385 Beacons of Fellowship
Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will
Release Date: 06/17/2025
387: Reframe Your AI Story Featuring Michael Kollo
Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will
Michael's background and transition to AI @ 13:38 Michael reveals his unexpected background in the arts and theatre, and how he later transitioned into finance before becoming interested in the implications of AI. He shares insights about the resistance to change and adoption of new technologies within the finance industry. Observations on AI adoption and impact @ 30:22 Michael shares two key observations about the adoption of AI: 1) Finance professionals initially dismissed the potential of machine learning, but then quickly embraced it for commercial reasons rather than scientific merit. 2)...
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386 Media Literacy and Division
Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will
386 Media Literacy and Division In the age of the internet it is impossibly easy for us to see something shocking and outrageous, ending up with us emotionally and morally outraged. We want to speak up, to make our voices heard in the sea of noise if only for a moment. However, it is easy for us to make a mistake on who we follow or share posts from, it is very easy to be fooled by a wolf in sheep’s clothing, which is why it is vital to stop, take a moment to do some basic research, and make our own informed decision. In today’s episode, Sarah Elkin’s has a solo show...
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385 Beacons of Fellowship
Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will
385 Beacons of Fellowship In a world so full of division, strife, and polarization, it can be easy to get caught up in the chaos of which path to follow. Which is why it is vital to put your own voice out there, not just to speak up for your beliefs, but so that those who you support and care for will know you are right beside them in this fight. In a world so obsessed with hate, there is no more powerful weapon than love and community. In today’s episode, Sarah Elkins uses the art of storytelling to tell us what truly matters to her while also weaving tales of her success and...
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384 Caring For Our Communities
Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will
384 Caring For Our Communities In todays episode Sarah Elkins and Amy Daughters discuss a variety of topics, from finding their calm, to how they try to reach out to those in need of a friend, and the various ways they make others in their lives feel seen. Highlights Where do you find your calm? Polarization and how it destroys our community. How do you make people feel seen? Quotes “I didn’t set out to do anything. I set out to be some crazy person who wants to write people letters.” “I will save your letter in a special place in my home for the rest of my...
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383 Your True Enemy Is Self-Doubt
Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will
383 Your True Enemy Is Self-Doubt Our internal messages shape who we are, whether they be positive or negative messages, shape who we are and how we carry ourselves through life, which is why it is so vital to stop and reflect on our messages and the input from those around us. We can learn alot from our personal board of directors, they encourage and guide us with their own personal experiences allowing us to grow, including when their input is critical. In today’s episode Sarah Elkins dwells on the importance of the words her own personal board has given her, the experiences...
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382 Images of Ourselves
Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will
382 Images of Ourselves It’s a sad fact of life that we internalize narratives that are made for us at an early age, we are told we are too emotional, that we’re too bossy, that we’re too big, and if we do not actively try to reframe or unlearn these narratives made for us, we are forced to live out a story someone else made up for us. It is our duty to reach out and take the power back for ourselves, to wield the pen as a mighty sword, and write our own narrative for the sake of our growth and inner peace. In today’s episode Sarah Elkins and Lindsey A. Lee, discuss...
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381Rock n Roll
Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will
381 Rock N Roll Authenticity and living your life in a way that reflects who you are and how you hope to be perceived is something we all strive for, however it can be easy to forget that change and growth is a constant changing cycle, even from moment we are allowed and expected to invent who we are. In this episode Sarah Elkins ruminates on when she joined the rock band she is apart of and how it has helped shape her authentic self as well as how important fun and joy is to the true sense self. Highlights What is authenticity to you? How do you portray your authentic self? ...
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380 Breaking Cycles
Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will
280 Breaking Cycles We are hardwired to remember the stories that are far more painful and life altering, than the happier stories we lived. Perhaps it is our survival instincts or it is just easier to remember the bad, regardless it is important to sit back and truly think about how we frame our narratives using these experiences and decide for ourselves that this story is one we want to change. In todays episode, Sarah Elkins and Erin Weninger discuss the cycles both of them have lived as women, business owners, and parents, and the difficulty that came with acknowledging and changing...
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379 Leaving The Legacy You Choose
Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will
379 Leaving The Legacy You Choose Inevitably, we will be faced with the endless march of time, we will have a moment when we have the thought of how we want people to speak about us when we are gone. Are you making stories that reflect how you want to be remembered? Are you living in a way that solidifies the legacy you want to leave? Do you surround yourself with people who inspire, drive, and temper your ambition? In todays episode, Sarah Elkins and Bryan Abdul Collins discuss the importance of living a life without regrets, of surrounding ourselves with people that help us be the best...
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378 Demonstrating Who You Are Through Story
Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will
378 Demonstrating Who You Are Through Story Through the art of storytelling people can get a glimpse into who we are in the way that is most meaningful to show. Through our stories and how we tell them we can show an entire room of people, or just that one significant person, who we are and what matters to us. Highlights Using story to show who you are as a person and what matters most to you. Creating an environment where everyone feels safe, welcome, and willing to share their stories. Reflection and the importance of examining our past actions. ...
info_outline385 Beacons of Fellowship
In a world so full of division, strife, and polarization, it can be easy to get caught up in the chaos of which path to follow. Which is why it is vital to put your own voice out there, not just to speak up for your beliefs, but so that those who you support and care for will know you are right beside them in this fight. In a world so obsessed with hate, there is no more powerful weapon than love and community.
In today’s episode, Sarah Elkins uses the art of storytelling to tell us what truly matters to her while also weaving tales of her success and strengths, as well as speaking of what truly matters to her.
Highlights
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Applying skills found in the workplace to the home, and vice versa.
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Standing for what you believe will make enemies, but it will also give others the strength to follow you.
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How do you want to show up in the world? How can you make your signals be in alignment with your beliefs.
Quotes
“Every story we share has the potential to shape how we experience ourselves, and how other people perceive us.”
“Through a combination of curiosity and intention, I started to build a community that was far more diverse. Not for the sake of diversity, but for the sake of inclusion, personal growth, and love.”
Dear Listeners it is now your turn,
If you’re willing to look in the mirror and really consider how you want to be experienced by the community around you, what will you do to ensure that you are signaling those values in everything you do? What decision will you make today to stop contributing to the polarization and start reconnecting with those you care about?
And, as always, thank you for listening.
About Sarah
"Uncovering the right stories for the right audiences so executives, leaders, public speakers, and job seekers can clearly and actively demonstrate their character, values, and vision."
In my work with coaching clients, I guide people to improve their communication using storytelling as the foundation of our work together. What I’ve realized over years of coaching and podcasting is that the majority of people don’t realize the impact of the stories they share - on their internal messages, and on the people they’re sharing them with.
My work with leaders and people who aspire to be leaders follows a similar path to the interviews on my podcast, uncovering pivotal moments in their lives and learning how to share them to connect more authentically with others, to make their presentations and speaking more engaging, to reveal patterns that have kept them stuck or moved them forward, and to improve their relationships at work and at home.
The audiobook, Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will is now available!
Included with your purchase are two bonus tracks, songs recorded by Sarah's band, Spare Change, in her living room in Montana.
Be sure to check out the Storytelling For Professionals Course as well to make sure you nail that next interview!