"You Care Too Much"

“Everyone has their own process, and everything happens at the exact right moment it’s supposed to.” What a beautiful reminder from a wise friend who I’m very excited to share with you.

She, herself, has an awesome podcast and has shared her journey and podcasting experience with me as I’ve traversed my own. It seemed only fitting to get to dig up some big things and explore with someone who had a hand in helping and encouraging me to get this little pod off the ground.

So, in this episode we hear from Ming Shelby who has been a wonderful mentor, to say the least. I highly recommend soaking up the wisdom and quality time any mentors generously gift your way. The great ones are champions of both success and growth. And yeah, Ming is a prime example of this.

She is a National Board-certified educator who has dedicated her career to inspiring students, teachers and administrators through positive learning experiences. She believes that courage is the critical ingredient for personal transformation and is building a community of courage beyond the classroom to support kids and adults. You can catch her sharing stories of courage for people to learn to thrive, not just survive, on The Courage Up Podcast! 

She shares inspiring people and their courage stories weekly, and pretty recently gave a TEDx talk on courageous conversations, which we get into during this episode. Ming lights up everything she does, and I have no doubt that that is what she’s on this planet to do.

Listen in as Ming shares her contagious energy, mindset, and how she believes courage is the secret ingredient to a great life.

Key Talking Points of the Episode:

• Meet Ming
• The Courage Up Podcast
• Courageous Conversations
• Mindset
• Obstacles Overcome
• Ming’s Inspiration
• Ming’s advice to people who care a lot (and everyone else)

Standout Quotes from the Episode:

“I want this world to be a little bit better, with me in it.”

“If I’m on this Earth, I want to have purpose, I want to live with intention, I want to be kind and courageous and spread positivity and give grace and I want to lift myself and the people up around me.”

“I just feel like I have this duty to the world and the people in it that, ‘hey I’m going to show up as my best self and make this world a better place.’”

“I can't rely on others for my own personal satisfaction or value or happiness. That all comes from me”

“What I realized was that when I was living into my values and choosing courage instead of choosing fear, and choosing abundance instead of choosing scarcity, then everything was going to work out.”

“Hearing each other’s’ courage stories really helps us continue to show up courageously.”

“If I care about you enough to have you in my life, then I care enough about you to have hard conversations with you.”

“We all have unsavory bits, so we might as well just be honest with ourselves.”

“Keep showing up authentically as you are because the world needs you, exactly as who you are. Who you are is so important to make this world an even better place.”

Mentioned in the Episode:

I’ve been looking forward to coming back to this space and this community of caring, with you all, after wrapping up that strange year that 2020 was. I am grateful that the July-quarantined Randi felt that this podcast was a thing that she was compelled to do. I’ve gotten to meet, reconnect, dig deeper, and share folks with you who are making positive impacts in this world and living purposeful lives.

I very grateful to have connected with today’s guest and am excited to share her with you. I was lucky enough to have a very cool conversation with Erin Claire Jones, who has been featured in Forbes and Nylon, and uses Human Design to help thousands of individuals and companies step into their work and their lives as their truest selves and to their highest potential.

For those who are new to it, in Erin’s words, Human Design is a synthesis of ancient wisdom and modern science that sheds light on a person’s energetic makeup, as well as specific tools one can use to live at their happiest, healthiest, highest potential. Listen in and Erin will explain in further detail the magic that she helps folks understand in themselves in order to better align their lives with their purpose.

She gets into how she started, by putting Human Design to work in her own life and ended up showing the world a new way to work, a new path towards success, and a new perspective on living authentically.

I recently grabbed myself a customized Blueprint from Erin, which is a customized, personal guide of one’s Human Design. That was both revealing and validating. And couldn’t wait to hear more about her journey in serving as a trail guide of sorts, providing tools for folks to live to their greatest potential for the greatest good. You’ve got to give a fuck or two to be doing that kind of work in the world, Right? By the way, keep listening to hear how you can get a discount for your very own Blueprint from Erin.

During this chat Erin helps us understand how human design can offer insight into what is possible for not only individuals, but companies, and partnerships as well - by giving insight into who they are and how to care more about themselves and those around them in ways that are immediately applicable.

Key Talking Points of the Episode:

• Meet Erin Claire Jones
• Human Design: A tool for better understanding of self and others
• Types, Profiles, and Inner Authority
• Erin’s journey
• Erin’s mindset 
• Inspiring self-trust and collaborative teams
• Helping others find their purpose 
• Erin’s Influences

Key Milestones of the Episode:

[04:30] Human Design in a nutshell

[06:00] Meet Erin Claire Jones

[09:00] High level breakdown of Human Design

[09:30] Human Design Type: Generators & Manifesting Generators

[12:00] Human Design Type: Projectors

[15:00] Human Design Type: Manifestors

[16:30] Human Design Type: Reflectors

[17:30] Erin’s Journey: Why Human Design?

[20:00] A better understanding of self

[22:00] Erin’s mindset and self-care

[25:30] Human Design and Partnership

[28:00] Inner authority and profile

[36:00] Helping others find their purpose 

[37:30] Supporting teams and business with Human Design

[43:45] Erin’s Influences and support system

[49:00] Erin’s advice

Standout Quotes from the Episode:

“I think why Human Design made sense to me is it just felt like a bridge. It felt like it satisfied all my cosmic loves.”

“Human Design is such a clear tool, in not just understanding themselves on an individual level, but in terms of how to best work together collectively.”

“We might recognize the thing before the world does. So, just trust that, you know? And stay aligned and know that the recognition will come at the right time.”

“When we are in integrity as messengers and leaders and teachers, that is felt.”

“I was trying to be all the things I wasn’t.”

“What I love about Human Design is I think it inspires self-trust.”

“It’s not a belief system, it’s a tool. Use it how you will. Take what resonates, leave the rest. Let it be the thing that empowers you and doesn’t limit you.”

Mentioned in the Episode:

No question about it; a lot of terrible things have happened this year. And Yeah, we could just say 2020 was shit. But was it all that way? Or did it make you have to look at and try connecting with yourself and others a little harder, a little longer, and maybe a little more honestly? Sure. We can say the chaos of 2020 has muddied everything and that we’re just trudging through, or we could say it made certain things a lot more clear. Or we could go with both. It’s probably both.

On that note, I was energized and inspired by this conversation in this episode, learning more about our guest, and I can’t wait for you to hear it. He is someone who encourages me to think, and who is endlessly curious. This week I share with you a chat that I was fortunate enough to have had with Yoshino, a visual artist, photographer, and podcaster extraordinaire among other things.

I was originally introduced and then re-introduced to Yoshino by an amazing mutual friend of ours, and he graciously let me pick his brain about podcasting early on in my journey with “You Care Too Much.” Somehow we ended up on the topic of empathy and I couldn’t not have him on the show after that.

Yoshino hosts the Artist Decoded podcast, which he has been doing for the past five years now. He started it as an exploration of self, as an artist, and explores the inner workings, perspectives, vulnerabilities, and everything in between with other artists and experts - digging into the who and why of some of the most creative folks around. 

Connection is just feeling more important that ever, and this week’s guest does not disappoint on that front. I was lucky enough to catch up with Nurse Abi, who is a most essential activist amidst this pandemic and ever-changing social climate.

Nurse ABi was born and raised in Metro Manila in the Philippines but has resided on stolen Ohlone Land (which is more widely known as Alameda County) for more than twenty years.

She is an essential healthcare worker on the front lines, with more than 12 years of experience as a registered nurse. When she’s not in a medical center, Nurse ABI is a COVID Space Strategist and is currently pursuing a graduate degree in Population Health Nursing. She is leveraging her experience, both publicly and digitally to educate well-meaning, at-risk communities to reduce COVID transmissions until a vaccine is available for all.

Nurse ABi provides regular content on Instagram, can be found safeguarding folks from COVID exposure from protests to picnics, and is a not-so-secret admirer of a certain US Health Official, Dr. Fauchi. 

I’m looking forward to sharing this episode with you, because Nurse ABi is all heart and there’s really no better timing than the middle of a pandemic, during flu season nonetheless, to hear from a healthcare professional creating ripples upon ripples for humanity when humanity can feel bleak.

I’m thrilled to introduce you to THE East Bay’s crusader for CDC compliance and self-proclaimed defender of human dignity, my lovely friend, Nurse ABi.

Key Talking Points of the Episode:

• Population health strategies
• COVID exposure reduction & the ripple effect
• Family, religion, and other things that have shaped Nurse Abi’s caring
• Folks who inspire Nurse Abi
• Nurse ABi’s pandemic self-care tips

Key Milestones of the Episode:

[05:00] Meet Nurse ABi

[07:00] Supporting communities during the pandemic

[9:00] Being present during protests

[11:00] Being a holistic healthcare provider

[14:00] Nurse Abi’s mindset; no half-assing

[16:00] Nurse Abi’s inspiration; Dr. Fauci & Pope Francis

[20:00] Possible hang-ups for people who care a lot, according to Nurse ABi

[22:00] Public commitment 

[26:00] Modifying your life during a pandemic

[28:00] The ripple effect

[30:00] Raised by a single mother, and growing up Catholic

[32:00] Getting into nursing

[36:00] How Nurse Abi takes care of herself, while she’s taking care of others

[38:00] Dignity for all

[41:00] An organization Nurse Abi supports

[43:00] Where to find Nurse ABi

[45:00] Closing thoughts

Standout Quotes from the Episode:

“You can still be vocally expressive, while still wearing your mask properly, or social distancing”

“If there’s something that you’re privileged with, whether it’s your skin color or internet access, or education or your language proficiency - there’s always something to do to make it easier for other people.”

“But then with the frustrations that the COVID guidelines or recommendations are putting on people, I felt so frustrated to see people not know what to do.”

“I guess my natural tendency of translating that to easier terms for the. I guess for the lay person to be able to digest and understand.”

“I feel like to protesters, I almost feel like it won't really hit further if they don't see me physically there. And for them, feeling the presence of a nurse among themselves, understanding where their pains are and understanding where there can be a bridge between COVID reduction and still like honoring what's in their heart as a human person.”

“I want them to just know that they’re just these little modifications that you can fold into your flow and still have less risk for COVID and still have a little bit of what you want in your life.”

“I’m just holding onto the fact that the ripple effect is real… All of us are little pebbles.”

Mentioned in the Episode

I cannot wait for you to hear this week’s guest who may be a bit of a kindred spirit to some of you animal lovers out there. Her empathy spans from human to canine. It's Samantha Johnson of Pack Life LA. She's a rad dog trainer. And I'm going to go ahead and call her up puppy pack activist.

Samantha started her business with the help of her business partner and pup, Baloo. It was catalysed by her rescue pit bull, Lily, who was abused, reactive, and transformed into a completely different dog after being rehabilitated and socialized in a pack alongside Baloo.

Samantha has shadowed and worked with various trainers and was a trainer at Caesar Millan's Dog Psychology. From pre-med to dog training, Samantha's journey is one of somebody who cares deeply about everyday kindness, healthy relationships between humans and animals, and creating realistic goals and expectations for both people and pups. 

Samantha and her family always have a foster among the pack, and one of her passions is creating more awareness for our relationships to our dogs, more fostering opportunities, and positive impact beyond the home pack life. She helps dogs, families, rescues, and prison populations. Yep. You heard that right. And prison populations. It's just as interesting as it sounds.

As a former dog mom and aspiring to one day again be a dog mom, I've learned a ton from following Samantha and Pack Life LA online and I think you will enjoy what this empathetic soul has to say in this episode of the podcast.

Key Talking Points of the Episode:

• Meet Samantha Johnson
• Being born empathetic
• Privilege and the responsibility of those who have it to create more equity in the world
• The intersection of human and dog psychology
• Two birds one stone; dog and inmate rehabilitation
• The positive influences in Samantha’s life
• Samantha’s advice to people who care a lot

Key Milestones of the Episode:

[04:00] Meet Samantha Johnson

[07:00] Samantha’s entrance into the rescue world

[10:00] An innate sensitivity to the world

[13:00] Having privilege is having a responsibility to help others

[15:00] Getting dogs for the right reasons

[17:00] The intersection of human and dog psychology 

[19:30] Samantha’s passion; Marley’s Mutts Pawsitive Change Program

[22:00] Dog and inmate rehabilitation 

[25:00] Men’s prison vs girls’ juvenile programs

[29:00] The impact of dog training in prison

[30:00] Awareness; the dog at the end of the leash is a reflection of how you’re feeling

[32:00] Samantha’s mindset and the power of the consumer

[37:00] Everyday kindness, and someone Samantha looks up to

[39:00] How inmates have changed Samantha’s life

[43:00] Samantha’s advice to listeners; rest

[46:00] Boundaries, balance, and letting yourself lean on others

[49:00] More about supporting the Pawsitive Change Program

Standout Quotes from the Episode:

“I think that when you’re more affected by things, or open, you have more of craving to change it.”

“And I just remember being like, I'm going to change the world. Like, I always like wanted to do that but had no idea, you know, how I would.”

“From a young age, I understood that that was I was born lucky. I didn't do anything to deserve this. So, if someone else is born in a different situation, they didn't do anything to deserve that, but they had a harder deck. So, like, it's my responsibility to help them with that.”

“You know, we really just don't necessarily take the time to understand dogs… I mean, literally you could scroll your Instagram and the amount of memes you see that like honestly encourage unhealthy behavior in dogs. Or I think nowadays, we really think that all dogs can handle being our emotional support and it's just not- or they're being labeled as that or being required to do that and it's, you know, it sounds harsh but it's really unfair to put on all dogs.”

“All anyone really needs is knowing that somebody cares about them.”

“Prison is a great way to make a criminal to be honest… It’s a problem when prison becomes a business, which it is in America.”

“If a dog has separation anxiety, the best thing you can do is help it be ok not being around you. Not cuddle it and worry about why it has separation anxiety and allow it to be next to you all the time.”

“The dog at the end of the leash is a reflection of how you’re feeling.”

Mentioned in the Episode: