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Oct. 9, 2024

950: JOY, resilience, and NATURE's powers in unlocking personal growth w/ Christine Watson

Ready to uncover the secrets of heart-centered leadership and effective communication? Join us as Christine Watson, founder of Resilient Nature LLC, shares transformative insights from over 25 years of experience in leadership development. Raised with a strong Montana work ethic, Christine believes everyone has the potential to lead, regardless of their title. Her philosophy centers on nurturing others' growth and promoting a culture of continuous learning and adaptation. You’ll walk away inspired by her stories and practical advice on transitioning into leadership roles that foster teamwork and mutual success.

Curious about how the DISC personality assessment can revolutionize your team dynamics? Christine demystifies this powerful tool, explaining how it can help you understand and lead diverse communication styles. She also brings a personal touch, recounting lessons from her childhood neighbor, Joy, about the importance of spreading happiness and kindness in every aspect of life. Learn how maintaining a joyful attitude, even in challenging times, can create a ripple effect of positivity that benefits everyone around you.

Finally, Christine delves into the profound connection between nature and resilience, sharing unique practices like forest bathing to enhance personal growth. She stresses the balance between our innate traits and the potential for development through mindful practices. Tune in to absorb wisdom that will elevate your leadership and communication to new heights!

ABOUT CHRISTINE

Christine Watson is the Founder of Resilient Nature LLC, with 25+ years of experience in leadership development focused on effective communication. Growing up in Montana, she believes everyone is a leader, regardless of title, guided by her grandfather’s wisdom: “Everyone puts their pants on one leg at a time.” Her heart-centered leadership programs emphasize people at the center of success.

Christine's diverse industry experience spans finance, manufacturing, food processing, non-profits, and higher education. She is an Authorized Partner of Everything DiSC, a Personal Resilience Practitioner, and a Certified Professional in Talent Development. A certified Forest Therapy Guide, she envisions a world where joy, connection, and nature's wisdom thrive.

LINKS & RESOURCES

Chapters

00:00 - Leadership Development and Effective Communication

10:48 - Resilience and Joy in Leadership

23:05 - Nature-Based Resilience and Leadership Development

38:11 - Expressing Gratitude for Podcast Guests

Transcript

WEBVTT

00:00:00.140 --> 00:00:01.143
Hey, what is up?

00:00:01.143 --> 00:00:04.471
Welcome to this episode of the Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast.

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As always, I'm your host, brian LoFermento, and I'll tell you what I know.

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I'm excited for every single episode, but today's guest is one that we've had to reschedule a time or two, but it has only built up even more anticipation, because this is an entrepreneur who is doing deeply meaningful work that truly impacts each and every one of us, not only in our businesses but in our lives.

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And actually today's guest has such a beautiful way of articulating her vision, her mission, the way that she helps people and really the inner work that we all can do to grow into the best version of ourselves.

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So let me tell you about today's guest.

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Her name is Christine Watson.

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Christine is the founder of Resilient Nature LLC.

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She has more than 25 years of experience creating leadership development programs that focus on effective communication.

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Growing up in Montana provided her with a strong work ethic and a belief that everyone is a leader, regardless of title.

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And, yes, every single one of us entrepreneurs we for sure are leaders.

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As her grandfather said, everyone puts their pants on one leg at a time.

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This philosophy guides her approach to creating heart-centered leadership programs that places people at the center of success.

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Now I'm gonna let Christine tell you more about her background, but you're gonna see how much nature plays not only into her brand, but the way that she views the deeply meaningful work that we all must do and the work that we all can do.

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So, no matter what season of life you're in, no matter what season of business you're in, we're all going to learn a lot today.

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So I'm not going to say anything else.

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Let's dive straight into my interview with Christine Watson.

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All right, christine, I'm so grateful that you're joining us here today.

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First things first.

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Welcome to the show.

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Thank you, brian.

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I'm so excited to be here, heck yes, and obviously you and I are not originally from Florida, but it's fun to be joined by a fellow Florida resident these days.

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So I know that we're going to talk about all things outdoors later on, but before we get there, talk to us about who's, christine.

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How'd you start doing all these incredible things that you get to do today?

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Thanks, Brian.

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Oh, my gosh, who is Christine?

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That is a question.

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So it's really been in the last probably just few years five to 10 years that I've realized the role that nature has really played shaping me as a human, and that plays into all of my leadership, development programs, communication, and so what I want to do is really look at infusing those two pieces together.

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Look at infusing those two pieces together, creating people who appreciate nature, want to develop personally, professionally, and just come out being amazing leaders in whatever capacity that they choose.

00:02:58.325 --> 00:02:59.649
Yeah, I love that overview.

00:02:59.649 --> 00:03:07.631
It shines so much in everything that you put into the world, christine, but it also as someone who's obsessed with language and the way that we use words.

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I always like starting out with definitions, because these are big words.

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We throw them around a lot in the world of entrepreneurship, societally.

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Let's dissect leadership Clearly.

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It's played such a big role in your life.

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Is leadership to you?

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Oh yeah, Leadership to me is really about making other people shine.

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You can only be a leader if people choose to follow you, and it is a choice, and so leaders definitely look out for other people.

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They want to make sure that they take care of other people so that the best things in life can come forward.

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So when we think about leadership, it's really about how do I share my gifts so that others can elevate and do the best work that they can do?

00:04:01.100 --> 00:04:08.104
Yeah, and I think it's important because when we talk about leadership, a lot of people view leaders as the finished product.

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They can point to a boss that they had, or in sports, we can point to the team captain, and it's so easy to look at the finished product.

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But we all sometimes overlook our own ability to grow constantly as leaders, and that's why I'm going to use today throughout our conversation.

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I'm going to piggyback off so many of the words that you have on your website, because I do think you so beautifully articulate it, and the first one that I want to go down this path with you is.

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It says right there design your personal development journey.

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Christine, this is a journey that we are all on.

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Talk to us about that viewpoint of it, as that journey instead of just the finished product that we all see.

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Absolutely so.

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I believe that leadership is like you never get there.

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You're constantly developing and learning and growing, and so my purpose in life in general definitely as an entrepreneur is to help other people design their personal journey, and whether that is somebody who is just on an individual mission they want to become better at representing their neighborhood or you're actually working at the top level senior executive leaders within an organization, my sweet spot is really about helping kind of newer enroll leaders find their role, their space, and they're definitely on a journey because they've been really successful at something enough to catch the eye of the hiring manager and they ultimately get promoted.

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But now their journey changes to suddenly becoming one who supports others and gets the work done through other people, and so I want to help people on that journey because it's a lifelong process.

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We are constantly learning.

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Employee and societal expectations change, so there's always new things that we can learn.

00:06:16.865 --> 00:06:42.971
Yeah, I've always found it interesting, christine, the more that I think about leadership and the way that we societally have it is that when you excel in a role let's use the example of employee If I'm a really good employee and I get promoted to the boss, the supervisor, the shift lead, whatever it may be it's so fascinating to me that someone who was good at the thing at being a practitioner is now promoted to a position where you need a whole different set of skills.

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However good you are as a practitioner no longer matters, because leadership is its own set of skills.

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Talk to us about that dynamic, because for a lot of entrepreneurs, what I find, christine, is that they think, oh, if I love web designing or if I love social media, let me go start a web designer, a social media agency, and they view themselves as that practitioner.

00:07:02.769 --> 00:07:10.786
But you're no longer the practitioner, you're a leader of people, whether it's your team, your clients, whatever it may be.

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Talk to us about that dynamic, because I've always found it fascinating.

00:07:13.396 --> 00:07:14.077
Absolutely.

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That is by far the most challenging thing that leaders face is they've been really good at whatever it is they do and now they have to communicate effectively.

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They have to share maybe some unpopular ideas or policy changes or new ways of doing business.

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They're often especially newer enrolled leaders.

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They're stuck, they're like in the middle of having to deal with their team but also carry out the orders from people in higher level positions, and so they have to resolve conflict.

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They have to provide feedback, both constructive and redirective feedback, and they often don't get to do the work that they were doing and maybe they became really good at those task oriented things, but now they have to motivate and encourage and coach other people to successfully perform that work, other people to successfully perform that work.

00:08:30.122 --> 00:08:44.725
So that's really the big challenge that I address specifically around a lot of effective communication techniques, because I can share information with you and chances are it may or may not go well depending upon our communication style.

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So it gets pretty tricky at times.

00:08:47.883 --> 00:08:48.725
Yeah for sure.

00:08:48.725 --> 00:08:54.246
All right, I'm just going to keep following this path, because now you're talking about different styles, christina, someone.

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Soccer was a big part of my life and I had team captains, I had coaches all different styles and even within one locker room, if there were 22 players, there were 22 different personalities and styles there.

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How do we operate in a world where there are so many different styles of the people that we're dealing with, but also, for us, stylistic choices that we get to make as leaders?

00:09:16.931 --> 00:09:18.774
Absolutely, oh my gosh.

00:09:18.960 --> 00:09:31.248
So if I were to go out into the world and just communicate in the way that I like to communicate, from my natural style, I'm probably going to be effective about 15% of the time.

00:09:31.928 --> 00:09:56.965
So I have to get really good at understanding, first of all, my natural tendencies and then the style tendencies of other people, and one of the tools that I use is called the Everything Disc Profile, and what it does is it identifies our individual styles and teaches us how to flex that style so that I can be more effective.

00:09:56.965 --> 00:10:07.403
Maybe you like more or less detailed information, maybe you're focused on the process, or maybe you really want to know how it's going to impact the people.

00:10:07.403 --> 00:10:35.086
Just like all of your teammates in the locker room, they're all focused a little bit on different items in terms of like, what position they're playing, what the competition is looking like specifically in that role, and so in the world of work, we have to do the same thing, because we're dealing with teams of all sizes, people that come together for different reasons, and leaders have to be effective at navigating that.

00:10:35.970 --> 00:10:48.629
Yeah, it's something that we hear so much, whether we're talking about personal development or leadership or marketing, is it always starts at the same place, which is really that awareness level, and we're very fortunate that there are tools out there.

00:10:48.629 --> 00:10:50.581
You talk about DISC being one of them.

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I've long been a sucker for Myers-Briggs.

00:10:53.067 --> 00:10:54.631
That's something that I'm really well versed in.

00:10:54.631 --> 00:10:58.128
But, christine, we've heard guests in the past talk about DISC.

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What's so powerful about DISC?

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What is the appeal there?

00:11:00.802 --> 00:11:10.861
As someone who hasn't gone down that path so deeply as I have Myers-Briggs, for example, what's so special about DISC?

00:11:10.922 --> 00:11:13.486
and understanding ourselves and the teams that we're hoping to lead, absolutely.

00:11:13.486 --> 00:11:21.302
So I'm a huge fan of DISC, obviously because I use the tool, and the reason I like it is it's simple.

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There are four main communication tendencies, four main styles, and all of us are a combination.

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So we have tendencies that range in varying degrees in any of the four styles.

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But we can pretty simply categorize someone's likely tendencies through some basic observation.

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We can determine, first of all are they more active and fast-paced, do they like to get things done, drive for results, or are they more cautious and methodical?

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Do they really like to take their time?

00:11:58.947 --> 00:12:09.057
So that's one continua where it will determine your tendencies.

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Then the other continua is do they tend to really like to focus on the process, kind of task oriented, sort of questioning, skeptical, making plan A, b and C, making sure that all the bases are covered, or are they tend to be more accepting and warm and focused on people and how are the people going to interact with this?

00:12:37.121 --> 00:12:45.812
And do I need to really kind of take a look at some collaboration and interpersonal communication styles?

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So by really taking a look at those two continuous, you can assess somebody pretty rapidly in the moment as you're observing them or having conversation, and then it's simply a matter of sort of meeting them where they're at.

00:13:04.567 --> 00:13:19.409
If they are more methodical and calm, maybe taking a pause after presenting some information or not asking them to respond on the spot could be exceptionally effective.

00:13:20.373 --> 00:13:39.251
Yeah, christine, it's so enjoyable hearing you talk about DISC as an example, but really what we're talking about is understanding, is finding that level of empathy and sympathy as far as people who are like us, but people who aren't like us and taking but for the ones who are catching us on YouTube, obviously you and I are smiling a lot throughout this conversation.

00:13:39.251 --> 00:13:50.769
You and I have joy as one of our commonalities.

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It's something that I'm very fortunate.

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I am so appreciative of all the things that I get to do and these things make me very happy and I can tell in all of the work that you do, it makes you very happy to work with people.

00:14:01.427 --> 00:14:09.879
Obviously, we have those in common.

00:14:09.879 --> 00:14:11.942
So let's talk about joy, because it's so prevalent in your messaging, in your positioning.

00:14:11.942 --> 00:14:13.163
It's right there the top of your about page says be the joy in the neighborhood.

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I've read the backstory behind your brand of resilient nature, but take us there For listeners who haven't seen your website just yet.

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What's that all about?

00:14:21.884 --> 00:14:23.326
Oh, my goodness, yes.

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So be the joy in the neighborhood.

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I, if you there's.

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There's a lot going around on social media.

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It's been going around for a while.

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If you can be anything, be kind.

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And I think that's such a powerful message, and for me it's if you can be anything, be joyful, because you don't know the burdens that people are carrying.

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And where this comes from for me is as a young girl my entire childhood up until I graduated high school I had a neighbor across the alley.

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Her name was Joy.

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I had a neighbor across the alley.

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Her name was Joy, and she was an adult who made me feel like I was the most important person to her.

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When I was talking to her, she cared about me, she listened to me, she remembered things, she invested time in me, and, honestly, that's what all of us want and need.

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And this came from someone who.

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She was just a neighbor, she wasn't a family member, she didn't have to be nice to me, and so it wasn't until years later that I looked back on that and realized what a significant person she's been in my life.

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And she's still alive.

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She's in her 80s.

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I still stay in touch with her, but I have carried her spirit with me.

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Everywhere I've lived, I try to be the joy in the neighborhood, whether it's my physical neighborhood where I live, or outside in my workspace, the work I'm doing with people.

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If I can bring joy to people's lives, if I can make them smile, if I can just get them to set down their burden for five seconds, I feel like my day has been successful.

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So, remembering what she has done for me and then trying to really pass that along, because I think the more joy we can spread, it will just reverberate and continue to do good things across everywhere.

00:16:40.789 --> 00:16:48.975
Yes, oh gosh, I am such a firm believer in that it's one of the founding principles behind this very podcast is a rising tide lifts all boats.

00:16:48.975 --> 00:16:54.691
Listeners have to hear me say that each and every single week and, christine, it's something that obviously you and I have embraced.

00:16:54.691 --> 00:16:59.902
It's fun because we're talking not just personally here, but also business wise.

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I feel like both you and I have been able to inject this joy and this happiness and the kindness in the work that we do outward facing as well.

00:17:08.135 --> 00:17:16.050
But I'm curious if you get faced with this, because I certainly hear it every once in a while from you listeners, who I so appreciate when you reach out.

00:17:16.050 --> 00:17:21.403
But, christine, it's that question of how can you be joyful when things are hard.

00:17:21.403 --> 00:17:25.057
Times are hard, business is hard, life is hard.

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There's so many hardships in life and I know resilient is right there in the nature or in the word of your company.

00:17:32.362 --> 00:17:35.616
But how can we do that in the face of hardship?

00:17:37.661 --> 00:17:38.323
Oh, my goodness.

00:17:38.323 --> 00:17:40.979
Yes, people ask me all the time why do you smile so much?

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It's like well, honestly, it comes naturally, but it really makes us feel better when we are projecting that happiness, joy, kindness out into the world.

00:17:58.470 --> 00:18:14.391
And so some of the ways that I maintain this exuberance you might call it is seriously my connection to nature and implementing resilience techniques.

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If we don't take care of ourselves physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually if any one of those elements is out of whack, we're going to be lopsided.

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So we have to take care of ourselves in all of those different domains.

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And then, as humans, we are nature.

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We're not separate from nature.

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We're connected to nature.

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And so for me, even if it's just sitting in my front yard smelling the grass, hearing the birds, that is such a powerful connection that fills my cup that I firmly believe that, as humans, we're not designed to live in the world in which we've created.

00:19:06.730 --> 00:19:40.586
We're not designed to do the amount of work that we're able to do with technology, and so to take some time each and every day to spend time in nature is one of those pieces where we get grounded, we can reconnect with the natural world and sort of let all the extraneous challenges that come from the civilized world sort of get out of our way, and I think it's in those moments that thoughts can become more clear.

00:19:40.586 --> 00:19:45.156
We can more easily define what we want our journey to look like.

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That's true to us and not somebody else's vision of our journey.

00:19:49.356 --> 00:19:51.892
So, so, those are some of the tools that I use.

00:19:52.493 --> 00:19:54.201
Yeah, really well said, Christine.

00:19:54.201 --> 00:20:10.357
This is a special episode for us here because I didn't tell you before we hit record, but this is episode 950, which is a big milestone for us, and part of that is that we've never had someone come on and say those words together resilience techniques, Christine.

00:20:10.357 --> 00:20:12.991
What the heck are resilience techniques?

00:20:14.994 --> 00:20:15.976
All right.

00:20:15.976 --> 00:20:20.603
So, man, this is yes.

00:20:20.603 --> 00:20:22.786
Where do I even start?

00:20:22.786 --> 00:20:24.152
So, resilience techniques.

00:20:24.152 --> 00:20:31.362
It can be something as simple as, let's say, that you're confronted with a disruption.

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You're driving, you're driving down the road and somebody you know you get into a fender bender.

00:20:39.361 --> 00:20:44.016
There's there's no like physical implications.

00:20:44.016 --> 00:20:48.461
Your car has a crushed fender, so now it has to go to the body shop, so we're all okay.

00:20:48.461 --> 00:20:59.224
However, we can react in a variety of ways, and a resilience technique that I like to use is we have choices.

00:20:59.224 --> 00:21:11.244
We can, in the moment of that particular disruption, we can decide that we want to accept what is Okay.

00:21:11.244 --> 00:21:12.827
This is now my situation.

00:21:12.827 --> 00:21:13.989
I need to deal with it.

00:21:13.989 --> 00:21:15.833
It just is a matter of fact.

00:21:15.833 --> 00:21:22.487
We can change our situation, so I can decide you know what?

00:21:22.686 --> 00:21:26.477
This road tends to have a lot of these things happening.

00:21:26.477 --> 00:21:28.682
I'm just not going to drive down this stretch of highway at this time of day.

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I'm going to take a different route.

00:21:29.486 --> 00:21:31.451
I'm just not going to drive down this stretch of highway at this time of day.

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I'm going to take a different route.

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I'm going to do something different.

00:21:34.961 --> 00:22:05.539
So we can make changes, or we can simply adapt and say you know what I'm going to do a combination I'm going to accept what is, I'm going to make some changes and I'm going to go about using some calming techniques and make sure that I have reserves available so that the next time I'm confronted with this situation I'm better prepared for it.

00:22:05.539 --> 00:22:15.662
So, first of all, recognizing, kind of, what our go-to tendencies are and asking does that work for me and if not, what might some other options be?

00:22:16.871 --> 00:22:24.939
Yeah, it's funny as a podcast host, I always just think about what the listeners are thinking, because I wish they could jump into this conversation in real time.

00:22:24.939 --> 00:22:37.672
But, listeners, I hope I'm doing you justice here because, christine, hearing you talk about these things one thing and actually I want to push back a little bit on something you said earlier, because you said that joy comes a little more natural to you and smiling comes a little more natural to you.

00:22:37.672 --> 00:22:44.375
It's something that I hear all the time and the older that I get, the more I appreciate that very few things come naturally.

00:22:44.375 --> 00:23:05.155
All of them come through reps and it's repetition is that, christine, you and I, so many times, in the face of something happening, whether it's a fender bender or something hopefully a little less significant in our day-to-day lives, is that you and I smiled and from that we developed that mechanism of smiling, of joy, of all of these things.

00:23:05.215 --> 00:23:11.538
And hearing you talk about other traits like adaptability, some people, christine, might say well, I'm just not an adaptable person.

00:23:11.538 --> 00:23:12.862
Change always throws me off.

00:23:12.862 --> 00:23:17.934
How much of this is born with us, that innate personality.

00:23:17.934 --> 00:23:19.901
I've got a six-year-old niece and nephew.

00:23:19.901 --> 00:23:25.320
They're twins and seeing at six, even at two years old, you could see how different they were.

00:23:25.320 --> 00:23:41.124
So, christine, my question to you is how much of this is innate, that we're born with, that does come natural to us, versus how much of these things like adaptability, joy, resilience, can we refine and nurture and grow through those reps of life, of business, of all the things?

00:23:43.266 --> 00:23:44.467
Yeah, oh my gosh.

00:23:44.467 --> 00:23:48.000
So I didn't go to medical school.

00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:57.351
I didn't go to medical school.

00:23:57.351 --> 00:24:00.453
So I'm not sure about how much is innate and what we develop.

00:24:00.453 --> 00:24:04.237
But the one thing I do know is that we can develop resilience.

00:24:04.237 --> 00:24:15.146
We can learn to do those kinds of things that help us live happier, healthier, more connected lives.

00:24:17.874 --> 00:24:48.872
And I've done some research with different resilience classes that I've trained and we've measured people's resilience levels on a scale before they took the session and then 12 weeks later we've measured it at the end of the session and overall they've shown improvements of anywhere from 10 to 20% increase in their resilience levels, in their resilience levels.

00:24:48.872 --> 00:25:00.219
So it's been clearly studied and documented that when we practice and do those reps, as you say, that we are able to make changes.

00:25:00.219 --> 00:25:11.351
Now for some of us it might come easier or it might be more difficult, like if you're gonna ask me to become a computer analyst, that's gonna be very challenging for me.

00:25:11.351 --> 00:25:27.743
So we definitely have natural tendencies, but we do have the ability as humans to practice and repeat and practice again and continue to build those important relationships.

00:25:27.743 --> 00:25:32.347
So I'm a firm believer in humanity's resilience.

00:25:32.930 --> 00:25:33.692
Yes, gosh.

00:25:33.692 --> 00:25:35.477
I love that message, Christine, especially.

00:25:35.477 --> 00:25:38.875
It resonates so deeply for me, the three words that have guided me through life.

00:25:38.875 --> 00:25:44.018
Something that my mom said to me as a kid, and she continues to say to this day, is anything is possible.

00:25:44.018 --> 00:25:53.198
I remember being a little kid and I would look out the car window as we were driving through the suburbs of Boston and I would see this mansion and I would say, oh my gosh, look at this person's house.

00:25:53.198 --> 00:25:57.559
I come from an immigrant family that was like so foreign to me to see that lavish lifestyle.

00:25:57.559 --> 00:26:00.539
My mom said it's just a normal person, it's just someone like you.

00:26:00.539 --> 00:26:03.496
Anything is possible and it's something that followed me.

00:26:03.710 --> 00:26:09.538
And hearing that example of a computer analyst, some people might say Christine, I'm where I am in my career journey.

00:26:09.538 --> 00:26:13.257
I can't it's a word that bothers me, I can't make that shift.

00:26:13.257 --> 00:26:21.103
But what I'm hearing from you today is we can, we so can, even if it's these big topics of resilience, of adaptability.

00:26:21.103 --> 00:26:41.819
So, Christine, I really appreciate your message and part of it that I know goes into your work is obviously you being able to get at that stuff, this I can't attitude, the barriers that hold us back as leaders, as people Talk to us about your ability to get there with people, because listening is obviously a core part of your quote unquote job.

00:26:41.819 --> 00:26:43.711
But how do you get at this stuff?

00:26:43.711 --> 00:26:46.374
How do you discover what's actually holding people back?

00:26:48.436 --> 00:26:48.896
Oh yes.

00:26:48.896 --> 00:26:56.205
So it's amazing how often people just want to be heard.

00:26:56.205 --> 00:27:15.911
So listening is a huge piece of it, but it's listening with intent and I would never approach someone and claim to have the answers or know what they should do, know which route they should take.

00:27:15.911 --> 00:27:47.909
My role in the work that I do is to simply have some tools of very, very solid, extensive background in tools and techniques that work that help people discover for themselves how to develop resilience, create leadership tendencies, and so I think my superpower if I were to call it that is just my ability to connect and build relationships with people.

00:27:47.909 --> 00:28:08.484
Because once you have established that and the person or the people that you're working with trust you and feel like you really are there for them, that's when the real transformation can begin to happen.

00:28:08.585 --> 00:28:15.547
Because I mean, let's face it, we live in a terribly skeptical, negative world.

00:28:15.547 --> 00:28:21.919
I mean, if you watch any kind of news or consume that material on a daily basis, you're inundated.

00:28:21.919 --> 00:28:34.765
So being able to show people that I am willing to listen, I've got some resources and, hey look, I might not be everybody's cup of tea.

00:28:34.765 --> 00:28:36.181
People do it differently.

00:28:36.181 --> 00:28:50.517
So if you're looking for that kind of connection that I call it heart-centered leadership, where you really want to dig in and figure out what's going to work for each person.

00:28:50.517 --> 00:28:52.079
That's the secret.

00:28:52.079 --> 00:29:03.968
I don't have the end-all, be-all answer on how to be a leader, because I think it's different for everyone, so I help people get there on their own journey.

00:29:04.875 --> 00:29:17.105
Yeah, and to that point, christine, and to your point of all of us doing things differently and delivering our services and our products very differently, part of what I think that makes you so different is the ways in which you deliver that.

00:29:17.105 --> 00:29:17.527
I saw it.

00:29:17.527 --> 00:29:27.723
It's one of the first things that stood out to us behind the scenes when we reached out to have you on the show, is right there on your offerings forest bathing, join me for a walk, schedule a group or private experience.

00:29:27.723 --> 00:29:32.691
Talk to us about some of those unique ways that you deliver these experiences to your clients.

00:29:32.691 --> 00:29:33.976
Yeah.

00:29:34.817 --> 00:29:37.281
So forest bathing oh my goodness this.

00:29:37.281 --> 00:29:42.176
I guess I've been forest bathing my whole life, but I just didn't know it.

00:29:42.176 --> 00:29:45.981
It comes from the Japanese culture.

00:29:45.981 --> 00:29:53.290
Back in the 1980s, the Japanese discovered that their people were getting sick.

00:29:53.290 --> 00:30:01.910
They were having all of these different maladies high blood pressure, stroke.

00:30:01.910 --> 00:30:04.324
They even had increased levels of suicide.

00:30:04.324 --> 00:30:10.367
And it was during a time when Japan was experiencing intense industrialization.

00:30:10.367 --> 00:30:21.239
All the people were moving out of the countryside into cities and hence they were lacking their daily connection with nature.

00:30:22.000 --> 00:30:42.926
The Japanese Ministry of Health kind of did a bunch of research and studies into it, and they found that when we spend time in nature because that's how we've lived our thousands, millions of years we've been on the planet our heart rate lowers, we have lower levels of cortisol.

00:30:42.926 --> 00:30:59.868
We trees actually emit what are called phytoncides, which are cancer-causing, cancer-fighting cells, and so when you take people out of the natural environment, they don't have those health benefits.

00:30:59.868 --> 00:31:10.750
And so forest bathing is the loose translation of the Japanese practice called Shinrin-yoku.

00:31:10.750 --> 00:31:40.910
And so I have always known that I feel better, think better, respond better to everything when I spend time outdoors, and just this past year I went through a certification with the Association of Forest Therapy Guides and basically I take people out on nature walks where we call it a slow wander.

00:31:42.095 --> 00:31:59.443
It's not about identifying plants, but what we do is we get out and basically experience the sound, smell, touch, texture of what we experience in nature.

00:31:59.443 --> 00:32:01.105
We slow down.

00:32:01.105 --> 00:32:35.560
It's almost like mindfulness, walking mindfulness in nature, paying attention, and what people report at the end of these nature walks is an incredible sense of calm, less anxiety.

00:32:35.560 --> 00:32:48.065
Share with me, several weeks after the walk, that she was able to really focus in on some personal concerns she was having, which led her to quit her job and start a brand new career in a different area, because she was able to get clarity of mind just by slowing down.

00:32:48.065 --> 00:32:53.397
And so those are some of the benefits that forest bathing.

00:32:53.397 --> 00:33:00.875
It also goes by the name of forest therapy, but you can do it in your yard and anyone can do this.

00:33:00.875 --> 00:33:23.823
But I have been trained to basically lead people through the process and it really can be life transforming, to give you that time and space to experience just being mindful, and when we clear all the clutter out of our brains, it gives us space to think.

00:33:24.624 --> 00:33:25.866
Yeah, really well said.

00:33:25.866 --> 00:33:29.461
I so appreciate those insights, christine, even hearing you talk about these things.

00:33:29.461 --> 00:33:37.247
You and I are very fortunate to live in a state with some really cool state parks and a lot of interesting wildlife to accompany us on these long walks.

00:33:37.247 --> 00:33:43.096
So even just hearing you talk about it it really replenishes the soul because it's something that we can all relate back to.

00:33:43.096 --> 00:33:53.845
Obviously, you and I live in cities here in the great state, the Sunshine state, but even with that said, I so appreciate getting out into nature and I think it's something that I know for me is imperative.

00:33:54.076 --> 00:33:55.340
I am an extreme extrovert.

00:33:55.340 --> 00:34:00.942
I love being in cities, I love being around people, but you need to unplug, you need to get away from it all and into nature.

00:34:00.942 --> 00:34:07.186
So really love those insights there and I will say that, overall, this episode has just inspired me personally.

00:34:07.186 --> 00:34:21.940
And and I will say that overall, this episode has just inspired me personally and I know for so many listeners that will get to tune into our conversation today to do this inner work, because as much as we're talking about leading others, so much of the work that you've guided us through today focuses on understanding ourselves and investing in our own personal development.

00:34:21.940 --> 00:34:29.422
So, christine, I knew we'd be short on time today, listeners, we are going to be inviting Christine back for an Action Saturday, so total spoiler alert there.

00:34:29.514 --> 00:34:36.202
But, christine, before we let you go today, I always love asking this question at the end of episodes, because you're also one of us.

00:34:36.202 --> 00:34:46.242
You are also a fellow entrepreneur, growing your business, servicing your clients, which is incredible the work that you do and the impact that you have, especially with these real life examples.

00:34:46.242 --> 00:34:53.242
So, with all of that in mind, what's your one piece of advice, the one takeaway?

00:34:53.242 --> 00:34:57.596
Knowing that listeners are at all different stages of their personal journeys, their business journeys, what's that one thing that you want to impart on them?

00:34:59.898 --> 00:35:05.943
So I think your mom had fabulous advice.

00:35:05.943 --> 00:35:09.364
Is that and now I'm going to say this wrong?

00:35:09.364 --> 00:35:17.231
But when you said that earlier, it really resonated with me is that you can be anything.

00:35:17.231 --> 00:35:18.293
Isn't that what she said?

00:35:18.293 --> 00:35:27.684
Anything is possible, and never give up.

00:35:27.684 --> 00:35:35.992
I have had times on my journey when I've said to myself what the heck are you doing?

00:35:35.992 --> 00:35:41.847
You are passionate about this and you think this is great, but nobody else cares.

00:35:41.847 --> 00:35:54.327
And then the phone will ring or I'll have a conversation, I'll get an email, something will happen, and out of the blue, people are like oh my gosh, I'm so glad I found you.

00:35:54.327 --> 00:36:02.722
So my one piece of advice is you can be anything, you can do anything, and don't give up.

00:36:02.722 --> 00:36:04.742
Just keep after it.

00:36:04.742 --> 00:36:07.364
It's a lot of work, but it will pay off.

00:36:08.394 --> 00:36:11.282
Yes, gosh, that cannot be said often enough.

00:36:11.282 --> 00:36:12.447
It is hard.

00:36:12.447 --> 00:36:15.505
Listeners, you heard it from Christine here personally today.

00:36:15.505 --> 00:36:18.737
It's in the name of her business Resilient Nature, this stuff.

00:36:18.737 --> 00:36:20.103
It's meant to be hard.

00:36:20.103 --> 00:36:28.637
There is no easy way For so many people who maybe tune into a business podcast and hope to hear kind of that golden pill that's gonna take them to success.

00:36:28.637 --> 00:36:30.521
There is no magic pill.

00:36:30.521 --> 00:36:31.364
It is hard.

00:36:31.364 --> 00:36:32.485
We have to do the work.

00:36:32.847 --> 00:36:39.175
Christine, you've been such a shining example and inspiration for all of us there today and I've teased your website quite a few times.

00:36:39.175 --> 00:36:43.047
I think it's so incredible the way you articulate things, the way you display things.

00:36:43.047 --> 00:36:52.286
So for listeners who want to go deeper down your journey and actually before I kick it your way, christine, because I know you're humble, I'm going to talk about this for you is that I think it's incredible.

00:36:52.286 --> 00:36:57.291
Right on your homepage you have so many calls to actions as to the way that you can help people.

00:36:57.291 --> 00:37:00.905
They can book a complimentary consultation, a 30-minute call with you.

00:37:00.905 --> 00:37:09.324
They can pay right there and go really in-depth and get their own personal resilience profile, understand their everything disc profile.

00:37:09.324 --> 00:37:11.081
There's so many ways that you help people.

00:37:11.081 --> 00:37:14.661
So that's me teasing it for you, christine, but you drop those links on us.

00:37:14.661 --> 00:37:16.219
Where should listeners go from here?

00:37:17.523 --> 00:37:18.505
Awesome, thank you.

00:37:18.505 --> 00:37:24.188
So my website is myresilientnaturecom.

00:37:24.188 --> 00:37:29.646
You can find me on Instagram at resilientnaturecom.

00:37:29.646 --> 00:37:32.172
You can find me on Instagram at resilientnature.

00:37:32.172 --> 00:37:42.559
I'm not very active on Facebook, but I'm trying to get that started, and I also have sites set on starting a YouTube channel.

00:37:42.559 --> 00:37:45.746
So more to come on that, but that's where you'll find me.

00:37:46.534 --> 00:37:48.693
Yes, listeners, you already know the drill.

00:37:48.693 --> 00:37:54.298
We're making it as easy as possible for you to find Christine's links, no matter where it is that you're tuning into today's episode.

00:37:54.298 --> 00:37:55.481
Find the show notes.

00:37:55.481 --> 00:37:59.280
Down below, you'll find a direct link to MyResilientNaturecom.

00:37:59.280 --> 00:38:00.563
You can click right on through.

00:38:00.563 --> 00:38:02.835
We're also linking to Christine's personal LinkedIn.

00:38:02.835 --> 00:38:11.849
If you want to have her in your network and if you want to join me in peer pressuring her to indeed start that YouTube channel, don't be shy in adding an amazing entrepreneur to your network.

00:38:11.849 --> 00:38:17.436
So, christine, on behalf of myself and all the listeners worldwide, thanks so much for joining us on the show today.

00:38:18.538 --> 00:38:20.481
Thank you, brian, it's been awesome.

00:38:21.184 --> 00:38:26.739
Hey, it's Brian here, and thanks for tuning in to yet another episode of the Wantrepreneur to to entrepreneur podcast.

00:38:26.739 --> 00:38:30.726
If you haven't checked us out online, there's so much good stuff there.

00:38:30.726 --> 00:38:37.492
Check out the show's website and all the show notes that we talked about in today's episode at the entrepreneur showcom.

00:38:37.492 --> 00:38:39.938
And I just want to give a shout out to our amazing guests.

00:38:39.938 --> 00:38:48.708
There's a reason why we are ad free and have produced so many incredible episodes five days a week for you, and it's because our guests step up to the plate.

00:38:48.815 --> 00:38:50.782
These are not sponsored episodes.

00:38:50.782 --> 00:38:52.360
These are not infomercials.

00:38:52.360 --> 00:38:55.755
Our guests help us cover the costs of our productions.

00:38:55.755 --> 00:39:06.802
They so deeply believe in the power of getting their message out in front of you, awesome entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs, that they contribute to help us make these productions possible.

00:39:06.802 --> 00:39:15.322
So thank you to not only today's guests, but all of our guests in general, and I just want to invite you check out our website because you can send us a voicemail there.

00:39:15.322 --> 00:39:16.639
We also have live chat.

00:39:16.639 --> 00:39:21.262
If you want to interact directly with me, go to thewantrepreneurshowcom.

00:39:21.262 --> 00:39:22.686
Initiate a live chat.

00:39:22.686 --> 00:39:28.197
It's for real me, and I'm excited because I'll see you, as always every Monday, wednesday, friday.

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