All Up in It with coach SB Rawz

About Angela Fontaine | 8 ½ pieces of a Russian nesting doll, mom, coach, consultantAs an ICF Certified Coach, Consultant, and ELI Master Practitioner, Angela possesses knowledge in multiple fields and industries. She has over ten years of experience focusing on transition and managing change in various sectors. Angela believes that the strength of an organization lies in its ability to hold space for diverse thought and experience, as well as its ability to welcome change while staying focused on its vision and purpose. She is a lifelong student of philosophy and theology. Her passion for these disciplines has deepened her understanding of the fundamental questions that shape our lives. This intellectual curiosity infuses her coaching and consulting work, allowing her to guide clients toward self-discovery and personal transformation. Her family's roots are as dynamic as her professional background, providing her with many experiences and a mosaic of diverse perspectives. www.seraphstrategies.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelafontainecpc/ @angela_fontaine_coaching facebook.com/seraphstrategiesllcAngela Highlighted Southside ReLeaf aims to educate the community on environmental justice and increase green spaces in the area and the state! Learn more at: Southside ReLeaf*** All Up in It is a project by coach SB Rawz focused on telling stories of growth and change from the thick of learning. Learn more about SB, coaching with her, & her projects at https://rawzcoaching.com

About Anela Seliskar Barboza | She/They/ʻOia, coach, Anela is a Somatic, Transformation, and Leadership Coach and Mentor Coach. She is deeply committed to creating a safe and loving container for exploring questions of identity, culture, race, relationship to place/home, and resiliency as a means of personal transformation and healing. Anela’s perspective has been shaped by her experience as a diasporic kanaka maoli, born and raised away from her home, culture, and into assimilation. Impacted by cultural isolation, her personal transformation included Somatics as a means to healing the cord that connected family to land and to one another. In 2022, she returned her family back home and lives full-time on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi, in the sunbelt of Keaau, Puna. Learn more at https://www.anelabarboza.com/. In lieu of a specific non-profit, Anela invited us all to learn about the peoples who lived on our land before colonization and find out: Where are they now and how can we serve them now?*** All Up in It is a project by coach SB Rawz focused on telling stories of growth and change from the thick of learning. Learn more about SB, coaching with her, & her projects at https://rawzcoaching.com***Key moments in the conversation include……how Anela describes herself as a human:Humaning in progress, constantly working to arrive in a basic outline while leaving room for growthSomeone exploring how all the versions of self can coalesce into one formA multi-racial person of color with mixed ancestry and deeply rooted in her Hawaiian heritage, raised on the assimilated mainland…what Anela is all up in:Two years into coming home to Hawaii and noticing who she is in this context that she’s craved for so long – including the logistics of moving and making home of a place and the intuitive/instinctive acts of connecting with placeNavigating being invited into rooms exploring diversity while having to confront Model Minority biases and the desires of those in power for her to be somehow responsible for their emotions – to provide more in the form of soothing rather than growth-oriented challengingGrowing a business that is inherently inseparable from Anela as a person while also experiencing the exhaustion of being in primarily white, cis-gender, heteronormative spacesFinding rest in community, with people who welcome her unmasked selfLiving at a time when the Hawaiian language is being revived and, along with it, the oral history of that part of her heritage…her tools include:Learning, in academic settings but also farther afield, particularly experiential learningThe longitudinal view of her heritage, into and before Hawaii Being in a place where her brown skin is more “normal,” a place where her nervous system can settle more fully than when she was living on the American continent…the non-profit she chose to highlight was:Learn the land you’re on, who the indigenous people are who lived on the land before colonization, where they are now, and how you might serve them even in some small way. (I used this website years ago to discover that I live and work on Tutelo land.)

About Eric Larson |Coach, coach supervisor, musician, crying-on-the-inside clownBy vocation, Eric is a Mental Health Coach and a Mental Health Coach Supervisor. He's been doing this for long enough that he starts to feel old when he thinks about it. By avocation(s): Eric is a sometimes singer-songwriter, sometimes theater artist, sometimes cross-stitch enthusiast, sometimes long-distance walker, and ... lots of other stuff.Eric highlighted The Mattering Movement, an organization shaped around answering the questions: What can we do to combat the pandemic of loneliness and despair that are harming our youth? How can we combat today’s widespread mattering deficit? Learn more at https://www.thematteringmovement.com/*** All Up in It is a project by coach SB Rawz focused on telling stories of growth and change from the thick of learning. Learn more about SB, coaching with her, & her projects at https://rawzcoaching.com***Key moments in the conversation include……how Eric describes himself as a human:Understanding himself as patterns set in motion way back then and that the more he explores the things that set other things in motion, the richer he becomes. We noticed together that this is akin to karma, the complex original version, not the snappy bumper sticker versionHe finds this exploration one that will always be a deep mystery yet still worthy of explorationEric parsed out the cause from the meaning, noticing that they’re interconnected and both important yet unique from one another …what Eric is all up in:He describes himself, too, as compulsively always asking the big questions like the core question that he circles around, “What the hell is going on around here?”Making theater and healing from complex traumaThe theater is maybe about an exploration of his mother’s death from Alzheimer’s in a co-creative and playful process with a creative partner; he’s not sure what this project will do for him but he knows he wants the audience to feel their hearts break while they are genuinely laughing, akin to the tradition of the tragic clown…his tools include:Relationship and the coming together regularly beyond his usual habits of cutting and runningSimilarly: crawling toward what he wants to run fromWe noticed together that collaboration is counter to the popular story that creativity et al is accomplished by brilliant individuals working alone

About Sarah Hines | Firekeeper, grief advocate, parent, friendSarah has spent 25 years serving those that end of life. She has learned so much from the people she has served and has determined that it's not grief we need to heal but our relationship to it, that community care is self-care and that death belongs in the hands of love. you can find her work at www.griefadvocacy.comSarah highlighted The National Home Funeral Alliance. They support people in creating funerals and burials that are more personal, intimate, ecologically-sound, and financially accessible where legal.*** Key moments in the conversation include……how Sarah describes herself as a human:She’s a firekeeper, in a lodge, stirring a pot, a little inward, waiting for people to come to sit down by the fire and have some soup and have a conversation about whatever comes upSomeone who has the ability to hold onto the space where others are supposed to beUntil recently, she’s felt like a gatherer of wood. About a year ago, she started feeling a sense that it’s time to stop gathering and make the fireWho sees other people as integral to her self-discover process, that it’s in interacting with others that have guided her to what wood to gather and fire to start…what Sarah is all up in:Her company, Grief Advocacy, is about building a relationship with grief such that we can see it as a reminder of what is importance to usWriting her love letter – her legacy – to all of the things that are super important to her and that grief has taught her. This is the fire she’s buildingLegacy, to Sarah, is how we be in the world, how we interact with others and that we don’t always know what it’s going to be. She shares a moving story of her best friend, who died unexpectedly in 2015, and how her legacy in Sarah’s life shows upHow going to the edge of our knowledge, understanding, comfort is where we find the next learning, the next experimentSarah distinguishes between the discomfort of Wrong Direction! and the discomfort of Something New through intuition…her tools include:Community for the external processing including networkingWritingSpending time in the past, even if it slips into rumination, including with the legacy of her ancestorsA light touch on the future, holding onto what’s most important to herAn expansive definition of griefSurrounding herself with people and ideas that are wildly diverse to create healthy adversity, focusing on having really great conversations rather than changing minds…the non-profit he chose to highlight was:The National Home Funeral Alliance. They support people in creating funerals and buriers that are more personal, intimate, ecologically-sound, and financially accessible where legal.

Key moments in the conversation include……how Kim describes himself as a human:Kim explains himself as a realist, someone who’s not “all that important” in the grand scheme of things – but in the same breath, it’s all about him!While Kim may not think himself very important, he strives to add value of his own to the worldHe may be messy, but that’s just being human!…what Kim is all up in:After 25 years, Kim is going through an amicable separation from his partner – as a family mediator who doesn’t see many friendly proceedings, he’s glad to find his interactions throughout the process have been pleasant (though, of course, painful as well)It’s never too late to discover yourself, and Kim’s been relearning his identity and his feelings through resurfaced symptoms of griefKim has been taking the time to reconnect with friends from previous years as he gets older, realizing time is precious and some people may not have much leftHe’s rediscovering the world by visiting places he’s been to, but viewing them in a new light as an older, wiser personKim is moving outside his comfort zone for new experiences!…his tools include:His “PBS” moments – pause, breathe, sense. For Kim, this means being in-tune with himself!His own form of meditation, which he practices at stoplights! He takes micro-moments throughout the day to notice and feel his surroundings, to be connected with himself and the EarthKim notes his feelings first as a physical sensation, then dives deeper to discover the emotion associated  …the non-profit he chose to highlight was:The South West Virginia Wildlife Center, which focuses on rehabilitating injured wildlife and reintroducing them to the wild! The Center gladly accepts aid in the form of volunteer work and donations. Kim also mentions Planned Parenthood, a wonderful resource for men and women looking for reproductive services regarding reduced-cost birth control and pregnancy resources, as well as life-saving cancer screenings and standard check-ups. 

To say that Mike Childress is all up in both grief and the evolution of his business would suggest that either of those are new and novel for him. After many years of friendship, what I’ve learned about Mike – and what he shares so beautifully in this conversation – is that though he is well-versed in both (having lost his father when Mike was 13 and started his business over a decade ago), he’s always actively learning about both, and that integral to his learning is his Christian faith.  ***About Mike Childress |Christian, husband, father, professional in marketing and securityMike Childress, a grateful husband and father of four, places faith and family at the core of his life. Founder of Agile Marketing Collective, he's celebrating a decade of steering the agency with a deep commitment to delivering client-focused solutions. Mike's professional journey began at the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he delved into computer-aided design, coding, and web design. After serving ten years in the Army, Mike transitioned to corporate America, learning from industry experts at a Fortune 500 company.In early 2023, Mike further expanded his professional repertoire by founding Shield Strategic Defense, an active shooter training and prevention consultancy. This venture underlines his ongoing commitment to protecting innocent lives and safeguarding communities. Though Mike remains deeply passionate about technology and elegant design, his hobbies reveal his life's true joys: quality time with his family, road biking, photography, and a never-ending playlist of music. He's made Roanoke, VA, his home and the backdrop against which he continues to explore personal growth, business innovation, and community involvement.Mike highlighted a non-profit program in which he and his family are deeply involved, Safe Families for Children. Safe Families for Children seeks to keep children safe and families together. Safe Families for Children is rooted in faith, fueled by radical hospitality, disruptive generosity, and intentional compassion, to build a network of caring and compassionate volunteers to support families facing social isolation. Our goals are to prevent child abuse and neglect, reduce the number of children entering the child welfare system, and support and stabilize families.*** All Up in It is a project by coach SB Rawz focused on telling stories of growth and change from the thick of learning. Learn more about SB, coaching with her, & her projects at https://rawzcoaching.com***Key moments in our conversation include……how Mike describes himself as a human:A twist of a start with a 4th wall break where I introduce myself to introduce as a way to illuminate a difference between Mike and me and how we’ve navigated together in our long and deep friendship, particularly that Mike’s Christian faith is key to his navigation of the world while I identify as a secular Jew whose spiritual practices are informed by Buddhism and physicsHe is also a husband, parent, and business owner…what Mike is all up in:A refined focus on the presence he wants to bring to his kids and broader family in the wake of the death of a teenager from a youth group he leadDeepening his understanding of the Bible which includes both finding his own meaning and seeking to understand the foundational meaning of the text, both of which help relieve him of the need to be perfectA fresh round of exploring the grief of his dad’s death when Mike was 13; with grief, his faith provides the underlying hope that allows him to face mortalityHow the longer road of grief is a nuanced and the sense of additional loss that goes with the fading of Mike’s memories of his dadThe intersection of his beliefs and his business, of money/power/influence and being a Christian, and how one has to be prioritized, in his case, being a Christian and his family roles supersede his role as a professional. As such, he is vigilant to not let work impede on his family life and to be in alignment with his beliefs all the time.…his tools include:Conversations with people who are good listeners, including his wife Faith and his close friendsThe Bible…the non-profit he chose to highlight was:Safe Families for Childrenseeks to keep children safe and families together. Safe Families for Children is rooted in faith, fueled by radical hospitality, disruptive generosity, and intentional compassion, to build a network of caring and compassionate volunteers to support families facing social isolation. Our goals are to prevent child abuse and neglect, reduce the number of children entering the child welfare system, and support and stabilize families.https://safe-families.org/

*** About Dr. Hoda Kilani | Career literacy expert, podcaster, educator, momDr Hoda Kilani is a Certified Professional Career Coach and the President of Right Career Fit, a career coaching practice that focuses on education and career guidance. Hoda’s continued lifelong learning, career, research and volunteer involvements provide her with up-to-date expertise in career and educational project design. She holds a Master of Education and a Doctor of Education with a focus on youth learning. Hoda strives to be a spokesperson for the importance of career education and works tirelessly to create awareness of its value including career conversations on YouTube and two podcasts, Hoda’s Musings and Hoda’s Career Info as well as a radio show, Career Buzz.Learn more at https://www.rightcareerfit.com/*** Key moments in our conversation include…Knows herself as a human who:Pushes others to know themselves so that we can find our best-fitting careersKeeps happy by focusing on gratitude in which mindfulness is baked inShe tries to name 5-10 things she’s grateful for each morningHelps her give back more to her community and familyMakes a podcast and has a YouTube channelLoves to travelSpeaks Arabic and SpanishHas a mission of worldwide career literacyShe’s all up in:Trying to take her career literacy work into other languages and the challenges of interpreting rather than translating the messagesShe committed, right here in the conversation, to publishing in either Spanish or Arabic in January 2024She feels that part of gratitude is stretching outside of our comfort zoneDad would say, “If you think the grass is greener on the other side, you’d better go check it out. You can always come back.”Hoda described an uncomfortable moment of awareness of cultural differences when presenting in Dubai and how it’s reinforced her concerns about moving into another languageShe also fears that it would sound like she’s less of an expert in career literacy than she isThat she was born and raised in Lebanon made the cultural gaff stir in the inner critic all the more: “I should have known that!”The tools she’s using to move through this time include:Planning though she understands they are flexible and meant to not always workDaily language practice including reading books about careers in Arabic and SpanishReminding herself that it’s okay to failHer value of democratizing info and skills of teachingFor her non-profit spotlight, Hoda suggested local food banks. As she said, we think of ourselves of living in the land of plenty and yet there are so many people experiencing food insecurity. 

About Karen Chase | author, speaker, brand designer, lover of cats and all four seasonsFor nearly three decades Karen has worked as a professional designer creating brands for national and international organizations, non-profits, and authors. She has spoken with nearly one hundred historical, corporate, and trade audiences in the US and Canada—both virtually and in-person—about history, branding, and business.Her first book, Bonjour 40: A Paris Travel Log, garnered seven independent publishing awards, and her first novel, Carrying Independence, was a nominee for the 2020 Library of Virginia Literary Awards. Historical fiction focusing on  the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the novel was awarded #12 of the 100 Best Indie Books of 2019.She is a member of the Albemarle Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Born in Canada, Karen now lives in Richmond, with her spouse Ted, and 3 scrappy cats. She bikes, gardens, fosters kittens, travels for research. Learn more at https://karenachase.comKaren highlighted two organizations that are particularly meaningful to her:DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution): https://www.dar.org/andJames River Writers: https://jamesriverwriters.org/*** All Up in It is a project by coach SB Rawz focused on telling stories of growth and change from the thick of learning. Learn more about SB, coaching with her, & her projects at https://rawzcoaching.com***Key moment in out conversation include:As a human, Karen is an extrovert who has discovered she contains more introversion than she had previously realized and that alone time is important to her creative process. She’s also:Creative and curious on a deep levelGnashing her teeth more than she expected on feminist topicsMore than her workIn her 50s and feeling enriched by this decade alreadyShe’s working in a marketing capacity in women’s healthcare while also researching Eliza a woman who went West before Lewis & Clark and kept a journal for Thomas Jefferson; Karen has a mission of lifting her from the footnotes of historyKaren did all the paperwork for Eliza’s living family to join the Daughters of the American Revolution which was truly a community endeavor which is still only “one percent of one percent of what the project could be”She’s pursuing the history without knowing what she’ll do with the info that she’s surfacing; she’s treating it as an atomic habit, doing the steps that she sees and trusting that it will take her somewhereKaren referenced Flourish: The Extraordinary Journey of Finding the Best in Yourself which introduced her to the idea of wu-wei which is about creative flow that is inclusive of the wider community that contributes to creationsFor example, Karen’s French teacher neighbor helped her translate an 18th century willThis collective of expertise is part of the fuel in her fireShe touched on how qualities like introversion/extroversion are like a clothesline and the important part isn’t that we are a way but that we’re able to zoom  back and forth as serves usA recent experience of hosting a couple for several months brought showed her that her home is her cozy place and that the routines she and her partner have are in support of her creative process and sense of well-beingSeasons are important to Karen, that there are all of the seasonsHere, she referenced Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult TimesShe adjusts her projects and schedules based on the seasons and what they are to herAn author who has self-published and published traditionally, she’s feeling particularly dispirited about the current publishing industry which is why she’s not sure where her research is goingWe touched on the inherent meaning of her work instead of attaching the meaning to its outcomeThis is tricky to her as a marketer accustomed to seeing every choice needing to contribute to the bottom line – and she’s learning to see some actions as what is needed to rechargeHer key tools are the ones that are often the first to go on the backburner, what she called the basic human needs like sleep, movement, eating healthfullyHer external tools are a newly-hired research assistant, so many volunteer historians she’s met through the DAR.The DAR is both her spotlight and one of her external toolsThough they’ve had a reputation of being stuck up and she’s found great generosity and volunteerism there as well as being impressed by all of the community service work they dohttps://www.dar.org/James River Writers, a vibrant writing community in Richmond, Virginia, which creates support, brings in speakers, and has been key to Karen’s education around diversity and inclusion: https://jamesriverwriters.org/

About Jennifer O’Grady | she/her, coach, mom, white-skinned, multi-racial, cis-gender, hetero, neuro-typicalJennifer is a life-long Chicagoan, human raising 3 other humans and a lover of office supplies. Her oxygen is creating connection and collaboration which she cultivates through one-on-one coaching, facilitating The WELL (Women Engaged in Life) and offering safe space for all of life to be experienced, shared and elevated.   Learn more at www.alifeallin.comJennifer spotlighted It’s a place for women and non-binary people to be witnessed; Anne's Haven provides unconfined space to women, girls, and nonbinary people of all ethnic, racial, sexual, and religious identities. Our center offers a vibrant environment through which people can learn from and support one another through their spiritual, physical, intellectual, financial, emotional, professional, and social development journeys. Lean more at http://www.anneshaven.net/*** All Up in It is a project by coach SB Rawz focused on telling stories of growth and change from the thick of learning. Learn more about SB, coaching with her, & her projects at https://rawzcoaching.com***Jennifer O’Grady is finishing a program in somatic coachingShe’s exploring her cis-gender, heterosexual, white-skinned, woman, multi-racial, neuro-typical container in this world as a politically liberal person navigating and using her privilege as a coach, mom, friend… (whew!) – and she’s all up in how this awareness and action is unfurling in her lifeA recent beautiful and hard conversation with one of her kids (who is neuro-divergent, like her siblings and father) helped her see both she’s been unconsciously inviting others to call her out on her unconscious biasesJen tells a story of a coaching session with a woman of color that cracked open for Jen how her white skin can actually be a tool for helping others feel seen and witnessed – and how she could have chosen to leave the space but that her client couldn’tWe explored the different flavors of words like “ally” and “collaborator” and “co-conspirator” and touched on the experience of having the privilege that comes from being able to pass if we so choose (Jen as white-skinned, me as straight) and also the desire to be seen for the fullness of our intersections of identityJennifer spotlights Myisha T Hill as a person she learns from and from whom she first heard the idea of being a co-conspirator as a white-skinned personConnection – real connection – is a huge part of what drives Jen and that often that connection comes not from speaking but from consciously not speakingWhat she’s all up in – the thick of her learning curve – is having her eyes open to all of these areas of privilege and moving from safe space to brave spaceI brought in my thoughts about how being in the middle third of my life has given me an unexpected bonus privilege of seeming innocuous as a white, middle-aged womanJennifer speaks a bit about having been raised by a Scandinavian mom and Puerto Rican dad and seeing her dad experience micro-aggressions that she, until recently, reactively downplayedWe touched into how the importance of centering connecting in her life means giving up her trauma-based grasping of belonging… which leads a lack of greater belonging and connection (I referenced Ubuntu which I invite you to learn more about in this TEDx Talk by Getrude Matsche)Jen added on this beautiful image of belonging/connection related to trees and their inextricable, absolutely necessary interconnection, by way of mycelium, underground)Tools that are helping her navigate this learning curve include radical honesty and radical compassion when she gets it wrong; and especially leaning into the connections she has to create more connectionShe noted that we don’t know how to be witnessed (though we crave it) and so we are lacking the tools to fully witness others in their grief and painAnne’s Haven is the non-profit that Jennifer spotlighted. It’s a place for women and non-binary people to be witnessed; Anne's Haven provides unconfined space to women, girls, and nonbinary people of all ethnic, racial, sexual, and religious identities. Our center offers a vibrant environment through which people can learn from and support one another through their spiritual, physical, intellectual, financial, emotional, professional, and social development journeys.

About Rachel Winstead | a writer, educator, community builder, late-bloomer, and queer creativeRachel Winstead is a writer, educator, community builder, late-bloomer, and queer creative. She’s happiest when she’s researching, listening, and LEARNING. After spending most of her career in marketing roles and copywriting gigs, she recently accepted the position of teaching high school English.“Over the years I’ve learned where my strengths are when it comes to wordsmithing, but these days I’m focused on refining those skills and sharing what I’ve learned with other creative people—and now high school students,” she explains. *** All Up in It is a project by coach SB Rawz focused on telling stories of growth and change from the thick of learning. Learn more about SB, coaching with her, & her projects at https://rawzcoaching.com***Show NotesRachel (she/they) describes themself as a teacher of teenagers leading to a feeling of being a partner in the students’ creative journey – and a tired human, recovering from being in that intensive energy after having been a solo freelancer for many yearsThey have been thinking about how we help each other tell their stories, stay curious, and discuss new or conflicting ideasThey’ve also been deepening their exploration of boundaries in the context of the high schoolWe discussed the intersection of losing our childhood ease with creativity as we buy into the story of what being good at creating means to our creative process – plus what Rachel is seeing in terms of creative potential in their studentsIf Rachel had their druthers, they’d call all of their classes Creative Expression because their priority is for each student to figure out what creative expression looks like to them as an individualWe also discussed the intersection of “proper” English, colloquial English, and a focus on form over function (or communication over grammar)How Rachel made an effort to start their class semesters with references to demonstrate the great big space available for the students to express themselves as a foundation to their efforts to create safe spaces for their voicesStudents experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity is part of the landscape Rachel is navigating as they create space and measure expectations of the studentsRachel likes to think of themself as a partner in their education and that though they use the language of “teacher” in their school, Rachel prefers the title of “educator” which is something they’ve been for a long time as a professional writerTools Rachel uses as they traverse this learning curve include their gut, self-care by way of breathing and tuning into their body, empathy, listening, school resources, and perpetually experimenting to find out what works for themRachel spotlighted Youth on Their Own, a dropout prevention program that supports the high school graduation and continued success of youth experiencing homelessness in Pima County. Learn more at https://yoto.org/

About Ryn Bennett, MPH | sales professional, co-founder, former strongman competitor, TEDx speaker, writer/authorRyn Bennett, MPH, is a dynamic sales professional with a diverse background in social and behavioral health, process improvement, and technology. As a co-founder of Proposal Industry Experts (PIE), Ryn is committed to making the world of proposals more accessible, innovative, and inclusive. Through PIE, Ryn fearlessly tackles difficult conversations and provides valuable insights to ensure that everyone, regardless of their background or experience, has equal opportunities in the proposal management space. They firmly believe in breaking down barriers and empowering professionals to succeed. With a forward-thinking approach, Ryn embraces the potential of AI and tech in proposals, leveraging capabilities to streamline the writing process and foster creativity. Ryn’s irreverent and innovative mindset extends beyond proposals. They are a world-record-holding strongman competitor, a celebrated TEDx and Ignite speaker, and the author of “Productive Pain,” a memoir and inspirational guide. Drawing from their personal experiences, Ryn is passionate about helping others develop mental toughness and resilience. They have overcome burnout and advanced their career from an entry-level process improvement role to a director position. Their goal is to empower individuals to thrive in the face of adversity while promoting new ideas from traditionally underrepresented groups. Ryn highlighted an organization that is local to her and national in relevance, the Baltimore Abortion Fund. BAF is a nonprofit organization that provides financial assistance and practical support to individuals who live in or travel to Maryland for abortion care. We serve clients residing in all 23 counties of Maryland and Baltimore City. As of this recording, it is seeking members for its board. Find out more at https://www.baltimoreabortionfund.org/.*** All Up in It is a project by coach SB Rawz focused on telling stories of growth and change from the thick of learning. Learn more about SB, coaching with her, & her projects at https://rawzcoaching.com***Show NotesAs a human, Ryn Bennett, they/them, is coming to see themselves as part of a communal organism rather than the island they felt like for most of their lifePast Strongman competitor (2nd in their weight class in the nation in 2022!) which was empowering while also reinforcing their island mentality and the idea that they can control more of life than is realLast year, moved from Colorado to Maryland and got sick which made training impossible leading to a sense of failure and loss of identity – a loss of feeling like they had it all figured out ie feeling in control of it allAs it so happens, they were given guidance in college to pick a career that includes a sense of controlIn the gym, there’s a linear equation of effort to outcome. Learning to release that outcome-controlling perspective in the rest of life has been like standing on the edge of the cliff looking into the abyssImagining reaching milestones where it felt like life could actually start – like getting sober and coming out – only to realize this new landscape includes yet more things to navigateThere are times you just have to sit alone in the dark despite being communal animals; recognizing that this is a common human experience and that they can get through it has been big.Ryn gave a TEDx Talk about doing the bare minimum based on the strongman training that moves in 2.5 pound increases; still, they find themself expecting to be able to do the emotional growth in much bigger, more perfect leaps. Watch it here: https://www.ted.com/talks/Ryn_bennett_just_show_up_it_s_not_the_win_it_s_the_workRyn said they want to “win therapy” – gah, do I relate! They said as they’ve learned to silence their inner critic, they’ve found themself seeking an external critic.They referenced the book Pleasure Activism by adrienne maree brown (https://bookshop.org/p/books/pleasure-activism-the-politics-of-feeling-good-adrienne-maree-brown/10731855?ean=9781849353267)We touched on the conflict between the narrative of self-care and how it’s actually modeled and monetized in our world; they’ve discovered sound baths and acupuncture are filling an important self-care needLife, healing, growth… all take the time they take. As Ryn said, you can only get five years sober by traversing five years soberTools for navigating the difficulties start with practicing being uncomfortable without running away. Also what Ryn calls the Human Care Manual stuff like sleep, eating, drinking water, and exercising.Ryn highlighted an organization that is local to them and national in relevance, the Baltimore Abortion Fund. BAF is a nonprofit organization that provides financial assistance and practical support to individuals who live in or travel to Maryland for abortion care. We serve clients residing in all 23 counties of Maryland and Baltimore City. As of this recording, it is seeking members for its board. Find out more at https://www.baltimoreabortionfund.org/.Find Ryn on LinkedInWatch Ryn's TEDx Talk Listen to Ryn's podcast for proposal professionals, No Really Everything's Fine

About Diane Wyzga | podcaster, storyteller, walker, and so much more (read in her own words) The arc of my professional career stretches from serving as US Navy nurse, corporate businesswoman, speaker, educator, lawyer, litigation consultant, podcaster, and storyteller. The personal arc is that of a woman who backpacked across Europe, gone scuba diving on the Continental Shelf, learned to fly a plane, parachuted out of a perfectly good plane, walked the Camino de Santiago (a pilgrimage of 500 miles across Spain), and much more. Showing up means being scared but not afraid because you just fall down 7 and get up 8. That’s been the story of my life. When a person or opportunity beckoned and I said “Yes!” that’s the place where the story changed. For 30 years, I’ve helped professionals take their story from a message only they could hear to the publishing world, the courtroom, hospitals, board meetings, the airwaves, and more. Stories that swayed juries. Built markets. Spread ideas. Changed things. Today I help others become successful story creators. It’s a niche the world needs: helping people find the words they didn’t know they had to connect with, engage and influence their audience. Email: [email protected] Quarter Moon Story Arts (website): https://www.quartermoonstoryarts.netStories From Women Who Walk (podcast): https://www.quartermoonstoryarts.net/podcast/LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/diane-f-wyzga-qmsa/ *** All Up in It is a project by coach SB Rawz focused on telling stories of growth and change from the thick of learning. Learn more about SB, coaching with her, & her projects at https://rawzcoaching.com***Show NotesDiane Wyzga……would sometimes rather be her cat (relatable!)Listening for information, rather than feelingsEncouraging herself to speak upThe world is waiting to hear your unique story and voiceHer own journey of overcoming early messaging that she was making too much noise and the way gaining recovery of her own voice is her conduit to invite others to do the sameHer current learning is about the price of success – the ways her ever-growing podcast is taking away from her self-care/self-preservation habits and effortsShe’s reading Four Thousand Weeks and how it’s helping her reflect on how she’s spending her wild and precious lifeI referenced Mary Oliver’s poem The Summer Day which led her to share the moments she takes to watch the birds enjoying the bird bath in defiance of the norms so many of us were taughtOne of her most important tools is walking and this time of learning has taken her away from that practice, though she’s returningThich Nhat Hahn has long been a teacher for Diane and she described a teaching that she taps into each morning; we even touched on his recent transition and how his teachings keep him present despite the passing of his human body and the ideas of storytelling as a way to carry legacyDiane opted to not spotlight a specific organization. Rather, she offered an invitation for viewers to figure out something that matters to you and find an organization (Whidbey Camino Land Trust is one where she shares of herself) where you could put volunteer time and/or money.

Cynthia Jefferson is the kind of person who sets the bar for her own growth and exploration and then sets about reaching it – only to reset the bar even higher. This is her way of working to *be* better – the doing will take care of itself from there. These days, she’s all up in learning about caregiving as her parents age and her mom experiences Alzheimer’s. In this context, she’s practicing taking the advice she’s given to so many of her clients and leaning into community. Find show notes at https://rawzcoaching.com/cynthia-jefferson***About Cynthia Jefferson | coach, mom, daughter, learner, jewelry-maker, be-erIn her own words: I received my BA in psychology from Syracuse University and my MA in Speech and Interpersonal Communications from NYU. I have done everything from social work to bartending, so will always refer back to my other lives, lol. But I feel I've finally found my place with coaching, which I have been doing for the last 3 years. I have also enjoyed my side hustle of making handcrafted jewelry for over 10 years now. Great creative outlet! Please find me at: https://iwell4life.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/cynthia-jefferson-4a688010https://2bsavvy.comhttps://www.instagram.com/coachcynthia4life/https://www.facebook.com/CJsStoneLuv/Cynthia highlighted The Boys and Girls Club of America as an organization that she loves; their mission is to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Learn more at https://www.bgca.org*** All Up in It is a project by coach SB Rawz focused on telling stories of growth and change from the thick of learning. Learn more about SB, coaching with her, & her projects at https://rawzcoaching.com***Some Key Moments of our ConversationAs a human: Cynthia is someone who constantly tries to be better (as opposed to do better)Also: A mother, a person who is trying to model for her children, learning junkie (which she sees as a good and bad thing), a person who needs to set the bars for herselfWe explored tension in growth – both the interpersonal tension and Cynthia’s delightful surprise at hearing some folks (like me!) can sometimes find an internal tension related to self-acceptanceHer fantastic distinction between self-judgment and self-punishmentThe relationships that taught her that self-awareness is great – but only if a person is willing to use their self-awarenessCynthia is all up in:A relationship coaching certificationCaregiving as her mom experiences Alzheimer’s, her dad works to care for her mom, and she explores supporting them both from a distanceListening to You are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero and also loved Atlas of the Heart by Brené BrownWhat’s been surprising her about what she’s all up in is how complicated and out-of-the-blue caregiving can be with all of the complexity of our available systems and the profound need for assertive advocacy within the systemsThe primary tool that Cynthia has been utilizing has been practicing leaning into community when it’s not a historic go-to for her as a very independent person who is unaccustomed to asking for helpCynthia chose to spotlight The Boys and Girls Club of America, an organization whose mission is to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Learn more at https://www.bgca.orgShe noted how mentoring young people is such a growth experience for her, much as coaching is often as enriching for the coach as the client

It’s not just in his coaching practice where Coach Lee Hopkins explores the complex and rich realm of connecting with oneself in order to more fully connect with others; for Coach Lee, it’s a way of life. (A favorite moment of mine in this conversation was when Coach Lee said that he already knows what it’s like to stand against a wall and watch others converse; now, to learn what it felt like to join the conversation.) Find a video of our conversation at: https://rawzcoaching.com/coach-lee-hopkins*** About Coach Lee Hopkins | Coach, friend, community creator/gatherer, trans manCoach Lee Hopkins is an expert in helping people build more fulfilling social connections in both their personal and professional lives. As a transgender man, he knows firsthand the difficulties that come with trying to make meaningful connections in today's world. But he doesn’t attribute his struggle to connect solely to his gender identity. He learned that by speaking from the heart and being true to himself, he could have meaningful conversations that lead to lasting friendships and more fulfilling relationships with others.   Learn more at https://www.patternsofpossibility.com or https://www.linkedin.com/in/patternsofpossibility/Coach Lee highlighted an organization that he finds inspiring for the way it engages underserved youth in mentorship, tutoring, and other resources through the engaging and empowering tool of boxing, The Bloc. Learn more at https://theblocchicago.org/ *** All Up in It is a project by coach SB Rawz focused on telling stories of growth and change from the thick of learning. Learn more about SB & her projects at https://rawzcoaching.com***Some Key Moments from our Conversation:Coach Lee Hopkins sees himself as a human who sees himself in other people and in the differences between peopleWhat he’s all up in: How he’s communicating with people, especially during recent experiences where his vulnerability led to ouchy reactions from othersAlong the way, he’s noticing that the closer he is to someone, the more he expects the other to understand his communication, to hear him wellHis first steps in understanding is exploring his own feeling to ensure he’s not trapped in a bubble of his emotions and to check his own desires to alternately blame others and blame selfWe talked the intersection of self-responsibility, self-compassion, and boundaries, and the learn-share-learn experience we both have of coachingHe motivates to join conversation is to learn more about himself; he said he already knows what it feels like to stand against a wall and watch other people have conversation (I LOVED this moment!)He tells a wonderful story about waking up – as in having a moment of profound awareness – in the midst of an argument with someone he was then datingCoach Lee creates a lot of opportunities for people to connect with one anotherHe noticed that he’s always been a person who others watched for social cues; now he uses that magnetism with intentionTools: Breathing (especially in the midst of discomfort), remembering his priority of learning more about himself, watching other people and their experiences (especially on TikTok), talking things out on his podcast, with others, and aloud to himself.

After witnessing so many of her LGBTQ+ coaching clients experiencing relational trauma in their workplaces, Kirsten Bunch signed up for an intensive program of study on the topic. Was the universe laughing or helping when, just as the course was starting months after she signed up, her partner of 18 years ended their relationship in a way that she described as including a “denial of [her] queer identity”?The place where I got teary, though, was when Kirsten talked about her surprising discovery of queer community in the small Georgia town where she moved – from New Jersey! – post break-up. Find show notes at: https://rawzcoaching.com/kirsten-bunch***About Kirsten Bunch | life & career coach for the LGBTQ+ community, new Southerner, inherently worthyKirsten Bunch is a writer, speaker and certified leadership and career coach who helps LGBTQ+ professionals get promoted to leadership positions without sacrificing their queer identities. A former multi-million dollar nonprofit fundraiser and executive leader for global nonprofits, she helps clients overcome the trauma, unexamined storylines and fear-based beliefs that hold them back in their professional and personal lives. Get your free The Out CEO Checklist at https://careerhelp.kirstenbunch.com/checklist***All Up in It is a project by coach SB Rawz focused on telling stories of growth and change from the thick of learning. Learn more about SB & her projects at https://rawzcoaching.com***Some key moments in our conversation:Kirsten is a life and career coach for the LGBTQ+ community; she’s also single after an 18-year relationship ended in a way that has inspired her to explore how all of her identities intersect and her true, inherent worth as a humanShe helps individuals heal and self-actualize so they can do the systems workShe’s learning while helping people navigate relational trauma ie healing from toxic relationships whether professional or personalThe expanded focus on/awareness of trans and non-binary people has some people treating these identities as new despite the reality of trans and non-binary humans always having existedThe ways social narratives can adversely impact individuals in a domino effectKirsten’s study of relational trauma was spurred by her career coaching work and then coincided serendipitously with her tough break-upLearn/share/learn and omg/cool! cyclesThe shaky ground where Kirsten is finding freedom during this time of change; and it’s also excruciating depending on the momentEmbracing the no-knowing and the opportunity to learn who she is nowHer surprise at discovering she’s liking her new life in the South including living near cows and discovering queer community in small town livingHer tools include her whole coaching toolkit, writing, intentionally navigating distracting/self-soothing and sitting with the feelings, movementKirsten reflected on giving herself space to distract during a post-break-up time when she couldn’t process until she noticed that she had the bandwidth for processing and being elsewhere in her lifeOrganization spotlight: The Trevor Project, an organization whose mission is to end suicide among LGBTQ+ young people via crisis and community services.

There were some connection glitches during this conversation but since they didn’t interrupt the flow of conversation, Laura and I decided to let them roll. After all, this is an intentionally wabi-sabi project of being exactly where we are.Laura Guilliams got a jarring wake-up call some years ago when a trusted teacher referred to her longstanding people-pleasing tendencies as a God complex. In the years since, she’s worked to find a healthier balance between her deep drive to make the world a better place and the boundaries she needs to both care for herself and give those she seeks to serve the full respect they deserve.Find show notes at: https://rawzcoaching.com/laura-guilliams*** About Laura Guilliams | Advocate, activist, yogini, country galLaura Guilliams, MA, RYT-500, is the founder and owner of Laura Guilliams Yoga & Wellness, providing individual and small group yoga to survivors of trauma. She earned a Bachelor's Degree in Communication at Radford University (Radford, Va.) and a Master's of Educational Leadership from the University of Central Florida (Orlando). She has served survivors of interpersonal violence for 20 years in the education and non-profit sectors where she has provided crisis intervention and advocacy to survivors as well as advocated on the local, state, and federal levels. She has been a student of yoga for more than 25 years and has been teaching since 2014. She is currently working toward her yoga therapy certification with her teacher, Sarahjoy Marsh. She lives on unceded Saponi and Tutelo land colonized as Ferrum, Va. with her goodest boy, Duke (a shepherd mix of some sort) and her 14 entertaining chickens. She is a certified aromatherapist and a student of plant and herbal medicine, using her knowledge and skills in her small handmade soap business. She also loves to cook and makes a mean celiac-friendly, gluten--free gravy biscuit! Laura Guilliams Yoga & Wellness:www.lauraguilliams.com  Instagram: @lauraguilliams Mountain Laurel Apothecary: www.mountainlaurelapothecary.com  Instagram: @mtlaurelapothecary Laura highlighted Ursula’s Café, a Roanoke, VA, a pay-what-you-can non-profit working to feed everybody regardless of their ability to pay; it’s also an event and community-arts center with a focus on inclusivity.  Learn more at: https://www.ursulascafe.org/*** All Up in It is a project by coach SB Rawz focused on telling stories of growth and change from the thick of learning. Learn more about SB & her projects at https://rawzcoaching.com***Some key moments in our conversation:Recovering people-pleaser doing the best to make the world a better place once person at a time while also keeping an eye on boundariesIn her work supporting people in the midst of trauma, she finds opportunities to manage her desire to fix and instead allow people their processHow trying to control other’s experiences through fixing is really a way to control our own discomfort – something her teacher called her God complexHealthy and unhealthy selfishnessLaura finds the work of learning better boundaries as both freeing and exhaustingIn her budding work as a yoga therapy practitioner, how to de-center self without losing the connection and the tool of discernment in that processSelf-care as a need that’s showing up: Who and what do I need in order to manage this experiencePeople-pleasers as mind-readersLearning about the brain and the nervous system and how it’s factoring into her workTools: The full array of tools that fit under the wide umbrella of yoga (remember, the movement part is just one sliver), knowing who her people are and in what kinds of situations they shine, and Laura’s chickens – literally! – and her garden, home, and her various creative pursuits including her soap company, Mountain Laurel SoapsSpotlight: Ursula’s Café, a pay-what-you-can non-profit working to feed everybody regardless of their ability to pay; it’s also an event and community-arts center with a focus on inclusivity

Valerie Williams has done a stellar job of controlling the controllable her in her life; her resume shows some of the pay-off. Recently, though, she’s been all up in an exploration around the limitations of her control… and the deep power of her influence. ***About Valerie Williams | Therapist, Consultant in the communication, culture & DEIB spaces, MomValerie Miller Williams, is a licensed psychotherapist and Communications strategist who engages head & heart to drive change, engagement and solutions. Her purpose, “meeting people where they are to help bring them higher.” As a counselor, she provides soul-care by supporting individuals, couples and families in navigating life with purpose and intentionality to produce positive outcomes, healing and growth. Valerie is also an award-winning Communications strategist, working with clients/fortune 40 organizations to develop authentic and engaging plans, tools and experiences to reach people in meaningful ways. She provides executive and leadership coaching and consulting on professional (work) and personal (life) matters. Her success formula: bringing all of who she is, to whatever she is doing, wherever she is. Courageous authenticity is foundational to her life and work with clients. She believes that knowing who you are is imperative, but actually being who you are is transformative.  Because, Authentic Leadership is core to both intrapersonal (relating to self) and interpersonal (relating to others) effectiveness. Valerie has been recognized by The Network Journal as a Top 40 under 40 Achiever and Who’s Who in Black Charlotte.  She’s also a member of Psi Chi (The International Honor Society in Psychology). She volunteers with nonprofit organizations providing in-kind counseling and communications services to undeserved  populations. Her life is full when she's spending time with her husband and two sons, family and friends.   Learn more at linkedin.com/in/valeriemillerwilliams and https://selfsoul.net/Valerie highlighted an organization that she’s been working with for some time now, ChangedChoices, an organization focused on female offenders and ex-offenders and the resources that dramatically drop recidivism rates, for example, support with housing and reintegration, job training, and, of course, mental health services. https://changedchoices.org/our-programming/*** All Up in It is a project by coach SB Rawz focused on telling stories of growth and change from the thick of learning. Learn more about SB & her projects at https://rawzcoaching.com***Some key moments in our conversation:In a place of a heightened place of self-awareness which is like having a front-row seat to herself and how she shows up which is both good for growthShe’s noticing the power of her influence and the limitations of her controlStructure, organization and order used to feel like peace to her and now she’s noticing an opportunity for more freedom through releasing controlIn her clinical work, she can influence but not control. We also explored the “use of self” in therapy in defiance to the traditional cold separation between therapist and patient – and the particularly importance of building rapport with clients of colorThe reciprocal relationship in therapy (and coaching!) of sharing and learning with clientsValerie’s DEIB consulting work and influencing as a way to create buy-in for the changes she’s proposingThe radiant influence of her work as both a therapist and a consultant and how her work is in the space of countering/healing centuries of damageValerie reflected on how overwhelming the idea of world change is and the accessibility of recognizing herself as a piece, not A World Changer, which also ties into practicing not taking responsibility for things that aren’t hersWomen and especially women of color trend toward being too humble and that owning our skills means sharing them more fully in the world – this also means not being responsible with our influenceIn her family life, Valerie hopes her family is feeling more freedom as she’s shifting away from control and toward taking responsibility for her influenceValerie asked her younger son if he would like to implement a parenting report cardTools: For Valerie, her faith and being intentional with her connection is her foremost tool. Also, therapy in a variety of forms, reading, community (especially face to face) and networkingValerie spotlighted ChangedChoices, an organization focused on female offenders and ex-offenders and the resources that dramatically drop recidivism rates, for example, support with housing and reintegration, job training, and, of course, mental health servicesFind Valerie at SELFsoul – Counseling, Psychotherapist, Communications

About Jordan Mercedes | Executive Professional & Personal Development Coach It's not uncommon to hear Jordan referred to as a fire starter. She uses her coaching skills to connect with the core of leaders, she then invites them to bravely step into leading from the inside out. This means they step more powerfully into their purpose, their values and the other highly held convictions that make impactful leaders extraordinary. The results? Transformational leadership, intentional operations and sustainable growth. Learn more at https://www.jordanmercedes.com/ Jordan chose to highlight Ten by Three, an organization that works to reduce poverty by creating pathways to fair wages to artisans: https://www.tenbythree.org/ *** All Up in It is a project by coach SB Rawz focused on telling stories of growth and change from the thick of learning. Learn more about SB & her projects at https://rawzcoaching.com/***Some key moments in our conversation:What really drives her work is her heart-connected place, her core to another’s core. She’s a deep well.While resilience, courage and push-through are the kinds of words that have guided past years for Jordan, this year she is choosing to focus on the word and idea of intentional ease, following the question, “What does ease look like for me in this situation?” It’s also helping her decide what projects to say yes to and what to prune.The challenge of this focus is how much energy she’s put into training herself to do hard things historically. She’s very much seeing it as an experiment without feeling like she has to stick with it forever; it’s a hypothesis she’s testing and she’ll adjust as she gathers the data.Part of the question of ease relates to mutuality or reciprocityShe’s feeling this experiment with ease is an unfolding of something that was wanting to come out of her and she’s now giving attention and intention.While she loves bravery, she wants it to line up behind ease, in part due to having let bravery push her deep into discomfort so often in the pastJordan has invited you, the viewer, to define what ease means to you.Ease gives us permission to own parts of ourselves that are already there.Sometimes, we don’t feel like we fit in because we haven’t found our inner place of ease.A few thoughts about our mutually-transformative 2020 conversation about our different perspectives of discomfortWhere are you choosing the ease in this situation? Am I going to choose the stress or the ease?Jordan chose to highlight Ten by Three, an organization that works to reduce poverty by creating pathways to fair wages to artisans: https://www.tenbythree.org/

In this conversation with Sheeshum Galle – financial educator, citizen of the world, integral part of the universe – we explored an intersection of the very worldly (especially finance and play) and the very philosophical including Sheeshum’s relationship with the universe and its role in her path. ***More about Sheeshum in her own words:Sheeshum is an Indian working in the field of finance in Belgium. Her education and work enabled her to live in different countries over the last decade; an experience which she cherishes a lot. 3 years ago, she moved to Belgium and made a career switch into real estate investment management. She is also a Guest Lecturer at a business school in Belgium. Recently, she has started an online group to share basic financial information with people to help them build a better relationship with money.Find Sheeshum on LinkedInSheeshum chose to highlight Kiva, a worldwide microloan organization, empowering people to grow in and of their own communities. ***All Up in It is a project by coach SB Rawz focused on telling stories of growth and change from the thick of learning. Learn more about SB & her projects at https://rawzcoaching.com.***Some key moments in our conversation:Sheeshum left a job that wasn’t working for her despite the fear of not knowing what’s next“I’m trying to reevaluate my relationship with the universe. I have a zero to zero or 1 to 1 relationship with the universe.”Hear about Sheeshum’s unique experience and understanding of how what she puts into the world relates to what she gets backShe can do what she needs to do and trust that the rest will take care of itself – which hasn’t been a path of perfection or zero disappointment but rather a way to stay on her own track.Her focus on language learning, creating a group for teaching financial literally and combat taboos around money, and her focus on having a little more fun this year than last yearWhat it’s like being in the financial world related to her intersections of identityTools:Her community of loved ones, friends, and mentors – “as though the universe conspires to have someone there for me.”Feedback on her various projectsPlanners to organize tasks and priorities – “a roadmap to walk on”A focus on progress rather than what’s left undoneDrawing inspiration from techniques that worked for her from her own pastHighlight: Kiva, a worldwide crowdfunding platform to empower people in their own lives and communities

In this All Up in It conversation with Chloe Johnson – new mum, youth development professional, service industry veteran, and citizen of the world – Cameron Terry – new dad, farmer, film school grad, and community commons advocate – and their 8-week-old baby Kora, we talk about the blend of community, curiosity, and shared values that led them to collaborate on an urban farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.***About Chloe in her words:Chloe Johnson grew up in the United Kingdom and moved to Colorado as a teenager. Growing up she got to enjoy rugged English beaches and the majestic Rocky Mountains. She later moved to Roanoke, Virginia with her partner where they started an urban farming business, Garden Variety Harvests. While in Denver she obtained a degree in Human Services with an Emphasis in high risk youth. Much of her career has been devoted to working with youth in out-of-school settings, providing academic support, enrichment activities, and most recently youth employment opportunities. She has also spent a lot of time in the service industry, waiting tables and bartending in order to get through college and supplement youth-work income. She enjoys baking, writing, live music, hiking, eating local, playing four square, and figuring out how to care for a little human as a brand new parent. About Cam in his words:Cam Terry moved across the country to Roanoke, VA in 2017 with the express intent of starting an urban vegetable farm business. Armed only with some backyard gardening experience and a passion to provide sustenance, he gained most of his horticultural knowledge in books and YouTube videos. Now entering the 6th year in full-time farming, Cam is excited to expand his diversified vegetable farm, Garden Variety Harvests, by securing long-term tenure on the perfect urban farm hub location in partnership with a non-profit land trust: The SW Virginia Agrarian Commons.Find them online at:https://www.gardenvarietyharvests.com/ https://www.facebook.com/GVHarvestshttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3-8ydigr5VgXv-BmW_XP8ghttps://www.instagram.com/gvharvests/ They highlighted the organization helping them and so many others overcome the financial barriers to farming, the Agrarian Trust: https://www.agrariantrust.org/fundraiser/help-the-southwest-virginia-agrarian-commons-secure-land-tenure-for-garden-variety-harvests/  *** All Up in It is a project by coach SB Rawz focused on telling stories of growth and change from the thick of learning. Learn more about SB & her projects at https://rawzcoaching.com. 

In this conversation with Mike Angelillo - father, husband, mountain biker, community gatherer, and long-time pharma salesman and leader - we talk about Mike's ah-hahs about his own big Why and the discomfort that goes with big, juicy, meaningful learning.***Key Moments from the ConversationMike describes himself as a seeker, eternal optimist, and by his social connections to family and friendsWhat he’s currently all up in is shifting his focus toward the structures and habits to create his life well-lived rather than focusing on goals.He says goals are good for direction but they’re ultimately limited in utility. For example, he doesn’t have to have a spiritual goal in order to create a meaningful spiritual habitWhile goals and accomplishment offer a fleeting feel-good, he’s focused on integrating success into his way of livingHis tools include understanding his why – he has a great example related to the zombie apocalypse to explain what he means. (Amazingly, he’s able to tie it into a reflection about MLK’s why!)Another tool is simplifying his environment to ease the way to his new habits, rather than relying on will powerA final tool he describes is humility because there’s always more to learn about himself and his biasesMike also offers a perspective on how to navigate divergent political viewFinally, Mike spotlighted the non-profit Rails-to-Trails; he and I have enjoyed many a meandering mile on one particular Rails-to-Trails greenway!***About Mike Angelillo in his own wordsMain things about my work: My work involves helping health care systems to develop programs that identify, assess and diagnose patients with a rare cardiac diseaseThe challenges in my job include small team dynamics, leading without the authority or title to lead, accessing challenging customers and staying current on a wide range of topics that impact health care systemsAdditionally, I am also part of a small group developing new and ongoing training programs for people in my positionI work for one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, PfizerI've been in this industry for 24 yearsCurrently I work at home approx 75% and in the field 25%The main thing I'm working on is simplifying my physical environment and structure in order to develop the habits necessary to progress towards my goals.Find him on LinkedIn @michaelangelillo  Mike chose to highlight Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, a non-profit focused on reimagining public spaces to create safe ways for everyone to get outside: https://www.railstotrails.org/***All Up in It is a project by coach SB Rawz focused on telling stories of growth and change from the thick of learning. Learn more about SB & her projects at https://rawzcoaching.com/