Make Life Less Difficult

My guest today is Eric Skinner. Eric began again at the age of 20 following a diving accident that left him paralyzed from the upper chest downward. Eric’s post-injury journey required him to relearn most ordinary physical activities and to hone as strengths the qualities of personality, intellect, and a renewed drive that would serve him during a new life of great challenges and rewards. After his accident, Eric earned a degree in marketing and communications and worked in the fields of advertising, publishing, and non-profit communications. The highlights of Eric’s life have been meeting and marrying his wife, Carol, and raising their daughter, Abby, together. Along with spending time with family, Eric enjoys reading, writing, and cheering his favorite sports teams. Elizabeth Tilstra, my guest on episode 41, introduced me to Eric, and I’m so glad she did!  Eric’s story will have you sitting on the edge of your seat and shaking your head in amazement as he describes his diving accident and the journey of healing and growth that happened afterward.As Eric and I initially connected by email he shared some of the highlights of his story and I was amazed!  What amazed me even more than his story however was the fact that at the end of his email he declared that he didn’t think his life and story were very interesting.  I was astounded and we talk about this in our conversation because I think it’s a great reminder that each of us have amazing stories to share, but they aren’t necessarily interesting to us… because we’re living them!I hope Eric’s story will inspire you to share more of your stories because there’s always someone who they will touch and in turn inspire!Eric, thank you so much for coming on the podcast and sharing these pieces of your journey.  You give us all much to think about and ponder.  I know we’ve barely skimmed the surface of your journey, so I look forward to hearing more in subsequent conversations!Make Life Less DifficultMake Life Less Difficult~ Support:buymeacoffee.com/lisatilstra

My guest today is Shannon Cochran-Yzquierdo.  Shannon is coming back to the podcast for a second conversation which we committed to having during our first conversation which is on episode 13.  Shannon is the founder of Coaching Courage, a coaching firm working with leaders, teams, and organizations to reframe the way they see themselves.  Shannon is passionate about inspiring and motivating leaders to embrace their courage as they transition into their best selves.Shannon supports and empowers women, minorities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community to strengthen their leadership capacity.  She’s an active volunteer with the St. Baldrick’s foundation where she voluntarily shaves her head each year to raise money and awareness for children’s cancer research.In today’s conversation Shannon shares multiple significant pivots in her life and how she’s managed those, some voluntary, some involuntary.  We talk about embracing the various pieces of ourselves, and the difficulty in doing so at times, especially the darker pieces we may not love or even like.  Shannon, as always, steps into and embraces the courage that she talks about with others.  Specifically she shares bravely about her experiences with depression.  As someone who appears extroverted, energetic, and always positive, Shannon invites us into parts of her journey that are real and vulnerable.  Shannon, I’m so grateful for this conversation with you.  Thank you for your willingness to come back for part 2.  Thank you for sharing so graciously.  I know that so many who listen will connect and feel less alone because of your sharing.  And this, as we discuss, is a way to make life less difficult.Connect with Shannon:LinkedInWebsiteSt. Baldrick's FoundationMake Life Less DifficultMake Life Less Difficult~ Support:buymeacoffee.com/lisatilstra

My guest today is Dr. Tom Tonkin.Tom is the co-founder and CEO of the Conservatory Group, and a self-described “recovering executive” with over 25 years of business and technology experience. He is a firm believer in the power of sincerity, and his philosophies offer a unique behavioral perspective on business, politics, relationships, and more.Tom holds an PhD in Organizational Leadership from Regent University and a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership from Regis University.  He serves as the Dean of Students at the Sales Conservatory and is the Head of Strategic Accounts at SAMI Games, the first crowd-sourced global solution for soft skills.Tom is an award-winning researcher and author with several blogs, articles, and interviews to his name focusing on Leadership, DE&I, Learning and Development, and Sales Acumen.In our conversation today we explore the differences of Sincerity and Authenticity.  Tom shares how journaling became and stayed an important part of his journey and growth.  And he shares pieces of his journey through difficult times, what he’s learned along the way, and how he desires to form a legacy for lasting impact.Tom, thank you so much for stepping into this conversation, sharing your stories and reflections, and offering wise and sage advice.  If you’ve been listening to recent episodes, you may notice a trend of notices for audio quality, internet quality, etc.  I’m on the go at the moment and have been recording podcasts in so many different locations as I live into the digital nomad life for a time.  This one, my computer wouldn’t connect to the wifi, and we ended up recording the conversation on my phone, which worked out alright!Tom was incredibly patient and gracious as I scrambled to figure out the connectivity issues and as we jump into the conversation you’ll hear us still chuckling a little about the imperfection and adaptability we embraced!  Thanks for being on the journey with me – I’m so grateful!  Connect with Tom:LinkedInWebsiteMake Life Less DifficultMake Life Less Difficult~ Support:buymeacoffee.com/lisatilstra

Celebrating ONE YEAR of the Make Life Less Difficult podcast!!Thank you SO much for listening, sharing your stories, and making life less difficult for each other!  It's an honor to host this podcast and share the journey with you.With so much love,LisaMake Life Less DifficultMake Life Less Difficult~ Support:buymeacoffee.com/lisatilstra

My guest today is David Corfield.David believes that we all deserve an equal future, that this utopian vision is closer than we might believe, and that we are not currently on course to achieve this vision...in fact, it might be quite the opposite. David's mission is to enhance the conversation around this future vision of equality and empower leaders to make it happen. As the first generation in his family to attend college and many other things, he's the product of social mobility, a hell of a lot of luck, and a reasonable amount of hard work. He believes everyone should have equal access to, and the opportunity for, a happy, fulfilled life. He writes about this desired future and what we ought to do in the present to make it real, while coaching and training the next generation of leaders to bring this vision to life.David grew up in England, studying economics and working in management consulting before moving to Berkeley California where he got his MBA and life purpose. He founded a start-up that lowers the barrier to self-employment and a non-profit that helped small business owners build sustainable businesses while embedding equitable enterprise models into the curriculum of top US business schools. He is passionate about wellness, learning, and travel, having lived in ten different cities in the last three years. I first met David in April at a mutual work event.  David is humble and understated and I’m glad I was listening carefully as small pieces of his experience and accomplishments came out… a book, a TED talk, a start-up. In our conversation today, David shares his entrepreneurial spirit that started at 7 years old (you’ll love this story!).  We discuss the positive shifts around work and also the concerning trends for workers.  We touch on the topic of David’s TED talk: what happens to our job identify if work is taken away… and strategies you can experiment with today to test how much your identity is tied to your job.  Empathy and perspective taking is also highlighted as David describes visions of the future of work and finding meaning in life.  David, thank you for sharing your insights, your ponderings, and your new edges as you transition into a new phase of life and work!  It can be vulnerable to ‘think out loud’ in a public forum and yet so insightful and meaningful.  I’m honored to share this conversation with the Make Life Less Difficult listeners.If you’d like to connect with David, you can find links below!One brief note on the audio quality, as I move around to various places this summer and seek out reliable spots for recording conversations… it’s a little tricky, but I’m sticking with my commitment to doing things imperfectly!  we had a few instances of internet instability throughout the conversation.  Fortunately, this doesn’t impact any of the message, but just a warning in case you hear a word or two that ends more abruptly than expected.  Thanks for understanding!Connect with David:LinkedInWebsiteTED TalkMake Life Less DifficultMake Life Less Difficult~ Support:buymeacoffee.com/lisatilstra

My guest today is Janice Caillet.For over twenty years, Janice has empowered individuals, teams and organizations to realize their fullest potential.  Janice wears several hats with her clients: coach, mentor, advisor, and consultant.  The combination of these different approaches creates a clearer and more attainable pathway for her clients to live their purpose and realize their potential.  In essence, Janice co-creates a powerful reality with her clients by having them see their own potential, envision what can be possible, take the steps necessary to get there – and once there, make the most of it. Janice’s experience extends around the globe, across cultures and across industries.  She has lived and coached in international environments such as France, UK, New York and Boston, working also virtually with individuals and organizations around the world. She is known as a thought leader in entrepreneurship, social enterprise and startup ecosystems as she has led roundtables, produced conferences, consulted and coached leaders in these areas for over 20 years.  She is also a serial entrepreneur, having cofounded 7 companies.Before our conversation for the podcast, Janice and I were connected only loosely and distantly via our coaching network and LinkedIn.  After I read one of her posts on LinkedIn and deeply resonated with it, I reached out asking if she’d be a guest on the podcast.  Happily, she said yes.  And this is one of these delightful conversations where we jump in and explore through structured emergence.One of the most powerful questions to me that came out of our conversation is: How do we decrease the need of feeling alive out of fear and shift it to feeling alive out of love and synergy?We explore the instincts of judgement and fear in humans, the benefits and liabilities of those fears, and Janice shares pieces of her journey to move away from fear-based judgements to building healthier and more fulfilling relationships.Janice, thank you for your time, experience and wisdom.  I’ve been reflecting on our conversation and am deeply grateful for all I’ve learned from you and the new perspectives I’ve gained.As a quick side note, there were some blips in my internet connection that resulted in an occasional lost syllable of a few words.  We’ve cleaned this up so it won’t take away from the message, but I do apologize for that. Learn more about Janice:·      Website, Corentus·      LinkedInResource:  How We Learn by Benedict CareyMake Life Less DifficultMake Life Less Difficult~ Support:buymeacoffee.com/lisatilstra

Lisa reflects briefly on taking a break, pausing, gratitude, and appreciation.Thanks for being part of the journey!!We're back next week with more inspiring conversations!Make Life Less DifficultMake Life Less Difficult~ Support:buymeacoffee.com/lisatilstra

My guest today is Cherise Tuttle.Cherise Tuttle is an avid adventurer who has spent the better part of her life living in the mountains. From running an adventure sports media company to finding her confidence and independence in sports like paragliding and rock climbing, she has immersed herself in the outdoors and created a lifestyle within it. Her years of experience living and working in these exceptional environments has given her the skill-set to effectively problem solve in extremely challenging, or unexpected, situations. It has given her great opportunity to develop as a writer and photographer with her media appearing in the likes of Outside and Cross Country magazines.Passionate about making a meaningful contribution to the world, Cherise prioritizes projects with social and environmental impact. Before her husband, Cody, passed away in 2019, they produced a documentary surrounding the oppressive caste system in Nepal. Cherise proudly carries that legacy forward as she continues to support impoverished families and children in the remote villages of the Himalaya.Cherise’s passion for the outdoors has also gone hand in hand with her love of all things related to wine, and her travels have given her a deep appreciation for the geography and culture that go into creating it. This has led to deeper studies as a sommelier and her current position as a Wine Director in the heart of the Santa Barbara County wine country. Cody was her greatest supporter in following this dream. Cherise is also someone who has been on my “I’d really love to have you on my podcast” list and it’s such a great honor to have had this conversation with her and to be sharing with you.I met Cherise and Cody briefly in 2016 through paragliding.  Meeting amazing people is an awesome side benefit to the sport of paragliding.  When we met it was several months after they had been on site in Nepal for the earthquake of 2015 and they were first responders with a team of other paragliders and mountaineers.  We followed their amazing work over the years and were devastated when we heard the news that Cody had been in a paragliding accident and didn’t make it.  Just a few months ago, my husband, John, and I took a trip to Nepal for the first time.  We met so many people there who were impacted by the work of Cherise and Cody.  We flew in the shadows of the mighty Annapurna Range and the Fish Tail, that I had seen in pictures posted by the two of them.  It was extremely meaningful and special.Cherise, thank you for sharing these pieces of your journey with us today.  Thank you for inspiring us, being vulnerable, and inviting us into your experience.  I’m so grateful and I know without a doubt that Cody would be so incredibly proud of the life you are living each and every day!Links:https://www.invertedlifestyle.com/https://www.codytuttle.com/https://www.nyimaproject.org/IG: @cherisetutsMake Life Less DifficultMake Life Less Difficult~ Support:buymeacoffee.com/lisatilstra

My guest today is Lee Self.I was introduced to Lee by Ellen Grealish of FlexProfessionals who was my guest on episode 52. After connecting with Lee, we realized we also have a mutual friend in Brenda Harrington, my guest on episode 7 (and soon to be returning to talk about her new book!).Lee is the CEO of Executive Forums in Northern Virginia.  She is an Executive Peer Group Facilitator, Leadership Developer, and Business Advisor helping CEOs connect, learn & grow together...  Lee also has extensive experience in the communications industry working for Verizon and Web.com before beginning her work with Executive Forums.Lee’s personal journey is perhaps most easily described as an intense rollercoaster ride.  The ups and downs are gripping and how Lee has journeyed and learned through everything is nothing less than inspiring.  In our conversation today, Lee shares the story of discovering her husband was an alcoholic, finding her own health in the midst of incredible turbulence, her husband’s sobriety story and reuniting of their relationship, then to be faced with his terminal diagnosis and death, followed by her son’s tumultuous journey through addiction and recovery.Lee shares how she has learned to take care of herself as a foundational life and survival skill, getting her hands out of other people’s business, and how her faith and spiritual life have made all these difficulties a little less difficult.Lee, thank you so much for sharing these pieces of your journey.  You offer so much wisdom and inspiration to us and to so many others in the world! Make Life Less DifficultMake Life Less Difficult~ Support:buymeacoffee.com/lisatilstra

Before jumping into my guest’s introduction, a brief note from me.  I’m in the US for summer holiday and family reunions.  There were a number of podcasts I had intended to record before leaving Sri Lanka, but due to disruptions with my internet there, they didn’t happen.  So, I packed up my microphone and am searching out quiet spaces to record a few conversations while visiting family.  The quiet spaces for today’s conversation happen to be a rented office space with Regus.  And I realized when I showed up that I forgot my microphone that I was so careful to pack along!  Alas… my sound quality isn’t the greatest and it may be a bit echoey in an empty office, but it brings me back to my word for the year: Imperfect.  It’s part of my commitment to keep moving forward, to keep sharing stories, to continue doing this work that I’m passionate about.  And to give myself permission to do it imperfectly.  Because, really, what is perfection, anyway?  So, if this is your first time listening, welcome!  (I’ve got an entire episode exploring the idea of imperfection and its value, if you want to check that out! (episode 32).If you are a returning listener, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!  I cannot tell you how much it means to me for you to join me on this journey, listen in to the conversations with amazing people, and hopefully be inspired to share more of your own journey and stories, for that is how we connect.  Let’s keep connecting, imperfect though it may be… Also, a huge shout out to Joseph Burdock who edits all these podcasts and makes the imperfections as small as possible!  Thank you, Joe!!My guest today is Julie Salganik.Julie is a returning guest and I’m so glad for this opportunity to talk with her again.  Our first conversation was on Episode 18 and Julie shared reflections on immigration, having immigrated from Kiev, then part of the Soviet Union, to the US at the age of 4.  Julie is a leadership coach and consultant who has spent over 20 years equipping leaders to flourish and deliver exceptional results.  She specialized in working across cultures and has worked extensively with leaders in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. In our conversation today, Julie graciously shares some of her recent reflections and processing of the war in Ukraine, how that has challenged her sense of identity, and the challenge of making sense of the devastation that is a result of war.We also talk about the idea of putting things down rather than letting them go.  Recognizing that some things can be put down for now and perhaps picked up and revisited at a later time.  This has a difference connotation than letting go or moving on and I think the shift in perspective can make difficult times a little less difficult.Julie, thank you for sharing again.  For engaging in conversations about difficult topics, for inviting us along on your journey and inviting us into your processing.  I’m grateful for your wisdom.Connect with Julie:Find Julie on LinkedInSend Julie an email: info@avancegc.comMake Life Less DifficultMake Life Less Difficult~ Support:buymeacoffee.com/lisatilstra