Make Life Less Difficult Lisa Tilstra

My guest today is Andrea Barton.

Andrea is the author of The Godfather of Dance, A Jade Riley Mystery. The second book in the series will be out in late 2024.

I met Andrea through Nicole Webb who has been on my podcast and am so grateful for the connection!

An electrical engineer turned career consultant, Andrea spent 12 years enjoying the exhilaration and dislocation of life as an expat spouse. With her husband and two sons, she lived in Nigeria, USA and Qatar before repatriating to Australia, where she commutes between Melbourne and Mansfield. Along the way, she developed a passion for ballroom and Latin dance, helped to build a school, got bogged in both the Doha and Australian deserts, and had an accidental hallucinogenic experience in Peru.

In our conversation Andreas shares pieces of her own journey of becoming a writer, of digging into storytelling from the angle of a writer, a dancer, an editor.  She shares a great framework towards the end of our conversation which is also part of a blog and if you want to see the visuals, there are links in the show notes.

Andrea, thank you for sharing your stories here!  Thank you for your courage, creativity, and humor.  You are inspiring and wise, and our conversation here has made me spend more time writing.  So, thanks for that!

To find Andrea’s books, more about her and her work, and the link to the blog and story framework, check out the links below.
  
Andrea Barton, Author website
The Why, How, and What of Storytelling (blog and story framework)


 
Make Life Less Difficult

My guest today is Joan Fletcher.

Joan is the founder of Winning Ways and as an executive leadership coach, she’s dedicated more than 30 years of her life to empowering high performing leaders and their teams to achieve remarkable personal and professional outcomes.

I met Joan through a kind introduction made by Shannon Cochran-Yzquierdo, who’s been on my podcast several times, sharing her amazing stories.  Thank you for this wonderful connection, Shannon!

Joan is the author of The Leadership Evolution, which is based on her decades of work and experiences.  She zeros in on the one thing that can help leaders go from “just okay” to truly effective.

In our conversation today, Joan shares this key, self-awareness, and a some reflections to deepen our self-awareness in profound ways. 

Joan, thank you so very much for this conversation.  Thank you for sharing these pieces of your story, the wisdom with which you approach your work and life, and thank you for the inspirational questions and reflections… I’m still pondering them and soaking them in.

You’ll find links below to learn more about Joan and her work, as well as her book!

Joan's Website

The Leadership Evolution book and programs




Make Life Less Difficult

My guest today is Bethany Cerella.

Bethany is a stay-at-home mother, Pilates instructor and lifelong learner. Growing up in a Navy family and later a military spouse, Bethany has spent half of her life outside the United States, living in South Korea, Australia, Germany, England and now in Italy. Bethany homeschooled her twins until they were ten, teaching her kids to read and taking them on “travel-school” camping adventures across Europe.

Bethany studied studio art at Randolph-Macon Woman's College and New York University. Since then she has studied several wellness modalities, including yoga, energy healing, nutrition and functional anatomy. She is now pursing a doctoral degree in Integrative Health at the American College of Healthcare Sciences and enrolled in Georgetown University’s Health and Wellness coaching program.

Bethany is also the spouse of Tony Cerella, who has been a guest on the podcast sharing his journey of retiring from the US Military.  It was through my conversations with Tony that I learned pieces of Bethany’s story and wanted to invite her to come on the podcast.

I’m so grateful Bethany said yes, as this conversation is inspiring and reflective and Bethany’s stories are stories of determination, courage, and strength throughout difficult times.

Bethany, thank you so very much for sharing these pieces of your journey.  Thank you for your authenticity, vulnerability, and courage.  You are a great storyteller and I can’t wait to see where this next phase of life takes you!
 
Make Life Less Difficult

Today’s conversation is a delight to share with you.

It’s a conversation with four of us talking about health, fitness, nutrition, and the challenge of figuring out what makes it all a little less difficult.

One of the things that makes this conversation unique is that my friend Hillery Midkiff is hosting and asking the questions.  This entire conversation was originally Hillery’s idea, and she does a great job of leading us.

Along with Hillery, Susie Csorsz Brown (who was my guest here on episode 10) and Morgan Loosli, are here.  They are both dear friends who are part of the Foreign Service world.  I met all three of these amazing women while living in Sri Lanka from 2020-2023.

We recorded this conversation knowing it would be shared on several different podcast platforms which is another unique and fun aspect to it.  So, if you happen to listen to The Big Purple Blob Podcast, you’ll find it there, as well as the HealthyExpatParent’s Podcast.

As you’ll hear, we don’t have all the answers, but we hope that by sharing our own experiments with health/wellness/fitness, you’ll find inspiration and courage to try your own experiments and find a little less difficulty in your journey.

Thank you so much to Hillery, Susie, and Morgan!  Being in conversation with you all is energizing and inspiring and fun!!



Make Life Less Difficult

My guests today are Kris Burbank and Dr. Linda Hoopes.
Kris and Linda are the authors of the book, Embracing Another Normal: Resilience Stories and Strategies for Raising Children with Disabilities.

Kris is a returning guest on my podcast.  You can hear more of her story on episode 39.  She is a Leadership Coach, who among many other things, works with parents of children with disabilities, helping them maneuver the ins and outs of a journey they may not have expected.

Linda is an award-winning author and researcher on personal resilience.  Her company is Resilience Alliance and she has created a powerful model called Prosilience (also the title of one of her books), that is about calming yourself, choosing strategies, solving problems, and managing energy.

Together, they weave these four pillars of prosilience with the six fundamental challenges of raising children with disabilities into this impactful book.  They share stories of how parents and families have navigated these challenges and provide a framework for connecting successful strategies to the key building blocks of resilience.

I’m honored to host this conversation with the two of them here and know you will be touched and inspired in your own journey.

Kris and Linda, thank you for spending this time with me.  Thank you for sharing your personal stories, the stories of brave families you’ve worked with, and for sharing the wisdom and insights you’ve developed, gained, and created to make the world a better place.

You’ll find links in the show notes to learn more about Kris and Linda, find their book, Embracing Another Normal, as well as links to their websites and other resources.
 
Connect with Kris: https://www.krisburbank.com
Connect with Linda: https://resiliencealliance.com
Linda's Substack: https://prosilience.substack.com/
 
Embracing Another Normal: Resilience Stories and Strategies for Raising Children with Disabilities



Make Life Less Difficult

My guest today is David Lapin.

David is the founder of Lapin International.  He’s one of the world’s leading thinkers in the fields of leadership and business transformation.

I was honored to meet David through Susan Sjolund, a dear friend and colleague who has also been a guest on the podcast (episode 122). 

David is a scholar, speaker, columnist, and author of the book Lead by Greatness.   His humanist philosophy of leadership, known as Lead by Greatness, was forged in the turbulent post-Apartheid period in his native South Africa. During this time, in collaboration with Nelson Mandela’s government and an assembly of influential business leaders, David drafted one of the world’s first formal codes of corporate ethics which is still in practice today.

Over the past two decades he’s worked in some of the world’s most intricate corporate and cultural contexts, deploying his unique approach to leadership development which has been proven to unlock clarity and provide measurable business results.

David’s experience and wisdom is profound.  The conversation we have here has touched me deep in my soul and left me pondering and sharing his insights with almost everyone.  We discuss the distinctions of image versus identity, hardship of the soul which humans are experiences as the external world becomes more comfortable, choosing moments of comfort to be peppered into the discomfort that is part of choosing to pursue growth, and more.

David, thank you for your time, your reflections, your depth of wisdom.  Being in conversation with you here left me feeling that I had the great fortune of spending time in the presence of Greatness because you embody the Greatness you are inviting others into.

Please find links to David’s website below:  
Lapin International Website
Make Life Less Difficult