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Holding a Magnifying Glass Up to My Judgements and Biases
Hello! It’s been a while since I’ve sat down to put together a blog for all of you. I’ve missed it. Writing is not something I’m overly good at or even enjoy that much, but it sparks the sometimes much needed struggle of introspection for me. I feel an urge to express something and between …
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Things We Don’t Discuss: Money
Guest Post by Jennifer Keenan Anyone else in the room grow up being taught to not talk about money? You know – it’s one of those taboo topics that was to never be brought up in conversation similar to politics, religion, weight or age. I faintly recall being told at a young age that you …
It Only Took a World Pandemic to Learn this Lesson
Guest Post by Sheri Wolf Sometimes it takes a world pandemic to learn how to love ourselves. I am a mom of 3 wonderful children (20, 18, and 14), a business owner and hair stylist at Head Zup salon, and wife of 23 years to my best friend. As I imagine for a lot of …
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Shaped by Stories
Guest Post by Katie Baroni The Storyteller When I was a little girl, my dad used to tuck my sister and me into bed most every night and tell us stories about a made up character he named Rhonda Rag Buttburn, stories that caused laughter to reverberate in our shared bedroom. From early on, I …
Trying to Fit Someone Else’s Mold
Guest Post by Nikki Klein I believe the journey of any parent is inherently one of ongoing transformation. For mothers, there are outward physical changes that occur during the months of pregnancy. However, for me the most profound changes took root emotionally and mentally in the period after my first son was born. Growing up …
A Handful of Spare Change.
Guest Post by Jenni Stackman When my sister, Julie asked me to write a piece for the Compounding Courage community, I wasn’t sure what I would write about. I could write about moving across the across the country to build a life with my then boyfriend, now husband, Jared. Or our fertility struggles and IVF. …
I’m Here, and I’m Alive.
Guest Post by Kasi Greenwood For my job as a newspaper reporter, I spend many minutes, hours, and days writing, editing and rewriting articles. This one is different from any article I’ve ever done. This is a story with no edits, and no other resources. Just my story, written with 100% honesty and transparency. Who …
Gaining Control by Letting Go
Guest Post by Steph Brokopp Gaining control by letting go. What a paradox. But how true it is. Heck, Disney even made a movie about it and right now I bet many of you have THAT song running through your head. (Sorry!) If you’ve been a follower of Compounding Courage, then you know that the …
Julie’s Manifesto (I was born to…)
In May of 1995, I graduated from high school. A headstrong and sarcastic 17 year old hell-bent on stepping out of the circumstances of her childhood and getting on with the life she was meant to have. In May of 2000, I got married. That bride was pretty sure that with enough fresh lilacs and …
I Lost My Job (7 Things I Learned)
Guest Post by Dana Gevelinger Two years ago I lost my job. It was a couple days before the new year when I got the news. Just like that a two minute conversation ended 6.5 years. My entire professional career. The holidays suddenly became not so happy. The thought of a new year went from …
A Nobody, But a Somebody
Guest Post by Angie Gruetzmacher Who am I… you might ask. Or maybe just as I thought more importantly, who were you? Let’s really back it up… I was a great child, but a confused teen. The cycle went as follows: depression was my low, partying was my high, and God was my rock. Manipulate …
The Biggest Gamechanger of All
Guest Post by Missy Sperle When I was asked to share my story for Compounding Courage, I was very touched that they would think I had a story worth sharing. They suggested I look at other Sharing Stories for ideas as to content, length, etc. As soon as I did that, I began to doubt …
What if My Story Matters… and so Does Yours?
How many of us listen to others’ stories in awe of what you can learn or what they have experienced and thought, “I wish I had something that was worth telling, or had something to say that would make someone else connect the way I do with them.” Has this phrase ever ran through your …
Setting Your Intention (Parenting Edition)
Guest Post by Betsy Tollefson “Cherish the time you have with your little ones, they don’t stay that size for long.” I have lost count on how many times I have heard this statement as the mother of two children under three years old. There certainly is some truth to that statement. You only get …
My Vision Board Reality
What if I told you a fifth-grade science fair-type poster board helped me run a half marathon? I’m your typical December 31st set your New Year’s resolution gal. I go all out for a few days, maybe a week, and then old habits set in. Yeah all those “goals,” right out the window. So, what …
Strong Back. Soft Front.
Guest Post by Kate Adametz Jenkins Just like the song from the Greatest Showman, This is me. I have to admit when I first read this concept, I immediately related to the more literal physical aspects of this concept. My back is indeed fairly strong, but my front, is quite honestly, soft. Thankfully, my husband …
Moving In vs. Standing Apart
Hi Courage Compounders – October has been a wonderful test for me to practice moving in vs. standing apart. I hope this month has found you getting closer to people who believe differently. As our theme introduces this month – if we stay close to people we can focus on our many shared values instead …
My Big Audacious Dream
Anyone out there a fan of Rachel Hollis? If so, you’ve likely heard her say – “If it’s not a Hell Yes, then it’s a No.” Rachel’s advice for identifying when you should say “No” if what you are being asked to do doesn’t align with your goals. That advice also works in the reverse, …
The Secret Sauce to Lifelong Learning
What creates lifelong learners? Is it our parents? Is it our teachers? Is it something only some are born with? I don’t know the answers to these questions, but I have some thoughts to share about how I’ve disrupted my views on lifelong learning, education and how B- work when paired with learning seemed to …
A Letter to My Son (on his first day of high school)
It’s back to school season! Maybe you’ve just finished hustling to get your children to bed on time? Maybe you’re thinking about starting that routine as soon as you finish reading this? Regardless, if you are anything like me you are looking forward to the first day of school, and life returning to the familiar …
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It’s Okay to Mess Up Sometimes
My sister and her kids, The Stackmaniacs, are spending their last few weeks in the US at our house. It’s been wonderful and stressful. Little kids are tough. 3 little kids, 2 dogs, 2 older kids and a 3 emotionally charged adults is a total shit show. And at the same time, we are doing …
Courageous Story Sharing: The Confessions of a Shame-Filled Conscience
Let’s do some deep-digging into the darkest recesses of your memory: your middle school years (cue foreboding music and shrieks of terror). Do you remember when your middle-school self called your crush for the first time …on the landline phone, no less?! You sweated, wheezing nervously, praying to any deity known to humankind that nobody …
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Courageous Story Sharing: Living My Life Through the Tears and Fears
This has been a week you guys. I’ve had a 4 day lingering headache, which partnered with the humidity and temperatures outside validates my philosophy that we don’t have to wait for death to experience the idea of heaven and hell. I believe we are given glimpses of the random awful and wonderful right here …
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Courageous Story Sharing: Trapped in a Cage
On Wednesday morning, Dana and Stacey, challenged our Facebook viewers to Think Hard as a practice that helps us Call Truth To Bullshit. They mentioned many complex issues that require critical thinking along with civil & compassionate conversations from all involved if we truly want to make progress and find solutions. For me the hardest …
Resiliency After Dealing with Extraordinary Loss
I’m so honored to bring my dear friend Christie’s story to this space. Her friendship and courage is a constant in my life since meeting her. She’s taught me more about loving myself than probably any other friend I’ve had in life. Not because she is trying to teach me, but because she just lives …
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Courageous Story Sharing: Fear of Falling and Failing
I met Kelly at our What If workshop last October. Her smiling face and larger than life head nods were all the validation I needed that the thoughts and questions I was presenting were hitting a chord with her. At one point in the evening she asked a question that gave me a tiny glimpse …
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One Simple Photo
This weekend, my son participated in the Mineral Point junior prom. The theme this year was “Always Remember Us This Way.” Let me assure you with all the cell phones and cameras flashing, we will likely have no problem remembering this gathering of the Class of 2020. As wonderful as an event like this is, …
Are you waiting for luck to find you? (BONUS! Pivot Process Download)
So one of the weird outcomes of living with awareness is how often things show up in your life that seem to be placed there specifically when you needed it to show up. The first few instances of this – when resources or tools showed up exactly when I needed them, I would look around …
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Limiting Belief #3: Drama
Guys – it’s the last week of 2018! Who’s panicking? I mean with all the gifts need to be wrapped and cards mailed. And last night I forgot to move that stupid Elf on the Shelf. And don’t even get me started on that tax bill that showed up in my mailbox – I mean, …
All Hail the Queen of the Pivot
A long time ago my husband, Trevor, lovingly responded to someone’s surprise at my diverse work experience with this simple sentence – “Julie is a ‘Jack of All Trades and a Master of None.’” I clearly remember making a mental note – I should keep that phrase in my pocket because I’d never heard such …
I Have An Entourage. Who Do You Bring With You?
I’m going to be very honest with you this evening – it’s been a rough couple of weeks. Emotionally, both on a micro and macro level, I felt like I’d gone a round or two with Ronda Rousey and as you would expect, I got my bell rung. I realized I needed to take that …
Creating Your Own Culture (Plus Resilience Building Practices Download)
A little over a year ago, I was briefly exposed to Lean Management. A company I worked for hired a key leader to help our overstressed staff and inefficient operational processes with the hopes of adopting a Lean Culture. Now I don’t know the impact of the Lean conversion or how effective his leadership is …
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Feeling Out of Sorts (Plus FREE Boundaries Download)
This blog is hard to write today. I feel out of sorts. Unfortunately, because I’ve committed to doing courageous work everyday, I’m trying really hard to “feel” my way through it vs. numbing it. So I’m trying to practice what I preach and well…that’s shitty. Feeling your way through something is WAY harder than just …
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