Getting Unstuck – Cultivating Curiosity

Summary I've been podcasting for more than five years and have more than 300 hundred episodes on topics that include space exploration, cooking, history, education, movie scores, the importance of objects in movies, inn-keeping, serendipity, beavers, bagels, nature, and fly fishing—to name a few! And I've been privileged to meet some incredible, giving, wise people. But like most podcasters—all?—I've been unable to secure interviews with everyone I wanted to see on the other side of the mic. Why? The reasons vary, ranging from "Sorry, I'm just too busy" to silence—no response at all. This is an episode about some of them—the ones whose photo will never fill an empty square on my podcast website—and why I wanted to talk to them in the first place.

Guest As a former teacher turned speaker and happiness coach, Kim Strobel helps schools, businesses, and organizations prioritize their happiness and well-being so they can overcome their fears, discover their joy, activate their limitless potential, and boldly pursue their dreams. She is the author of Teach Happy. Summary This episode focuses on Kim's journey with panic disorder, highlighting the power of cognitive behavioral therapy and helping others overcome anxiety. Kim emphasizes happiness as a direction rather than a destination, urging the implementation of happiness habits for well-being. Of particular note, Kim explained that up to 40% of our happiness is within our control, so looking at the world through a lens of positivity and possibility is essential. Lastly, Kim advocates for radical wellness through boundary-setting and rewiring brains for happiness, encouraging investment in building healthy relationships and regulating social media usage for personal growth and fulfillment. Social Media / Referenced www.StrobelEducation.com www.KimStrobel.com Break the Habit of Being Yourself by Joe Dispenza The Tools: 5 Tools to Help You Find Courage, Creativity, and Willpower--and Inspire You to Live Life in Forward Motion by Phil Stultz

Guest Ben Goldfarb is an environmental journalist whose work has appeared in National Geographic, the Atlantic, Smithsonian Magazine, and many other publications. He is the author of Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet, named one of the best books of 2023 by the New York Times, and Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter, winner of the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award. He lives in Colorado with his wife, Elise, and his dog, Kit — which is, of course, what you call a baby beaver. Summary This discussion highlights the beaver's role as a keystone species, an organism crucial to maintaining a healthy ecosystem. Beavers create ponds and wetlands, benefiting numerous species and providing vital services like water purification, flood control, and wildfire mitigation. Historically, unregulated trapping nearly decimated beaver populations in North America, causing dramatic ecological decline. In Yellowstone National Park, for instance, the absence of wolves led to elk overgrazing, destroying beaver habitat. Beaver reintroduction efforts in the 1980s significantly improved the ecosystem. The conversation emphasizes the importance of coexisting with beavers and wolves. Non-lethal solutions like "beaver deceivers" can mitigate property damage, while the ecological benefits (fish habitat, flood control) far outweigh minor inconveniences. The future of beaver management lies in learning to share our environment, not removing these valuable ecosystem engineers. Social Media / Referenced Website: https://www.bengoldfarb.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ben.a.goldfarb/ X: https://twitter.com/ben_a_goldfarb Books: Crossings https://www.amazon.com/dp/1324005890 Eager https://www.amazon.com/Eager-Surprising-Secret-Beavers-Matter/dp/160358739X

Guest Katie Mullen is the founder of MMS Consulting, which specializes in sales training and consulting and has helped Fortune 500 companies from all over the country increase sales, improve performance, and create more customer trust. MMS Consulting was founded on a several-year research project on the topic of how customers want to be treated. Hundreds of customers were interviewed on pet peeves, likes, dislikes, etc, and the answers were aggregated into data points that are now used during the training and consulting offered by MMS Consulting. Before founding MMS, Katie Mullen spent fifteen years selling into diverse industries, including medical devices, online media, fundraising, and event planning. Katie hosts the "Golden Rule of Selling" podcast and is the author of The Sales Tightrope: A Research-Based Guide to Not Annoying Customers and Still Being a Top Performer. Summary Focusing on qualities essential for success in sales, such as curiosity and adaptability, Katie emphasizes the importance of building rapport and understanding customers individually. Her approach combines scientific research with personalized presentations tailored to each client, prioritizing long-term relationships over short-term gains. By employing discovery questions and addressing root issues, she ensures a mutually beneficial fit, fostering trust and loyalty for future opportunities. Social Media / Referenced kmullen@mms-consulting.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/katiefmullen/ https://www.tiktok.com/@katiemullen_goldenrule

Guest John Camp (he goes by Camp) is Head of Teaching & Learning at the New England Innovation Academy, where he oversees the development of systems to recruit, hire, support, and evaluate teachers. He also supports teachers in developing and implementing the curriculum. He's been a leader and a teacher at various schools throughout his 29-year career. His experience includes English and writing classes and interdisciplinary courses such as "The Art and Physics of Time Travel." At St. Mark's School, which bestowed him with The Trustees Chair and the Kidder Faculty Prize, Camp served as the Director of Experiential Learning and Associate Director of The Center of Innovation in Teaching and Learning. His pedagogical mantras include, "I aim to teach what cannot be Googled" and "I expect you to work hard, so I work hard." Summary Our conversation examined how the New England Innovation Academy is shifting the landscape of 6-12 education toward integrating various learning styles and innovative teaching methods. Competency-based assessment was discussed as a promising alternative to traditional tests, emphasizing gauging students' mastery of skills and practical knowledge. The conversation went beyond academics, highlighting the growing importance of student-centered learning and fostering social-emotional development as crucial aspects of education. We also explored the practicalities at the New England Innovation Academy, delving into student workload, school policies, and their innovative practices. A central theme emerged: education is no longer solely about knowledge transmission. Instead, it is vital to nurture well-rounded individuals and promote personal growth through student-centered instructional approaches. This discussion provided valuable insights into the evolving education landscape, where innovation and student success are the driving forces shaping the future of learning. Social Media / Referenced New England Innovation Academy - https://neiacademy.org/

Guest Bennett (Ben) Bratt helps leaders and their teams create the transformative, inclusive, and enduring changes in their team effectiveness that fuel their most deeply desired outcomes. He is the founder and principal at Team Elements, a consulting and coaching organization that helps identify and resolve issues holding teams back from achieving their desired goals. Ben is the author of The Team Discovered (BMI Publishing 2020). Summary A number of factors will contribute to team ineffectiveness, including: • insufficient resources and training, • unrealistic expectations, • poor organizational culture, • lack of psychological safety and emotional intelligence, and • lack of conflict resolution tools. Often, underlying all of these reasons is a lack of clarity around team goals and individual roles, which contributes to a lack of trust among team members. Social Media / Referenced LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/bennettbratt TikTok: @bennettbratt Website: Team Elements

Guest Dr. Donya Ball is a leader, author, and keynote speaker. She currently serves as superintendent of schools in California. Dr. Ball is a professor of both educational leadership and teacher education and is passionate about studying, writing, and speaking about overcoming leadership hardships. She published her first book of the leadership series, Adjusting the Sails: Weathering the Storms of Administrative Leadership, in 2022, followed by Against the Wind: Leadership at 36,000 Feet in December 2023. Summary Dr. Donya Bell's journey from studying communications to discovering her passion for education was sparked by her curiosity, cultivated through tutoring with the America Reads program. This experience led her to prioritize people development over technical skills in school leadership, emphasizing the significance of listening and inviting input to build trust and involvement. Donya highlighted the evolving purpose of education, advocating for personalized learning experiences beyond standardized tests. She also underscored the benefits and challenges of connecting with diverse perspectives, emphasizing the importance of continuous learning and growth through exposure to varied viewpoints across industries and communities. Social Media / Referenced LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/donya-ball-ed-d-314bb011/ X- @SuptDonya Instagram - @dr__d__ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/SuptDonya Lyle Kirtman - 7 Competencies of Highly Effective School Leaders

Summary "Getting Unstuck" host Jeff Ikler reflects on recent messages of remembrance that prompt him to consider life's impermanence of life and how he wants to be remembered. The Universe sends us messages to consider and, if we're open to them, to act upon. Facing the task of decluttering after his sister's passing, Jeff embraces "death cleaning" to downsize personal effects. Cherishing artifacts from his parents, Jeff displays them as a tribute, shifting his perspective on imperfections and upbringing. The impermanence of life becomes evident, leading to a contemplation of how objects and memories shape one's legacy. Meaningful items, like a metal cup from wilderness adventures, hold sentimental value, prompting thoughts on how he'll be remembered. Jeff's experiences at Quetico Provincial Park in Canada significantly influenced him, inspiring the naming of his coaching company after the place. Referenced Jane Duncan Rogers – Before I Go: The Essential Guide to Creating A Good End-of-Life Plan Margareta Magnusson – Dostadning: The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning

Guests In this episode, I was deeply fortunate to sit down with two amazing guests: Benjamin Zander and Rosamund Stone Zander. Ben is the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and the Boston Youth Orchestra. Rosamund was a therapist and an accomplished painter and sadly passed away in September 2023. They are the authors of The Art of Possibility – a life-change book if you adopt its twelve practices. Roz was the author of a follow-up volume, Pathways to Possibility. Summary Some readers and listeners may have the tendency to place these two books in the category of "self-help." But as the authors point out early on in The Art of Possibility, "the practices presented in this book are not about making incremental changes that lead to new ways of doing things based on old belief, and they are not about self-improvement." The practices are more transformational. This is not about playing better in old constructs, it's about playing in new constructs of our own making. As you listen How might Roz and Ben's respective roles – Roz as a therapist who listens for the stories that clients tell and Ben as a conductor who helps musicians break through barriers – apply to the roles that educational leaders and teachers play? How people live in what they think is reality when it's really just their interpretation. It's an invention. Why living with a spirit of possibility has to be created and practiced. Ben's and Roz's explanation of one of the practices, "The giving of an A." In the book they write, "This A is not an expectation to live up to, but a possibility to live into." The ownership of the "A" shifts from the traditional bestower, the teacher, to a co-created relationship with the student. How might this apply to education in our schools? What "Being a contribution" is dependent on. How Ben defines "leadership." What leaders who follow the practice "Lead from any chair" believe in. How "Being the board" eliminates the need for blame.

Guest Dr. Hayley Watson is the founder and CEO of Open Parachute, a Tier 1 K-12 curriculum program that supports the mental health of students, teachers, and parents. She is a Clinical Psychologist and holds a PhD in school bullying interventions. She has been creating and delivering programs for youth and practitioners across the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia for the past 20 years. Dr. Watson is the author of the forthcoming book FINDING THE WORDS: EMPOWERING STRUGGLING STUDENTS THROUGH GUIDED CONVERSATIONS. (Release in mid-March 2024. Summary My conversation with Dr. Watson delved into the critical topic of mental health support for students, exploring its connection to childhood trauma and the need for robust education in schools. Dr. Watson emphasized the neuroscience behind mental health and its impact on both students and educators, highlighting the importance of prioritizing well-being within the educational space. Key to her work is training educators to use words that help draw the limiting stories out of children and provide a space for students to help one another. Our conversation covered practical strategies like mindfulness exercises and self-care techniques that educators can adopt while advocating for broader systemic changes like comprehensive mental health education for children. By bridging the gap between neuroscience, education, and self-care, she provided valuable insights into fostering a healthier and more supportive environment for students and educators alike. Social Media / Referenced Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-hayley-watson-2b249a16/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drhayleywatson/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drhayleywatson/?hl=en Program Website: https://openparachuteschools.com