discuss our own friendship, include the voices of some of our other friends, and some advice from a friendship expert, Shasta Nelson.  

This is a bit of a different episode for us as we didn’t have our fancy recording equipment, and we also decided to do it while hiking (at an altitude of 8,000 feet!).  There are some giggles, a bit of huffing and puffing (luckily we were able to edit out the attack of the mosquitos!)  and a lot of love for each other and this topic.  Just like everything else with this podcast, it is perfectly imperfect.  We hope you enjoy it.  If you do, please make sure to rate us and consider sharing with your friends. 

 

The only way to have a friend is to be one. - Ralph Waldo Emerson 

 

Notes:

 

We reference Shasta Nelson a few times throughout the podcast.  You can find more about her work, and her great books here:

https://www.shastanelson.com/ 

 

If you are looking to make new friends, one of the best ways we know to meet people is:

https://www.meetup.com/ 

You can also look for interesting groups on:

• Facebook
• NextDoor
• Friender

 

As mentioned, some of the traditional dating sites have a “friends” mode”

• Tinder Social
• Bumble BFF