What if the life, career, or identity you've worked so hard to build no longer reflects who you're becoming?

In this heartfelt panel discussion, Carolyn Cooper is joined by Leadership & Transitions Coach Laura Shepherd and communication expert Elizabeth Bennett to explore the courage it takes to tell yourself the truth, embrace change, and lead from a place of authenticity. Together, they unpack how honest conversations, aligned leadership, and one courageous step can transform not only your work, but your entire life.

What You’ll Hear:

• Why your next chapter begins by telling yourself the truth
• What courageous admitting looks like, and why it often involves grief, vulnerability, and letting go of old identities
• Laura's journey from corporate leadership to purpose-driven coaching after burnout became a wake-up call
• Elizabeth's transition from school principal to entrepreneur, and how courageous conversations became her life's work
• Why the price of silence costs more than we think in leadership, work, relationships, and within ourselves
• How intention, honest conversations, and deep listening create trust, connection, and healthier leadership
• Laura's Mount Kilimanjaro journey and the leadership lessons found in slowing down, building strong foundations, and asking for support
• Why lasting transformation begins with one courageous step, one honest conversation, and one intentional choice

Resources Mentioned

•Learn about the AIM High Sanctuary: https://aim-high-sanctuary.circle.so/commit30days

Featured Guests: Laura Shepherd & Elizabeth Bennett

Laura Shepherd

Laura Shepherd is an accomplished Leadership & Transitions Coach and marketing strategist with 25+ years of leadership experience building brands and leading teams across global organizations. An ICF-accredited coach (ACC) with multiple certifications, Laura partners with high achievers and teams to unlock clarity, alignment, and leadership effectiveness. Her work sits at the intersection of business strategy and human potential, empowering individuals and organizations to thrive and create meaningful impact.

Follow Laura Shepherd:

Website: https://nnwcoaching.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-shepherd/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nnwcoaching/

Elizabeth Bennett

Elizabeth Bennett transforms communication challenges into opportunities for growth. As Founder of Courageous Network Inc., she equips leaders, teams, families, and youth to build trust, collaboration, and meaningful relationships. Through open, honest dialogue, she inspires change and empowers others to step into conversations with courage, using words that heal, not hurt.

Follow Elizabeth Bennett:

Website: https://www.courageousnetwork.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/CourageousNetwork

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-bennett-942a862b/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/courageousnetwork

Meet the Host: Carolyn Cooper

Carolyn Cooper is the woman high‑capacity women in business call when life looks impressive but their soul knows something is off. She works with soul‑centered, love‑inspired leaders who are done performing success and ready for results that feel true and aligned. As host of the Love Inspired Leadership Podcast, creator of the AIM High Method, and founder of the AIM High Sanctuary, she offers a potent, grace‑filled space where women tell the truth, regulate their energy, and clean up their boundaries. In this Sanctuary, they connect with deeply aligned partners, watch their businesses soar, and experience deeper joy, clarity, tangible growth, and sustainable prosperity, all from their authentic identity.

Connect with the Host:

• Website: https://aim-high-sanctuary.circle.so/commit30days
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inspiredconnectioninc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InspiredBusinessDevelopment
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/inspiredbusinessdevelopment/

🎁 Freebie

Ready to experience greater clarity, confidence, and momentum in your life and leadership?

🌿 Claim Carolyn's AIM High Sanctuary 30-Day Activation Gift and join a community of heart-centered professional women committed to living and leading with truth, alignment, and purpose.

Through live coaching, meaningful conversations, and supportive accountability, you'll strengthen self-trust, gain fresh perspective, and create forward momentum toward what matters most.

Lead with more than inspiration. Lead with greater clarity, renewed confidence, and a community that sees, supports, and celebrates who you're becoming.

✨ Learn more about the AIM High Sanctuary: https://aim-high-sanctuary.circle.so/commit30days

Love Inspired Leadership is proud to be part of the High Vibe Podcast Network. Explore Carolyn's Gift in the Vault: https://highvibepodcastnetwork.com/gifts

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Welcome back to the Love Inspired Leadership Podcast. We are absolutely thrilled you are here, and this episode is different than any episode I have done up until now. I met these two extraordinary love inspired. leaders, women who are on a mission in their business to make a meaningful difference in the world, in a breakout room a few months ago, and instantly my intuitive mind, my voice of wisdom said, "Hey, wouldn't it be great if we had a panel podcast discussion, and they both said yes. So I'm just so honored, and for the audience, as you know, this is an opportunity for us to delve into the truth, the truth about life, the truth about business, the truth about the power and presence of what love can do personally and professionally. So, I'm just so excited. Thank you, Laura, for saying yes. Thank you, Elizabeth, for saying yes. Appreciate both of you very much. And this discussion today, I think, will be evidence for you and give you. We just had a conversation before we came on here. Give you some tools, some strategies, and and some clarity on how to live your best life aligned with truth, love, and radiance. So, let me introduce you to both of them first of all before we start swimming in this power of possibility. So, I'd like to introduce you to Laura Shepard. She is a leader and transitions coach and founder of North by Northwest Coaching and Consulting. She has over 25 years in leadership experience, building brands and leading teams across global organizations. She truly helps leaders navigate change, unlock clarity, and lead from within. Love it. She works. What she her work really sits at this intersection between business strategy and human potential, empowering individuals as well as organizations to thrive and create meaningful impact. Thank you, Laura, for saying yes once again. And let me introduce you to Elizabeth Bennet. We have had the honor of connecting on a podcast in the past, as well as our

networking opportunities. And what this woman brings is profound. She is a leadership consultant, speaker, and communications expert, whose work focuses on courageous conversations, trust, connection, and authentic leadership. Elizabeth helps leaders and organizations create healthier cultures by having the conversations that matter most. That that is my language. That is my juice, and that is my jam. So thank you, thank you, thank you. And today we're exploring this powerful question. So, what happens when we finally admit that something is no longer true? Perhaps it's a belief. Perhaps it's a role, a responsibility. Perhaps it's an expectation, or your definition of success, or a version of ourselves that we've simply outgrown, because oh, I just got truth bumps on that one. I love that, because often our next chapter doesn't begin with learning something new; it begins with telling the truth. So let's dive in, ladies. And for this segment on what I call truth, radical honesty. When you hear the phrase "courageous admitting, what does it mean to each of you, and I think that I'll start with Laura.

Laura Shepherd : Awesome! Thank, first of all, Carolyn, thank you so much for having us here. I'm so excited. The vibe and energy between all of us is fabulous. So thank you. And when I hear courageous admitting, it's personal. It's it's scary. It's loss. It's grief. It's looking at yourself and realizing that what you did to get you where you are is awesome, but it's no longer going to work for you. And that, to me, was the heart of that. That was like, and and there's a loss there. There's a grief of of of transformation of having to shed skin, having to lose something in order to grow into something else.

It's beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. So, Elizabeth, from your perspective, how does that land for you?

I think the the first word, and thank you as well. I'm honored to be with both of you today. So this is very exciting. I think the the word that came to me first from from what you were talking about was vulnerability, and you know, and Laura just spoke to that in terms of you know shedding, moving away, and so on. And I think, you know, I think part of that I look at my own life from the perspective of having been a school principal, and you know that became my life, and that was my not only my title, but that was what I thought at that moment in time, or for a period of time, that was me, right? Because you know, even when I, even when people say, "Well, what do you do? and well, hi, my name is Elizabeth Benen, and I'm a school principal. Like it just it it it was part of who I became, and so when I moved away from that, so when I retired from that and closed that chapter, well, I left a little of the book open. But you know, having said that, into this new space, I had to let that go, and then there was a place, real a vulnerability for me and for grief and loss to say, okay, now what? Now what do I have? I don't have anything. I'm not that anymore. Now what? What do I do? And I think that's that's that place. Well, there was a lot of grief around it, and I didn't know how to identify it at first because I I didn't recognize it as grief. I just thought, okay, well, I'm done with that now. What happens?

And and there's this in both of your reflections. What I love is is the radical honesty in that truth, and and I want to invite the audience to realize that's the depth of opportunity that we have here, and and that is a release. It's a let go. It's it's also I just got truth bumps again. Oh, this is interesting. Is it's also the release of an old identity that we thought was who we were. I went through exactly the same process. So many people on this podcast have gone through the same transition, the same change. Yet there's this place that I call your space for grace. That is this openness, this curiosity. It's exactly what you said, Elizabeth. What's next? How how do I know what's Next here, and I think what really helps is taking that deep dive and look in the mirror. And I know that's what you both do within both your roles and responsibilities, and serving within your businesses, so what? Here's the next question. Love this question so much. So, was there a season you touched on on two transitional, what I call taking that hard right to change in your lives, was there a season in your life where you knew something was no longer true, but you weren't ready to acknowledge it yet? So that's the first part of the question. And the second part is, what do you think that cost you with holding on to that belief, that role, or that expectation and identity. So I'm going to go back to Laura because I'm going to ping pong here. So something that you knew was no longer true, and what do you think that cost you in holding on to that.

Laura Shepherd : Well, that's powerful question, and that is actually the core of what I do, and it's the core of what I go through, and I'm still going through because I get to keep going through it for as long as I get to walk this earth. So for me. I reached a point where I knew that corporate world-it's like it was intense. It was in a toxic environment. It was-I knew how to do the work. I knew how to be uncomfortable in my. I accepted the discomfort of being in that world because that's what I knew how to do. What I knew was was was different. Was that I the whole thing? I don't know how to get out of this, and I don't know how what to do next. And I spent in that in that time an extended period of time, which was not healthy. And the cost of that was my health, and I I got significant vertigo, and it lasted for six months, and I did every test possible. I was perfectly fine. So then, why was I getting these health issues and vertigo? Well, guess what? It was stress, and it was not in alignment with who I was, and it was trying to tell me change. You've got to move off this this what you know not to be true anymore, which is that you can do and be the person you want to be and serve in this world in a totally different way than what you thought you had to, and it's that. That's where I believe there's so many ways to live your life, and we get to choose. And I had to stop and say, "What now? How do I? How do I get through this?

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Okay, thank you for that. And I'm gonna pop over to Elizabeth. How how that lands for you? That question of when you knew something was no longer true and what the cost of holding on to that.

I think it was my transition from being a school principal into being an entrepreneur, and for the first while, because it cost me greatly in in terms of speeding up or being totally engaged in the entrepreneurial world was because I forgot to bring the 35 years plus that I had had being in administration, being a teacher, being with parents, kids, and so on. That's why I wrote the book right away after that because I thought I need to get this message out-the courageous conversations, a guide for parents to understand and connect with their teens-because now I wasn't in a confined environment only in my school and in my district, but now I had the opportunity to be in the world and be able to share that message globally, and then that transitioned into moving into doing what Laura is stepping out of. I want to get in there to disrupt those toxic environments, and so when I see that, and I think again, that's that. Hmm, am I ready? Do I have the well? I I need to bring the 35 years with me because I manage people. I had those conversations. I was in those toxic environments, but I I didn't ever think of of the space of education in the business context, and so that was a a big transition for me to say, well, wait a minute, like I've been doing this. This is not different. These are just, you know, they used to be kids, and now they're adults. They're they're kids in better looking clothes,

sometimes

in shirts and ties, and you know, fancy outfits, and so on.

Right,

but they are still they're still kids underneath that because what I saw from that was they didn't have people in education. We we don't often have the time to have those connected conversations to understand to help kids through their social emotional behavior and things that you know if you said it this way or how about if you take a look at it from a different perspective and now those people are adults and they're in those places and spaces and they are continuing to struggle with that and that's what creates toxic environments? Because people are afraid to talk, but I know we'll get into that later.

I love where this is going. So I want to invite the audience to just be curious right now. Open your mind. Think of where you are in your life, in your career, in your season, in your relationships, and ask yourself, what would courageous admitting be for me? What is no longer true here? And it's it's a great great. I'm focusing on this inside the Aim High Sanctuary, which is my. Community for women in business, because I see business success for women as well as men. But I serve women who are high capacity, high achieving women. That this question can open up so much possibility, so much potential, so much truth, and meaning and purpose in in why we're here and what we're meant to do to serve. So I just respect both of you for your decisions and your courage, and your bravery. So I think many of us know the truth long before we're willing to act on it, and this is both personally and professionally, and I also know that we have this extraordinary voice of wisdom within us that wants to be heard, that's inviting us to be more brave, more courageous, and once we listen and slow down a little bit, because if we're so busy, if we're on that, like you said, Laura earlier, that performance track, that pushing, forcing, making things happen in the performance mode, that's where our health can be affected. That you said as well, our our mental health. I think our physical health as well as our spiritual health too. So, let's talk about what happens next, shall we? Oh, I think I'm doing this again already. I can feel it. Okay, I'm I'm so grateful right now. So let's talk about the next piece, which is called Alignment and choosing what truly reflects who we are, and as well as who we are becoming. So, let me ask both of you. So, once you admitted that truth, and you know what is it that changed in how you lived and how you led yourself in your own self leadership? So I'm going to start with Laura again. So things shifted, things

changed. Elizabeth, you mentioned some of those elements already, but let's let's go to Laura first. So once you admitted that, you know, and and made that decision. So what changed for for you in how you lived, as well as your love inspired leadership within?

Laura Shepherd : Oh, I love it. Thank you. It's another wonderful question. What changed for me? It was the beginning of a new journey of discovery of me. I made the decision that I had to change and new change, and and I needed someone to help me with it. It's like we can't. You're too close to yourselves, and you need someone that's an outside perspective to help you see what you cannot see, and so I started a journey journey within myself to see what truly matters to me now, and I had to figure out what that was. And it's like, and I and not the what I should be doing. I did that most of my life. Now it's like what truly matters now, and it and what got me to the point? I was super successful. I am super successful, and but what what I was doing then is now no longer working. So I had to sort of redefine what all of those things meant for me, what what success meant, what my core values are, who I was, and do the work to look at myself and see truly and honestly, and was not a it was not a fun process, and it was an amazing process all at the same time because it opened up my my my brain and my the possibilities to what I could be and who I could be and what I could do in this world. So sorry, I don't know if I'm answering the question. Oh no,

it's beautiful. You're you're right right in the exact sweet spot, and yeah. So what happens? I want to let the audience know. Nobody talks about this. Is that it's incredibly uncomfortable to change. It is. There is. You know, Elizabeth mentioned it earlier. There is a grieving period because I realize the way I've been functioning is not sustainable. This this is not going to fit and work now in this role and responsibility that I have to serve the world. So it's it's a shift, a change. It's uncomfortable, and we are never ever meant to do it alone. That's what I want the audience to know more than anything. There's magnificent, extraordinary individuals in this room right now, including my Aim High Sanctuary community, that are here to. Support you, guide you, and and bring bring the information, the understanding, the the the concepts, the ideas, the next steps to navigate through this transition. Because when now you are living your legacy, Laura, you are

Laura Shepherd : yes,

and and that is a beautiful thing. That is to me that's sacred to me that's a position of honor, respect, and gratitude. It's completely different to where you were at corporate. I mean, the same way. It's like light years away, but it's it's traveling that those light years with compassion, forgiveness, kindness, and love, that makes a difference. Absolutely, awesome. Yes, absolutely.

Laura Shepherd : Add to it. Sorry, before we we we because I what all of that is is is true. And thank you for like summarizing that because there's two things that I believe it's like the discomfort that you're comfortable with, that you know, versus the discomfort that serves you to get you outside and grow to something to something different. I think is powerful, and that's how I sort of look at my choices in front of me now. Is like, is this discomfort that I'm just comfortable because I know how to manage? I know how to manage and live in this, but it's not fun. But I know. Versus the oh, I don't know what's on the other side, and oh, it could be worth it though. It's kind of it's fear, but it's a scary, scary, a little bit of excitement fear where it's like I don't know what's going to be, but I want to try. Still not easy, but it's the that journey of getting people of of help and support helps you get there because I was the strong independent woman that didn't need anybody.

Well, for the audience, that is simply not the truth. I know to let everybody know any time that I was a control freak too, an absolute. I call myself a recovering perfectionist. I mean, I, you know, I do, and and here's the piece with that that I just absolutely cherish that you said, it's it's making the choice to take the risk.

Laura Shepherd : Yes

It's making the choice to take the leap, start the business, taking making the choice to choose the specific high-end targeted corporate clients, which is what Elizabeth was talking about. To go in there and and you know help that toxic environment to find the connection, the healing, the the the performance, the results, right? Oh, so good, so good. Okay, Elizabeth, I'm going to bounce to you next in regards to your position there and how your life has changed and how you lead.

Laura said so much of it. It was awesome. I think I'll just say ditto. Oh no, that doesn't work. It is. It is a place of of self discovery, and I think you know. I think it's been a transition and a journey all along. Like if I step in to say, well, I'm gonna you know go on this podcast, or I'm gonna speak at this event, or I'm gonna try and come up with a course or something that's gonna get people engaged and and and see the importance of relationship and community and connection, and certainly courageous conversations. And then I say, "Okay, Elizabeth, that's great that you wanted to go do that out there. Let's take a look at what you need to do over here to have those similar kinds of things, so that things, so that the foundation of what I speak about and what I am so incredibly passionate about, is that it needs to be the foundation of everywhere for me, and I think that I think that was originally the challenge. And Laura and I spoke about this when we met a while back about the whole idea of you know having these conversations with parents, having the conversations with the teenagers who roll their eyes and you know, and have their big attitude and their defiance and all that stuff. I love that stuff because they're telling me something, and it's not-it's not maybe necessarily in the way that I would expect or that a parent would expect to have that kind of conversation. Except you need to go in underneath. What's going on? That's making that kid act that way, or throwing their backpack as they stomp on off to their room, or they don't want to speak with anybody. Well, we do it as adults too, and so for me, it's a reflection of okay, well, what made me act that way? What made me act that way? At any given moment, in the way that I responded, if my partner asked me a question, or if something wasn't going well, or I'm trying to get, I'm trying to move through this, and I can manage to do it on my own, so I'll figure it out by

myself, right? And I spent a great deal of time doing that, and that again goes back to your original question about how much does it cost, and it's interesting about the way you frame that question because the price of silence costs us more than we think.

Oh, can you say that again? Oh my goodness, that is a I'm going to use this pen, but it's a drop the mic moment here. Hold on, that

Laura Shepherd : Th was

Okay, say it again.

The price of silence it costs more than we think, and that was also the title of my TEDx.

And the price of silence,

yeah,

Within ourselves costs us so much more than what we think.

Yep, but that's but that price of silence is everywhere. So it's in Laura's toxic environments where she came from. It's in schools. It's in families. It's in leadership and corporation and so on, because we're afraid to have those conversations. That's why I call them courageous, because we need to step out of our comfort zone in order to be able to have them. We need to have a little bit of vulnerability, and also as part of it, to reflect on how we're showing up for other people and for ourselves.

Helps for ourselves too. Exactly. This conversation is going to the moon. I just love it. So thank you. And so I'm going to ask Laura first. What does alignment look like in love-inspired leadership for you? I know you're currently preparing and planning this big climb. It's it's a bucket list experience, so you know what what has that journey taught you? Because we we learn about our love inspired leadership is not simply from the things we do within our relationships, our business. It's also in, you know, other forms. So, will you go there for

Laura Shepherd : Yeah, and happily, yes. I am planning a big climb of Mount Kilimanjaro, so I am excited and scared, and it is a bucket list thing. But for me, it's actually a connection thing, and that's helping me lead from within in that love inspired alignment because I'm getting more connected to my body. I hired a trainer. Well, I have a coach. I have a coach and a trainer, so it's like all of the things right to support me in this journey because I don't can't do it alone, and so love inspired leadership, the training to get to Kilimanjaro. I mean, it's a few months away, and I've started. I started a month and a half ago training, and my trainer. The first hour we did was work on stance, balance, and alignment, and she showed me where I was out of alignment in my body, and I'm like, whoa! It's like I'm fit, I'm active, I do all of these things, but I'm intense in those, and I'm like, my learning and within me is I need to slow down, I I need to be subtle. I need these little micro refinements. It's not about the cardio for me. It's about rebuilding the balance in my body, so that my body is physically aligned, which then gives me the energy, which to to show up in life and as a leader the way I want to show up, and with my clients and my family and everything else, and it truly is showing me that going back to foundations is critical, and understanding where your foundations are, and then building on top of them wherever that may be for you. We all have foundations. Some of them are more solid than others, but there's always room to go. Okay, where is there's a little bit of a wobble going on there, and how can we fix the wobble before we continue to stack and build on top?

I mean, there's so many metaphors in what you said about life, about thinking, about our mind body connection, alignment, micro movements. You know, I mean, I I personally am on this mission to live my best life as I am entering the latter part of my sixth chapter: mental health, physical health. Spiritual health altogether, and I loved what you had to say because it is that. So it's receiving the support. See, a lot of women have been such givers their whole life. Well, I'll just keep giving. Well, it's receiving the support, the guidance, the direction, to come into that alignment. Beautiful. Okay, so Elizabeth, you know your work centers around courageous conversations. I just love it so much. I I know you know I do, and I do, because I'm all about truth. I'm a truth teller, and that's courageous conversations to me. So, how do honest conversations help people move from awareness into action?

Very interesting question. Do you have an hour or more?

Ah, No,

I just want to. I just want to go back to something that Laura shared. One thing that you also need to keep in mind is you need to be able to breathe and take in that quiet, poly poly space because that's a word that they're going to share with you to tell you to do it slowly, slowly. Yeah, it will be magnificent. I'm I'm I'm going to be excited to have conversation when you come back. Me too.

Laura Shepherd : Thank you both.

Um. I think it, for me, it comes to a place of what's your intention in that conversation, because we can come from a place of reacting, which is typically our first response, we react to the situation as opposed to responding to it. And so, if we take a breath, really, and and be engaged with ourselves and say, "Okay, what's my intention in this conversation, because that's the courageous piece of being able to step into that with intention, and then as you move into that conversation, be aligned and aware of the direction that you want to take it in, and not as again not as a reactionary space, but as a place of understanding. See, because one of the five strategies of dedicated listening that I talk about is understanding versus judgment. So we need to be able to move our own judgment out of the way and understand first what the other person is thinking or saying or how they're feeling, or so on, so that then we have a better picture, a better guide of where we need to go next.

Beautiful, absolutely beautiful. And and what's the name of your book again?

Well, the first book is Courageous Conversation Guide for Parents to Understand and Connect with Their Teens, and the one that I'm just finishing now is called Courageous Conversations in the Workplace.

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. So, when our lives, our businesses included, begin lining up with what we know to be true, something shifts, and not because life becomes easier. It's because we stop spending so much time, so much energy into resisting, into performing, to finally let it fuel what is real for us, what what matters most, as Laura said, and I love what you had to say too, Elizabeth, which is just putting aside the judgment and reflecting on the intention. Now I'm I'm going to ask one question because I think the audience sometimes could be confused with what intention means, so I'm curious what intention means to you, Elizabeth.

So when you're in a situation, whether it's a parenting space or whether you're dealing with a client or a colleague or an employee, when you're you're looking at what it is you have to deal with, and so that intention is okay. What's the what's the outcome that I want? Rather than the, because oftentimes we get into the attack of a person. Rather than, okay, what's the what's the information that you have? What is it that we need to do about it? And what's the outcome that that that I want or that we want to see in the end? Because if we skip that part of we're not aware of it, then it just becomes a battle of wills and a personality, and we don't solve the problem; we just create a different one,

or expand it, or evolve it, and make it. So yeah, I love intention, and I think Wayne Dyer was one of my favorites. I saw him live in Vancouver, British Columbia, and he wrote that book called *The Power of Intention* I mean, I read it decades and decades and decades ago, and it changed me because I decided to look at that end result, that that outcome, and intentionally set the well now. It's love-inspired leadership because that's everything to me. Love is always the answer. Love is always the solution, and also the the concept of connection and respect and deep integrity is is part of that too. So beautiful. Okay, so let's go to the third section, which is radiance. So, what becomes possible when we live our truth in alignment with what matters most, and set those clear intentions in our relationships, either at work or at home, with our families, with our friendships, our extended family as well. What did you suddenly have access to once you started living a line within yourself, within this truth that we're speaking of here of love inspired leadership, so what what did you? I'm going to start with lawyer. What did you suddenly have access to? Because this is part of the, I think, the intriguing gifts and treasures that happen. So I want to give the audience a taste of what that is. So what what did you have access to once you started living that, Laura?

Laura Shepherd : Beautiful. I love the way you're taking us on this journey. What I have access to now is I love my life. It doesn't make doesn't mean it's easy. There are hard things, but I love the life I am living today. I used to always be when I get this high achiever. When I achieve this, I will be happy. When I do this, I will. I will. And now it's like I love my life today. Stuff happens. My car broke down this morning. I spent I spent three hours waiting for CAA. It took a second CAA guy to come, and I'm like, okay. So many people stopped and asked me how I was and could I help? Could they help me? And I was like, I was able to be present there and not just be in my head of all this. Ah, why me? It was like okay, I got to listen to my podcast that my trainer gave me on breathing. Well, I understand that, Elizabeth.

Interesting, interesting.

Laura Shepherd : I'm starting to listen to this podcast on breathing. People are stopping and saying, "Are you okay? Can we help you? I'm like, yeah, CAA is on the way. It's like it'll get sorted out. It's like things could be a whole lot worse in my life, and so I have access to that now. And that goes to responding to the situation versus reacting. As Elizabeth said, it's like I'm like okay. I certainly had moments of frustration and anger, and then I'm like, okay, there's no, there's no point wallowing in that because that's not going to get me anything. So I got to listen to some more, some of the book to the the book, the ebook, not the podcast, sorry. And then I got to talk to these amazing, interesting people, and life goes on. And I love the life I'm living, and I want more, and that's okay. I want more, and I love what I'm creating and building. So I think that's what you have access to.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. And Elizabeth, how about you?

I think there's a a joyful place in all of that, you know. And I think we often miss that piece. So, like you're saying, Laura, with the car breaking down, I mean, there could you know, yeah, you had, you could have stayed in that anger, you could have stayed in that frustration, and just made it miserable, and you would have repelled the people that came to see you, and I think that's the difference for me is the whole idea that. Yeah, things are are busy and they're frustrating sometimes. And you know, I make poor choices from time to time on things that I'm doing because I want to be in everything and I want to hear everything and I want to do everything and so on. And yet, when I take that time just to reflect for a minute to say, okay, do I need all these things all at the same time? And yes, every once in a while, I need to get in there and breathe, and then I look at it and I say, "I'm so grateful for the life that I have, and I'm so grateful for continuing to meet people who who help me along the way, who and just even in this podcast, right? Not just in this podcast to listen to both of you and to be inspired, and and I get that out there for your audience. There might be frustration and say, "Well, you know, life's not like that, except it can be, because I've been in those places too where my reaction would have kept me in that space so much longer, and yet now it's like okay, so I might have my coffee with me in the car, and I might have, or a bottle of water, and I might have a podcast, or a, you know, I might have my my earpods with me, or I might have a book, or, or I might just need to sit quietly, and what's the world telling me that I need to do at this moment? And I just it it just opens up so many more spaces because then when you reconnect with people, there's a different kind of aura all around that invites people to be in your space with you,

and you radiate.

Yes,

You radiate energy of acceptance. You radiate energy of calm, and I call it calm, love-led leadership, because when we are living the life I believe that we are called to live. I mean, Elizabeth, you're living your legacy too. So am I. And there's many, many business leaders around the globe that have the honor of doing this. Is it always easy? Like Laura said. No, the way we navigate through the issues, the challenges, the obstacles-that's the blessing to me, because my choice-I call it thinking above the line-is just staying open and curious with acceptance of what is, and I love both of your positions in regards to this decision of gratitude with where you are currently. So that's the other piece I want to leave the audience with is just to look at your life. Gratitude is huge for me. I mean, I start out with it in the morning, and I end up with it at the end of the day. And I say to myself inside myself at least 10 things I'm grateful for, and the reason I'm grateful for them, and I feel it in my body because whatever we feed grows. So gratitude is a great thing, and it's totally connected with love-inspired leadership. So thank you for that, too. So the last segment that we're going to be looking at is the living and leading love-inspired leadership as we progress forward. So, I'm going to start with Laura. So, what would you say to someone listening right now that they're facing in their life something that is no longer true, but really afraid to acknowledge it, to accept it, and make a change. What would one courageous action be that they could take this week?

Laura Shepherd : Oh, great question! I'd first say you don't have to see the whole path. You just have to take one step. The path reveals itself as as you take the step, you look at what what the for what they can do this week today is look what matters most to you in your life today, not what mattered five years ago, not what mattered 10 years ago, what matters to you now, and are you living your life with that value, and if you're not, that's where then you can start take seeing that the small steps to take to change

One step, just one. I love that, and it's the truth. It's one single step because that's how each of us change anything, and I just want. To give the audience, you can take one step, always one single step, and I love what you said. It's it's leading to the next step, so the next step is one single step. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. And Elizabeth, how about for you? What would you say that someone can do in the in the next week.

Well, I think it goes back to the answer that I gave before about the outcome. What is it that you want to see in this next week, or this next day, or in five minutes from now? And that's that's hooked into what Laura said about that step. So, if that's something that you want to accomplish by the end of today, then what's something that you can do to move yourself closer?

And the other piece I want to weave in here-it's what you said earlier too-to ask yourself what is my intention in taking this step, because when we-I believe each of us-it's not about becoming someone different than what we are. People think we have to become somebody new. No, no, no, no, no. It's to come back home to who we are. That's the truth. So, what's my intention in taking this step? Well, it could be to just take one step towards my health, and my intention in that is to create a life that I feel healthy, vibrant, full of life force, appreciation. One step, Beautiful. So,

I can't write the book today, but I can sure write a paragraph. Yes,

yes,

or even a sentence, just to get the white space out of the way and get started with a sentence.

That's beautiful. I started morning rituals about five years ago, and it started off with one thing, one-page journal. That's all. Then I decided to do recording. Then I decided to do yoga. Then I decided to do jogging, and so now I have so much in the mornings, and I love it. They're non-negotiables for me. It's my time for silence. It's my time for personal nourishment. And when I go into nature, I call it nature's nourishment. It's my sacred time of honoring myself, and it started with one step. And I resisted journaling for 30 years. People used to say, "Carolyn, you could journal. Nope, and now I do it every day. I did this morning. It's beautiful. Anyway, so I just thought I'd pause at that. Okay, so one one of the things I love most about conversations Like this, is that they remind us we don't need to have everything figured out, and that we're not meant to do this alone. So, as you take that one step this week, I'm going to invite you to share that with the person that you're thinking of right now, that you could communicate with, and share that intention, and then success once you've accomplished it. So we simply need the courage to tell ourselves the truth, because when we do, we create this space I call space for grace, but also that's more aligned, more authentic, more meaningful in our life and our business. So, Lauren Elizabeth, I want to thank you for sharing your wisdom, your incredible experiences of life, your hearts, your souls, and just this courageous position and openness that you both live is so inspiring to me. So, thank you to both of you. Thank you.

Laura Shepherd : Thank you. Appreciate the opportunity to have this conversation. It is very inspiring for me as well.

Awesome, awesome, and for those people who are listening, I invite you to experience the Aim High Sanctuary. There'll be a link into the chat, and I invite you to participate in a 30-day activation gift that I have for you to come inside the sanctuary, and I know, Laura, you have a gift for our audience as well. Correct?

Laura Shepherd : Yes, I'm always. I love to talk to people, so I'm always open to helping them figure out what's the one core thing for them that they want to work on, and I and a 30 minute chat. It's great.

Beautiful. So they can connect with you. I'll put the links in the chat on Instagram, on LinkedIn, and we'll also supply them with your your email address as well. Now, Elizabeth, as you leave this conversation today, too, what would your gift be to contribute to the audience here today?

Well, I have two. One of them is similar to what Laura does in terms of having conversation, because that's what I talk about: our courageous conversations. So, would it would not be practical if I didn't provide that opportunity for folks? So they can reach me at [email protected], and I know that you are going to put that in the show notes, and as well the five strategies of dedicated listening. And this one happens to be specifically about workplaces, so I'll send that off to you, and you can link that in however you need to.

Thank you so much. It's very generous, and to our audience, I want to thank you for tracking with us today, and I'm going to invite you to take action. You can re-listen to this podcast, take notes, take that intention and put it into action as a love-inspired leader in your life and your business. And your next chapter Will be an opportunity for a new beginning in your life and your business. Just example like you've heard today here. So thank you for tracking with us, and I look forward to seeing you again next week on the Love Inspired Leadership Podcast. Take good care. Thank you.