This week, Vicky and Joe abandon the planned podcast and talk about something else instead: the stories we tell ourselves. Why we think and believe what we do, why we make snap judgements that we’re not proud of, how to stay up to date with what’s going on in the world, and how we try to be better people than we were yesterday. There’s a little bit of talk-therapy going on, and a special appearance by Whiskey the little grey cat. Enjoy!
Key Takeaways:
[3:00] Vicky and Joe talk about their impression of Nassim Necolas Taleb, the author of the book Antifragile.
[5:15] Vicky sees her parents getting older and having difficulty moving, which makes her strive to get a healthy body.
[7:00] Small businesses individually are fragile, because most of them fail. However, the whole small business community is very antifragile because they learn from each other's mistakes.
[9:15] Joe talks about her parents being left behind by technology and wonders how difficult it would be for him and his wife Vicky after 40 years.
[13:00] Vicky shares the reason why she didn’t have a scale in her house.
[14:15] We need to examine how we react to things and the judgments we make.
[15:00] Why is diversity training not useful in many cases?
[16:00] Vicky is frustrated with how people do not seem to be kind enough to others.
[17:30] Misunderstanding feminism prevents us from showing what we really feel. It’s hurting not just one person, but everybody.
[19:00] Vicky’s perception of how much a person should weigh is due to how she was raised by her mother.
[21:15] It is so hard for people to change their minds in terms of religion or vaccination, because they don’t base it on facts but on beliefs.
[23:50] You’ll never achieve your goal by putting limits on yourself to do things subconsciously, and not do the things that need you to get there.
[27:40] Always try to be a better human being and be kind.
Mentioned in This Episode:
That's What She Said: Tales of Business Success from Women Just like You by Vicky Fraser
Banish the Blank Page of Doom Fast
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Email Vicky: vicky@vickyfraser.com
Warm Bodies A Novel by Isaac Marion
Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Vicky sits down with coach Christine Meyer and talks about how writing books is a MESSY process. Tune in and listen up as they natter about book covers, breaking rules, embracing emotions, and why our stories matter.
Key Takeaways:
[3:15] A little bit about Christine and what she does.
[5:35] It’s so important to embrace and use your emotions as a tool.
[7:20] So many people ‘don’t’ do something or don’t feel something. We are told we should only embrace the positive emotions, but that’s denying a large portion of life.
[9:55] Why did Christine decide to write her book?
[14:15] What was Christine’s book writing process?
[16:10] Once Christine got all the elements needed together, writing the book became easy!
[16:25] What were some of the challenges Christine faced when writing her book?
[19:00] Don’t write your book on your own! It’s way more fun when you bring in outside help.
[20:55] What’s Christine’s book about, and how did she come up with the title?
[23:45] Christine is so glad she’s written a book, she’s been able to help people and that experience has been really rewarding.
[27:15] Christine didn’t want to put extra pressure on herself to write everyday on her book, even if she wasn’t feeling it. She wanted her book to be fun and enjoyable, so she wrote when she was inspired to write.
[27:55] Christine shares her top tip for writing your next book! Set yourself up to be inspired.
Mentioned in This Episode:
Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, and Overcast
Email Vicky: vicky@vickyfraser.com
An Audience of One: Reclaiming Creativity for Its Own Sake, by Srinivas Rao and Robin Dellabough
Keep It Simple, Smartypants!, by Christine Meyer
In this week’s episode, Vicky and Joe ruin stories for you forever. Just kidding. But they do utterly spoil The Martian, so if you haven’t read or seen it yet, go and do that now, and then come back. Okay. Are you back? GREAT. Now listen in and find out what’s the difference between a story and an anecdote, why boring stories are boring, and how you can make all the stories you tell great. Oh, and why you don’t have to be a great writer to be a great storyteller. There’s gold in this one. GOLD.
Key Takeaways:
[0:45] Vicky made a cake! It was so good!
[4:55] Lots of fun updates about what’s happening at the Dingle!
[7:00] What makes a good story?
[8:15] How the story is written doesn’t matter as much as the structure does!
[11:40] Story is also not the same as the plot.
[13:50] Vicky shares what a good story structure looks like.
[15:15] Let’s deconstruct the book ‘The Martian’ and how the story is structured.
[21:00] Vicky is always working on her storytelling skills!
Mentioned in This Episode:
Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, and Overcast
Email Vicky: vicky@vickyfraser.com
This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage, by Ann Patchett
Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder by Nassim Nicholas Taleb