Leadership. It’s often glorified and discussed, often regarding a formal role, position, or status. How reductive and limiting.

No matter what organization you’re part of, or group you belong to, or title you have/lack - YOU are and can be a leader - at the very least, the leader of your own dang life.

In this episode, I highlight various ways we can lead from where we stand, no matter who we are or what we do (some will likely surprise you). I outline subtle and overt ways we can directly/indirectly influence those around us and the world at large.

I suggest ways to empower yourself and take control of your life, to live it on your own terms.

We’re all leaders. This isn’t saying we all deserve trophies and can phone it in. No, it really is about the different ways we can each lead - from where we individually stand. It’s about trying, doing your best, reclaiming your power, taking responsibility and owning your life.

Lead on.

-w-

Find me on Facebook and Instagram (@the_nativist)

Per request, this episode dives into politics. 

I have a degree in political science and international relations, with a minor in psychology, so this is definitely an area of interest. I discuss the roles of politics and tribalism in our lives, how certain leaders can be so powerful, how to educate yourself on issues effectively and responsibly, why international relations affect our daily lives, why Americans should stay sympathetic and humble, and why open-mindedness is essential. Plus...a whole lot of other stuff. I keep it clean, I keep it neutral...but hopefully, I also keep it thought provoking.

Below, you’ll find my outline I used for this episode - in case you feel like getting wild and really digging in (or using for past/future reference!)

• Disclaimer: This is not going to be partisan. For my job, I must stay neutral. As you may have noticed, I stay neutral on social media (though sometimes this is tough - especially on my Hot Topic Thursday questions!).

• Lizard brain

  • Fear of survival

  • Self preservation kicks in

  • Law of scarcity

  • Identify common enemy

  • If leaders can activate your lizard brain, then game over: they can control you

    • Eg. Hitler

    • Try to not let this happen to you!

• Tribalism

  • In vs. out crowd

  • Humans are social creatures

  • Back in the day, our survival depended on fitting in with the tribe. Strength in numbers. We couldn’t survive without it. Now, it’s still important, especially for mental health.

  • Associating with a tribe gives us a sense of identity and purpose. Provides framework for our life. Makes us feel like we belong

  • Judging others makes us feel superior (reference judgment podcast). Gives us a hit of feel-good emotions. Makes us feel smarter than, more pious than, etc.

  • We love “gotcha” moments: 

• I’m personally politically independent and issue based. I don’t affiliate with a political party.

  • I think it can get dangerous when you have blind, unconditional loyalty to groups/human constructs, like a political party

    • No matter what, the GOP is always right. 

    • Ride or die for the Democrats

    • If you think about it, that defies reason. That’s just giving away your power. Your agency. 

  • Both sides are guilty. Just like there are bad eggs in every profession, or organization, or religion. We’re human. We’re fallible. 

• Without getting too into it, I’ll just say that mixing religion and rule can be a slippery slope, no matter what kind of religion and what kind of government it is: democracy and Christianity, democracy and Judaism, monarchy and Islam. Not that certain mixtures can never work: it can be closed-minded to think so (and I’m a FIRM believer in open-mindedness, both in preach and practice). Let’s not be so quick to denounce another way of doing things. This goes for countries and people. 

  • I also strongly believe in freedom. As you may have heard me say, a main mantra of mine is to live and let live, unless your lifestyle harms another. There are many different kinds of religions and anointing one religion as THE religion by yoking it to the official rule of law impede others’ freedom to practice their own. A “holier-than-thou” attitude - particularly in politics - can be detrimental, counterproductive, and downright damaging in multiple ways. If there is an official religion, let’s make it love. Boom. On to the next topic.

• Let’s talk economy

  • I’m no economist by any means, but I’ve read a few books and tried to educate myself somewhat. 

    • Some of the books I’ve read:

      • Keeping At It: The Quest for Sound Money and Good Government by Paul Volcker. Volcker is the former chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the former Undersecretary of the Treasury for Monetary Affairs and president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Volcker chronicles his career, during which he confronted multiple financial crises and issues. He extols the virtue of stable prices, sound finance, and good government. It wasn’t as dry of a read as you’d expect.

      • Capitalism in America: A History by Alan Greenspan: From the legendary former Fed Chairman and the acclaimed Economist writer and historian, the full, epic story of America's evolution from simple colonies to the world’s most powerful engine of wealth and innovation. Greenspan explores why the economy surges, changes, stalls, etc. He distills a lifetime of grappling with these questions about capitalism, etc,  into a thorough and profound book outlining the decisive drivers of the US economy over the course of its history.

  • riveting?! Okay, okay, fine. I get it. \

  • What I would love people to understand: The economy is multi-dimensional and affected by a variety of factors, most of them international factors. 

  • And the economy is not the only way to measure how well a leader is doing

    • I don’t expect everyone to become international relations experts, but I would LOVE for there to just be more awareness of how important IR are, and the bearing they have on everything else (like the economy!). Part of this is because raising one’s awareness of international relations also heightens your consideration of people in other countries and cultures. There’s more to the world than just your local economy, or even national economy. Let’s expand our consciousness beyond how well our personal investments/bank accounts/jobs are doing

    • Ex. of how IR can affect us: 

      • It affects how much you pay at the pump: OPEC arguing over oil prices affects the price of gas

      • It affects the price of goods: the creation/dissolution of trade deals or tariffs with, say, China, will affect the price of imports/exports. This affects supply/demand in the world, and trickles down to your wallet.

      • It affects where you can travel (and where it’s safe to travel): Allying with or angering certain countries affects whether or not you need a passport/visa, or whether or not you’re even welcome in that country at all. There are also ripple effects in IR: our alliance/dismissal with a certain country can spark fighting in that country or elsewhere, making it unsafe to travel there. Or less directly felt by us (but not less important), it can enable bad people to do bad things.

  • And an unfortunate truth: America isn’t invincible. We’re not entitled or even guaranteed to win. We must safeguard our liberties. Other great nations have fallen - so can ours. Let’s not get cocky. We must stay humble and considerate. We mess up (we’ve had some ROYAL screw ups in the past - Native Americans (stealing land, smallpox blankets), meddling in affairs worldwide for our own gain, etc). Most of those past indiscretions have lingering effects playing out today, and are reflected in the world’s current state of affairs. We’ve disrupted entire cultures and countries. Yes, other countries and other superpowers have, too. Yes, that doesn’t excuse current terrorism and violence. Yes, it’s not productive to constantly dwell on the past and constantly be held accountable for our predecessors’ mistakes. However, 1. We still mess up (we’re fallible humans, remember?) and 2. I think it’s key for us to at least acknowledge our missteps and how they affect current events. Be humble. Think of someone who did you dirty in the past. Maybe they lied to you, or stole your bike, or didn’t invite you to a big party. Doesn’t feel good, right? Now let’s step that up: Imagine they murdered your family, stole your land, forced you to submit and follow their rules (punished you if you didn’t), and then didn’t apologize for decades later - after the damage had been done? And then downplayed it (or outright DENIED it and told you to get over it already). See how that kind of grudge could stick with a person? So let’s be a little kinder to everyone. 

  • Okay, back to the importance of international relations (though what I just said does directly apply). 

    • Current international relations are a result of past international relations. People who currently despise America generally don’t hate us simply because they’re mean, bad people. They loathe us for a reason: often, for those aforementioned past indiscretions. We did them dirty. 

    • Often, pride is mixed in with that. It’s not a good feeling to be the world’s epicenter of culture, mathematics, literature, etc - and then suddenly find yourself a third-word country. Ouch. So let’s be compassionate. 

    • And sometimes people just hate Americans because they’ve had too much haterade - and we have to remember, that’s their prerogative. It’s unfair and elitist to think American humans are better than other humans, and Americans are the only ones entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.   

    • Also important to remember: all humans are capable of acting a fool, particularly when tangled up in emotions: fear, pride, insecurity, etc. Remember what i said about the lizard brain, instinct for survival, and scarcity mindset? Unfortunately, I see that played out daily in American politics. We’re all in this together, muddling through the best we can.

  • Thank you all!

• Thank you all!

My latest guest is one [mc]cool cat.

I first met Tyler McCool a few years ago while shooting a wedding with my sister in gorgeous upstate New York. He was the videographer and was serving major good vibes: fun, friendly, focused, and…chill (for once in my life, I ran out of F words!).

We’ve stayed connected through Instagram since then, and Tyler’s account is one of my faves. He’s a fellow creative who knows how to have a good time. His talent runs wide and deep - just like our conversation. When he’s not making me laugh, he’s making me think: with his art, his poetry, his funny responses to my Insta stories…

I hit him with some questions, and he delivered. We talk creating, living, loving, and evolving.

Enjoy.

You can find Tyler online (www.mccoolmedia.com) or on Instagram (@mccooltyler)

This year, I again had the honor of speaking at The Women’s Networking Group monthly gathering, founded by my good friend (and previous pod guest) Brianne Sloan.

Last time, I spoke on boundaries (you can listen on episode 8 posted 02/03/2019). This time, I spoke on releasing judgment.

What a relevant topic, huh? One that applies to ALL of us. Truly. Whether we’re judging or being judged - it’s our reality. This episode isn’t about shaming yourself/others for judging, nor is it about eliminating judgment entirely. Let’s be kind to ourselves, and let’s be real with ourselves. My objective with this episode is to explain why judgment happens, and to offer different ways of viewing yourself and others - all to inspire understanding, compassion, and acceptance. Only by understanding judgment can we transcend it and reclaim our power from it.

Thank you for listening.

In this episode, I sit down with Darren Hansen for a dynamic, fun, and informational conversation. Darren is the owner and head coach of Hansen Athletics, where he and his coaches deliver customized strength and conditioning training to not just athletes, but anyone who wants to be their best self. As Darren highlights, the physical aspect is only part of it. True self optimization happens by showing up for yourself, getting your mind right, dialing in your rest and nutrition, knowing your power, and keeping it SIMPLE.

This episode offers something for everyone, regardless of your current fitness level. If you’re a human and are interested in leveling up and FEELING good - this is for you.

Darren is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, has a BS in Exercise Science, and is a certified USAW-National Coach.

Find Hansen Athletics:

Blog/apparel/podcast: www.hansenathletics.com

Instagram: @hansenathletics

Facebook: HansenAthletics

YouTube: HansenAthletics

HansenAthletics Podcast: Spotify | iTunes | website

Find Darren:

Instagram @coachdarrenh

Twitter @CoachDarrenH

Images by Tara Tracy Photography

In this episode, I sit down with a soul sister of mine, Brianne Sloan. Though our conversation was diversified, a common thread tying it all together was connecting with others and with yourself. This includes personal empowerment and interpersonal empowerment, through loving and respecting yourself and others and taking action. We discuss body neutrality, life lessons, and how to be a nice human.

She is a multi-faceted creator and connector. As the founder of the Women’s Networking Group, she “approaches networking differently, relaxed and intuitively.” (You know I’m all about living intuitively!) As a photographer and artist, she offers a beautiful and unique perspective on the world, its beauty, and its beautiful people. As a mother, she nurtures love, curiosity, and empathy.

Bri is a force in every way. She’s remarkably talented, she’s driven, she’s strong (mentally and physically), she’s empathetic, she’s intelligent, she’s accomplished, she’s fun, she’s generous…I could keep going for dayzzz.

We invite you to listen in on our wide-ranging discussion, and feel inspired to show yourself and others some L O V E.

Find Brianne on Instagram: @brisloanphotography || @thewomensnetworkinggroup
or on Facebook: @Brianne Sloan || @The Women’s Networking Group

x,

-w-

In this episode, I interview model Janiah DeLancy, an old soul whose spirit matches her beauty.

In our conversation, we go below the surface and dive into the depths. Janiah shares how she broke into the biz, what it’s like working with other models, how she stays grounded in a profession focused on looks, and how she didn’t take “no” for an answer. If you’re craving inspiration on resilience, nerve, and motivation, this is for you. And if you’re wanting a kick in the pants to make your dreams happen, this is especially for you!