196: Gifted and Using her Fire for Good with Lana Quackenbush

In today’s show, I introduce you to a good friend who has been an anchor for me in creating a community over the last ten years, both in-person and online. Join us!

Lana Quackenbush has been part of my Ignite Your Power program for several years, and she frequently joined the monthly Embracing Intensity guest calls last year. I’ve seen from the beginning of our relationship what an amazing person she is and how she’s learning to own the uniqueness of who she is. Lana and I both love helping people find connections in the common experiences of intensity, giftedness, twice-exceptionality, and creativity.

Show Highlights:

• Why Lana identifies as a mixed-race, newlywed, preschool teacher who loves peacemaking and doing the right thing
• How Lana’s personal brand of intensity revolves around her qualities of being intensely intellectual, perfectionistic, and judgmental
• Why as a Virgo, Lana has to work on finding balance in many ways
• Growing up, Lana’s mom told her she was “exhausting,” and she had a hard time sleeping as a sickly child who learned to tune out her body’s signals
• The cultural factors that added to the “tornado of chaos” in Lana’s biracial, highly social family; it was always stressed to her the importance of “presenting” herself well
• How Lana learned to tune herself out or tone herself down in light of her mother’s postpartum depression and the realization that her needs weren’t always going to be met
• How Lana’s intensity gets out of control at times when she is wronged, and her self-righteous indignation kicks in
• The shift for Lana in finding a relationship that uplifts her intensity in a positive way
• How Lana uses her fire for good as she spends her days teaching two-year-olds and shows interest in families, children, and their parents
• Why Lana loves to see the emotional model of raising children reign over the intellectual model
• How Lana harnesses the power of her intensity by doing yoga and studying Buddhism
• How Lana follows her varied interests in phases, organizes spaces in her home to meet her needs, and imposes rules for herself about cleaning up one area before moving on
• Lana’s inspirational to-do list hack: she writes her list on business cards so the list is manageable, and she can feel the satisfaction of checking off each item
• Why Lana is ever-so-grateful that she followed the best advice she ever received: “Don’t make any permanent life choices before age 25.”
• Books that Lana recommends: Ishmael by Daniel Quinn and The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield
• How Lana helps others use their fire by kid-wrangling, making spaces for them, and meeting their needs
• Why Lana is learning to identify proudly as a person of color

Resources:

 Ishmael by Daniel Quinn

The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield

Find Lana on Instagram: ThatLanaLady