Have you ever felt like you have no idea what is going on, but have all the information you need at the same time? In life, we are put into amazing positions where people depend on our expertise, but behind the scenes, we feel like we’re failing and don’t know what we’re doing. Ellie Westfall, Director of Marketing and Public Relations at Legacy Retirement Communities, loves her job because she gets to utilize her creative side on different projects every day. I asked Ellie to talk to me about the challenges she faces day to day, and she explained that most of the time, she feels like she’s putting little fires out everywhere. Listen closely as Ellie explores with us how to manage time wisely and meet tight deadlines.

Credits: Music by Ellie Westfall. Artwork by Kristina Bachman. Produced by Greg Joyce.

Picture yourself as a marionette. Someone controlling your every movement, thought and desire. I'm guessing, for most of us, picturing this brings up emotions like frustration, disgust or even a feeling of being claustrophobic. Now, what if you weren't physically a marionette and you had control over your movements and thoughts but, someone was instead controlling your TIME. Matt Mueller is the Chief Operating Officer of Hudl, a Lincoln, Nebraska-based company which provides video analysis, coaching and recruiting tools for professional, college, high school, club and youth teams and athletes. Being a busy guy, Matt lives by this piece of advice: if you don’t schedule your time, someone will schedule it for you. Matt and I are going to talk about ways we can all get proactive with time management and be more protective of our personal time to focus on the important things!

Credits: Music by Ellie Westfall. Artwork by Kristina Bachman. Produced by Greg Joyce.

What do you feel when someone tells you, "NO"? Do you meet the response with resistance? Hurt, sadness, an un-wanting feeling. Or, do you meet it with curiosity? Relief or even excitement towards what may follow. Dr. Carrie Petr, the founder and CEO of Carrie Lovelace Petr Coaching and Consulting, joins us on this episode to uncover the kindness that comes from telling people "no" when they need to hear it, as opposed to avoiding those difficult conversations. Carrie leads an executive coaching practice that specializes in healthy leadership behaviors, organizational change and development and talent management. She is passionate about leadership development, creating healthy workplace cultures, personal and professional development, and goal setting and strategic planning. Although her work is aligned with achieving positive outcomes for her clients, Carrie sometimes has to face difficult conversations to get the end result her client deserves.