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This month's conversation centers around control, conflict, and how they are catalysts and barriers to change. We shy away from conflict and move towards comfort where we feel in control often robbing us of the opportunity to change. Sometimes the unexpected or even unwanted are the best catalysts for the change we need. Join our conversation with Jon Huckins, author, guide, and founder of Journey Home. Connect with Jon: Personal Insta @jonhuckins Journey Home Insta @journey_home_pilgrimages Journey Home Website

Choosing to change is hard enough, it's made harder when we have to choose it over and over again. It can be even harder when those around us don't fully understand that change and yet, when grounded in our why we find ourselves changing for the better. Join us in this week's episode as we talk with Mirabel Fonyuy Umenei about choosing change and staying on the path. Ways to connect with Mirabel Facebook: @Motherland Cooking Xperience, @Motherland House Concerts, @Myra Maimoh MusicInstagram:@xperienceafricancooking, @motherlandhouseconcerts, @myramaimoh Motherland Cultural Connections and cooking experiences

In this episode, we chat with Kristin Ekkens, Founder and Chief Culture Designer of Exponential Inclusion. Kristin and I talk about the barriers and tools of change. Not only that, we discuss how exponential change is possible and the potential future that opens up. Resources in the podcast: Connect with Kristin Kristin's podcast Kristin's newsletter Join EXI's Global Community Connect with Mary

Join me in this episode of Engaging Gray where we connect with Kirk Eklund about navigating change. Kirk discusses the common barriers he encounters, tools for overcoming them, and how he personally navigates change. Even when that change is brought about by unwelcome and unexpected feedback. Connect with Kirk here!

In this week's episode of Engaging Gray we talk with Carl Erickson. Carl is the  Founder and Executive Chairman of Atomic Object, a custom software design and development company. He is the Co-founder of Mader Mill, a sawmill in Indiana, and Chairman of Michigan Capital Network. Carl didn't begin his career wanting to be a businessman, he began by being a professor. Carl shares his story of launching to the exit of a successful company and the important lessons he learned about how important knowing his grounding philosophy was and how staying true to your core can be both a challenge but is also essential for building something successful, that you also actually like.  Resources mentioned in this week's podcast: Atomic Object Mader Mill Michigan Capital Network 

In this episode, we talk with Adrian "AB" Butler about how he has defined and found success and focus. Sometimes we believe our careers have to be linear, but AB's story helps illuminate how when we allow ourselves to explore our passions while remaining focused on what matters most to us we can find not only fulfillment but success as well. Join AB and me for a fun and enlightening conversation about how being multifaceted can lead to freedom.  Resources mentioned in this podcast:  Everything AB - AB's website and shop Baewatch - the party of the summer event (7/31/22)

In this week's episode of Engaging Gray, we hear from Kim Bode with over 15 years of experience in being not only a leader but also a business owner and founder. Kim's authenticity and transparency about the highs and lows of leadership, especially as a woman business owner, is refreshing and enlightening. Kim talks about lessons she's learned over her tenure as a leader, tips and tools she's picked up, and advice she would have for those starting out. If you're up for a fun and freeing conversation take a listen!  Resources mentioned in the podcast: Traction  SmallBizMusings 8ThirtyFour Happy Hour Hustle

In this week's episode, we talk with Andy Soper about how he has created a career that to many may seem unorthodox and yet it's exactly what works for him and his family. We discuss how he identified what was most important to him, how he created a career around those things, and the benefits and challenges that have come with that. Andy is honest and matter of fact while simultaneously inspiring and encouraging us to find better ways of living. Lives that are set on fire for what we believe in.  Resources mentioned in this podcast:  Father Greg Boyle - Home Boy Ministries 

In this week's episode, we talk with Lauren VanKeulen, CEO of AYA Youth Collective, about how remembering and showing our humanity in leadership not only frees us but those around us as well from the unrealistic and unhealthy expectations we sometimes have. Lauren shares with us her leadership journey from starting an organization with $11,000 to growing that be a $2.5 Million dollar organization serving close to 500 youth a year. Lauren shares honestly about the highs and lows of leadership, how having the right team makes all the difference, and specific strategies and practices she uses to stay grounded and energized for her work.  Resources mentioned:  - AYA Youth Collective - Brene Brown - Shannon Cohen's Podcast - AYA Youth Collective Event on April 21st

It can be daunting to try and make a difference, especially when you are fatigued and overwhelmed. In this episode, we talk with Hanna Schulze, who has worked in business and on behalf of businesses that demonstrate responsible practices for years. Her connection to the community both locally and in business gives her a unique perspective on the challenges faced by our communities. We talk about how often the things facing businesses are often connected to the issues facing families and communities at large. And while this interconnected web of issues can be overwhelming it is precisely because they are connected that gives us hope. We find hope in each other, in the small acts we do each day, and in our collective humanity.  Resources mentioned in this episode:  Local first  People First Economy Good For Michigan  Michigan New Economy

This is the final episode of Engaging Gray Podcast Season 2. I recap some of the key themes from this season as well as share two things I have learned are important for my own cultivation of perseverance: mystery and failure. I talk about how simple ideas such as, know yourself, are perhaps not as easy as they seem and how shifting our language and perspective can help us. Finally, I share how decentering ourselves (even while prioritizing knowing ourselves) can help us live into the ideas of this season and how it has helped me cultivate a pace of perseverance.  Resources named in this episode: Older episodes Brené Brown Sign up for the email list and connect deeper here!

In this week's episode, we have the honor of hearing from Cole Arthur Rile, a gifted writer and liturgist, on how cultivating a pace of perseverance is more than about continuing to "do" but how it helps us BE fully. Cole shares with us how boundaries, silence, and reflection have been integral parts of cultivating her own pace, which enables her to write in a way that breathes connection into existence and continues to engage the complex and ever-changing world we find ourselves in. Take a listen for inspiration and tangible advice on cultivating a pace of perseverance.  Resources mentioned in the podcast: Cole Arthur Riley:  IG-@blackliturgies FB-@blackliturgist Twitter-@blackliturgist Cole's book: This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories that Make Us (pre-order here)