030 | Life in the AND is RebrANDing and ExpANDing

12/01/20 • 11 min

As 2020 draws to a close, and winter is upon us, I start my final episode of the year. Life in the AND is about to rebrAND and expAND. I’m non-binary and non-conventional, I want to bring more of me to the podcast and I’m committed to it not being run of the mill.

In this episode, I reflect on the journey this podcast has taken me on, and the clarity it has given me to move forward as I think about what 2021 holds. I explore what rebranding and expanding means for me, explain what it means to be committed and unattached. I also speak about some of the inspirational guests who have contributed to my podcast so far; Shelly Paxton, Sean Smith, Bex Taylor-Klaus and Niiamah Ashong.

“‘AND’ is this powerful, expansive word that creates possibility” – Erin Baker

This week on Life in the AND:

A reflection on my podcast journey
Is winter a time to slow down or speed up?
Why it’s time to rebrand and expand
Being committed and unattached
The power of ‘AND’
Highlights from some of my favorite guests

Connect with my former guests who are in encore in December:

Embrace Life in the AND

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Life in the AND, the podcast helping you embrace the AND in your life to cultivate more authenticity, creativity, inclusiveness, and love in every area of the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, please head over to Apple Podcasts to subscribe to the show and leave a review.

Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn and share your favorite episodes across social media. And for more great content and information, be sure to visit my website.

“‘AND’ is this powerful, expansive word that creates possibility” – Erin Baker

This week on Life in the AND:

A reflection on my podcast journey
Is winter a time to slow down or speed up?
Why it’s time to rebrand and expand
Being committed and unattached
The power of ‘AND’
Highlights from some of my favorite guests

Connect with my former guests who are in encore in December:

Embrace Life in the AND

Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn and share your favorite episodes across social media. And for more great content and information, be sure to visit my website.

Previous Episode

029 | I am an ANDpersand with Bex Taylor-Klaus

I have been wanting to have Bex Taylor-Klaus on the podcast ever since I decided Life in the And was going to be a thing. Bex - the eldest child of previous guests Elaine and David Taylor-Klaus - is someone whom you may know from their role as Sin in CW’s Arrow, Audrey in MTV’s Scream, the voice of Pidge in Voltron: Legendary Defenders, or as the non-binary Deputy Brianna Bishop in Fox’s procedural drama, Deputy. An “Accidental AND,” Bex is a non-binary individual - an identity that we all need to talk more about in society.

In this episode, Bex and I explore what it means to be non-binary and what it looks like in Hollywood. We illustrate Bex’s experience with gender & identity as a child and how they discovered the non-binary identity. We elaborate on the non-binary identity’s characteristic as a spectrum and explain why it’s not about being “in the middle.” We emphasize the importance of letting people know that they are not alone and underscore the power of standing in your truth and speaking it.

“You are who you are. Who you are can change, and you can figure it out as you go along.” - Bex Taylor-Klaus

This week on Life in the AND:

Bex’s childhood experience and how they discovered the non-binary spectrum
Why Bex loves Dorothy from Wonderful Wizard of Oz
How Bex came out as non-binary for the first time during an argument
The power of knowing and speaking your truth
Pitching Deputy’s Breanna Bishop to Fox TV and why the show means so much to Bex
Transforming pain and heartache into art and content
Gatekeeping in the queer community
What the non-binary spectrum is and why it’s not about being “in the middle”
The superpower of non-binary humans
How we can become an AND with the pronouns we use and why it’s okay to let other people be confused
Our destiny to make a mark in the world
Why Bex likes to play characters that make people uncomfortable
The beauty of our human brains and the squiggly ANDpersand

Resources Mentioned:

Connect with Bex Taylor-Klaus:

Embrace Life in the AND

Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn and share your favorite episodes across social media. And for more great content and information, be sure to visit our website.

Next Episode

Encore: Shelley Paxton (Episode 8)

Shelley Paxton is internationally recognized as The Burnout Fighter and Fire Re-igniter. She is the Chicago-based author of Soulbbatical: A Corporate Rebel’s Guide to Finding Your Best Life, a book where she shares her journey from working in Corporate America as the CMO of Harley-Davidson to becoming the Chief Soul Officer of her life and career. Shelley has spent over 25 years in the corporate world as a highly regarded marketing and advertising executive with some of the world’s most iconic brands, including Visa, McDonald’s, and AOL. Her work has been recognized and featured in multiple media publications including Thrive Global, Forbes, PBS, and CBS. Since taking her Soulbbatical in 2016 and launching her company, Shelley has been on a mission to liberate a billion souls by inspiring them to embrace their greatest truth, purpose, and possibility.

Shelley joins me today to share all of the “Ands” in her life and career. She discusses her ballsy move to liberate a billion souls by creating a title wave of change in people’s lives and organizations. She discusses the magic that can happen when you trust AND surrender to your soul’s process instead of the corporate process or the process of others. She discusses how you can trust, surrender, and follow your soul’s desires while working in the corporate environment and why the first step to reconnecting to your soul is to get reacquainted with yourself and your personal values. She also explains the difference between rebelling for something versus rebelling against something and why she believes, deep down, everyone has a rebel soul.

“You have to know where you’re heading, and you first have to know yourself because getting reconnected with your soul really is getting reconnected with your GPS system.” - Shelley Paxton

This week on Life in the AND:

Shelley’s big, audacious goal of liberating a billion souls - one soul at a time
How Shelley stays grounded in holding onto her big, overarching goal while liberating one individual soul at a time
The magic that happens when you trust AND surrender to your soul’s process
Bridging the gap between working in the corporate world while following your soul’s desires
Getting reacquainted with yourself and your values and why it’s the first step to reconnecting to your soul
Choosing to believe that crisis always comes as a gift to teach us a lesson
Why Shelley believes everyone has a rebel soul
How your ‘ands’ are the lego pieces of your life
Using fear as fuel to get to where you want to go
Why Shelley believes trusting and surrendering to your soul’s desires is the “And” everyone should stand for

Resources Mentioned:

The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

Connect with Shelley Paxton:

Embrace Life in the AND

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn and share your favorite episodes across social media. And for more great content and information, be sure to visit our website.