Design Yourself

May you each be filled with gratitude and peace as we move into the end of year holiday season. In today’s episode, Sharon shares 10 questions to inspire you to step into your Thanksgiving (and beyond!) week in an intentional way. She also offers up her own personal reflections for each question, just as she did in Episode 22, the original Let Us Give Thanks episode. In additional to having space for your own reflections, you will also learn about the power of repetition and sitting with one thing over an extended period of time (whether a question, a physical practice or an idea). This is a great episode for anyone who is looking to reset before the holidays, who is curious to know more about what Sharon is up to or who is game for some personal reflection.  Ideas Shared 10 Questions to Get into the Thanksgiving Spirit As you reflect upon the 2017 year, consider… What makes you happy? What have you overcome this past year? What are you most proud of professionally and personally? Consider something that has

Creativity, resilience and a darn good sense of humor are at the heart of Katie Blattner’s story. In this week’s episode we learn the story of the seamstress and entrepreneur extraordinaire behind Three Little Birds Sewing Co., a place that is part fabric shop, part instructional space and part community hang out. It’s not quite the career and life she imagined for herself when she majored in chemistry with plans for med school. And then life stepped in. Through its lovely and sometimes heart wrenching turns, Katie adapted. Her optimism and bold decision making are sure to inspire you, whether you’re looking to create your own brick and mortar space or just trying to find ways to spark a little more creativity in your every day. “Take the positive things that happen in your life and let them be the driving force....if you lead with the positive and use the negative as a learning or as a speed bump rather than a wall I think that you can really live the life that you imagined for yourself." - Katie Blattner Id

Ever found yourself wishing for a job that just felt like you? That felt like you’d found a work home? If you are anything like host Sharon and this week’s guest, Jennifer Bangoura, the answer is yes. We spend so much of our waking life at work that it ought to be an endeavor that feels meaningful - whether in the work itself or what the work creates for the rest of your life - and ideally both. Jennifer shares her own journey from the Peace Corp in Mali to working as a project manager to starting a photography business to landing her dream job. She shares how marrying someone from another part of the world and becoming a mom changed her. She shares her struggles and how she has seized opportunities as they’ve emerged all with an lighthearted optimism that you are going to find infectious. “A well designed life is being grateful for the present and reflecting on what brought you there and being excited about what’s coming ahead and expressing it.” - Jennifer Bangoura  Ideas Shared “I don’t need to turn my who

In today's episode Sharon shares some of her transformational reading experiences and a way for us to think about the things that shape us (be they books, experience or people). Hear what children's book characters have stuck with her and which one actually changed her. (Hint: She's a very skilled teacher!) Listen as she reads from Lydia Davis and talks about why she really appreciates reading prose written by poets. For anyone who loves books or is thinking about their own story (for a job interview or for fun!), this episode is for you.  “There are worse things to do when you’re in grade two than to spend your time building a dream.” – Iggy Peck Ideas Shared The Books that Changed Me: EARLY YEARS Miss Nelson is Missing HIGH SCHOOL The Great Gatsby Heart of Darkness COLLEGE Wild Iris Praise Proofs and Theories Twentieth Century Pleasures The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas ADULT LIFE Domino, The Book of Decorating Design Mom A Visit from the Goon Squad Freedom This is Water The Collected Sto

Carpe diem. Live in the now. Heck, even be here now. There are so many expressions out there calling us to focus on getting present. And that probably has something to do with just how easy it is to get distracted these days from exactly where we are right now. In this week's podcast, Sharon offers up her own reflections on different flavors of NOT being present and then shares 10 ways to get yourself back into the here and now.  Ideas Shared 4 Different Flavors of Not Being Present Consciously and Negative – For example I’m mentally planning how to get through a heavy task list while my husband tells me about his day Consciously and Positive – For example choosing to listen to a podcast while doing the dishes Unconsciously and Negative – For example a condescending comment at work causes me to to be mentally and unknowingly hijacked Unconsciously and Positive – A great idea pops into my head and captures my imagination while I’m out for a run 10 Ways to Be Here Now Single-task Go for a walk – and only a wal

We often think of vision as that thing that happens out way in the future. And there is a time for imagining all that is possible; a time for answering where are we headed. But today Sharon offers up a different approach to vision. One that allows you to lead from a visionary stance in the present. From meditation to emotional resilience to asking for help, we will explore tips and resources to help you move towards your vision in the here and now.  “Vision glimpses a future state and moves you today.” – Sharon Lipovsky Ideas Shared 5 Actions to Move Your Vision Today Meditate Strengthen Your Desired Emotion Share your vision with trusted partner Ask: What can I do today? Get support Resources and Links You can sign up for the You Can Design Yourself webinar series here. Be sure to sign up for all three dates (October 17, November 7 and December 5). Other Design Yourself episodes on vision setting include: a) Ep 5 – A Vision Meditation; b) Ep 29 – Go Beyond – PRS Vision Cycle; c) Ep 53 – Visionaries and

This week Sharon offers up a 10 Step Guide to Creative Living. If you are already jamming on all the ways that you need to be creative, awesome! But if you are like a lot of us and need a little kickstart to your creativity, this week’s episode is for you. Explore options for how to choose creativity over consumption (take a walk!), learn the difference between copying and appropriating (mindset!), discover some of Sharon’s go-to resources to kick a creative slump to the the curb (books! recipes! friends!) and more. This is a great episode for anyone who wants a reminder about just how much potential for awesomeness is sitting right there inside of you. Go ahead and let your inner kid run wild. “To be alive is to have the potential for creativity.” - Sharon Lipovsky  “To be alive is to have the potential for creativity.” – Sharon Lipovsky Tomatoes fresh from the backyard garden cooked up about 2 feet from where they were grown? Yes please! Ideas Shared 10 Step Guide to Creative Living Choose creativity ov

Special announcement: Sharon is hosting a free webinar series on how You Can Design Yourself this fall. Details can be found at https://pointroadstudios.com/classes/fall-17-webinars/ Itching to try something new, but feeling stuck? Cue this week’s episode. Sharon shares a behind the scenes look into launching the Classes arm of Point Road Studios along with tips and resources for how you too can try something new. Sharon talks about common obstacles to getting started like being afraid or overwhelmed or simply lacking the know how to even get started. This episode is great for anyone who is ready to stop talking about that new thing they want to do and start doing it. It’s also a fun listen for anyone who has been curious about what’s been keeping Sharon busy these days.  Ideas Shared How to try something new… …if you don’t know how get scrappy and see what you can learn ask for help delegate to someone who does know …if you are scared/overwhelmed/frustrated (or otherwise not quite yourself!) honor the emo

Joanna Andreae of Wandering Wellness from Episode 62 is back with us for a special bonus episode. Joanna runs a successful business that is as much of her as it is run by her. And as clear as she is on who she is and what she offers, she was struggling with figuring out what to call herself. With permission, Sharon steps into to coach Joanna through this question. This short episode offers a glimpse into what executive coaching can look like and demonstrates the power of having a quiet space held to see an often asked question in a new light. For anyone who has been curious about what coaching is or who is also struggling to answer the question, "what do I call myself?" or "how do I describe what I do in a simple, easy to understand way?" this bonus episode is for you.  Learn More about Joanna Andreae of Wandering Wellness Wandering Wellness insta: @wanderingwellness Join her weekly mailing list here Joanna’s cover art photograph was taken by Les Mansour

What does it mean to live and be well? How can you do so while also fully owning your own sense of creative power? These are just a few of the questions that today's guest Joanna Andreae, the healer behind Wandering Wellness, ponders. You will hear about how Joanna pushed herself to the brink with the intensity and stress of her work and her job before realizing that there was - thank goodness! - another way. Today she works with what she describes as the multidimensional modern woman to help her find her own way through a mix of meditation, coaching, nutrition and support. Joanna is one of those special people that can make something unfamiliar feel comfortable. She and host Sharon both worked in sales and marketing at the same professional services firm before wending their way into entrepreneurial ventures of the heart. They both share what they learned from that experience and how they each prepared for making the entrepreneurial leap. Today's episode is a great fit for anyone curious about how to uncover

Visionary leadership isn’t just for corporate boardrooms - it is for everywhere. It can be satisfying sometimes to imagine getting to where we want to go all by ourselves, but that is not reality. To walk through the world is to interact with others - whether strangers or friends, colleagues or clients, skeptics or supporters. Visionary leadership is the essential skill to get us where we want to go, because it allows us to brings other along with us. Today we start with some context setting, exploring what visionary leadership is, where is shows up and what happens when it’s missing. We then turn our attention to how you can cultivate your own visionary leadership through linking your vision to the past, present and future, getting out of your own way, and tapping into your unique voice to share your vision with others. This week’s episode is a great fit for anyone who is looking to amplify his own vision or who is wondering how to take a vision and put it into a systems context.  “We are often the biggest

Only 19% of girls have a positive association with the phrase “Like a Girl.” Katey Comerford, Executive Director of Girls on the Run of NOVA, is a person out to change that. In today’s show we learn about this international organization focused on making girls strong and Katey’s own story of strong female leadership - where we discuss everything from how to find intellectual frameworks to put behind your work, visionary leadership, how to walk away from job, the value of taking an intentional pause from work and power of donating - both money and time. For anyone who has wondered how to marry impact and work or looking for inspiration on how to take a leap into the unknown, this episode is definitely for you.  “I didn’t take for granted that I would be able to find a job. I did take for granted that I would find my way. And I definitely trusted in that.” – Katey Comerford   Ideas Shared “I have a strong appreciation for the complications behind that laser focus. Because it is never as easy as the impact

Boundaries on work are increasingly blurring. We can work anytime and anywhere. And sometimes we want to. And sometimes we don’t. In this week’s episode, Sharon explores the question "when does work stop?" She reflects on the changing landscape of work (and how this is not a new phenomenon), provides tips for setting your own boundaries on work (because work stops when we decide to stop it) and offers up questions to push your own thinking about when and how you will choose to work. This is a great episode for anyone who might be looking for a reprieve from the demands of work, who might be leading an enterprise and looking for support for colleagues wondering how to find more balance or for anyone out there with the freedom (or desire!) to create your own schedule. Ultimately work stops being work when we stop seeing it that way. May you enjoy the process of choosing what you see.  “Now, more than ever, we are ‘designing’ our everyday lives to keep up with the hectic pace of modern life, while hoping to re

Emmanuel Yamoah is a person who defies the traditional approach. Not satisfied by what has always been, he’s always pushing for something more. As a young boy you might have found him deconstructing his sneakers to see what made them work. Today he leads a global Research and Development team at Duracell. He is an engineer, an artist, and a problem solver. He understands that to really drive product innovation, you have to start with personal innovation. This episode is a great fit for anyone curious how to go from idea to tangible product. His career also illustrates how you can create tremendous opportunities and growth for yourself working at the same organization. “It’s a constant iteration. It’s pushing and using those starting materials that you have and really figuring out how do you bring them all together. And there is no end solution because you’ve got to constantly evolve.” - Emmanuel Yamoah IDEAS SHARED “I can launch a product and then put it into the marketplace but it has to evolve to stay

Yes, magic exists. Inspired by this week's solar eclipse, host Sharon decided to share what she does to bring magic into her life. Learn her tricks for creating magic in her business from manifesting dream clients to the power of sitting with your palms facing up. Plus, there's poetry! This week's episode is a great fit for anyone to shake off logical thinking and get into the creative practice of tapping into the magic all around you.  RESOURCES AND LINKS Dallas Clayton’s books Make Magic! Do Good! and It’s Never Too Late Design Yourself 41:  On the Road with Aimee Rowe highlights the magic of the Camino de Santiago Go Beyond coloring + activity book Design Yourself 5: A Vision Meditation Design Yourself 29: Go Beyond – PRS Vision Cycle

This week Sharon shares one of the most helpful pieces of wisdom she’s ever received: “It’s more important to be present than prepared.” Learn how she has come to understand this adage over the years and how she’s added on to it as well. As part of this process, Sharon shares some questions you might consider if you find yourself holding on tightly to a desire to be in control and tips for bringing yourself back to centered awareness. May today’s episode steward you in stepping into your full presence, regardless of how well prepared you might feel.  Ideas Shared: Today’s show really focuses in on two core ideas: It is more important to be present than prepared. Everyone requires a different level of preparation to be present. As we discussed it is more important to be present than prepared, we also looked at two ways of stewarding this mindset: A) Letting go of control To aid this process, you might try and understand your impulse to control, but reflecting on questions like: What’s important to me about

Making a commitment can be daunting. Sometimes we get swept up in all the research we can do, even for some of our everyday decisions. Is this really THE best restaurant we could eat at on vacation? Is this THE movie we want to see? So when it comes to a longterm commitment, the pressure often rises. Is this really THE right job? THE right person? THE THING?! Host Sharon agrees with Sheryl Sandberg and Warren Buffet: Picking a life partner is one of the most important decisions we make in our lives. And this week she is delighted to be inviting her partner-in-crime (psst, hubby!) on the show to celebrate 10 years of being married. This episode is great for anyone who is curious about what it takes to sustain commitment to any one person (or thing!) while allowing for change and growth to still happen. Bonus: If you listen through to the end, you can meet Sharon and Colin’s 4 year old daughter who opted to make a surprise appearance on the show.  “Go with the interruptions.” – Sharon Lipovsky  “I truly beli

It’s a great accomplishment to achieve a critical goal. It can be all the more satisfying when that goal is to run a business you care about successfully. But it’s still just one outcome. Today’s episode focuses on for the sake of what. For the sake of what are you working hard to hit those goals. For the sake of what are you running your business. Sometimes our work gets us so heads down that we forget to lift up and make sure that all the effort is driving towards the kind of success that we really want. Using the lens of running a business, Sharon offers up questions to ground you in your for the sake of what and then offers how you can cascade this foundation into the way you run your business. This episode is a great fit for anyone who runs a small business or is dreaming about starting one. It will also speak to anyone who is looking for a little more alignment between your actions and your dreams.  Speaking of for the sake of what, here is a photo of a place that inspires my for the sake of what. Pssst

Inspiring others to trust and follow you takes more than great ideas or a stellar product or service. It takes executive presence. Executive presence communicates your authentic spirit in way that allows others to connect to you. It inspires and motivates. And it necessarily takes many different shapes and forms. Executive presence must be varied because at its core is the unique spirit of each of us. In today’s episode, Sharon clarifies what this often misunderstood term means and why it matters. Then she offers up 5 actions you can take to understand, define, and amplify your own executive presence.  IDEAS SHARED What is executive presence? Executive presence is the result of aligning your inner message and spirit with your exterior presentation – e.g. what you communicate through your words, body language, pace, pitch, and appearance. Why does it matter? Not  having executive presence means you can get skipped over for job promotions or not get hired by your ideal clients. Lacking executive presence means

Remember what it’s like to first start out in work? Our guest today doesn’t have to remember. She’s in it. Artist and educator Julia Lipovsky joins her sister Sharon to talk about what it’s like to find your voice and find a job. Hear how Julia paid attention to clues as she moved from a job to pay the bills to a job that inspires her soul. And how she put her art school education to work even when selling donuts. Julia is one of those people is wise beyond her years and this week’s episode is filled with both parts sisterly laughter and inspiration. This is definitely one to tune into if you are trying to find your own voice. “It’s a slow burn, it’ll come together. But there’s a lot of pushback when you feel yourself that things aren’t moving fast enough…when you know you have a lot to offer and give but you just don’t know how yet.” – Julia Lipovsky “To me leading a well-designed life are when your passions and your routines find a way to intersect.” – Julia Lipovsky Julia graduates! Sisters Elaine an