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Stories that Matter...

How to Look Back and Learn: One Full Year of Rocket Feather

10/26/2020

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How many 1-year-olds can say they conversed with 47 notable geniuses, fomented community, provided solace to at least dozens of friends and strangers, and emboldened others to take a creative plunge into unknown waters?   You know a toddler like that??  Cool.  We need to interview that kid.  But seriously.  The one-year-old I’m talking about is, of course, the Rocket Feather podcast.  And while we have had a blast building this first year, and only a few arguments, we could not have done it without you - the intrepid Rocketeers. You have been willing to go with us to the difficult places, the challenging places, the confusing, painful, weirdly joyful places.  And it’s made all the difference, especially in the year of covid, for us not to have to make this journey alone.  Sharing our fears and questions and solutions with our 47 amazing guests and with our brilliant and beautiful listeners has made the most challenging year - debatably - of our lives, not only tolerable, but full of meaning and real joy.  So come with us on a walk through some of our favorite moments over the last year as we remember, make meaning, and plan for what’s next.  
One of the big themes of this podcast - the Rocketfeather podcast - is that we do the personal work in order to be in relationship, so we can be of service.  This is how we have designed this walk down memory lane today.  While most of our interviews touched on all three of these phases, we have grouped them according to where we remember having our minds blown and our hearts opened.   This episode would be 14 hours long if we included every bit of goodness, so by necessity, we pared it down to the high points that struck us this week as we were assembling it, which was a delicious torture. It was like cutting up a gorgeous piece of velvet yardage - so hard to cut into when the whole thing is so stunning, but necessary to make the garment we wanted to make.  So we hope you like what we made. Nobody ever promised that creativity was devoid of tough choices.   So true.  Anyway - enough preamble - let’s get started!

​
Rate &  Review www.podchaser.com/rocketfeather 
Sign up for the Live podcast:   
https://here_together.eventbrite.com
Music Credits: Singing Bowl Meditation by Ahjay Stelino at mixkit.co

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SHOW NOTES
Key Takeaways: 
  • We do self-actualization so we can be in better relationship, so we can be of service
  • Self-actualization is never complete.
  • We are each 100 percent responsible for our relationships.
  • If you see something, do something.
  • You don’t have to suffer to do good. 
 Episodes We Reference:
  • How to Self-Actualize 
    • Episode 4: Opening Your Heart w/ Tony Himes
    • Episode 15: Living an Epic Life with Claire Louge
    • Episode 35: How to Pull a 180 with Hayden Gebler
  • How to be in Relationship
    • Episode 44: How to Be Authentic with Kate & Colby Martin
    • Episode 33: How to Empathize for a Living with Matt Ruff
    • Episode 19: How to be a Better We with Rowdy Duncan
  • How to Be of Service
    • Episode 29: Don’t Worry Child with Candace & Drew
    • Episode 49: How to Get off the Couch with Rosy & Ren
    • Episode 8: The End of Homelessnes with Jessi Hans
    • Episode 51: How to Raise the Bar with Ruth Ellen & Tim Elinski
Resources: 
  •  Our Episode Gallery
  • Tony Himes’s Arizona Gestalt Institute
  • Claire Louge’s Prevent Child Abuse AZ
  • Kate and Colby Martin’s Church Sojourner Grace Collective
  • Rowdy Duncan’s Inclusive Activism Podcast
  • Drew & Candace’s song, Don’t Worry Child
  • Rosy Dixon’s Prescott Indivisible 
  • Jessi Hans’ Coalition for Compassion & Justice
  • Tim and Ruth Ellen’s Pindrop Travel Trailers

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How to Raise the Bar

10/19/2020

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What’s it like to take an unpopular stand for something you know is important?  What’s it like to make public service a pillar of your life?  What’s important in making a good life for your family? Join us for a chat with the First Family...of Cottonwood, AZ as we learn about leadership, service, entrepreneurship, adventure, and more. 

Cottonwood, for those who don’t know, is a former smelter town in Central AZ that nearly dried up and blew away when the mines closed 70 years ago. Over the last decade, though, it had a powerful and surprising renaissance, becoming actually hip... kinda. Now it’s struggling, like many other small towns, with covid, economic chaos, and divisive politics. 

Tim and Ruth Ellen Elinski are right in the thick of it. Tim is the current and recently re-elected mayor of Cottonwood. He is also a contractor, specializing in historic renovations AND builds retro mini camping trailers. His wife and business partner, Ruth Ellen, is an award-winning nonprofit leader and entrepreneur who is currently a Business Analyst for the Small Business Development Center at Yavapai College. Together they are working to build the economic and community strength of a their rural region while raising two daughters and maintaining their new business - Pin Drop Trailers
 
Full disclosure - Tim and Ruth Ellen are old friends of Kelly's.  They are super busy, involved people - the kind we love to have on this podcast - and I’m so grateful they made time to talk with us.  We get into what it was like for Tim, as mayor, and for the Elinskis as a family, to face protesters in front of their house after Tim’s controversial mayoral proclamation.  We go exploring with them to the wilds of Miami, Arizona and the birth of their most recent business venture.  And we find out what it means to them to serve and support their community - the whole community, even the people who boldly disagree.

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Show Notes:
Do a Science:
  • Go for a walk outside. Stop. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Take another. 
  • Think about a person you’re put in that “I don’t like [him/her/them] box.” Make an effort to reach out and connect about something. The goal is not necessarily to learn to like that person, just to connect. ​
It’s going to take time to get people out of their shells. I think we’re looking at a few years of hard work of getting people to come out and engage and remember why connection is important.” Ruth Ellen Elinski
References:
  • Pin Drop Travel Trailers
  • Yavapai Small Business Development Council
  • The Verde Valley Wine Trail
Resources: 
  • Arizona Local Business Directory
  • If you are a small business not in AZ, here are organizations that are likely in your community to support your efforts. 
  • Join the rest of the Rocket Scientists on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/rfcomlab 
  • Follow us on Instagram @rocketfeather1
 Rate &  Review
www.podchaser.com/rocketfeather 
Sign up for the Live Podcast: 
www.here_together.eventbrite.com
Music Credits: 
Singing Bowls by via www.mixkit.co
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How to Be a Local Hero

10/12/2020

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What would it be like for the businesses near us to be owned by our friends and neighbors?  What would it be like if the money we spent in those businesses stayed in town and enriched our whole community? What if we all felt like partners in our economy instead of just customers?  

Today’s guest, Thomas Barr, is the Executive Director of Local First Arizona, the largest coalition of local businesses in North America. A proud Arizona native and graduate of Arizona State University, Thomas leads the business coalition of Local First Arizona by advocating for the economic and cultural benefits provided by building strong local economies. 

Thomas’s work is fueled by his values. In this episode, he reveals some of the personal and family stories that forged his values around justice and inclusion. He also explains how his  advocacy for a strong local business community contributes to building vibrant, equitable prosperity across the state. 

In his free time, Thomas volunteers with many causes and organizations throughout the Valley including Young Nonprofit Professionals, Equality Arizona, Arizona Commission on the Arts, Heritage Square Foundation and Phoenix Legal Action Network. Thomas was honored in 2018 as one of Phoenix Magazine’s 40 Under 40, he’s an alumnus of Arizona Leading for Change, and the Valley Leadership Institute's 40th cohort. 

We were so happy that Thomas Barr was able to join us this week to share his passion and plans for a thriving economy. He also shared the sometimes wrenching stories of businesses and business owners that Local First Arizona is working to keep afloat during Covid, the biggest challenge to small business in a century. Keep listening to the end when Thomas reveals his secret “smell test” to find out instantly whether a business is locally owned or not, and for his powerful vision for the next 20 years. 


Rate &  Review
www.podchaser.com/rocketfeather 

Sign up for the Live Podcast:  
www.here_together.eventbrite.com
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SHOW NOTES
Key Take Aways: 
  • Local business contributes to multi-generational community wealth
  • Big national chains can actually be seen as “extractive” structures that remove wealth from a community
  • Local First AZ believes that focusing on sustainability, diversity, and economic justice are integral to supporting local communities and businesses. 
  • Ten Reasons to Buy Locally

Do a Science:
  • Find out if the businesses you patronize are locally owned. Ask an employee if they know the owner. Thomas says this “smell test” is nearly infallible. 
 Quotes:
“If I’m going to do something that not only contributes to building a great place but restructures our systems to be more centered on building stronger wealth locally, the answer is helping local entrepreneurs have access to the resources they need… So we’re not so reliant on extractive and dominant big businesses.”  References:
  • Local First AZ
  • Shop Local AZ Online Marketplace
  • Arizona Local Business Directory

Resources: 
  • If you are a small business not in AZ, here are organizations that are likely in your community to support your efforts. 
  • Join the rest of the Rocket Scientists on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/rfcomlab 
  • Follow us on Instagram @rocketfeather1
Music Credits:
 
Atop A Mustang by Arulo via www.mixkit.co
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How to Get off the Couch

10/5/2020

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What would make you get off the couch and take to the streets in the name of justice?  Justice for people like you?  Justice for people who are “different”?  We continue to struggle with these questions, but our guests today got off their respective couches long ago.  Find out what activism is like here in the Prescott area for Ren Manning and Rosemary Dixon, as they fight for healthcare, freedom, and basic respect for all of our neighbors. 

Rosemary Dixon lived all over the world before settling in Prescott 9 years ago. She earned her graduate degree at the University of the Western Cape, in South Africa, and lectured in gender, race, racism and whiteness at the University of Nevada, Reno for eleven years. She is a steering committee member of Prescott Indivisible and the of chair of the recently formed AREA-P (Anti-Racist Education and Action-Prescott). This group operates to educate primarily white people on the hierarchical system we have created, but also acts to spotlight racial injustice and white supremacy in all its forms.
​

Ren Manning is a local artist, organizer, and educator who is deeply committed to transformation and justice. They moved to Prescott in 2011 from Silver City, New Mexico. They’ve also lived and organized in Tucson, New York City, Guatemala, Mexico, and Maasailand, Kenya. Experiences within international struggles for freedom have influenced their moral, ethical, political, and spiritual growth.

Ren graduated from Prescott College with a Bachelors of Arts in Social Movement Studies and a Masters of Arts in Social Justice and Human Rights. They have taught courses in US/Mexico border studies, anti-racist organizing, landscapes of neoliberalism, art & agency, and community outreach.

Their organizing work includes establishing a full ride scholarship for undocumented students at Prescott College called Freedom Education Fund, two years as the Social Justice Coordinator at Granite Peak UU Congregation, research on US involvement in global border militarization for Todd Miller’s most recent book, and helping form a local deportation defense network, Keep Prescott Together. Ren co-founded and performs with the local Preskitt Drag Cabaret Troupe. They are currently working for the Judy Stahl for AZ State House campaign in Legislative District 1, Co-Director of BorderLinks, and on the Board of UU Justice Arizona.


I’m amazed that we could even get time with them to record this podcast, they are so busy, but I’m thrilled that we did.  

This is an intense conversation, but we left it feeling inspired, hopeful, and most important, ready to take action to make things better for ALL of our neighbors.  We hope you’ll come along with us for this talk and then we’ll see you at the meeting after. I’ll bring the cookies
​
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SHOW NOTES:
Do a Science:
  • Learn more about the concept of race
  • Volunteer for a campaign
  • Be curious about what you hear about race and justice organizations
References:
  • The Open Letter to the Community
  • Find Your Local Indivisible Group 
  • Prescott Indivisible 
  • Keep Prescott Together
  • AREA-P (Anti-Racist Education and Action-Prescott)
    • Email: piar072020@gmail.com
  • Volunteer for Judy Stahl’s Campaign
  • Volunteer for other AZ Campaigns
  • Black Phoenix Organizing Collective
  • Black Lives Matter
Resources: 
  • Books
    • Pedogogy of the Oppressed - Paulo Fiere
    • Just Mercy - Brian Stevenson’s
  • Movies
    • Bisbee 17
    • Hidden Figures
  • Video 
    • Message from the Future: The Years of Repair
    • Race: The Power of An Illusion
Quote:
  • “When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.” - Audre Lorde
 Music Credits: 
  • Singing Bowls from Mixkit.com
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How to Question Everything

9/28/2020

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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.

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Show Notes  
Key Takeaways: 
  • Question everything
  • Make space for yourself to feel
  • Hold space for others so they can be seen and heard
References:
  • Mary's Hodges's Website
  • Mary's Instagram

Resources
  • Mary's Recommended Instagram Follows:
    • ​Sheleana Aiyana @risingwoman
    • Vienna Pharaon @mindfulmft
    • Dr. Nicole LePera @the.holistic.psychologist
    • Nedra Glover Tawwab @nedratawwab
  • Rilke Quote:
​“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.”
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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 ​
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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:
  • Literary Southwest - An Evening with Lisa Ko
  • Jim Natal’s Website
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 
    • Lisa Ko - The Leavers
    • Rebecca Skloot - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
    • Ben Fountain - Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk
    • Susan Orleans - The Orchid Thief 
    • C.J. Box - Back of Beyond 
I think everybody has a need to express themselves, whether it's a handprint on a cave wall or writing a short story.

Zokni of the Week: Bernadette

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1 Comment

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. 
Zokni of the Week - Ernst
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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 
 Music Credits: Singing Bowl Meditation by Ahjay Stelino at mixkit.co 

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. ​
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NACOG Revealed: The Team That Keeps Northern Arizona 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:
  • www.nacog.org
  • Prescott Woman Magazine
  • The Launch Pad Teen Center

Music Credits: Local Musician “Rachel Plays Guitar”
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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 Be Authentic and Whole

8/30/2020

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Come on a journey with us, in which our heroes grow up together in a safe but restrictive community, begin to question that community, fall down a slippery slope, crash their Jenga tower, lose everything, find their authentic selves - including their anger, gain everything, discover a new kind of joy, and then create a sanctuary where all are truly, deeply welcome. Turns out it was the sanctuary that they needed all along. 

This successful heroes’ journey is a story that we hope will give you joy and hope for your own complicated journey.  We all fall down (or get kicked out), but our guests this week are here to remind us what’s on the other side.  This is the third episode in our bounce-back series and we hope you’ll get a lot of value from it.

Our guests this week are Kate and Colby Martin, co pastors of Sojourn Grace Collective, a progressive Christian church in San Diego, California.  Their church is a fully inclusive, open and affirming community that welcomes all and works for justice. How they got there is not easy. 

Kate and Colby have known each other since childhood, growing up in the same conservative evangelical church.  Colby became a successful youth pastor in a megachurch, but he and Kate both began to question what they had been brought up to believe.  After years of soul-searching and growth, the two left (were thrown out, really)  the safety of that harbor for the uncharted seas.  I’m happy to report that, while their journey was difficult and painful, they have landed on a beautiful shore and gone on to build their own kind of paradise together with their 4 sons and their community in San Diego. 

At first glance, Kelly and I are not the obvious guides for Kate and Colby’s story. Neither of us grew up in a church and I, at least, am pretty skeptical about divinity and an afterlife. That said, this episode turned into a meeting of the minds and hearts. Our “outsider” status and questions actually helped the Martins unlock some old meaning. Their grounded, but inclusive faith gave us a path back toward our spiritual selves. 

Prepare thyself for a gorgeous deep dive into the nature of God, dogma, imperfection, depression, and authenticity, on this fabulous double date episode.  We did have a snafu at the beginning of the session and lost a chunk of the recording, so there might be a couple of references that seem untethered, but what we did get was fucking fantastic, if I do say so, myself. To compensate for the loss of part of the conversation, we include, in this recording, the mid-roll banter that we usually cut out. We want you all to have as much Kate and Colby as possible. 

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Key Takeaways: 
  • There are lots of different kinds and sources of depression/authenticity -  circumstantial, spiritual, etc.  
  • We grow and mature by adding and accessing all the parts of ourselves not by repressing them
  • Childhood wounds are often caused by people trying to “fix” us back then, so revisiting them isn’t necessarily the way to heal.  Just bring the littles along.
  • Childhood wounds are often caused by people trying to “fix” us back then, so revisiting them isn’t necessarily the way to heal.  Just bring the littles along.
​
Quotes:
  • “I apologize for being fabulous” - KR
  • “We need to have a better conversation about depression” - KM
References:
  • Sojourn Grace Collective - Kate and Colby’s Church
  • Cobly Martin’s Website
  • The Kate and Colby Show Podcast
  • Umhair Haque on existential depression
​
Resources: 
  • The Shift at Indie Bound
  • The Forgotten Tradition of Sin - Colby's TEDx Talk
Music Credits: “All Our Life” mixkit.co 
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How to Be Useful: There is Always Something

8/23/2020

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We know so many of our listeners are people who are working in the community to make things better for people who are marginalized and therefore, the community as a whole.  But we're guessing that even you powerhouses might feel at a loss sometimes, especially in these crazy times.  

"What can I do that is effective?  What will actually  help?  What is my capacity to take on more?  These are all questions I struggle with regularly and maybe you do, too. "

Our guest this week is serial entrepreneur and problem-solver Laura Fitton.  A college chum from my Cornell days, Laura and Charles spent a lot of time together at Cornell Outdoor Education leading backpacking trips, teaching rock climbing and developing communication and leadership skills.  Even back then, Laura stood out with her intelligence, drive and courage. Those characteristics showed up in the first thing she chose to do after college. She got a job cooking for an educational program on a tall ship sailing back and forth across the Atlantic. She took that job despite being prone to sea-sickness because she believed in the Sea Education Association and its mission. 

Laura eventually took her smarts and passion and started her own internet start up called oneforty.com after the original character limit on then-nascent Twitter. She sold her company to a large inbound marketing company and got to host a major annual conference featuring some pretty amazing speakers. 

Laura went on to start a company to address climate change (the Enough Company) and the pandemic (The PPE Index). The throughline in all her ventures was seeing a need and deciding to do something to meet it, with her trademark intelligence and empathy.  

This episode started off talking about the nature of entrepreneurship but ended up diving into the nature of evil and how to avoid it. No, seriously… the nature of evil. 

So be prepared to get inspired, enlightened, and frankly, a little challenged. There are some very clear calls to action in this episode.
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Key Takeaways: 
  • How to be an early adopter/evangelizer
    • Your ideas are something to SHARE - that’s what gives them attractive value
    • Be fascinated
    • Your anxiety can be adaptive if it helps you see new things on the horizon. But it’s mal-adaptive if it makes you freeze. Use your anxiety to notice things but tame it so you can function for yourself and the world. 
    • Instead of pitching someone (trying to convince them to do something for you) … find out how to be useful to them.
  • How to help solve the Climate Crisis
    • Your energy spending, food purchasing, and banking decisions can make a difference. 
    • Purchase your power from Arcadia.com.
    • Choose to bank at an institution that invests in ways that backs up your beliefs. Credit Unions are great options.
  • How to Be Good
    • Focus on empathy
    • Remember: 
      • The binary is a myth
      • People are not objects
      • Don’t get lost in your own shit
    • When we fall into all three mistakes, that’s where evil comes from
References:
  • Cornell University College Scholar Program
  • Sunrise Movement
  • Environmental Justice
  • Guy Kawasaki
  • The Enough Co.
  • 7 Pillars Facebook Live 

Resources: 
  • Arcadia Power Sign Up
  • Prescott Farmers Market Double UP
  • Hewlett Packard Foundation
  • Blog post on how Covid is a “Grey Rhino.” 
 Do a Science: 
  1. Support your closest, hardest-hit, community
Coronavirus cases by county
  1. Find an organization in that community
  2. Ask them what they need
OR Just Choose
Dine (Navajo) Nation Recovery Fund
​
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    Charles & Kelly

    A pair of intensely curious, slightly scattered social commentators investigating connection, communication and community. Charles and Kelly bring their years of circuitous journeying as they interview each other and the people they find fascinating.

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