Negotiate Like You M.A.T.T.E.R. : My Interview with Rebecca Zung, esq.

Do You Need a Soulbbatical? My Interview with Shelley Paxton

Ever get the feeling that something isn’t quite right in your life? My guest today is Shelley Paxton, author of Soulbbatical: A Corporate Rebel's Guide to Finding Your Best Life. Shelley was a rockstar living the corporate America version of the feminist dream: she was Chief Marketing Officer of one of the most macho, badass brands in the world— Harley Davidson— leading a big fancy life. She had *arrived*. And yet Shelley had a nagging suspicion it was all making her soul-sick. Not many of us are brave enough to sit with the question, “is this the life I really want to be living?” and even fewer are brave enough to heed the call of the soul. Shelley has done both, and has emerged from the process with a new concept: the Soulbbatical.

Permission to Be Magnificent

How to Think Like a Poet : My Interview with Tina Chang

While we may be smack dab in the middle of the busiest time of year, this episode is all about slowing down and savoring. What are we savoring? The magnificent words of Tina Chang. Tina is Poet Laureate of Brooklyn—the first woman EVER to be given that title—and is the author of a new collection of poems called Hybrida. NPR calls it "one of the most important books of poetry to come along in years." Tina teaches poetry at Sarah Lawrence College, and she’s all ours for the next half hour or so. So pour yourself a cup of tea (or a steaming mug of coffee) and get cozy. This conversation is just what you need.

Think You’re a Good Communicator? Go Home for the Holidays

For some of us, the holidays entail drama of the logistical sort—missed flight connections, suitcases that are just over the weight limit, gifts to be purchased and passed around.

But for a lot of us, the holiday drama is entirely relational, playing out in conversations and in unspoken energy transmitted from one human heart to another. For some of us, the Holidays mean someone’s gonna end up in tears or gonna storm off early, or both. All before dessert.

But what if this time it’s different? What if THIS holiday season, we try something new?

This episode is for anyone who's ever wished for a less drama-fueled experience of the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.

Does Elitism Need Defending? My Interview with Joel Stein

Consciously Uncoupling from Facebook

I’ve been an active Facebook user for a very long time.I have loved it for the most part. I’ve been lifted up and supported by my Facebook family. They’ve supported me in my grief, in my success, in my curiosity and pursuit of all kinds of different questions—big and small.

But it’s time. It’s time to consciously uncouple, as Gwyneth Paltrow once so famously said.

This episode is a kind of reckoning. I'm not storming off of Facebook. I'm taking control of my media and information consumption. If Truth in Advertising law doesn't apply to that platform, I can't in good conscience participate. Because there's a lot at stake ... for better or worse, Facebook influences how we vote, which means it impacts the way our democracy functions. This episode is my attempt to explain how I'm grappling with something we should all be thinking about.

“I’m overwhelmed, and I can’t stop beating myself up … ” My 9-1-1 Moment with Performance Coach Ben Kiker

Have you ever felt the panic and shame of total overwhelm? I have. But guess what else I have? Support from one of the great coaches of our time, Ben Kiker. I recorded this for you so that you would have access to him too in your moments of overwhelm. In this conversation, we talk about how I got over the proverbial wall, got out of my own way, and back onto a path of growth and expansion.

Teach Your Children (to Communicate) Well

I interact with teenagers and young people on a fairly regular basis, and I’ve observed that some of the old-fashioned arts of basic communication are fading, and it makes me sad, but it also makes me worried. Are we raising a generation of kids that don’t know the power of eye contact? Who are unskilled at talking to adult strangers? Who struggle with handshakes? In our pursuit of material excellence, are we forgetting the value of understanding and developing skills around human connection and the art of self-advocacy? That connection is worth exploring for its own sake, not just because it allows us to perform well in a job interview (although let’s be honest, if two equally qualified people walk into a job interview, and one knows how to make a good first impression and the other doesn’t, who’s gonna get that gig …)? This episode is my attempt as a communication coach, to offer some tips, some ideas and some fascinating stories I’ve been gathering.

What If You Decided to Play Big? My Interview with Dr. Chris Heilman

Extreme sports and elite athletes have always fascinated me. How do they do what they do? How do they talk themselves into finishing a 50 mile race? How do you help coach a climber through a moment of terror on the side of a mountain? How important is meditation? And is that the same thing as mindset? Dr. Chris Heilman is a coach who joins us to answer these questions. Dr. Chris has a PhD in Sport and Exercise Psychology and a double board-certification as an Athletic Trainer (ATC) and a Strength and Conditioning Coach (CSCS) and she’s been an athletic trainer to collegiate and Olympic athletes. She’s written a book called Elevate Your Excellence: The Mindset and Methods That Make Champions. But she’s also done cool stuff like worked as an outdoor educator in Joshua Tree, did ski patrol at Grand Targhee, and was a backpack guide for NOLS & other organizers in the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Tetons. She’s here to answer these questions and more on this week's episode.