The latest episode, chock full of goodness

HOW TO QUESTION EVERYTHING

9/28/2020

What story are you living and who wrote it? You? Or did your family or society or the advertisers of America write the script for the life you’re currently living? Are you an entrepreneur struggling to live a healthy life while making your business successful? What does success even look like?

What would it be like to be able to answer those questions? More importantly, what would it be like to intentionally set your own direction and meet your own authentic expectations, free from old stories and self-imposed obstacles?

Our guest this week is Mary Hodges. Mary is the host of the Abundantly Being Podcast where she and her guests share tips for creating fulfillment from within and taking ownership of your life and business. Mary's mission is to help entrepreneurs create a thriving life and business from the inside out so they can experience more flow, more fun, and more freedom while they share their gifts with the world. She’s also owner of STL Startup Lawyer where she provides advice and peace of mind to small businesses and startups.

Mary was a success by every societal metric: a lawyer who had been a great student and champion athlete in school. But something was off. Mary stopped to think one day and realized she was acting out a script that had very little to do with who she really was. She employed the ancient art of questioning to get to the bottom of the story she was living and make some profound changes, including starting a business to help entrepreneurs take better care of themselves and create successful lives, not just successful ventures.

How can we use questions to find out if you are on track or not? How can you get to the root of your own story? How can you write a life that is more purposeful and authentic? How can you take your foot off the brake and move ahead?
How can you make your gifts meaningful in the context of community?

Stick with us and get some champion suggestions from the delightful and resolute Mary Hodges.

Show Notes
Key Takeaways:

Question everything
Make space for yourself to feel
Hold space for others so they can be seen and heard

References:

Resources

Mary's Recommended Instagram Follows:
- Sheleana Aiyana @risingwoman
- Vienna Pharaon @mindfulmft
- Dr. Nicole LePera @the.holistic.psychologist
- Nedra Glover Tawwab @nedratawwab

“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”
- Ranier Marie Rilke

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HOW TO LOVE POETRY IN AN APOCALYPSE

9/20/2020

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Do you like poetry? Do you care about art? Do you wonder, sometimes, how art fits into society? How creativity fits into your life?

This week’s guest is Jim Natal. Jim wrote his first poem when he was in high school but let poetry go when adult demands got in the way. Jim had a successful but ultimately unsatisfying career working for the National Football League, shepherding big corporate deals, and polishing the brand. After 25 years, and in spite of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s assertion, Jim managed to create a second act for himself. Six books later, Jim is an award winning poet, teacher, and event promoter.

For the last 12 years, Jim has worked to draw renowned authors for readings and interviews to the little city of Prescott, Arizona. His efforts have built a literary culture where Jim had originally found none. This week on September 25th, we’ll be watching online as Jim welcomes Lisa Ko to the Literary Southwest Virtual stage. Lisa Ko’s novel The Leavers is a 2017 National Book Award Finalist and was on Best of lists at NPR, LA Times, Buzz Feed and, yes, Oprah Magazine.

The link for the event.

Although Jim joined us ostensibly to talk about Literary Southwest, we wrung him dry for his insight into the purpose of poetry, that nature of creativity, and whether there is a place for art in the apocalypse. Jim also reads two of his poems, both of which are incredibly relevant to the moment.

Our original interview with Jim lasted two and a half hours and was full of fascinating anecdotes, inside stories, and generous ruminations. We whittled the audio down to something a little more digestible for the average listener, but if you would like to hear the whole conversation, email us at Charles@rocketfeather.com and we’ll send you a Dropbox link to the unedited version.

In the meantime, stay tuned as we talk writing, connection, and self-discovery with Jim Natal. We think you’ll finish uplifted, more hopeful, and see a pinch more beauty in your world.
Do a Science:
Read a poem this week.
Music Credits:
Singing Bowl Meditation by Ahjay Stelino at mixkit.co

Show Notes
Key Takeaways:

Everyone has a creative spark
Poetry - the life it saves might be your own
Poetry is a way to express the inexpressible
Literature is a way to understand the full spectrum of humanity

References:

"I think everybody has a need to express themselves, whether it's a handprint on a cave wall or writing a short story."
Jim Natal

Reading List for Enrichment & Empathy

Poets:
- Mark Doty
- B.H. Fairchild
- Naomi Shihab Nye
- Marvin Bell
- Phillip Levine
- Pablo Neruda
- Billy Collins
- Federico Garcia Lorca - Rider’s Song
- W.B. Yeats - The Second Coming
- W Auden Poem - September 1, 1939
Authors

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HOW TO BE EMOTIONAL

9/14/2020

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How are you? Are you doing ok? If the reality is that you’re not doing awesome right now, we’re here to say that’s ok. You’re not doing it wrong.
If you’re feeling great, that’s ok, too. Hang out with this conversation anyway, because if you can show up for your loved ones who are struggling, that’s a good thing. #alwaysbebuildingempathy.
We just wanted to check in with you and spend some time today talking about anxiety and depression and the complex emotional landscape that we are all walking through right now. It’s a big challenge, but we can help each other and maybe even wind up stronger on the other side.

We know a lot of podcast episodes (ours included) follow a certain format…. Here’s the problem… Here’s our expertise with this problem…. Here’s three simple steps you can take to solving that problem. Now a word from our sponsors.

But we’re choosing not to follow that formula and instead just have a rich, rambling, revealing conversation. Because that’s what life is. Because there IS no three step solution. Because healing and growth take place in the presence of a witness, not necessarily an expert or guru. Because we believe we, as pod hosts are part of a community. Because we believe that you are part of this community.

So… yeah… I have to say that some days I’m not OK. And that those days are more frequent these days. And that’s one of the reasons we’re recording and sharing this podcast. I’m not OK, Kelly’s not OK, maybe you’re not ok ... and that’s OK.

Do a Science:
This week’s science assignment is to reach out. Reach out for help, support or connection if you need it. Reach out with support and connection if you have it to give.
Music Credits: Singing Bowl Meditation by Ahjay Stelino at mixkit.co

Key Takeaways:

Emotions are signals
Repressing emotion tends toward depression
Expressing our universal emotions is a way to connect and trigger empathy
Controlled expression of emotion takes awareness and practice
Emotions are calls to action, especially anger and anxiety

References:

Alex Antionio’s Why So Angry? Podcast
James Hillman Book He
Dak Prescott Interview
Zokni post
Captain Tom Moore raises £1000 by walking in his yard
Preet Bahara Podcast The Merit Trap (with Michael Sandel)
Diana Kander Podcast - The Art of Fear with Kristen Ulmer
Kristen Olmer’s Book

Resources:

Check out this guide to the best online counseling services:
National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 800-273-8255 https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
List of all sorts of mental health support agencies in AZ

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NACOG REVEALED: The Team That Keeps a Community Working

9/6/2020

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We are sharing an episode from another podcast we produce - The Prescott Woman Podcast. We think the themes in this interview: community, collaboration, and shared mission are a perfect fit for this channel.
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What is NACOG? We’ve all heard of it. Most of us can’t seem to remember what it stands for. But after this episode of the Prescott Woman Podcast, you will know and remember, thanks to Teri Drew, the smart and savvy director of the Economic/WorkForce wing of NACOG, the Northern Arizona Council of Governments. They are doing the hard and important work of economic development, community support, early childhood education, and so much more. They coordinate with local and county governments across Apache, Coconino, Navajo, and Yavapai counties here in Northern Arizona to make life better for all of us. Teri is with us today to talk about the work she has done for over 40 years to lift individuals out of poverty via career development and at the same time, support local businesses in building effective, sustainable workforces.

We hope you will come away from this talk feeling as hopeful and inspired as we did that we have such devoted, competent people working to make our communities function well for all of us. If you, or someone you know, is struggling with job loss amidst this economic apocalypse, look up NACOG - their link is in the show notes - and find out what they can do to help.

SHOW NOTES
References:

Music Credits: Local Musician “Rachel Plays Guitar”

Guest Bio:
Teri Drew has worked in economic and workforce development for over 40 years and is the Regional Director for the Northern Arizona Council of Governments, Economic Workforce Development Division. Her area of responsibility includes 24 communities in the four-county Economic Development District of Apache, Navajo, Coconino, and Yavapai counties. Teri currently serves as Chair of the Arizona Workforce Association (AWA), and was recently appointed to the United States Workforce Association (USWA). She was active on the Board of Directors for the Greater Prescott Regional Economic Development Partnership until 2017. Teri was appointed by Arizona Governor Brewer to serve on the Digital Arizona Council (DAC) from 2012 – 2014, and has served several terms on the Yavapai County Workforce Development Board (WDB) including the Executive Committee. She served on the Arizona Association of Economic Development (AAED) Board of Directors from 2003 – 2014, serving as President of AAED 2012-2013 and Past President 2013-2014. Teri received the AAED Workforce Practitioner of the Year Award in 2008. In 2018 she was honored with the inaugural Prescott Chamber Excellence in Economic Development Award, U.S. Congressional Recognition and a City of Prescott Certificate of Recognition.

Some of Teri’s accomplishments include Prescott Area Leadership’s Woman of the Year 2012 and service on several boards and councils locally, statewide and nationally. Teri is a Promise Maker sponsor of Yavapai County Big Brothers Big Sisters. A graduate of the
University of Oklahoma Economic Development Institute, Teri is committed to economic and workforce development and has been the recipient of numerous regional, state and federal innovation awards.

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HOW TO QUESTION EVERYTHING

HOW TO LOVE POETRY IN AN APOCALYPSE

HOW TO BE EMOTIONAL

NACOG REVEALED: The Team That Keeps a Community Working

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