We are all on a path, and obstacles showing up is inevitable. How we respond is not. How do you determine how to move around barriers? Where do you look for guidance? What if you had the confidence to trust your inner wisdom? In today's Design Yourself episode, we explore together how to be your inner compass.

 In this episode, we discuss:

• The components of our inner compass (vision, values, guiding principles, guard rails)
• How to define these components
• Key strategies for operating with our compass 

Stay Connected

To book your 1:1 Vision Reading:

https://pointroadstudios.com/product/vision-reading/

For show notes visit:

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/be-your-own-inner-compass/

To connect on Linked In: 

@Sharon Lipovsky

@Point Road Studios 

To connect on Instagram:

@pointroadstudios

Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify

 

Ideas Shared

The components of our inner compass

• Vision, values, guiding principles, guard rails

How to define these parts

• Vision - Where are you headed? For the sake of what?
• Values - What matters to you? Can you distill it into four words?
• Guiding Principles - What are the operating principles that allow you to move with and towards your vision in alignment with your values? (e.g., We are the leaders we’ve been waiting for. Leadership is a mindset, not a role. It is a priority to be as healthy on the inside as we appear on the outside, i.e., no beautiful, rotten apples.)
• Guard Rails - What creative constraints serve your roadmap?

Key strategies for operating with our compass 

• Notice without judgment when you are looking outside or within for answers.
• Challenge old narratives that are comfortable but don’t work for you.
• Consult your inner compass and see what resource or combo of resources will guide you.

 

Someone asks you if you'd like to join a particular gathering or experience. Quick - how do you respond? Do you think it through? Do you respond in the moment? We all have patterns around how we process decisions and that’s what we get into in today’s episode on Yes Habits.

In this episode, we explore:

• Two types of yeses

1. Methodical Yes

2. Spontaneous Yes

How our Yes Habits align with different visioning types

1. Linear Visioning

2. Magical Visioning

Reflection questions to get you thinking about your Yes Habits

Stay Connected

To book your 1:1 Vision Reading:

https://pointroadstudios.com/product/vision-reading/

To connect on Linked In: 

@Sharon Lipovsky

@Point Road Studios 

To connect on Instagram:

@pointroadstudios

Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify

 

Ideas Shared TWO TYPES OF YES

Methodical Yes – Taking the time to think through the hows and ifs of a commitment before saying yes.

Spontaneous Yes – Allowing yourself to respond in the moment with a yes, often based on a feeling of values and vision alignment – even if you aren’t sure how it all connects for you.

VISION ALIGNMENT

Linear Visioning – A process of laying out a clear pathway of steps for how to bring a vision to life.

Magical Visioning – An intuitive process for moving towards a vision based on what you sense is needed now.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: COZYING UP TO YOUR YES HABITS

• What do you notice about your yes habits? Are you more of a methodical or a spontaneous Yeser?
• Do your circumstances tend to influence how you say yes? (Personal versus professional? The risk assessment? The person posing the opportunity?)
• Is there a safe, low-risk place where you could stretch yourself to try it a different way?
• Anything else that you want to remember about yes habits?

Who you are today is the guide to who you will be tomorrow. What wishes do you have for your future self? What wisdom do you want to be sure to carry with you? In the episode of Design Yourself, we explore questions to inspire Future You.

Stay Connected

To book your 1:1 Vision Reading:

https://pointroadstudios.com/product/vision-reading/

For show notes visit:

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/future-you/ 

To connect on Linked In: 

@Sharon Lipovsky

@Point Road Studios 

To connect on Instagram:

@pointroadstudios

Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify

 

Ideas Shared Reflection Questions

1. What is something you can do right now as a gift to Future You?
2. What does Future You want you to know right now?
3. If you were to sum Future You up in 3 words, what would they be?
4. What advice do you want to give Future You?
5. What has shifted for Future You? How did they make that happen?

Resources and Links

You Already Have All The Answers by Amanda Deibert

Humans can adapt, but so can systems. What happens when we spend the majority of our time caught focusing on what we have to do…and we don’t focus on what is problematic about the way we do things? In this week’s episode, we challenge the notion you always hold the answer and instead remind listeners that it’s not your fault.

 

Stay Connected

To book your 1:1 Vision Reading:

https://pointroadstudios.com/product/vision-reading/

For show notes visit:

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/its-not-your-fault/

To connect on Linked In: 

@Sharon Lipovsky

@Point Road Studios 

To connect on Instagram:

@pointroadstudios

Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify

 

Resources and Links

• Real Self-Care by Pooja Lakshmin
• Yale University’s testing policy announcement and the policy itself

Human beings are interconnected, and we really can accomplish more together. But when it comes to visioning, how do we know what’s ours versus someone else? How can we connect what someone else sees as possible to what we really want? That’s what we get into in today’s Design Yourself episode on Vision Alignment: Tapped for a New Opportunity.

 

Stay Connected

To book your 1:1 Vision Reading:

https://pointroadstudios.com/product/vision-reading/

For show notes visit:

 https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/tapped-for-a-new-opportunity

To connect on Linked In: 

@Sharon Lipovsky

@Point Road Studios 

To connect on Instagram:

@pointroadstudios

Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify

 

Ideas Shared

• The “light” and “shadow” of someone sharing what they see as possible for you.
• The importance of assessing the relationship you have with the person offering you a new opportunity.
• 3 steps to evaluate the new opportunity:

1. Listen to understand.
2. Return to center. What do I want?
3. Build the path forward. 
   • Build trust and mutual support in the relationship.
   • Stay clear on your “what,” i.e. what is the next step that you want in your career?
   • Then get clear on “how” to evaluate the role and your ability to learn and grow in alignment with your career objectives and business need.

Productivity is a dead-end pursuit. Our to-dos will always fill whatever space we give it. How can we let go of the habits driving us to do more, better, faster? How can we make time for what matters most?

In this episode of Design Yourself we explore:

• Our relationship with time;
• Examples of how time influenced the daily routines of artists Sylvia Plath and Erik Satie;
•  Sharon's musings on how urgency and scarcity impact our relationship to how much time we have and how much time we need;
• Reflection questions to create awareness and alignment on how we each move with and in time.

“Productivity is a trap. Becoming more efficient just makes you more rushed, and trying to clear the decks simply makes them fill up again faster. Nobody in the history of humanity has ever achieved “work-life balance,” whatever that might be, and you certainly won’t get there by copying the “six things successful people do before 7:00 a.m.” The day will never arrive when you finally have everything under control—when the flood of emails has been contained; when your to-do lists have stopped getting longer; when you’re meeting all your obligations at work and in your home life; when nobody’s angry with you for missing a deadline or dropping the ball; and when the fully optimized person you’ve become can turn, at long last, to the things life is really supposed to be about. Let’s start by admitting defeat: none of this is ever going to happen. But you know what? That’s excellent news.”

-Oliver Burkeman, Four Thousand Weeks

Stay Connected

To book your 1:1 Vision Reading:

https://pointroadstudios.com/product/vision-reading/

For show notes visit:

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/how-to-make-time/ 

To connect on Linked In: 

@Sharon Lipovsky

@Point Road Studios 

To connect on Instagram:

@pointroadstudios

Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify

Ideas Shared Reflection Prompts

• What is your flavor of distraction?
• What if it’s not time that’s hold you back? What else could it be?
• What are you wishing for? How might you make that happen in the next month?
• What else might work to try?
• What if you let time be?

Links and Resources

• Four Thousand Weeks: Time and How to Use It by Oliver Burkeman
• And a good summary and review in The Guardian by Tim Adams
• Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey

Our stories shape us. They form the fabric of not just where we are coming from, but also what we believe is possible. Stories forecast our future. How do we find the pulse of our narrative? How do we decide what’s working and what is getting in the way? How do we understand what’s my story versus what’s our collective story?

Let’s explore in this episode of Design Yourself as we discuss how stories move us.

 

Links and Resources

To book your 1:1 Vision Reading:

https://pointroadstudios.com/product/vision-reading/

For show notes visit:

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/stories-move-us

To connect on Linked In: 

@Sharon Lipovsky

@Point Road Studios 

To connect on Instagram:

@pointroadstudios

Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify

 

Ideas Shared 7 Prompts to Reimagine Your Story Movement

1. What do you notice about your current movements? Look at how you move - in your schedule, through a room, in your home, at the grocery store. What do you notice without judgement?
2. What distinctions do you have about your movements? Your pace? Your intensity? How would you describe the characteristics of your movements?
3. What does your movement suggest about about the stories you are telling? Are you winning? Rushed? Transforming? Out of balance?
4. What kind of story movement do you want right now? Are you dancing? Floating? Resting? Driving? Cycling?
5. What kinds of tools support your story movement? If you are dancing…do you need tap shoes? Jazz shoes? Are you in a vehicle? What kind? A single speed bike or a bike kitted for the next world tour?
6. What commitment can you make today to your own story movement?
7. How will you know you are honoring that commitment?

Resources and Links

• Never underestimate the power of music! Here is the song "Naughty" from Matilda the musical.

What do you want to be when you grow up? Are you already living that life? Are you curious about the road not taken? In this episode of Design Yourself, we cast aside the artificial constraints of what is true right now and play with what we might create with imaginary lives.

Links and Resources

To book your 1:1 Vision Reading:

https://pointroadstudios.com/product/vision-reading/

For show notes visit:

 https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/life-keeps-happening/

To connect on Linked In: 

@Sharon Lipovsky

@Point Road Studios 

To connect on Instagram:

@pointroadstudios

Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify

Ideas Shared

In this episode we...

• Learn a Julia Cameron prompt from the book The Artist's Way inviting us to imagine five alternative lives to the one we are currently living;
• Hear about how to take simple steps to actually do what you feel called to do right now, instead of waiting to create perfect conditions to do the thing the way you might imagine it happening.
• Learn about what five things Sharon's imagining doing herself and which imaginary life she's been stuck on for over a decade.

Links and Resources

• Julia Cameron's book The Artist's Way

Turns out, there are a lot of things we can’t control. That’s part of what makes life so precious: It’s unexpected. Sometimes miraculously joy-filled. Othertimes cripplingly painful. How do we recognize when we are swept up in the swirl of life? How do we find our footing in the middle of a tsunami? That’s what we discuss in this Design Yourself episode, Life Keeps Happening.

 

Links and Resources

To book your 1:1 Vision Reading:

https://pointroadstudios.com/product/vision-reading/

For show notes visit:

 https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/life-keeps-happening/

To connect on Linked In: 

@Sharon Lipovsky

@Point Road Studios 

To connect on Instagram:

@pointroadstudios

Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify

 

 

Ideas Shared

• Honor that life happening is what’s normal.
• Celebrate some of the ways I saw this show up tied to a joyous moment in my own life last week.
• Highlight THE question I return to, when life shows up: What is needed now?

Links and Resources

• “That Would Be Enough” from Hamilton

Do you dream of a change in your life? Maybe it’s about getting to the next level of your career. Or maybe there is a long held creative desire, like being a part of an award-winning show or publishing a best selling book? Today we talk about how to move toward your big dreams in a sustainable and powerful way in this episode of Design Yourself on the Vision Journey.

 

Links and Resources

To book your 1:1 Vision Reading:

https://pointroadstudios.com/product/vision-reading/

For show notes visit:

 https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/vision-journey/

To connect on Linked In: 

@Sharon Lipovsky

@Point Road Studios 

To connect on Instagram:

@pointroadstudios

Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify

Join to discuss:

“The path you take to get there is indicative of how you will feel when you get there.” – Sharon Lipovsky

Sample Client Strategies to Build the Bridge to Your Vision

• More White Space (eliminate distractions, set boundaries with people around your time and service; set boundaries for yourself around time to do nothing and see what emerges)
• Build a Creative Practice (e.g. paint, write, draw circles, garden, journal reflections)
• Put Yourself First (say where you want to eat; decide how you want to spend your time; practice seeing what you want in small, daily ways so that you can build the muscle to see into bigger manifestations for yourself)
• Follow Your Energy (this will both help build strength and resilience and will allow you to practice discernment – an important skill in leading with vision. Some days Bridgerton reading is energized…other times it’s a distraction…learn how to tell the difference!)

Ways to Lead with Vision Right Now

• Do the dishes – and nothing else.
• Walk to walk – and nothing else.
• Identify eliminating distractions
• Write a short daily “notice without judgement” reflection on how your practices are going
• Consider a creative practice like the one described in the Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron.
• Draw circles
• Have an accountability date with your partner (or other/s)
• Celebrate every win. Build momentum behind your subtle changes – start to build the new wish path.

There are so many questions to process in our lives - and even more answers to sift through. Our intuition is our quick-thinking guide. But many of us don’t listen. What gets in the way of tapping into our instinctive internal whispers? How can we tune into our ability to understand something right away? That is what we cover in this Design Yourself episode on exercising your intuition.

Join in to discuss: 

Common Intuition Blockers 

The 4 A's. Ambitious, Achiever, Accomplished, Accomodating. These traits aren't blockers unto themselves. When overused, however, they get in the way of accessing our intuition.

Thinking Too Big. Stop focusing exclusively on what's out of your control; start adapting your moves into what you can do right now.

Chasing External Validation. Stop prioritizing what other people want you to be; start getting clear on what matters most to you.

Numbing Yourself with Busyness.  Get comfortable with stillness, rest and quiet. 

Being too scared or exhausted to listen to yourself. Listen to your own internal whispers. This could be a gut feeling, heart feeling, bone feeling, body feeling. Rarely does it come from intellect.

 

Exercises to Build Your Intuition Muscle

Exercise 1: Notice, without judgement.

Exercise 2: Get comfortable with discomfort.

Exercise 3: Find ways to get still internally (this can include movement!) - meditation, writing, hiking, doing the dishes, peloton

Exercise 4: Listen to yourself. When you have a question - ask yourself first. When you reach for research, ask yourself first.

 

Links and Resources

To book your 1:1 Vision Reading:

https://pointroadstudios.com/product/vision-reading/

For show notes visit:

https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/intuition-exercises/

To connect on Linked In: 

@Sharon Lipovsky

@Point Road Studios 

To connect on Instagram:

@pointroadstudios

Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify