It is easy to get caught up chasing dreams. Yes, I am an advocate for daring to imagine what you really want and going after it; however, it is equally important to remember that the end goals and outcomes achieved aren’t the only point. The experience that we have on our way to a particular destination gives us a strong indication of how we will feel when we arrive. Life is not about rushing and pushing ahead to the goal; it is about the practice of setting a vision, leading with intention and ...
Apr 05, 2023•32 min•Ep. 160
We create our paths through every step we take. Yes plans and visions can bolster - even accelerate - our paths forward. But the actual road taken can only be seen in the review mirror. Because we forge our paths as we go. In each decision we make, each choice we own, each step we take. This podcast lays out 5 habits to nurture as you take the next step.
Mar 29, 2023•25 min•Ep. 159
Spring is here and with it an invitation. We have made it through the cold, dark, fallow period. And it’s time now to wake up. To move and stretch and create focus. What do we wish to cultivate this season? What do we hope to grow? And how do we do so with intention? That’s what we discuss in today’s episode on Planting Seeds. "My seeds are afraid to grow?" asked Toad. "Of course," said Frog. "Leave them alone for a few days. Let the sun shine on them, let the rain fall on them. Soon your seeds ...
Mar 22, 2023•30 min•Ep. 158
Being able to move with your vision is pure magic. To do it, requires not just that we are able to take aligned and vision-forward actions; it also requires that we can see and delineate the connection between what we want and what we are doing. It's easy to feel stuck on a hamster wheel if we are missing the big picture. And it's just as easy to feel ungrounded and stuck if we know what we want, but don't know how to take action towards that thing. In today's podcast we share a framework that h...
Mar 15, 2023•27 min•Ep. 157
Is raising the bar a familiar activity to you? Always pushing and expanding to do more, bigger, better, faster? Me too. While there is a time and a place for this direct growth strategy, this podcast episode shares an alternative: Lowering the stakes. The approach is not about apathy. When we clear the clutter of our expectations, we can see our way through to smaller, more manageable approaches like developing our technique, building emotional range and resilience and tapping into artistic flow...
Mar 08, 2023•27 min•Ep. 156
Growth lies in the edges: Those places where we push past discomfort to metamorphosis. Our learning edges clarify the path to our potential - whether through skills, knowledge, or perspective. In this episode of Design Yourself, Sharon holds space for listeners to name and explore their learning edge. She then guides listeners through reflections about her learning edge - "let go and go fast" - and the beliefs that inspire her to continue to seek transformation. The gift of being human is that w...
Mar 01, 2023•24 min•Ep. 155
Anguish shows up when we don't know how to move. Many things can cause this stuckness. Maybe it's a limiting belief that we aren't worthy of having what we want. (Not true.) Maybe it's a lack of clarity on the direction we want to head. (Time to create a vision.) Maybe it's that we don't know how to get there. (Pause, look back, ask for help.) In this week's episode Sharon highlights two stories of getting past stuckness and into aligned and inspired action. The first story celebrates a nonprofi...
Feb 22, 2023•35 min•Ep. 154
Wild growth is possible when we abandon our addiction to knowing and surrender to wonder and awe. A beginner mindset acknowledges that we always have more to learn and accepts that failure is just a natural part of the process. But it's tempting to sit back in old habits. And really who will know if we are accelerating toward growth or relying on what we already know to be true? So often the difference is unseen because it happens on the inside. It's a mindset and not a physical experience. In t...
Feb 15, 2023•21 min•Ep. 153
Listening is an incredibly powerful leadership and life skill. But that doesn't make it easy. There are habits and culturally accepted practices that hold us back from really listening to understand. But 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 change requires radical self-awareness. This episode highlights 12 different habits that prevent us from listening - including rehearsing, daydreaming, and placatin...
Feb 08, 2023•30 min•Ep. 152
A powerful question will stop us in our tracks. It will demonstrate that the asker is listening deeply to us. It will deepen our own best thinking and invite us to see our situation with a fresh perspective. In a world where talking the loudest and unfailingly asserting our viewpoint is modeled in the highest levels of leadership, asking questions offers an antidote. The quality of the conversations we have comes from the quality of the questions we ask. This is true of how we connect and speak ...
Feb 01, 2023•22 min•Ep. 153
So many things in today's world demand our attention: Targeted ads; technology programming; catchy headlines; our constantly refilling inboxes. Knowing how to eliminate distractions is a survival skill. We must learn to quiet the white noise and focus on the things that matter most. To eliminate distractions, we must know what to pay attention to - and then relentlessly block out the disruptions that pull us away. In this episode, we explore three key questions to help us get clear on what matte...
Jan 25, 2023•27 min•Ep. 152
Being prepared isn't just an act of readying for the future. It is a present state that means we are ready to do or deal with whatever comes our way. What a marvelous aspiration! In this way, preparedness feels connected to resilience, which allows us to bounce back from whatever circumstances we may face. But it's tricky. Preparation is something that holds both light and shadow. Preparation offers an antidote to anxiety. When we have put in the work and are ready, we can focus on our quality o...
Jan 18, 2023•28 min•Ep. 151
Great leadership demands that we look beyond our own point of view. Taking perspective allows us to build empathy in the face of conflict, to understand the wants of our customers, to deepen our connection to our colleagues. Perspective taking can also be applied inward. We can weigh our options, see new pathways forward, tap into our vision, breathe life into our personal narratives. Today's podcast focuses on how we can expand our capacity to take perspective. We look at four ways to hone your...
Jan 11, 2023•34 min•Ep. 150
Ready or not, the new year is upon us. While there is no one right way to do anything, there is what's right for you. Answering this question requires our discernment. How will you choose to show up and move through 2023? What are you wishing to call in this year? What will support you on this path? In today’s episode we talk about finding your own right-fit approach to kicking off the new year and how you can use the flipping of the calendar year to bring fresh perspective to your daily rhythms...
Jan 04, 2023•37 min•Ep. 149
The new year invites us to reimagine what's possible. This is not about trying to burden ourselves with unrealistic resolutions that we are doomed to abandon by February. Instead, it is about letting the rhythm of the calendar offer us a natural disruption in the momentum of our day to day. It is a chance to dream something new. In this week's podcast, we begin by discussing the importance of cultivating a belief that what you want is possible. And we look to Maslow's hierarchy of needs to creat...
Dec 28, 2022•34 min•Ep. 148
Wintering is a season in the cold. It is both literal and figurative. It acknowledges those times where we move through a fallow period – cut off from the world. What is the power of wintering? How can we learn to call in the dark and the cold? In today’s episode on wintering we discuss what wintering is, borrowing from the brilliance of writer Katherine May; we speak to the power of wintering, specifically the power of the dark, the cold, letting go and resting; and we close with reflection que...
Dec 21, 2022•30 min•Ep. 147
What have you learned this year? And how will those lessons inform your direction in the coming year? In this week's episode we explore the power of looking back and taking perspective. And then look at a few tools to help you do just that. We close with a how-to guide to writing a letter to yourself to reflect on the year. Here's to taking a few moments to look back and learn from what has unfolded for you in 2022. https://pointroadstudios.com/podcast/lessons-learned-this-year/...
Dec 14, 2022•21 min•Ep. 146
Today marks the 10th anniversary of Point Road Studios! Has anyone ever told you, "No, you can't do that!" - and then you went ahead and did it anyway? That's a glimpse into why we celebrate together in this week's podcast. Join Sharon for a personal reflection and celebration meditation. Learn about the thing that Sharon is most proud of and hear some of the stories of clients she has worked with over the years. Hear her reflections on what being in business for a decade has meant for her perso...
Dec 07, 2022•24 min•Ep. 145
Perfectionism is a shadow driver of so many high achievers. It helps us get the job done. But at what cost? In today's episode, we cozy up to the realities of the perfectionism paradigm. We look at its different flavors and the ways we might experience it in our own lives. What standards do we hold ourselves to? What about the people around us? Our family? Colleagues? Friends? Community members? And what about the standards that we inherit from the cultures we live in and move through? The alter...
Nov 30, 2022•25 min•Ep. 144
"No" is an incredibly powerful tool. It allows us to clear the clutter of our lives and to prevent unnecessary distractions. Behind every yes is a silent no - we just usually don't realize it at the time. It is through creating the negative space that we can dream up of biggest, brightest, happiest yeses. "No" really does create the space. In today's episode we give gratitude to "no" and offer up 4 simple questions to spark your own personal reflection. Host Sharon cozies up to her own answers i...
Nov 23, 2022•30 min•Ep. 143
To gather - to come together with others - is a deliciously human act. But the experiences are varied. And many of us are out of practice or still adjusting to how it feels to be together. As we step into the season of gatherings, we invite you to consider what makes a gathering good for you. Sharon reflects on some of the wildly different gatherings that she has been a part of recently - from her annual-ish Entrepreneur's Getaway to a Catskills Sister Moon Circle, from a Vision at Work Retreat ...
Nov 16, 2022•34 min•Ep. 142
The end of the year is coming. It's that season where we are stretching to the finish line professionally - while simultaneously laying the ground work for what comes next. And our personal lives tend to get fuller too. Holiday celebrations and gatherings. Traveling and hosting. It is a time when we are naturally drawn to sprinting, adding on more responsibilities and generally pushing harder. But today's podcast challenges that way of being. It invites you to get clear on what matters most and ...
Nov 09, 2022•24 min•Ep. 141
We have enormous aptitude for thinking. But not all of our thought habits serve us. Frequently a thought that served us for one season of life gets in our way in the next. "I am a hard worker" may have given you the focus and discipline to rise into your current station in life...but it is also contributing heavily to your sense of burn out. Being able to break from your current thought habits is an incredible life and leadership skill. It requires both that you can see your current thoughts, di...
Nov 02, 2022•31 min•Ep. 140
The things we carry can get heavy, fast. And we have a choice. Keep holding the weight. Or set it down. To move through the world with levity, unburdened by the weight of our mental loads, requires us to both see what we are holding onto and then decide consciously what to do with it. As our work and lives take on a new shape, we are once again revamping the rhythms and routines of how we give shape to our days. And this means we are taking on new mental loads. In today's episode we create space...
Oct 26, 2022•29 min•Ep. 139
Your attention is a precious resource. But one that is all too often wasted or ignored. Annie Dillard speaks to this beautifully: "How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing." You can choose to focus your attention and the minutes of your life on what matters to you. Or not. The act of focus may seem small in the moment, but its ripple effects are wildly consequential. In today's episode we draw inspiration from Davi...
Oct 19, 2022•23 min•Ep. 138
You are in charge of your reactions to the circumstances around you. As for the circumstances and people around you, not so much. Yes, you can motivate, negotiate, influence and inspire those things. But you can't control them. But your reaction? Absolutely yours to decide. Yet we know it doesn't always feel like it's our choice. We get so triggered in the moment or so habitual in our response that we forget that we do actually have a choice. In today's episode, we help you remember that the cho...
Oct 12, 2022•32 min•Ep. 137
We've been 2020ed and there is no turning back. That has a lot of us feeling adrift. Untethered. Unmotivated, even. We can't unsee or unexperience these last few of years. This new consciousness has sparked lots of change in the workplace. For some of us, this new awareness has spurred us into action. Perhaps seeking a new job (hello, great resignation) or reimagining the one we already had. For others of us, we have scaled way back - perhaps exiting the workforce or re-evaluating how much we ar...
Oct 05, 2022•28 min•Ep. 136
Get pumped! Starting October 5, the Design Yourself podcast is coming back to spark inspiration and share practical resources for how to imagine what you really want and figure out how to lead with your vision each and every day. In this sneak peek episode, learn about the fun personal project that led Sharon to put the podcast on hold (hint: you can read about it in the NYT and Dwell!) and why she is recommitting to the Design Yourself podcast now (hint: it has a lot to do with offering support...
Aug 24, 2022•9 min•Ep. 135
A is for Actualize. B is for Brainstorm. C is for create. Okay, just kidding, that's not quite the structure of today's podcast. In this week's episode, Sharon does share some key terms for breaking apart the big idea of vision. She says a more linear set of distinctions that can move us along that path by exploring terms like strategy, goals, milestones and tactics. And also shares a magical pathway to vision through the lens of words like surrender, release, be, listen and move. The idea is no...
Oct 03, 2019•36 min•Ep. 134
The podcast is back! Listen to Sharon read Frank Bidart poems, share what she's been up to over the last 4 months and talk about the power of not forcing things. She discusses how being still can be uncomfortable and yet why that's important. She shares how to drop in and listen to the voice within you (and not just the mental chatter) and lead and act from that space of wisdom. And finally, when you are just itching to sprint to action even if it doesn't feel right, she reminds you to just brea...
Sep 13, 2019•43 min
