Allison Hare: Fun Februarys and Life Learning

As Host Chris Schembra reminds us at the close of this episode of Gratitude Through Hard Times, it’s never too late to learn something new – IF we’re willing to take a pause, step back and offer ourselves grace. And few people embody this practice more vividly than his guest, Allison Hare, who is redefining what it looks like to be a so-called late bloomer. As the host of “Late Learner,” a popular podcast (formerly known as Culture Changers) that explores what it means to open up to new things at any stage of life, she encourages us to embrace spontaneity, authenticity and the unexpected. Having grown up programmed from childhood to be hard-charging, self-supporting and financially aspirational, Allison spent many years as a highly successful sales executive. Problem was, over time, the path she was on was depleting her – and burning through her creative energy. It wasn’t easy to shake everything up and risk her secure status quo, but the outcome is undeniable. This is a woman who radiates joy and positivity. Today she is sharing that source of light by helping her clients, seminar participants and podcast listeners to get similarly unstuck. “It was an insane leap of faith when I made the decision not to make any decisions for the foreseeable future, until I could hear my own voice,” says Allison. She’s inviting us to much the same: Pause, get quiet and make space for that inner knowing and the integration of gratitude. Are you ready to celebrate not just goals achieved, but the journey itself? This conversation will give you great ideas and tips for doing exactly that!Check out Allison’s upcoming Calm in the Chaos retreat experience or book a free discovery call with her at this link.If you’d like to learn more about Chris and his 7:47 Virtual Gratitude Experience, please visit this link. And click here to listen to previous episodes of Gratitude Through Hard Times, featuring Fortune 500 CEOs, Academy Award winners, Grammy Award winners, Superbowl champions and more! KEY TOPICS:Love/Hate: Allison loves being a host and invites guests on her show based on a gut instinct. What she least likes? When she comes across as … less than her sharpest!Mirroring as a Tool to Create More Meaningful Connection: About the neurological impact that occurs when you repeat the last three words spoken by the person with whom you’re in conversation. It makes them feel authentically heard!Signature Question Time: If you could give credit or thanks to one person in your life that you don’t give enough credit or thanks to – that you’ve never thought to thank – who would that be? Herself! It feels self-indulgent but it’s true, and a source of struggle.Cultural reasons why we can be so resistant to feeling gratitude towards ourselves:Gendered upbringing that emphasizes modesty for women.Biblical emphasis on not being boastful.Social norms that frown upon being “conceited.”I’ll-Be-Grateful-When Syndrome: By tying our ability to feel gratitude and be happy to achieving certain metrics we set for ourselves tends to undermine good feeling available to us all along the journey.Comparing your success to the success of others is a recipe for perpetual ingratitude.Allison’s Gratitude Inventory:Rest, pause and reflection.Taking the time and space to get quiet enough to hear her own voice.Consciously detaching from deeply ingrained messages that did not serve.Claiming freedom.The No. 1 Testimonial from Participants in Chris’s Gratitude Experience: This was a space for me to pause, reflect and connect. Clarity is self-empowering!Words of Wisdom: Let it be easy! Move towards places with the least resistance.Allison’s New Direction:Her successful “Culture Changers” podcast has been rebranded “Late Learners.”She’s leaning into sharing her journey out of corporate America and into self-discovery and lifelong learning.The new roadmap is a work in progress whose DNA is a sense of wonder.It’s all about the question: What can happen when you head in a new direction?A focus on teaching herself and others to take a brand new path – or embark on no path at all and just see what comes along!A sense of wonder and surprise prepares the way for unexpected delight.Feeling Stuck? Try This Simple Exercise: Break out of routine and instead pursue an “unplanned plan,” opening up to something new or spontaneous! (Chris and Allison share a very recent such adventure and how it lit them up!) QUOTABLE“The thing that once got you in trouble is also the thing that helps you out so much – being a good mirror of what’s happening.” (Chris) “In my head, if I’m not further along (my entrepreneurial journey) then I don’t have a right to trust me yet … and in the process give up my own power.” (Allison) “What an interesting thing that we as a society as a whole are so bad at giving ourselves gratitude.” (Chris) “It’s very easy when you have big goals and big dreams … to measure your progress or happiness or gratitude on whether you’ve achieved that or not.” (Chris) “My value was truly wrapped around my productivity, my earning, my ability to stand on my own two feet without a man … and it was an insane leap of faith when I made the decision not to make any decisions for the foreseeable future, until I could hear my own voice.” (Allison) “One of the biggest lessons over the past (almost) year is that the harder I run, the harder I get yanked back … It’s almost like I’m trying to microwave something that requires baking.” (Allison) “Money and prosperity and all of those things don’t have to be exclusive to something that I hate. It’s just finding the right combination and giving myself freedom and space to figure out and listen to my body.” (Allison) “My mission has always been, If you feel like you’re stuck, it doesn’t mean that you have to quit your job … but it does mean taking a new path, a new pivot, a new direction.” (Allison) RELEVANT LINKS/FURTHER RESOURCES:"Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as If Your Life Depended On it,"by Chris Voss."Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones,"by James Clear.Perfect locale for an “unplanned plan”: Just Add Honey. ABOUT OUR GUEST:Allison helps Entrepreneurs, Executives, and Business Professionals Disrupt the Status Quo so that they can create a better tomorrow. She’s also a podcast host and producer, most recently at the Late Learner Podcast, which is ranked top 1.5% worldwide and was voted the Top Podcast in Atlanta Magazine of Dec 2022. She also authors the Allison's Journal blog,  FOLLOW ALLISON:WEBSITE | LINKEDIN | TWITTER|INSTAGRAM ABOUT OUR HOST:Chris Schembra is a philosopher, question asker and facilitator. He's a columnist at Rolling Stone magazine, USA Today calls him their "Gratitude Guru" and he's spent the last six years traveling around the world helping people connect in meaningful ways. As the offshoot of his #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling book, "Gratitude Through Hard Times: Finding Positive Benefits Through Our Darkest Hours,"he uses this podcast to blend ancient stoic philosophy and modern-day science to teach how the principles of gratitude can be used to help people get through their hard times. FOLLOW CHRIS:WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | LINKEDIN | BOOKS