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In this podcast, Michèle Stanners shares her journey toward reconciliation with the First Nations people of Canada, provides a masterclass in the art of deep listening and demonstrates the value of taking both and artistic and pragmatic approach to facing the challenges of diversity. Her book and podcast of the same name “Unsettled” explores the path to reconciling  unconscious bias and racism and build bridges of understanding.

“The more you eliminate the need for control, the more you are open to communication.”  -Nahshon Cook If you have ever heard the phrase wise beyond his years, you are about to experience that. We barely talk about horses – although we do. We mostly cover fear, the need to control, what forgiveness means and so much more. We started this conversation with me asking him how he connects pain as a gift – and after that, we were off and running. There’s no way I can do his words of wisdom justice. You will just have to listen for yourself.  

Ann Herrmann Nehdi started this podcast by saying “balance is a loaded word…and it’s almost impossible to attain…this exquisite balance.” Right out of the chute, we started this conversation by challenging assumptions and diving into her company’s research on thinking, resilience and managing change in times like these. There’s no one I know who “thinks about thinking” more than Ann. She spends a lot of time working with senior teams as well as those in the “magic middle” of some of the largest companies in the world. The company founded by her father Ned Herrmann has provided HBDI Thinking Style Assessments for 97% of the Fortune 100. She has incredible insight into the inner workings of how decisions get made throughout these organizations – and it’s often different than it appears from the outside looking in.  In this conversation, Ann walks us through the model, describing our four “selves” and how those aspects of our thinking can work together to create a better whole.  

After a 30 year career at Nike, Dwayne Hildreth is exploring new territory with horses and music – and when he does something, he goes all out. He had visions of riding off into the sunset on his shiny new Palomino, only to discover that horse ownership, like almost any endeavor, involves a lot more than meets the eye. Nonetheless, he and his two horses are competing – and winning – in the Reined Cow Horse discipline, one of the most extreme of the horse sports. Yet this cowboy also writes and arranges music. His heart comes through in both. If there is any lesson in this podcast, it’s this: the sooner you find your heart, the more you will come to center.  

My Daughter, Jen and I, have actually done several podcasts together over the years, talking about our story through addiction and our adventures working together as a mother daughter team.  A little over a month ago, we did a podcast together about how her moment of vulnerability changed everything. We are back for a round two for a very important reason; we are answering the question: Did anything really change?If you have not listened to the first podcast, it is worth your time to go listen to Episode 16 – both to get context for this one might and also to hear how Jen made it to the other side of fear in that incident. In this episode, we go even deeper into her behind the scenes thoughts, feelings and actions, especially around the constant balancing act of meeting goals and yet staying present. We can either be way too future focused or way to now focused. Somewhere in the middle is the magic balance and Jen does a marvelous job of teasing out how she walked that tightrope the second time she went for a trail ride – that might not ever get out on the trail. 

Moments of transformation are often also moments of vulnerability. In this episode, Jen Maneely, Author of Dear Parents, Strategies to Help Your Loved One Through Addiction describes a moment of transformation that almost didn’t happen. When facing fears, we often feel like we are going to die – even when the danger is not life and death. Jen describes how she dealt with one of those fears by asking the question “What’s my responsibility here?” With the right kind of support, she stayed with her fears and literally got back on the horse.

Who knew meeting someone at a ski lake wearing the same T-shirt that said, “Women who behave rarely make history,” would lead to a long, rich friendship. In the 15th episode of the Creative Spirits Unleashed Podcast, I’m speaking with Heike Neumann, Vice President of Marketing for Oracle Corporation.  In her more than 25 years of experience working in the US and EMEA to market global B2B (Business to Business) tech brands, she has launched marketing strategies in 23 countries. She is passionate about global markets, developing strategies, implementing those, and following through to deliver desired business outcomes with a "get things done" attitude. Her motto in business is, "It needs to be reliable, repeatable, and scalable."  

Peter Barr loves adventure and turns into pressure at every opportunity. He also likes to get himself into tight spots to test his wherewithal to solve problems, overcome obstacles and live a life of fulfillment. This conversation is a master class in making the unconventional decisions that may not lead to comfort but definitely lead to personal growth and satisfaction. Peter Barr is a nationally known trail builder, peakbagger and in 2010, completed a through hike on the Appalachian Trail. In this conversation, we talk about yet another major life changing decision he has made to leave a career he cherishes and adores to seek a life of adventure with his wife Allison, living the RV life. 

Navigating addiction is never easy. In this mother-daughter conversation, we share some of our stories, dilemmas and uncertainties as Jen went through a series of life and death decisions on her road to recovery. Some of the most fun parts of this conversation happened when we learned some never-revealed things about what was going on behind the scenes for both of us. 

Every now and then, you find someone who pierces through the noise of all the people vying for our attention with a message that is so clear and compelling, you just have to stop and listen. I found that person a few years ago in Warwick Schiller. Yes, in his videos he was talking about horses. But lots of people are on the internet talking about horses.Warwick is different. He’s really talking about listening, presence and being. He’s sharing his personal transformation. Moreover, he’s not just talking – he’s showing and embodying something invisible that creates a change.  That’s what made me reach out to him for this conversation. Most of the conversations on this podcast are with people I know. Most of the people who invite Warwick on their podcast are people who make a living in the horse world. This conversation would be between two people from different worlds who don’t know each other.The question going into the conversation was “where would we find the common ground?” and it did not take long. While a lot of people who listen to this podcast are in the horse world, I believe anyone who is on a journey of becoming a better version of themselves will find this conversation both deeply satisfying and perhaps challenging. You will notice throughout that Warwick challenges himself both during the conversation and in the stories he tells. And he is super skilled at weaving lessons and themes into a meaningful narrative. Perhaps his most powerful lesson was taught to him by the horse who showed him he did not know what he was doing. With a curious mind and a commitment to listening, he discovered what a horse could teach him about himself. In that way, this conversation is a master class in self-awareness. 

From the minute we started the conversation, it was evident that Corey Vaughn is a philosopher. He also calls himself the “hippie husband” of his wife Amelia. It was almost surreal to reconcile the deep thinking man I was speaking to with the fact that he’s one of the best in the extremely intense sport of water skiing. And he is a really, really good water skier. He’s one of only a handful of skiers to have run all 6 buoys in the most difficult (41 off) pass, and he’s been on the podium in countless tournaments from Nationals to Pro Tour events. He knows a thing or two about performance under pressure and after learning that you can get burned out even when working on a passion, he’s pretty darn good at balancing his life. In this episode, he shares his practices on dealing with pressure, working through self-doubt and what it takes to keep showing up. 

In this special episode, we turn the microphone around and Julianne Neal of Whinny Tales interviews Lynn Carnes, executive coach and Bruce Anderson of Natures View and founder of Natural Humanship™. Real change only happens with pressure and discomfort. It’s a natural human reaction to turn away from both. In this episode, we break down the steps to turn into the sensations of pressure and discomfort so that we build a new personal foundation of inner strength. Using the horse as a mirror and a teacher, we recount Lynn’s experience of building her mental tools (which she calls the Invisible Tools) over two years of practice, training, failing, recovering, and doing it all over again. The is the first episode in a series of three. 

When Chelsea Mills decided to take up tournament water skiing in her 20’s, most people would have said she was a decade too late. She is now ranked number 8 in the world and still improving. She is also a high level tennis coach. Her window into the world of elite sports has given her some powerful insights into the difference mindset can make. She shares many of her insights with us in this episode. 

The ironic thing about developing self-awareness is that we often need others to hold up the mirror so we can see what is really true about ourselves. Nikki Porter, is the host of “Take the Reins, a weekly personal growth podcast for horse owners.” She effortlessly weaves the parallels between the relationships we have with horses and humans. The lessons apply to how we show up as leaders, the way our energy impacts others and the value of genuine truthfulness. We cover a lot of ground in this conversation about the places we have extraordinary power over our choices, even when facing the biggest pressures and changes of our lives.

Early 2020 promised to be the year newly minted entrepreneurs Chris and Karen would break through in their business Pampered Pets Inn. After spending most of their careers in the corporate world as project managers, they were thrilled to apply the principles of leadership, process and controls to a business that was just waiting to take off. Then the corona virus swept in and shut down the travel business. Almost overnight, they were forced to pivot on a dime and face realities no entrepreneur wants to face. Listen in this episode about how they evaluated the unfolding situation, navigated their emotions and made their decisions in this active and fluid environment.

If you have ever wondered how to take the leap and learn to fly, this episode is for you. Tammy Tappan starts with a story of “doing the mature thing and taking my toys home” after a business deal fell through. Driving a leaky RV through the desert, she followed her inner voice to seek out an art workshop. Her life has never been the same. In this episode, we dissect the methods Tammy used to breakthrough her fear and take chances, even with nagging self-doubt. The artwork resulting from her bravery is nothing less than stunning. 

“If you know how you got there, you can create culture.” David Benzel guides parents, coaches and leaders on the world of influence. From the earliest moments in his career, he has been helping people grow, change their habits, acquire new habits and gain skills. This conversation is packed with wisdom on leadership, change and dealing with the discomfort of going from point A to point B. His special gift is helping parents of elite athletes positively impact their children in a world where the pressure to perform can test the strongest relationships. As a an elite athlete and parent of two elite athletes, he has an insider’s perspective on how to best equip the parents to be at their best. His lessons translate to every domain where performance counts. 

Playing on the world stage as an athlete requires a tough mental game, deep work ethic and resilience. Natallia Berdnikava, world champion water skier and the first woman to jump over 190 feet, exemplifies all of these qualities and she’s willing to share her best thinking on performance. We talk in depth about everything from how to control your negative thoughts, how to visualize success, the keys to making experience count and the value of recovery. Plus, this conversation has a bonus, as she compares living in Belarus to the freedom of living in the United States. Enjoy the many useful insights you can take away from this conversation. 

If you have pressure in your life, Bruce Anderson has a message for you: Pressure can help you become more of who YOU really are. But first, you will have to give up perfection. Bruce is the founder of Nature’s View and he calls his work “Natural Humanship”. On the surface, Bruce looks like a “horse-whisperer” and I found him through a friend in the horse world. But it’s his work with people working with horses that I find unique. Bruce’s method uses the pressure created by the horse to rewrite our scripts on how we deal with all pressure. It’s life changing stuff! In this podcast, we not only talk about his method, we actually use it when we have a huge distraction less than 10 minutes into our conversation. This conversation gets really deep into what makes us act the way we do as humans, how we can change it for the better and how horses can help us save the planet.

Today’s guest Steve Snyder has been a leader in many domains, first in the Military as a Naval aviator and Commanding Officer, then in Business and now in Academia. We get into how the different contexts in each domain makes a difference in how you lead – and in the contrast between Leadership and Management. Steve is also an athlete and entrepreneur. He has truly learned to flex his skills by being a lifelong learner. There are so many layers in this conversation. Steve shares his secrets of serving in all of these capacities, and especially in a management capacity, which he believes is an essential element to success that is all too often overlooked.