Reflections on a Pod

With a link to listen in!

Earlier this spring, I had the great honor to record a podcast with the luminous Dr. Jamie Pei. Her podcast, notes on being unruly, plays with the rules we accept and the rules we adopt, and how breaking out of these limitations can open us up to all kinds of new opportunities.

Both former academics-turned-coaches, Jamie and I have quite a lot in common.

We met through the Ivory Town Inner Fire Summit, organized by the inimitable Dr. Marie Gasper-Hulvat earlier this year, when we and another inspiring colleague, Frankie Rollins of the Fifth Brain Collective, spoke on a panel about cultivating inner wisdom.

Please take a moment to click through all those links and share them with folks.

In the weeks following the recording, I had a few reflections I’m going to share briefly below. I hope something here resonates with you and that you’re inspired to check out the conversation!

1. You are more “integrated” than you think.

We hear this word all the time, “integration.” Integrating past experiences, especially professional ones, can feel either strange or impossible, especially if you make a career change that feels like a complete 180 from a previous professional life. I get it. Because I did it.

I’m not currently teaching or doing the kind of academic research I used to do, but revisiting those memories gave me a chance to think about how I still use those skills.

And being a professional singer taught me so many things I still connect with, even though I haven’t performed in six years. Kinesthetic awareness, taking care of my body, leaning into creative curiosity, focused listening, the importance of mentorship and what good mentorship looks like, just trying something again when I don’t get it right the first time…all that has its roots in skills I honed and used in that work.

2. You never know when or where you’re going to find great friendship.

Some of my friendships developed from pretty disparate, unexpected circumstances and situations. I never would have thought that participating in a panel discussion at an online summit would result in multiple deep friendships, yet here we are!

Connection, friendship, and being a good colleague are all values for me. I have friendships of twenty or more years, which I will always cherish. And I have been very lucky over the course of my life to have met wonderful, beautiful friends from all over the world.

I wasn’t sure what that would look like once we entered these pandemic years, but it turns out, with a bit of creativity and the courage to say “yes” to different online community spaces, I’ve been able to continue to meet and build relationships with inspiring people who enrich my life.

3. It’s ok to just start something.

On the podcast, I tell the story of how I started this business. It’s sort of funny and totally true. And a lot of what still goes on behind the scenes is me just noticing what the next thing to do is, figuring out how to do it, and then going for it.

And I realize this pattern, for me, goes way back. I can follow it to deciding on a career in music and making it happen for more than two decades, then making the first shift out of it in 2022.

I’m not trying to say I’ve always trusted my instincts or intuition all the time in every circumstance, certainly not! But I have developed a habit I’ve come to name in the past year, which is saying this to myself: “Let’s just try.” And then I try the thing and see where it takes me. Sometimes that’s a great start. Sometimes it leads me in another direction. But neither would have happened without the willingness to try.

So, big thanks to Dr. Jamie Pei for the opportunity! It was not only a huge pleasure to join you, but I got loads out of it.

I hope my readers here can find some time to give it a listen, and if not (because I know there is way more content out there than we can all possibly consume!), I hope this little recap and reflection offers you some inspiration in these chaotic, often scary times.

Because I bet if you look at the different threads and themes of your life, you’ll find unexpected pathways you’re still building on. I bet you’ve made lasting friendships in unexpected places. And I bet you can find at least one time in your life when you had an idea and decided to roll with it, see where it would take you.

I’d love to know what you’d like to share. Witnessing each other’s stories is so powerful.

We all have so much more in common with each other than we think.

And if you’re not on the Aligned Insight Email Community mailing list, please hop over to the website and sign up there. Moving forward, I’ll be sending out opportunities for groups and events to that list – and there’s a special offer available to folks there, too.