Each season I love to revisit the most beloved and most downloaded episodes as the second part of the finale. This year has been interesting, to say the least. Seasons of Jump Start Your Joy span from September to September. With the pandemic, racial equality, and the unbelievable fires along the West Coast, there’s been a lot to think about and draw attention away from joy. And the podcast.
And of course, I believe that now more than ever we need to re-focus on joy. Joy, happiness, and taking care of ourselves and our world doesn’t become less important during hard times: It becomes MORE important.
With great joy I share the top ten most beloved episodes of Season 5:
Laura Li on Being Quietly Bohemian
In episode 222, Laura shares about her experiences as an introvert and a highly sensitive person (HSP) in the world. Part of the work that she does as a coach is to support those who are introverted, HSP, feel like they don’t fit in, or who question who they are “supposed” to be. We talk a lot about being an introvert in an extroverted world and how there is so much messaging in a world that seemingly values extroversion. Listen to the whole episode here.
Dr. Ezzie Spencer on Lunar Abundance
Dr. Ezzie Spencer joined me in episode 250, Starting in childhood, Ezzie found herself drawn to the moon and its phases in cycles, and found herself returning to its magic and cycles as she looked for ways to cope with the stress of life as a lawyer. What she found was that there are natural phases and cycles to life that match and mirror the phases and cycles of the moon. What I love and truly enjoyed about Ezzie’s work in “Lundar Abundance,” is that she outlines how we can, and should, take inspiration from the natural balanced phases of productivity and rest that are present in nature. With society is setting what is undoubtedly a predominantly Yang energy for all of us, one that is praises hustle and work and accomplishments, I found it to be a breath of fresh air to learn of a different way of approaching work and life. Tune in here.
Laura Simms: How to Find the Quiet Confidence to Make a Career Pivot
Laura Simms was on the podcast three times in Season 2, and I was really excited to have her come back. There has been so much change in the world over the past few weeks, from many people working from home for the first time, to others losing their jobs, and I wanted to ask her about what she’s seeing to be true for people as they navigate possible career change during the Coronavirus pandemic.
What she shares in this episode is a story of people leaning into careers that are a better fit in the cross fade. Instead of quitting or stopping one career to jump into the next, they are building one alongside the job they already have. Tune in.
Top Ten Reasons to Develop a Creative Process to Support Your Podcast Production
After five years of podcasting, I’ve found myself very interested in how to get into the Creative Process around podcast production. One of the things I didn’t think about or realize when I got started was that maintaining a show, and putting out an episode every week, takes sustainable creativity – and a process that is repeatable, dependable, while still leaving room to be creative. This is no small feat, and it’s one of the reasons that when I teach my podcasting class, I encourage anyone creating a show to pick a topic that they want to talk about, a lot. That they leave out any “shoulds” and talk about the things that inspire them, personally. What are the top ten reasons to develop a creative process to support your podcast production? Find out here.
Fred Waitzkin: Embracing Your Creative Process
Fred Waitzkin joins me this week to talk about his creative process, and his latest book, “Deep Water Blues.” Fred is the author best known for “Searching for Bobby Fischer,” the story about his son Josh, who was a chess prodigy at age six. It’s with great pleasure that I have Mr. Waitzkin on the show; this interview is easily one of my favorites of Season 5. The thing that I loved the most about the conversation with Fred was his sharing about his own creative process. “Get out of your own way,” he said, “and discover what’s living inside of you in a pre-analytic place.” Because the world will often get in your way, Fred recommends that you cultivate a bubble for yourself, one that you are extremely protective of, and one that you guard fiercely, cutting out all interruptions. From there, Fred finds that it’s best to give your work the space to evolve. You can listen to it all here.
The 6 Most Joyful Things We Experienced at She Podcasts Live Conference
Always on the lookout for joy, and noticing when it shows up, my assistant producer, Mallory, and I were blown away by the amount of joy, care, inclusion, altruism, and authenticity that we found at She Podcasts Live. In this episode, which we recorded at She Podcasts in a super swank booth, we’re sharing about our experience at She Podcasts. As a woman podcaster, I’ve never felt surrounded by so many people like me, and it was a truly divine experience. And while I realize this sounds a bit like an ad, it’s totally not. We didn’t get jack for writing or recording this, it’s just coming as true observations from the goodness of our hearts.
Jennifer Louden on “Why Bother? Discover the Desire for What’s Next”
Jennifer Louden is a coach, author, and all around delightful powerhouse of self care, and I’m delighted to have her on the show to talk about her upcoming book: Why Bother: Discover the Desire for What’s Next. Considered a pioneer in the self care movement, Jennifer wrote her first book, The Woman’s Comfort Book, in 2005. I really enjoyed talking to Jennifer, and it was an honor to have her on the show.I very much loved hearing her talk about the process of transformation, and how “getting your bother on” can lead you to discover the thing you most desire to shift or change in your life.
How to Right-Size Change or Transformation to Fit Your Life (aka Flylady or KonMari?)
When looking at how you want to approach change or transformation, it’s important to “right size” the thing that you are doing and the thing that you want to achieve to fit your life so that you feel great about doing it.
You need to right size the way that you approach something, so that it fits your life. The intention is to mindfully look at that thing that you want to change, and decide how you want to make that change. So even though the idea in Marie condo’s book of holding each thing in your hand and deciding for sparks (ala the Marie Kondo method), joy might be really the thing that you want to tackle (and you do want to clean your closet), you might also KNOW that you’re going to get overwhelmed when you pull everything out. Instead, set the intention to complete the task, but to do it in a way that fits for you, as suggested by Flylady Marla Cilley. Listen to it all here.
Anabell Bender on Conquering Your Limiting Beliefs to Live a Happy Life
In this episode, I’m really thrilled to have the dream catcher coach, Anabell Bender joining me to talk about believing in your dreams, and authentically allowing yourself to live a happy life. In addition to coaching, Anabell is a a multi-passionate, and has had a lot of experience with the creative process. You can only imagine the massive amounts of joy, delight, and laughter that come from this conversation. By finding your center, and identifying what’s going in your internal landscape, you can grow from a place that is authentic. And that’s where your happiness is, and how you can learn to live a happy life.
Oren Jay Sofer on Meaning What You Say and Choosing Mindful Communication
Oren Jay Sofer is a communication expert and mindfulness teacher at Spirit Rock in Woodacre, California. He recently wrote the book “Say What You Mean: A Nonviolent Approach to Communication.” In episode 208, I’m delighted to speak to Oren Jay Sofer on meaning what you say and choosing mindful communication.
This is definitely one of those deep conversations that I found engaging on many levels. From a coaching and academic perspective, I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about how to look at and use mindfulness. Tune in here.
Bonus!
Fred LeBlanc of Cowboy Mouth on Learning to Create Your Own Joy From the Inside Out
Fred LeBlanc, the energetic drummer and lead singer of the band Cowboy Mouth is back for a second visit this week to talk about his brand new release, “Open Wide.” It was fun having him join me for this interview about the new music the band is putting out, along with an updated version they’ve done of their hit, “Jenny Says.” It’s such a joy to share this interview with Fred LeBlanc of Cowboy Mouth on learning to create your own joy from the inside out. Tune in.