389 Identifying and Acting On Problems You Can Solve
Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will
Release Date: 07/15/2025
Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will
Screen Time for Young Children: A Parent's Search for Answers and Options In this day and age of smartphones, electronic billboards, TVs, and the seemingly impossible-to-avoid screen, it’s easy to lose connection to what matters most, our community as human beings. We crave connection, and by mindlessly scrolling or putting on a video to appease ourselves or a child, we inherently rob ourselves and our charges of a chance to truly connect, oftentimes causing irrevocable damage to the brain. We know screens are here to stay, so the question becomes how we can shift how we use them to...
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405 A Love Letter To My Future Self Throughout life there will come times where we must take up our skills and talents as a knight would a sword and shield, wielding our innate and powerful gifts to further our lives for the better. By facing these moments, refusing to make excuses, and instead put in the hard work, we are bound to succeed. In this episode, Sarah Elkins contemplates the events that lead up to her presence on the TEDX stage, how the encouragement of her closest confidants, the peacefulness of nature on her hikes, and her own self reflection has brought her to this pivotal...
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404 The Unpredictable Nature of Our Stories Like the humble ant, we go about our lives caring for those in our home, seeking new horizons, and using our natural talents to build monuments to our success. However, just like the ant, we are subject to things out of our control; be it a rainstorm that floods known pathways or a cruel child with a magnifying glass. These things can break us, they often do, but just like the ant we must settle again, rebuild, and make our home safe again. In this episode Sarah Elkins and Anne Plaisance discuss the many trials and tribulations they had faced...
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403 Choosing Love First It’s easy to forget that we have free will, that we can choose what we love, what we like, how we choose for others to perceive us. It takes a great deal of self reflection and growth to find the parts of ourselves that are willing to speak up and fight for what we believe in, even if we must speak up and fight against ourselves. In today’s episode Sarah Elkins and Edward Simberg discuss everything from how they met, to their deep love of storytelling, to the core beliefs they both hold dear. Highlights How do you live the stories you...
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402 Freedom in Healing Throughout life we may make decisions, or be subject to decisions made involving us. Whether it’s first or second hand, inevitably we begin to believe in a pattern in the behavior around us, oftentimes leading to self doubt and worse. However, if we keep moving forward, actively choosing to make the best of a situation, to learn and grow in order to better ourselves for ourselves, we will find our freedom in healing. In today’s episode, Sarah Elkins and Holli Tabren McEachern discuss the importance of growth, healing, and the honesty that comes with self...
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401 Exploring Our Identities It can be daunting to explore outside of your comfort zone, it is vital to your growth. Whether that be leaving your hometown or simply stepping into a new field, we must challenge ourselves to unlock our true potential. In today’s episode Sarah Elkins and Sarah Degn discuss how important it is to spread your own wings and to travel outside of your comfort zone and to find who you are through your own skills and knowledge. Highlights Leaving home behind to pursue your dreams. It’s never too late to try and to explore. Learning...
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In celebrating the 400th Episode of Your Stories Don’t Define You How You Tell Them Will, Sarah Elkins ruminates on the many lessons and gifts she has been given throughout her journey as a podcaster, an entrepreneur, and a person. From returning to what truly matters, to reciprocating the good and beautiful things in life. Highlights What goals have you met that still shock you? What are you reflecting on and have you made amendments to others and yourself? How do you reciprocate in your relationships? Especially in the relationship with yourself. Are you surrounding...
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399 Support In All Its Different Forms When it comes to feeling comfortable, confident, and seen, it is important that we dress ourselves in a way that reflects how we want to feel. When it comes to women, a good bra that is comfortable and supportive is absolutely vital. We feel good when we have clothes that fit our body and flatter us. In today’s episode Sarah Elkins and LaJean Lawson discuss not only Doctor Lawson's extensive research into the comfort and support of sports bras and how it has impacted the people in her life that needed something so vital and yet so easily...
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398 Everything We Do Can Create A Story Every living breathing moment, we contribute to our own story. Every job, every interaction with another soul, every moment we reflect, we write a significant line in our story and oftentimes we must take time to truly consider what we truly want to have in our story. Do we want exhaustion or loneliness to rule our narrative? Or do we want to forge our own community based on that which brings us joy and cherish the light within us? These are the questions we must ask ourselves. In today’s episode Sarah Elkins and Tracy MacDonald discuss the...
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When you first take the Strengths Finder quiz, we often feel like those skills and talents are what you can use to guide and influence others, however if we forget to take time for ourselves, to turn our talents inward and focus on ourselves, we are failing ourselves by not acknowledging what we bring to the table. In today's episode Sarah Elkins and Lindsey Van Gorp discuss the importance of introspection, fostering and growing our strengths, as well as how we need to wield our talents and skills in order to be the best version of ourselves, not just for others but for ourselves...
info_outline389 Identifying and Acting On Problems You Can Solve
We are surrounded by problems everyday of our lives, some manageable and others seeming too monumental to handle alone. Which is why it is so important to build a community of like minded individuals with the same goal of making a true difference.
In today’s episode Sarah Elkins and Tessa Clarke discuss the relationship people have with stuff, food waste, and how Tessa’s company Olio have been making a real difference in the face of the climate crisis.
Highlights
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Our relationship with objects, like clothing, that shape our identity.
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What do you waste without realizing? How much do you think you throw away in a week? A month? And a year?
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We all need someone in our corner to help build us up and to help chart a path forward.
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Building community while also solving problems.
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Quit wishing things would be better and start making the change yourself.
Quotes
“We always think the grass is greener on the other side but it never is.”
“What’s good for the planet is good for people and vice versa.”
“It is honestly exhausting being a founder, trying to drive the change in a world that’s set up not to change. So you’ve got to find ways to reenergize yourself and to keep going, to keep fighting every single day.”
Dear Listeners it is now your turn,
When you think about those 4 to 5 years that Tessa talked about and that journey of wanting to be entrepreneurial and thinking about it in terms of “what is the problem I can solve?” What is something you could start today, maybe it eventually becomes a side hustle, maybe the side hustle stays a side hustle, or maybe it turns into something more. What is a problem that you’ve experienced, that maybe you’re the person to solve?
And, as always, thank you for listening.
About Tessa
Tessa Clarke is the co-founder and CEO of Olio, the world’s only neighbour-to-neighbour food-sharing app, and a trailblazing force in the fight against waste. Since launching in 2015 - and as a remote first business - Olio has grown into a global movement with 8 million users, redistributing over 100 million meals and 14 million household items, proving that small actions can drive massive change. Recognised as Veuve Clicquot’s Bold Woman of the Year in 2023, Tessa is also a Sifted columnist, an Ambassador for the Better Business Act, and a member of the Small Business Growth Forum, advising the UK Government on SME concerns. With a track record of disrupting industry and mobilising communities, Tessa is a passionate speaker who inspires audiences to rethink business, sustainability, and the power of grassroots innovation.
Check out Tessa’s LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram! As well as her website Olio, and her TED Talk!
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!