Intro: Wake Up, Shake Up - Welcome!

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Hi Everyone, I'm Aimée DuBrule and welcome to Wake Up, Shake Up. If you're feeling a little lost these days, you're not alone. I'm right there with you and you've come to the right place. There's a lot to deal with in our crazy modern lives. But it doesn't all have to be rush, rush, rush...and doom and gloom.  On this show, we take a moment out to pause and explore how to create better balance, one small step at a time. We tackle some of the biggest issues of our day and break them into digestible bites. You'll meet people, like you, who are taking every day action to shake things up for the better.  Wake Up, Shake Up evolved from a blog I started back in 2015 called CultureRISE. At that time, I was working full-out in the corporate world and, like many of us, was looking for ways to juggle the demands of a busy home and professional life. Adding to that pressure, it just seemed impossible to escape this scary vision of the future: headlines screaming about the latest human atrocity, or lack of progress on climate change, re-emerging populism in countries we thought were stable dangers, and so on. What was missing in all of this was a roadmap. The problems are clear. We all know about them. But what about the solutions? What actions can I take in the everyday to bring about change for the better in these areas: for myself, my family and friends, the larger community? Action that doesn't necessarily mean packing it all in and going to spend the rest of my life meditating in a cave, which, frankly, does seem like a more and more appealing option these days. But instead of heading to that cave, I set out to uncover the other side of the picture. Examples of kindness and compassion, resilience, inspiration. The stories that don't make the headlines but deserve to be seen and heard. And stories that, when you think about it, make up the majority of what happens all around us when we take that moment to look up and see. Throughout this journey, with CultureRISE and the quest to find such stories, I've had the pleasure of meeting some amazing people. Each of them has faced uncertainty head-on, and they've survived all kinds of life challenges without getting lost in the chaos. Or by getting lost and then finding their way back out again. I started recording our conversations and posting them on the blog. And now that the "big unknown" of modern life has taken on a completely different proportion, it seemed more relevant than ever that we remember what's possible and how we can stay grounded when everything around us is changing. So that's how the Wake Up, Shake Up podcast was born. Here on Wake Up, Shake Up we don't just talk about the problems. We identify everyday actions that, when done collectively and cumulatively, can bring about much needed balance. No matter where you are, what you're going through, there is always a way forward and people to help. We're stronger together, and more than ever, we need to join forces to create the world we want to see. The journey isn't always easy, that's for sure. But there's no better time than now to get started, and I look forward to sharing it with you, shaking things up a bit, and having lots of fun along the way. The first episode of Wake Up, Shake Up is on its way to you soon. In the meantime: stay strong, have courage and keep looking up.