Lisa David Olson is a speaker, creative coach and author of the memoir Laughs on Wry, in which she shares how humor saved her life after an abusive childhood.
Her serious-toned message reveals the power of humor to heal and connect. A writer and performer of sketch comedy, parody songs, and improvisation for decades, Lisa’s energetic style and determination always leaves joy in her wake.
Included in her first book is Lisa’s project in bravery, Serious Selfies with Strangers, that provided unexpected and genuine connections with people she would never have met otherwise.
Invite Lisa to speak for your work group or project team to share her lessons from over 20 years onstage; challenging convention and expectations to unravel embedded ways of thinking.
If you are anything like me, you know you are meant to do something more, yet the path to getting there is just not clear. You may spend what feels like a ridiculous amount of time jumping from task to task, never actually moving forward in your business and not making much or consistent money.
And worst of all, you may be getting discouraged. This idea that there is a time when you are “ready” is really a fallacy.
There is only that time - and that is when you decide.
I wasn’t ready.
I had just had Enough.
Enough of that feeling that life was passing me by.
Enough of my own excuses.
Enough of watching other people making it while I still sat struggling.
Ever feel sick and tired of being sick and tired?
If this describes you, then we are going to get along great.
I don’t really talk about myself on the show but here’s why I do what I do and what led me down this path. After college, I worked in the technology sector for many years. In my last role in this field, I served as an Executive Director for an Information Technology consulting firm where I provided solutions for such clients as the United States Army, state agencies, and Fortune 500 companies. It was everything I wanted or so I thought.
I healed and went back to work although things were never the same. Things had shifted for me dramatically and I found myself very much unfulfilled in my role and was extremely unhappy. I wanted to do more. I wanted to be more. Wishing to make a more meaningful contribution to society (but not knowing how), I resigned my position to seek more altruistic work.
Utilizing the knowledge and experience I gained while working in Information Technology I began collaborating with law enforcement agencies to help promote community-wide Internet safety. I began speaking publicly on this subject and helped school districts draft their internet safety policies for their students. In the process, I obtained my Master’s Degree in Social Work. I was privileged to work with at-risk students in both K through 12 and university settings.
I was on my path and continued my graduate education seeking a doctorate in clinical psychology. During my training, I was fortunate enough to gain experience seeing patients at the Emory School of Medicine and I trained in an inpatient forensic hospital. I completed a residency in neuropsychology where I worked with patients from the Cleveland Clinic and assessed NFL players as part of the league’s concussion protocol. I also have extensive experience working with physically and sexually abused children. When I’m not in the studio recording new episodes of The Daily Helping podcast, I’m working on promoting my non-profit Every Kid Rocks which helps children everywhere reach their true potential. I’m so grateful that I get to spend my days helping others. That’s me.
This week’s conversation features, Chantel Soumis.
Piercing through the noise of today’s society is a challenge, but Chantel Soumis is living proof that it can be done! With clarity, consistency, and above all, a knowledgeable coach, anything is possible—just ask the “bubbly and blessed” voice of the differently-abled community from a tiny town in the midwest who has made global headlines.
As a top LinkedIn Creator with over 30,000 organic followers in just one year, Chantel has the insider secrets and a history of marketing experience to help others achieve a strong digital reputation. In 2018, Chantel launched Stardust Creative LLC, a brand agency focused on embracing differences through personal and corporate branding.
She’s had the pleasure of speaking at international conferences across the globe and working with teams at Fortune 500 organizations in terms of mastering digital reputations for executives and building inclusive environments for leadership teams.
The people we surround ourselves with can have a huge impact on our lives. In building our own personal networks, we open ourselves up to new opportunities we may not even be aware of yet and develop a valuable asset that can never be taken away from us.
In this episode, Nate Peo discusses the importance of having real personal connections in our network. In putting ourselves out there more and delving outside of comfort zones, we can develop diverse connections that broaden our worldviews and create positive outcomes.
Continually building these relationships and thinking of ways to serve others will benefit us in the long run because we never know who will play what part in our lives.
Resiliency is not something we are born with, it’s something we develop based on our surroundings.
According to Alvin Law, how resilient we are is entirely dependent on the environments we’re brought up in and the people we surround ourselves with.
Born without arms due to the morning sickness drug Thalidomide, Law has faced many hardships throughout life but overcame them in part because of his resiliency.
One of the keys to building resilience is that he never lives life “looking in the rearview mirror,” instead focusing ahead on where he wants to go, which is an idea he encourages on others as well as asking for help and being around people who push and support us.
We are more than our struggles, and as Grant Parr puts it in this episode, reminding ourselves of who we are despite the labels people try to put upon us helps us achieve a much more positive energy.
After getting an injury that caused him to stop playing football, Parr faced many struggles concerning his identity and the new direction his life was going in.
Although at first he just wanted to be the old him again, he realized that he would now get to design the new him, and viewing this part of life with the feeling of “I get to” instead of “I have to” helped him to rise above the occasion. With the mindset of being and staying in the now, he has developed a light energy that he wants to share with others.
It can be easy for us to question if all the struggles, setbacks, and hardships we experience as well as the effort we put into getting over them is all going to be worth it in the long run.
In this episode, Nelson Toriano discusses what it’s like experiencing hard times and knowing that everything was going to end up alright.
In his personal journey which includes filing for bankruptcy, Toriano soon realized that he was not alone in this struggle and that although everyone was in a different situation, there were others with similar issues as him.
All it took was the one moment were someone told him that “he can” for him to see the light in his situation and know that it was all worth it.
After being torn down and told by multiple people that she wasn’t good enough to succeed, Mila DeChant decided to flip the narrative and reclaim her own identity.
Taking back her voice from the people who tried to keep her down, she realized the importance of having support and wants to preach to others that lifting each other up is a meaningful and worthwhile feeling that doesn’t cost a thing. Knowing what it’s like to face adversity without an ally, DeChant encourages others to focus on life with an extended lens and consider what other people are going through, because often times everyone is experiencing something important that can resonate with someone else.
Going through life with the mindset that whoever crosses your path can impact your character in some way or another, she wants to show everyone that there is no reason to “dim anyone’s light” nor have your own light dimmed, and that even the smallest act of kindness can lift someone up.
While it may seem comfortable to settle into a certain routine in life, there is always that question of wondering what comes next? What is the next step that we can take in our journeys? It was this question that led Omar Pinto to take on a new direction in his life that brought growth and success.
After experiencing numerous struggles throughout life, including alcohol and drug addiction, Pinto began the long process of recovery and became 10 years sober, at which point he asked himself, “What’s next?”
Inspired by listening to various podcasts, he decided to start his own to help others on the road recovery.
His story encourages others to ask themselves what could be next in their lives because you never know how close you could be to launching something with just one decision.
