Little Waves Project - Stories That Inspire

“Don’t always put the learning labor on the people who hold the knowledge.”- Carter Stepanovsky How do I describe this episode? Words come to mind like; rich, vulnerable, enlightening, honest, and personal. Carter has an ability to stay present and speak from an honest, authentic place about their experiences, challenges, discoveries, and requests. We talk about staying curious and not making things personal to take advantage of learning moments and grow as a human. This skill applies to many situations in life. While challenging to take your ego out of it, the advantages of learning, growing, and connecting are everlasting and create opportunities for you and all humans.

"Flow states are the most meaningful moments of our lives." - Jeremy Jensen Jeremy is the creator of the Adventurepreneur podcast and cofounder of Outwild, which is a community and event-series for people who want to create more outdoor, value-driven lifestyles. Jeremy is an outdoor sports athlete and speaks to the topic of flow states, which he describes as the most meaningful moments of our lives. I really loved this conversation because Jeremy is so genuine in everything he does. His journey is one that, I think, many of us can relate to. He speaks to a time in his life when he was lost and unsure of what to do next. Taking an honest look at what he was afraid of allowed him to move forward in a way that made him feel alive. We talk a lot about how hard and important it is to acknowledge your fear and doubt but move forward anyway. Jeremy gets into the concept of Flow States, these moments we all have where we actually feel alive, perform at our best, and where time seems to slow down. He speaks a little to the neuroscience of flow and how we can actually actively induce these states by being present so that we can have more meaningful lives.

"It's all about how you step into your day." - Jen Towle Jen, like many people, has had life experiences like growing up in an intense household, marriage, becoming a mother, finding herself, losing a parent, and parenting. It is what Jen has done in response to her life experiences that makes her so wise and powerful to listen to. Jen has learned to lean into life’s difficulties rather than hiding, avoiding, running from, or numbing. She is courageous as she shows up for herself every single day using practices, tools, and learnings that help her stay steady through life’s pain and challenges. Jen values nature’s teachers because they remind us that we are all connected. I hope you feel her wisdom as she speaks from her heart, in an embodied way, to share some of the things that have helped her on her journey.

"Your work is never done." - Erin Antoville Erin comes with an open heart and an appetite to share the things that have helped her on her journey to where she is today. Erin opens up about the challenging times she had as a young girl dealing with the divorce of her parents and losing her mom. Her wisdom speaks when she explains that “everyone is carrying an invisible backpack,” a phase used to illuminate how you can never know what someone is dealing with just by looking at them. I love Erin’s story because it shows you how fostering the connection with yourself can allow you to thrive in life.

“I wanted to create a space where people can connect with others who are as curious as they are” - Breanne Kiefner This episode left me feeling enlightened, like I had grown from hearing a new perspective. Breanne brings so much wisdom from her experiences into our conversation. Because she was instantly able to drop into the present moment, I found it easy to talk with her about her learnings as a mother, business owner, and more. Breanne is the creator and owner of Root Adventures, a company that designs trips and online experiences that allow all types of people to connect with nature, people, and become their best selves. She speaks to some of the challenges of owning a travel company during the pandemic and also gives us a sneak peak into the exciting virtual programs she is designing to make sure she can help as many people as possible connect during this challenging time. I so appreciated her honesty about what it was like to become a mother, deal with mental illness and work through challenges with her partner. We can all take a page out of Breanne's book as we strive to show up as our true selves, to make sure we can live as our best selves.