A Conversation with Auti
Award winning singer/songwriter and PMM Artist/Brand Ambassador Auti Gillispie shares with us her journey as an emerging artist and how she uses her music platform to drive awareness around suicide prevention and to promote anti-bullying campaigns.
Auti reveals the story that drove her to become a mental health advocate and the message she wants to share through her music. In this episode, our listeners will be truly inspired by the courage and mission of this incredible young woman.
00:00 Auti explains how she got involved in mental health advocacy
4:09 Auti and Sandy discuss Auti’s personal and artistic influences, and how they contribute to her personal wellness
10:27 Auti tells the story of how her fanbase began with a viral video
14:18 Auti discusses how spending time in nature allows her to separate herself from the music for a mental break
18:26 Auti details how her musicianship has developed throughout the years on piano
22:01 Auti tell us what she wants people to get from her music
23:18 The discussion switches to Auti’s partnership with Pivotal Moments Media, and her future endeavors
27:00 Sandy asks, “what’s one piece of advice that really drives you?”
28:43 Auti thanks the audience
Creating Gateways Through Self Awareness - Part 2
“Ask those emotions, before you push away, what is this trying to tell me?” We are back with Miki Goerdt, clinical social worker, board-certified art therapist and owner of Emerald Leaf Counseling LLC! In part two of this conversation, Miki dives further into the subject of self-awareness and how it helps to guide our choices.
She also discusses the impact of culture, the importance of understanding the messages tucked into our emotions and why we may need to refrain from always having to define where we are on the mental wellness continuum. Plus, we can’t forget about art! As an accomplished artist, Miki shares the benefits of a regular art-inspired regimen.
GUESTS SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miki-goerdt-a61808157
Personal Website: https://www.mikigoerdt.com/
Emerald Leaf Counseling Website: https://www.emeraldleafcc.com/
00:00 Jenn jumps right into Part 2, beginning the show with a very important question for Miki
06:16 Jenn and Miki discuss how culture affects human relation
09:12 Miki discusses how self awareness can lend power to making choices
12:26 Miki tells us why the term “mental fitness” may be inappropriate
20:14 Miki reminds us that we may not always need to define how we feel or where we are on the mental wellness continuum
22:32 Jenn and Miki discuss how a regular art practice regimen assists with her personal self-awareness
25:51 Miki reminds the audience, “each emotion has a message for you”
QUOTES MENTIONED:
“…become self-aware of the function of guilt and shame.” – M
“None of us, as a person, are actually detached from the environment we are surrounded by.” – M
“I think that it’s really important to be attached to your culture.” – J
“To make a choice is empowering.” – M
“I happen to think, emotions [can’t] become people.” – M
“You are here, and emotions are actually not you – it’s just something here that you have.” – M
“You can be attached to that anxious person you were, but it doesn’t mean that you have to be anxious your whole life. You have choices.”
“Resiliency, in my book, is defined as pain transformed into strength.” – M
“Mental wellness and resiliency come from collectivistic places for me, and for many of the people who are from marginalized communities.” – M
“In therapy sessions, the power is in the client’s hands to decide.” – M
“Each emotion has a message for you.” – M
“Ask those emotions, before you push away, what is this trying to tell me?” – M
BOOKS MENTIONED:
Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help YouFind – and Keep – Love by Amir Levin
https://www.amazon.com/Amir-Levine/e/B003XYKDYS/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1
Championship Traits For Life - Christopher Lee
Our guest today, Christopher Lee has more than 25 years of experience in political consulting, campaign management, Communications, and developing marking materials for candidates, national political party committees, and labor organizations.
Chris is a partner with Foresight Strategic and is an expert in political strategy, issue advocacy, and media relations and has worked with top government officials, businesses, and teams around the country.
Life After the Military: LTC (Retired) Ken Patterson
Listen to this awesome new Life After the Military episode with our good friend and exceptional leader, LTC (Ret) Ken Patterson, if you want to have a low stress, high success transition to the private sector.
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Listen to this awesome new Life After the Military episode with our good friend and exceptional leader, LTC (Ret) Ken Patterson, if you want to have a low stress, high success transition to the private sector.
Ken shares some absolute gold nuggets for all transitioning veterans.
Learn how Ken did the following:
- Made his transition planning a part-time job!
- Created a plan – just like a strategic military operation – with specified and implied tasks!
- Took the time to educate himself to figure out what he wanted to do and where he want to do it!
- How he answered two really tough interview questions and absolutely nailed them to the wall!
- Conceptualized and built his own highly successful medical consulting business!
If you watch/listen to this episode and apply the lessons learned from Ken Patterson, you will be well on your way to a highly successful and very low stress transition!
00:00 Introduction to Ken Patterson
2:38 Ken discusses his experience with transitioning to the private sector after 21 years of military service, focusing on his use of professional resume-writers
11:11 Ken details the primary tasks he focused on while preparing for this transition – updating his resume, creating a planned strategy for his transition, and educating himself
18:25 The discussion shifts to the extreme importance of doing the work to have a smooth transition
21:40 Ken and Howie respond to Lee’s question – what was the mental process behind your extreme focus and successful transition?
27:04 Howie discusses how ego can negatively influence a veteran’s mindstate when preparing for transition
33:45 Ken tells the story of how his career in the private sector began through a series of extremely memorable interviews
35:42 Ken’s gift of making strong connections leads to award-winning success within the first few years of landing the role
52:26 Ken tells the audience about his motivations for starting his company, True North Advantage, what it took to get started, and where it’s headed
1:03 Lee hilariously names Ken’s future biography
1:05 Ken explains how keeping a consistent schedule, spending time with loved ones, mentoring and journaling all contribute to how he flexes his mental fitness
1:11 Lee closes the show
A Discussion of Atlas of the Heart with Beth Shaha, Part 4
Sandy and Certified Master Life Coach, Beth Shaha continue the discussion of Atlas of The Heart by Brene Brown.
This discussion focuses on what you feel when you start to compare yourself to others and how it can impact your mental fitness.
00:00 Introduction to Brene Brown and the book
1:52 Sandy opens with Brene Brown’s list of 87 emotions and experiences
5:20 The discussion centers on Chapter 7: “Places We Go With Others”, noting the key feelings compassion, empathy, pity, and sympathy
7:37 Beth chimes in on what’s missing when we relate to each other emotionally, “being curious about the backstory”
12:44 Sandy and Beth discuss helping others in a healthy manner
16:20 Beth and Sandy discuss the limits of human perspective, leading into a deep discussion on boundaries
27:11 “Places We Go When We Fall Short” – guilt, shame, perfectionism, embarrassment, humiliation to self compassion
28:36 Beth and Sandy discuss their thinking around guilt and shame
36:13 Sandy reads an excerpt from the book, prompting a shift to the topic of perfectionism and how it can be harmful
41:14 Beth and Sandy discusses Chapter 9: “Places We Go When We Search For Connection”
47:22 Beth implores the audience to care about the wellbeing of others
53:40 Beth and Sandy close the show
WIN: Championship Traits For Life - Mark Rypien
Championship moments are often frozen in time via photos, video and achievement. However, they are just a moment. The road leading up to and the road after those moments are often filled with adversity, controversy and sacrifice. This week’s guest, 2x Super Bowl champion and MVP Mark Rypien has traveled both roads with grace and class.
Mark is a two-time Super Bowl Champion and the MVP of Super Bowl 26 with Washington Redskins. Those accolades are accompanied with an illustrious career in the NFL and with his philanthropic work in his post-playing career.
Life After the Military: Second Class Petty Officer Alfredo Torres
Are you missing 1000 moments thinking you have 1000 more?
Are you letting your arrogance prevent a low-stress and highly successful transition from the military?
Do you like to drink a cup of coffee to relax, expand your network and develop trusted relationships with others?
Do you suffer from PTS, depression, or have suicidal thoughts?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, meet former Petty Officer Two Alfredo Torres!
In this episode of Life After the Military, Howie and Lee talk with Alfredo about the work he does with the Virginia Department of Veteran Services as a Military Transition Regional Coordinator transitioning veterans.
Alfredo transparently and courageously talks about his problematic transition and how he overcomes his depressive tendencies.
Alfredo is a fun-loving, caring, bear of a man who cares deeply about helping all veterans plan, prepare, and execute a highly successful transition. If you listen to Alfredo and heed his advice, guidance, and mentoring – you will be well on your way to that outcome!
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alfredotorres1/
Virginia Department of Veteran Services: http://www.dvs.virginia.gov/
Alfredo’s Sunday Coffee: Sundays from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM EDT: connect with Alfredo
Torres (alfredo.torres@dvs.virginia.gov) or Hope White (linkedin.com/in/hopefulspeaking) to get a link to join the conversation
0:00 Lee opens the podcast
00:30 Lee introduces Alfredo Torres
03:07 Alfredo talks about his departure from the Navy, his troubled transition
experience and his arrogance
06:25 Alfredo shares how he mentors and advises men and women to transition to their life after of the military
19:40 Alfredo discusses the stressors transitioning military members face and dispels many rumors and toxic perceptions they have and listen to
26:52 Howie reinforces the value of connecting to men and women like Alfredo and other Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs) for help
28:02 Lee, Howie and Alfredo talk about the high rate of veteran suicide and how problematic transitions significantly add to this problem
31:09 Lee, Howie and Alfredo tackle the challenge veterans face with losing their community, tribe and sense of purpose and the need to replace them quickly
28:44 Alfredo talks about the importance of building trusted relationships + translating their skills/experience into language that employers and recruiters understand
41:58 Alfredo describes Alfredo’s Coffee House, a networking event he holds for transitioning service members on Sunday afternoons
47:06 Lee gives Alfredo his book title
52:08 Alfredo shares transparently and courageously about his challenges with PTS, depression, and suicidal ideations and what he does to manage them
56:19 Howie and Alfredo talk about the need for transitioning veterans to be OK with asking for help
1:04:17 Lee closes out the episode
A Discussion of Atlas of the Heart with Beth Shaha, Part 3
Sandy and Certified Master Life Coach, Beth Shaha continue the discussion of Atlas of The Heart by Brene Brown. This discussion focuses on what you feel when you start to compare yourself to others and how it can impact your mental fitness.
Creating Gateways Through Self Awareness - Part 1
“Are you as a therapist able to understand people’s pain in a real sense? Without that ability where are you going with that therapy session?” Miki Goerdt, clinical social worker, board-certified art therapist, owner of Emerald Leaf Counseling LLC and artist, joins the podcast to share the influences that shape our paths to self-awareness.
In part one of this conversation, she discusses her many roles and interests and chats with Jenn about the lived experiences that have shaped her approach as an artist and therapist. From personal loss to her journey as a Japanese immigrant, Miki dives into how she learned to help clients dissect the roots of their own thoughts, emotions and responses.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miki-goerdt-a61808157
Personal Website: https://www.mikigoerdt.com/
Emerald Leaf Counseling Website: https://www.emeraldleafcc.com/
00:00 Introduction
1:10 Miki introduces herself to the Pivotal Moments audience, detailing her background and connection to art therapy
3:29 Miki explains how a deep personal loss pushed her further into art, prompting Jenn to relay her own personal experience with the same life change
6:47 The discussion shifts to how therapists deal with empathy vs. compassion
7:55 Miki discusses self awareness through the lens of therapy, noting that self awareness is often the goal
11:01 Representations of how emotions translate to the tangible
12:50 Jenn and Miki discuss self awareness as a gateway to self exploration
15:13 Miki explains how her personal journey as a Japanese immigrant to America lead to her influenced and shaped her self awareness
Quotes Mentioned:
“These kinds of experiences give people what it’s like to feel pain.” – M
“Are you as a therapist able to understand people’s pain in a real sense? Without that ability, where are you going with that therapy session?”- M
“Compassion and empathy are two things where you also have to hold space for your client or patient, but at the same time you have to also hold your boundary.” – J
“I am one of those people who crave self exploration.” – J
“It takes perspective to have self awareness.” – J
“What is it that we are actually getting from coming into therapy sessions? That’s self awareness.” – M
“I start cultivating self awareness from dissecting or really kind of understanding emotions.” – M
“How did you learn to think that way? Who taught you that or what environment taught you that? … Because there’s a history and way that you lived your life that led to that thinking pattern.” – M
“What’s the function of this emotion? What is it trying to tell you? – M
“You don’t have to wake up and be happy everyday.” – J
“You can move forward once you address what’s down here.” – J
Books Mentioned:
Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help YouFind – and Keep – Love by Amir Levin
https://www.amazon.com/Amir-Levine/e/B003XYKDYS/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1
WIN: Championship Traits For Life - Vince Papale
When you’re chasing a dream, the only one who can tell you that you’re done – is you. While there may be many moments and obstacles that make you want to stop pursuing what may seem impossible, those that succeed have the will deep inside that whispers, “hold on.”
You may know Vince Papale as the subject of the Disney movie “Invincible,” starring Mark Wahlberg, which shares his story of conquering incredible odds to walk onto the Philadephia Eagles. For some, Vince is known as the man that made them believe that dreams can come true if you’re willing to believe in yourself.
His life is well documented online, on tv, and in the film – but our goal with this episode is to dive deeper into what makes Vince, “Vince,” and what we can learn from him to become better people for tomorrow.
