Design Yourself

When the world gets intense, it's important to take breaks. Join Sharon as she does that by reading three beloved and personally connected poems. We start with a beloved poem by Meditation at Lagunitas by Robert Hass, who Sharon had the opportunity to study under in Berlin. We then turn to Saskia Hamiton and her poem Then. Saskia was another great teacher in Sharon's life and the person who first introduced Sharon to Hass' poetry. We close things out with the physician and poet Willam Carlos Williams and his poem The Red Wheelbarrow. May you find grounding and a little inspiration in the words of these writers.   Resources and Links Robert Hass | “Meditation at Lagunitas” Saskia Hamilton | “Then” from Divide These William Carlos Williams | “The Red Wheelbarrow”   Links and Resources: For show notes: https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/take-a-break-with-three-poems To connect on Linked In:  @Sharon Lipovsky @Point Road Studios  To connect on Instagram: @pointroadstudios Rate, Review & Subscribe to the

Our bodies are incredible sources of wisdom. They are an important resource for ushering our ideas, dreams, and impact into the world. What happens when our bodies signal distress? What insights might we glean from the unlikeliest of places? That’s what we get into in this Design Yourself podcast, Lessons from the Emergency Department. In this episode Sharon shares some of the insights that emerged during her own recent trip to the hospital, including: Lessons from the Emergency Department Own Your Value (and Put on Your Oxygen Mask First) Cherish Your Support Network Ask for Help Demand the Attention You Need (with Neutral, Observable Facts) Delightful Surprises are Everywhere   Links and Resources: For show notes: https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/finding-joy/ To connect on Linked In:  @Sharon Lipovsky @Point Road Studios  To connect on Instagram: @pointroadstudios Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify

Joy is a light-filled anecdote to volatility, grief, and complexity. What different flavors of joy do you experience? How might you invite more of that into your life? That's what we discuss in today's podcast on Finding Joy. Sharon shares 5 flavors of joy that she has been experiencing recently, including: Lighthearted Joy - Like a easy, breezy, predictable romance novel. (She's been loving Emily Henry's  books like all the other readers creating this explosive growth of this genre.) Joyful Connection - Like holding hands with a loved one. Taking part in meanful traditions that connect you to history and the present. Heart-centered Joy - Like deep, soul-baring conversations. Joyous Anticipation - Like the fun of looking forward to an exciting vacation. Cornell University did a cool study showing how we gain more happiness from anticipation experiences versus object. The Joy of Knowing - Like when you have a clear budget, sense of priorities, even knowing what you are going to eat. Links and Resources: For

It’s easy to let momentum take hold. Our expectations drive us to continue without letting up. Our desire to please or gain approval might do the same. But at what cost? What are the different ways that we can step back and rejuvenate ourselves? And what happens when we do? In this episode of Design Yourself we invite you to give yourself a break. Links and Resources: For show notes: https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/worst-job-ever/ To connect on Linked In:  @Sharon Lipovsky @Point Road Studios  To connect on Instagram: @pointroadstudios Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify Ideas Shared Celebrate when you take breaks Distinctions and lessons on types of breaks: Time Off: Sabbatical | Work Pause Time Away: Retreat | Getaway Down Time: Walk | Dance Party | Massage All the Time: Rhythms, Routines and Rituals Journal Prompt: What is my relationship with breaks? For myself? For others? What kind of break might I offer myself this week that could make all the difference? Reso

What is the worst job you’ve ever had? And why? What made it so? In today’s episode, Sharon discusses her answer to those questions along with some prompts to inspire you never again to have the worst job ever.   Links and Resources: For show notes: https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/worst-job-ever/ To connect on Linked In:  @Sharon Lipovsky @Point Road Studios  To connect on Instagram: @pointroadstudios Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify   Ideas Shared Reflection Prompts to Avoid Having the Worst Job Ever What makes my professional light shine? What environments delight me? Both physically and in the type of leadership and collaboration? If you were to do something wildly different, what would it be? What else? What else? What are dealbreakers for you? What makes you feel out of integrity with yourself? What makes me feel safe to leave a job? What conditions will allow me to be able to stay OR leave a job? How can I take small steps to have make sure I have these conditions

Big change rarely happens in an instant. Transitions are a natural part of the process. Transitions can feel uncomfortable. How do you build up resistance to stick with it? What supports you in building momentum toward a new destination? That’s what we get into in this Design Yourself episode on Sitting in the Messy Middle.   Links and Resources: For show notes visit: https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/sitting-in-the-messy-middle/  To connect on Linked In:  @Sharon Lipovsky @Point Road Studios  To connect on Instagram: @pointroadstudios Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify   Ideas Shared 3 Tips to Sit in Messy Middle Be clear on your why. Partner on the HOW. Stay present to what’s needed now. Resources and Links Design Yourself podcast on Partnering

Rarely can our dreams be realized in isolation. Partnering with others is a natural consequence of ambition. That doesn't mean it's easy. What makes for effective working relationships? What are the conditions that steward us to powerful teamwork? How do mutual accountability and productive conflict fit in?  We explore these questions and more in this episode focused on partnering and productive conflict.   Links and Resources: For show notes visit: https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/partnering-and-productive-conflict/ To connect on Linked In:  @Sharon Lipovsky @Point Road Studios  To connect on Instagram: @pointroadstudios Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify   Resources Shared Marie Kondo’s book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” Patrick Lencioni’s model highlighting the conditions needed for effective teamwork: trust, conflict, commitment, accountability, results

Deep listening can change the world. Listening impacts so many things: Our understanding, our questions, and our connections to those around us. When we listen deeply, we light a spark for transformation. But listening isn't easy. There are habits and culturally accepted practices that hold us back from really listening to understand. The good news is that you can create simple shifts to improve the quality of your listening and inspire others to do the same.  This Design Yourself episode highlights 12 habits that prevent us from listening – including rehearsing, daydreaming, and placating. We invite you to see with a fresh perspective where your listening gets derailed and to make simple shifts to bring your attention back to listening to understand.   Links and Resources: For show notes visit: https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/how-to-be-a-great-listener/ To connect on Linked In:  @Sharon Lipovsky @Point Road Studios  To connect on Instagram: @pointroadstudios Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast o

How we spend our days is how we spend our lives. Routine matters. It is a foundational building block that shapes what we do and how we do it. It seems simple enough: Make a choice each and every day to align with what matters. But it is not always that easy. How do you balance the short—and long-term priorities? How do you shift long-held routines that involve other people? We get into these questions and more as we discuss routines reimagined.   Links and Resources: For show notes visit: https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/routines-reimagined/ To connect on Linked In:  @Sharon Lipovsky @Point Road Studios  To connect on Instagram: @pointroadstudios Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify   Ideas Shared Reflection Questions How do we cultivate the eyes of a traveller when we don’t go anywhere at all?   How can we make mindfulness a way of being, even amidst habit and routine?   How do we remind ourselves of the unspoken choices we have everyday?   How do we act with courage as we

Leadership is an embodied act. When we feel good, it shows. So it is perhaps not surprising that many executives are curious about personal style. Some people savor the act of dressing as an opportunity for individual expression. Others prioritize efficiency and ways to save time in the morning. No matter what the motivation, there is one person Sharon refers her clients to time and time again: Natalie Tincher and her team at BU Style. So in this season of back to school and the changing of seasonal wardrobes, we take you back to this throwback interview with Natalie from 2018. We discuss everything from fast fashion and personal styling tips to how love and empowerment fuel everything Natalie does. We also learn about what some of the investments Natalie has made to scale her business including hiring her first employee and rebranding her business. This episode is a great fit for anyone who has ever wondered how to put your whole self into a thriving entrepreneurial business. It’s also a must-listen for anyo

Whether you have dreams of building your own home, are in the process of moving through a life transition or are just curious about Sharon’s new life in the woods, this week’s episode is for you. Sharon begins by sharing a glimpse into the reality of life in her new two room cottage in the Catskill Mountains of New York and then shares the connection she sees between designing a physical space and designing a life and offers the 5 key lessons that she has learned through the design phase of her building process. We’ll explore everything from the power of welcoming change, how trust is a key priority in getting great results (with sanity in tact!) and how building something from scratch isn’t the secret to perfection.

Sharon reflects this week on work-life balance – or imbalance. She shares the marriage advice that stuck with her as she nears her wedding anniversary: “Marriage takes 100% effort to be successful, but rarely is it split 50-50. Sometimes it’s 60-40. Sometimes it’s 90-10. But it always takes 100% effort to work.” She shares how this framework applies not just to a relationship with our spouse but to any time we work with others. Summer Series 2024 | Curated guidance and resources to guide and support you in making this season – and what follows – just what you wish it to be.   Stay Connected For show notes visit: https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/marriage-and-partnership/ To connect on Linked In:  @Sharon Lipovsky @Point Road Studios  To connect on Instagram: @pointroadstudios Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify   Ideas Shared The most inspirational advice I got leading up to my wedding: “Marriage requires 100% effort to work. But rarely is it split 50-50. Sometimes it’s 60

Every moment offers us a new choice. Will we be guided by the momentum of what has been or carve a new path forward? In this episode of Design Yourself Sharon discusses five tips for how to choose your own adventure and highlights what this guidance looks like in practice as she shares an adventure unfolding in her life right now.   Stay Connected For show notes visit: https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/choose-your-own-adventure-2/ To connect on Linked In:  @Sharon Lipovsky @Point Road Studios  To connect on Instagram: @pointroadstudios Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify   Ideas Shared 5 Tips for How to Choose Your Own Adventure There is no, singular “right” way. Be clear on what matters to you. Take aligned and inspired actions. Tilt towards the good kind of scary. Be present Resources and Links What is a 46er?  

Summer is a season of rapid growth – in our gardens, our home lives, and at work. What is your relationship to this season? What transformation might you like to spark in the weeks ahead? Join Sharon as she shares five prompts and personal reflections inspired by this season.   Summer Series 2024 | Curated guidance and resources to guide and support you in making this season - and what follows - just what you wish it to be.   Stay Connected For show notes visit: https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/bottling-up-summer-2024/ To connect on Linked In:  @Sharon Lipovsky @Point Road Studios  To connect on Instagram: @pointroadstudios Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify   Ideas Shared Reflection Questions What emotion or energy does summer inspire in you? What is your present experience with Summer? What are some sweet memories of this summer? What would you like to call into the remaining weeks of summer? What parts of summer would you like to bottle up to take with you into fall?

Hitting goals is not enough. Don't get me wrong: I love to run after a bold and audacious goal. But goal achievement can't be the end aim. Goals naturally come and go. They are a way to focus our energy and attention on something. This episode of Design Yourself explores the guiding question: "For the sake of what?" For the sake of what are you working hard to hit those goals? For the sake of what are you running your business? Sometimes work gets us so heads down that we forget to look at the big picture and ask if our energy is driving towards the kind of success that we want. Using the lens of running a business, Sharon offers up questions to ground you in your for the sake of what and then offers how you can cascade this foundation into the way you run your business. This episode is a great fit for anyone who runs a small business or dreams of starting one. It will also speak to those who seek more alignment between your actions and your dreams.   Summer Series 2024 | Curated guidance and resources to gui

Have you ever found yourself in a place where your head keeps spinning on the same question (or set of questions)? But no matter how much energy you expend thinking about it, you can’t seem to come to a confident conclusion? You are not alone. We often get stuck on “unanswerable questions” because they are rooted in a way of seeing the problem limiting our ability to move forward. In today’s episode, Sharon shares a simple process for moving from question to action. Learn what it means to “live in the question” and why this practice is powerful for helping us shift from stuck to transformation.   Summer Series 2024 | Curated guidance and resources to guide and support you in making this season - and what follows - just what you wish it to be.   Stay Connected For show notes visit: https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/living-in-the-question/ To connect on Linked In:  @Sharon Lipovsky @Point Road Studios  To connect on Instagram: @pointroadstudios Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spot

To lead a life of intention asks us to connect to what we desire. Simple in concept, but often hard in execution. Many things will grab our attention: Competing priorities; jampacked schedules; and people-pleasing habits - to name just a few. Many of us will falter on this path because we have been trained to act. When something is missing, we feel compelled to do something - anything! - to find a new way forward. Today's podcast offers an antidote to that restless pacing. Learn to listen to yourself. What is it that you really want?  In this episode, you will be guided to think about: What kind of a vision is meaningful to you right now? What type of vision? What time horizon? What parts of your story are you proud of? What parts do you want to keep holding? What parts are you ready to release? What do you look like when at play? When you imagine yourself in your desired future, what do you sense? Feel into the details. What steps could you take today to start moving you on this path?   Summer Series 2024

We are halfway through the calendar year and officially into the summer season. It’s a natural time to take stock of how your year is going. What’s working? What’s getting in your way? What do you wish for? Do your answers inspire you to make any shifts as you head into the second half of this year? Let’s explore these questions in “Where Am I Now?”   Stay Connected For show notes visit: https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/where-am-i-now/ To connect on Linked In:  @Sharon Lipovsky @Point Road Studios  To connect on Instagram: @pointroadstudios Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify   Ideas Shared Taking Stock: 5 Prompts to Cozy Up to Where You Are Right Now? What’s True: How am I doing right now? You think specifically about: Mood? Energy? Emotion? Fulfillment? In the whole of your life and in key parts of your life (e.g. work, family, health, finances, creativity)? What’s Working: What am I most proud of right now?What brings me most delight in my daily rhythms and routines? Wha

Consensus is not an evergreen goal. It is neither realistic nor a worthy goal to chase everyone agreeing all of the time. How can we promote productive dissent? How can we move forward as a team when we don’t all have the same opinion on what the path forward ought to be? Tune in to this Design Yourself show to discuss how to disagree and commit.   Stay Connected For show notes visit: https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/disagree-and-commit/ To connect on Linked In:  @Sharon Lipovsky @Point Road Studios  To connect on Instagram: @pointroadstudios Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify   Ideas Shared When is it okay to disagree and commit? Expertise and authority sit with a functional leader Time requires us to move swiftly Team is at an unresolvable impasse Experimenting with HOW to do something based on more options than you have capacity to do right now Team can do so in a way that honors or vision, mission and values Watch For: Disagreeing on core teaming tools: Vision, Mission

I love a big-picture strategy, but sometimes the most important place to focus is right where you are. What supports us in being able to keep our heads down - with purpose? What gifts are received when we commit to immediate tasks? Explore together in this week’s Design Yourself Focus on This Effort.   Stay Connected For show notes visit:   https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/focus-on-this-effort/ To connect on Linked In:  @Sharon Lipovsky @Point Road Studios  To connect on Instagram: @pointroadstudios Rate, Review & Subscribe to the podcast on Apple & Spotify   Ideas Shared Conditions that supports focusing on the job at hand Be clear on sense of direction – but not fixated on it Have trust with key stakeholders Understand the connection of this effort to the larger picture The gifts of focusing on this effort Mental fitness and resilience DIg in and learn what’s needed now and next Momentum building “I guess I do subscribe to the joy being the journey, not the destination (especially when the j