Design Yourself

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 Resources and Links “A New Chapter and Routines”Design Yourself: Preparing for the Camino with Aimee RoweDesign Yourself: On the Road with Aimee Rowe Design Yourself: Walking the Camino (while pregnant!)

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 anyone curious about the power of self-love and failing forward. “I lead with my heart and love with everything in life. So I need everything I do with my clients to also feel that way.” – Natalie Tincher 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/style-from-the-i…-natalie-tincher/ 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 and Links Style From the Inside OutOriginal Design Yourself show notes from Episode 88: Empowerment and Personal Style with Natalie Tincher of BU Style Time Out New York, Top Six Personal Shopping Services which highlights Buttoned Up Style (now BU Style) Marie Kondo’s Life-Changing Magic of Tidying UpThe website Sharon peruses for capsule wardrobe inspiration EssentialismAYR jeans

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. 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/building-a-home/ 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 Designing a space and designing a life share these steps… SimplifyTake BreaksBe Free and BoldCultivate Courage and Get Comfortable with FearKeep Evolving 5 Lessons Learned Through the Design Process Embrace ImperfectionPrioritize TrustBe Clear on What MattersHold the Big Picture and Be Present NowChange Things Up Resources and Links “Where We Call Home” (Season 3, Episode 1 | Catskills Schoolhouse); now streaming on Max. Original Build Your Home show notesJonathan Adler and his first book My Prescription for Anti-Depressive LivingRobert HiteAbove the Fray exhibition that inspired the cover art for todayNew MinimalismMarie KondoYoung House Love Has A PodcastThe Speed of Trust

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 60-40. Sometimes it’s 90-10. But it ALWAYS takes 100% to work.” Mimi Barringer Taking the Lead is the series from the podcast Note to Self. Much of the series follows two Brooklyn moms with a tech idea that has the vision and ambition to change what it looks like to be a working mom. But of course, they are dealing with many of the same stresses they hope to solve.Later episodes in the series also check in with the dynamic working parenting duo Andrew Moravcsik and Anne-Marie Slaughter. “It’s not that I don’t want to work. I do want to work, but I want to work in a way that allows me to be home much more than a high-level government job would let me do right now.” Anne-Marie Slaughter “We started out like most couples start out, I think a little bit naive, thinking that we are a two-career couple and we will also split the parenting 50-50.” Andrew Moravcsik If you’ve never read Anne-Marie’s influential Atlantic article Why Women Still Can’t Have It All, wait no longer. Read it!This week marks the first time in our nation’s history that a major political party nominated a woman for the office of President. No matter your politics, this is a special moment. I loved watching this video overviewing her career narrated by Morgan Freeman. Finally, below are the two key distinctions that helped me see how I was good at adding things to my life and work and why I was struggling to let things go. I had to start strengthening my emotional muscles to get in shape for those changes. Intellectual Learning – Ability to take on new things (e.g. job, hobby, relationship, etc.) Emotional Learning – Helpful when you are processing how to put things down (e.g. making a move, a job transition, ending a friendship, etc.) Resources and Links Original podcast episode “There is No Such Thing as 50-50”

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 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

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 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/for-the-sake-of-what/ 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 Things to Consider for Your For the Sake of What What is it that you are after in this life?What are your values?What is your deepest held conviction?What do you want to offer into the world? What is your unique contribution that you and only you can make?What do you want? Resources and Links Guided vision meditation in Episode 5 of Design YourselfOriginal Episode Show Notes with photos from family hike

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 & Spotify Ideas Shared: Let us all remember to be in the practice of resilience together. resilience, noun: 1. the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; 2. the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness Process for Living in the Question Write down the unknowable questionsCapture the questions underneath each question Insights on why this process works It makes big, important questions more accessibleIt promotes a growth mindsetIt empowers you with actionable steps Resources and Links: Podcast on grief that I reference in today’s show. Here is the Jimmy Kimmel clip that brings a spirit of humor to the grief that half of the country is feeling in the wake of the election.

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 | 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/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

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: What’s WorkingWhat’s Missing: Lessons Learned:Taking Action:

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? Watch For: Disagreeing on core teaming tools: Vision, Mission, Values, Goals, Measures of Success Creating conditions for Productive Disagreement How Framing and Decision Making Impacts this Matrix Lack of claritydeteriorates trust

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 The gifts of focusing on this effort “I guess I do subscribe to the joy being the journey, not the destination (especially when the journey has tracked milestones).” – Vision Coaching Client

Weeds happen. In life and the garden, we confront valueless things that encroach on the priorities we want to cultivate. What lessons can we learn from digging in the dirt and listening to the birdsong? How can we move with intention as we remove what is undesired and create space for our visions to flourish? Join me in this Design Yourself episode to discuss weeding in the garden. Stay Connected To book your 1:1 Vision Reading: https://pointroadstudios.com/product/vision-reading/ For show notes visit: https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/weeding-in-the-garden/ 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 Lessons from Weeding in the Garden Stay Present to the Task at Hand Pay Attention to Your MindsetFind moments to rest. Get help. Savor each step.

Boredom: Friend or foe? For many of us, boredom is a luxury in our fast-paced lives. While some avoid it at all costs, boredom sparks enormous creativity and productivity. If we surrender to doing nothing, there are many opportunities to be bored in the mundane moments of life. What is your relationship with boredom? What distracts you from being present right where you are? Come explore in this Design Yourself episode how to let yourself be bored. Stay Connected To book your 1:1 Vision Reading: https://pointroadstudios.com/product/vision-reading/ For show notes visit: https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/let-yourself-be-bored/ 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 on Boredom Links and Resources Manoush Zomorodi’s book Bored and Brilliant

Demands on our time, attention, and other resources are real. For many of us, our default way of processing stress is to dig in and take action. This action orientation leads to a swirl of activity, which exacerbates the situation. How do we center ourselves in the middle of the storm? In this episode of Design Yourself, we discuss how to get out of the whirlwind. We cover: Reasons for the whirlwindWhat to do to calm the stormHow to make the calm a sustainable way of being Stay Connected To book your 1:1 Vision Reading: https://pointroadstudios.com/product/vision-reading/ For show notes visit: https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/getting-out-of-the-whirlwind/ 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 Reasons for the whirlwind What to do to calm the storm How to make the calm a sustainable way of being Links and Resources Data shared on workplace stress can be found hereDesign Yourself episode from the archives on Bottling Up Summer

Frustrations are a normal part of life, but living in a state of frustration is exhausting. What is at the core of our dissatisfaction? How can we start to shift from this space into something new? That is what we discuss in this Design Yourself episode on transforming complaints. In this episode, we discuss: Why honoring our complaints is a necessary starting pointFour moves a complainer can make to transform from complaint to requestWhy trust is critical is coaching someone else to transform their complaintWays to build trust and rapport when you are on the receiving end of a complaint Stay Connected To book your 1:1 Vision Reading: https://pointroadstudios.com/product/vision-reading/ For show notes visit: https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/transforming-complaints/ 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 4 Moves to Transform from Complaint to Request Mindset ShiftGet Clear on What You Want: Start with yourself: Engage with others: What can others do? Supporting Others to Transform their Complaint Establish a foundation of trust. Listen to Understand. Summarize What You Heard. Be Clear About the Path Forward.

Things don’t always go according to plan. And sometimes it’s almost comical just how far off the rail our plans go. What can we learn from these experiences? How can we get back to our goals in a productive way that honors the realities of what we are experiencing? That’s what we discuss in today’s episode on What To Do When Everything Goes Wrong. Stay Connected To book your 1:1 Vision Reading: https://pointroadstudios.com/product/vision-reading/ For show notes visit: https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/what-to-do-when-everything-goes-wrong/ 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 What to Do When Everything Goes Wrong Connect to the Story of Growth - not VictimhoodRemind Yourself of the WinsLeave space for Going SidewaysRemember that Fast is Not the GoalCultivate the Emotion, Regardless of Outcome Links Shared Design Yourself episode highlighting the Vision Journey

We are all on a path, and obstacles showing up is inevitable. How we respond is not. How do you determine how to move around barriers? Where do you look for guidance? What if you had the confidence to trust your inner wisdom? In today's Design Yourself episode, we explore together how to be your inner compass. In this episode, we discuss: The components of our inner compass (vision, values, guiding principles, guard rails)How to define these componentsKey strategies for operating with our compass Stay Connected To book your 1:1 Vision Reading: https://pointroadstudios.com/product/vision-reading/ For show notes visit: https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/be-your-own-inner-compass/ 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 components of our inner compass Vision, values, guiding principles, guard rails How to define these parts Vision - Where are you headed? For the sake of what?Values - What matters to you? Can you distill it into four words?Guiding Principles - What are the operating principles that allow you to move with and towards your vision in alignment with your values? (e.g., We are the leaders we’ve been waiting for. Leadership is a mindset, not a role. It is a priority to be as healthy on the inside as we appear on the outside, i.e., no beautiful, rotten apples.)Guard Rails - What creative constraints serve your roadmap? Key strategies for operating with our compass Notice without judgment when you are looking outside or within for answers.Challenge old narratives that are comfortable but don’t work for you.Consult your inner compass and see what resource or combo of resources will guide you.

Someone asks you if you'd like to join a particular gathering or experience. Quick - how do you respond? Do you think it through? Do you respond in the moment? We all have patterns around how we process decisions and that’s what we get into in today’s episode on Yes Habits. In this episode, we explore: Two types of yeses Methodical Yes Spontaneous Yes How our Yes Habits align with different visioning types Linear Visioning Magical Visioning Reflection questions to get you thinking about your Yes Habits Stay Connected To book your 1:1 Vision Reading: https://pointroadstudios.com/product/vision-reading/ 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 TWO TYPES OF YES Methodical Yes – Taking the time to think through the hows and ifs of a commitment before saying yes. Spontaneous Yes – Allowing yourself to respond in the moment with a yes, often based on a feeling of values and vision alignment – even if you aren’t sure how it all connects for you. VISION ALIGNMENT Linear Visioning – A process of laying out a clear pathway of steps for how to bring a vision to life. Magical Visioning – An intuitive process for moving towards a vision based on what you sense is needed now. REFLECTION QUESTIONS: COZYING UP TO YOUR YES HABITS

Who you are today is the guide to who you will be tomorrow. What wishes do you have for your future self? What wisdom do you want to be sure to carry with you? In the episode of Design Yourself, we explore questions to inspire Future You. Stay Connected To book your 1:1 Vision Reading: https://pointroadstudios.com/product/vision-reading/ For show notes visit: https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/future-you/ 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 Resources and Links You Already Have All The Answers by Amanda Deibert