Make Life Less Difficult

My guest today is Rebecca Scott.Rebecca is a leadership coach who is passionate about helping people living with chronic conditions live full, purposeful, and joyous lives. She believes in the transformational power of meaningful conversation, celebrating all your victories, and feeling all your feelings. She also believes in kindness, including to oneself... which is much easier said than done.I first connected with Rebecca after I saw she was facilitating a workshop on Self-Compassion.  This is a topic that is near and dear to me (listen to Episode 11 if you want to hear a bit how self-compassion has changed my lifeRebecca’s initial reaction to the title of the website, Make Life Less Difficult, was to share with me that her tag line for coaching is Make Work Suck Less.  We immediately knew we would hit it off and have a great conversation!Rebecca also shared that she has Multiple Sclerosis, a degenerative neurologic disease, and she’s been blogging about her experiences for years because there’s very little out there in the world about the nitty gritty challenges that are often associated with MS.Word of caution… we talk candidly about bodily functions and sex.  If these things are uncomfortable to you, I ask that you take care of yourself first and foremost, even if that means not listening.  There’s also a splattering of adult language, so if you are listening around kids, you may want to pop in the headphones.Rebecca, I’m so delighted that we’ve connected and feel honored to host you on the podcast.  Thank you for sharing so candidly and with such beautiful humor.  You are an inspiration and I’m so grateful for your willingness to dig deep into the tough realities of life.  Book Reference: Humor, Seriously by Jennifer Aaker & Naomi Bagdonas Connect with Rebecca:email: rebecca@cultivatingleadership.comTwitter: @scorebeccablog: https://stumblr.blog/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-scott-coach/sex tape: https://youtu.be/JVYZtirbTHwMake Life Less DifficultSupport the showMake Life Less Difficult~ Support:buymeacoffee.com/lisatilstra

My guest today is Nicholas Jefferson.Nick is my youngest nephew and the second of my nieces and nephews to be a guest on the podcast!  Shout out to Sarah Cole, my niece, who was on Episode 40, where we had a beautiful conversation about the challenges and benefits of conflict.When I was visiting at Nick’s house a couple months ago, he and I had some interesting conversations and I said, Hey Nick, would you be interested in coming on my podcast?  He bravely accepted the invitation and said he’d be happy to!I want to take a moment to highlight Nick’s courage and bravery.  Nick is 16 (actually turning 17 about the time of this release) and is a junior in high school.  Many adults I invite hesitate to be on the podcast.  It’s a vulnerable and potentially intimidating prospect, to share thoughts and stories and ideas where you don’t know who will listen.  So I was super impressed with Nick’s openness to the idea and his willingness to step into a conversation that is fairly unstructured, and just explore with me.Nick shares his thoughts around how we can contribute to making the world a better place (by kindness to each other) while simultaneously questioning the best way to do that on a grander scale, as it can seem difficult to do when we look at the world as a whole.  But we come back to our own circles of influence and starting there.I think there’s so much wisdom in this approach.  By the end of our conversation Nick shares his ideas of around how we can start close in with the groups we already connect with but then also expand our circles of influence and invite others to do so as well.I’m convinced that each of us can make a positive difference in our worlds with this approach.  I know it can get overwhelming when we see all the needs around the world (and often the negativity and meanness, even, expressed between humans), but truly if each of us start with the places we already have connections and influence and slowly grow those circles, we can make a significant difference.Nick, thank you for your courage and bravery in being on the podcast!  I really enjoyed this conversation with you and look forward to more in the future!  Keep making a difference in your world!!With that, I invite you to enjoy this chat with Nick, and be inspired to make a difference in your own world!   Make Life Less DifficultSupport the showMake Life Less Difficult~ Support:buymeacoffee.com/lisatilstra

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 DifficultSupport the showMake 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 DifficultSupport the showMake 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 DifficultSupport the showMake 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 DifficultSupport the showMake 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 DifficultSupport the showMake 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 DifficultSupport the showMake 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 DifficultSupport the showMake 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 DifficultSupport the showMake Life Less Difficult~ Support:buymeacoffee.com/lisatilstra