Intro - The Rise and Thrive Experience

The first rule when creating a business, a podcast, writing a book, even a blog, is to ask, who is this for? And why does it matter? I'm Rebecca Fleetwood Hessian, CEO, and founder of wethrive.live. And I created, We Thrive for the high achieving professional. I created the company, the coaching, the content, and the experiences that I wish I would have had while I was raising kids, serving clients, selling millions of dollars for my company, and doing my damnedest to keep it all together. I'm an executive coach and a keynote speaker. I create content and experiences for the high achieving professional. Those of us that love our careers, we love business. And while we love it, it all just seems like so much. Is it even possible to keep it all together? Well, that's a matter of perspective, what all together really means, actually what all together really means to you. I got really concerned in 2019 when the World Health Organization posted that "burnout" was an organizational phenomenon. So that meant it wasn't just me. That many of us were feeling exhausted, a little cynical, and rather than stepping up into a new level of growth, we were starting to decline, and wondering if it was just worth it. The number of times I dreamed of just running off to be that gypsy artists, that's kind of buried in my soul. But you know what? Running away seems like a lot of work too, because then I've got to deal with the house, and the kids, and the dogs. Running away was even hard. And the truth is, I love business. I love helping people grow their business. I love it when people are just killing it in their careers, I love to solve problems for the business. And if God gave me this talent, I'm not supposed to waste it. And honestly, if I ran away and decided to be a gypsy artist, I'd probably establish the gypsy artist effectiveness camp, to help all the other gypsy artists sell more art or something. Our gifts and our talents run deep. We can't, and we shouldn't run away from them. So with this belief that business actually has the opportunity to heal us, not hurt us, as that burnout report suggests. I developed a process to help high achievers like me prevent burnout or overcome it if it's already set in. And the first key is to get really clear on who we are, our own unique gifts, talents, and abilities. And to deal with the head trash that comes with being a high achiever. Because once we know ourselves and we know how to talk to ourselves, yes, how we talk to ourselves is our first responder in all things. Then we can use our gifts to serve others. Because we're really meant to be unique, like pieces of a puzzle coming together. And one of my unique gifts and talents is I'm a connector. If I meet you, I'll immediately think of two to three people I think you should know. So I wanted to create an opportunity for connection with high achievers like me. About three years ago, I formed a group called the Badass Women's Council, which is why this podcast exists as the Badass Women's Council. It was such a profound impact on all of the group, that I wanted to share that experience with others. Not just with a podcast, but really to bring another group together. Not for training for a couple of days, but for transformation. So with the help of a lot of prayers and asking for God ideas, not good ideas, I launched Rise and Thrive, in September of 2019. It's a seven-month experience with a small group of women designed to ban burnout, build community, and boost their business. We wrapped up that seven-month experience on March 5th of 2020 this year, just days before the quarantine. It was a beautiful event for these women to share their stories. And it was an opportunity for them to capture the experience of this seven-month transformation. So each woman shared their seven-minute Ted-like talk. And today we're launching the site where you can experience those amazing talks that they gave. I'm excited to share these stories with you. I believe based on what we experienced that night live they'll inspire you. They'll show you that you're not alone. So each week we'll highlight a speaker and the theme of their story from the event. And we'll talk about the Thrive Guides. Within the seven month experience, these were coaches with complimentary skills that worked alongside these women through what I call reflection and connection. Because we didn't tell these women what to do. We helped to hold up the mirror for them to reflect, and for them to see the very best of themselves. And through the experience, the connection among this group allows them to continue to be seen, heard, and known, which is our deepest just human need. Within this experience, they grew, they flourished, they're prospering, which is the very definition of the word thrive. Look it up. No really, it's the actual definition of the word thrive. Because this experience was designed to move them from striving, to thriving. Because the word strive actually comes from the word strife, which means battle and conflict. And most of them we're weary from their battles. Sometimes even the most successful careers can take their toll. And many of these women had lost touch with themselves, with their uniqueness, with their superpowers. And we guided them to find that again with reflection and connection. Because again, we're each designed with unique gifts, talents, and abilities. I mean, God wasn't into the die-cut manufacturing of humans. And yet our striving ways can put us into that feeling of being on a factory assembly line. We start with a comparison and then it easily becomes burnout, and we lose touch with us. In this seven month experience, I designed this for each of these women to look at their unique story, the actual seven steps, that your brain is looking for each day to thrive. And we walked through each of those seven steps intentionally and helped them find themselves and find their story, to reconnect with their story. Then we looked at money, because we all have a money story. We have more differing opinions about money than we do religion and politics, but it's not something that we often talk about. But it is important, and it's impacting our business. And then of course, we looked at the money-making model of their business so that they could choose the words, the meetings, the activities, that would have the most impact to both their story, the company story, and the money-making model of their business. Most importantly, we looked at what they should be saying no to so that they could live more intentionally, not just habitually, and find their unique rhythm. Which is different than productivity. Productivity is actually a word meant for the factory and often keeps us stuck, with this belief that we can and should get quote, unquote caught up. But you know what? It's just not a thing. So we freed these women from an unrealistic expectation, and we gave them a new way to see their life and their work. I'm incredibly proud of the work these women put into this experience, and the love and connection that the Thrive Guides poured into them. We didn't remove the challenges from their lives. That's not how life works. There's no easy button. And in fact, COVID hit days after we wrapped this event. I'm happy to say that we had equipped them with a new perspective and a new way to see their lives, a new way to see their unique gifts, a new way to see their struggles. And most importantly, we gave them a group of other high achievers to support one another. All of them said they couldn't imagine dealing with COVID without what they had learned from Rise and Thrive and the support they receive from each other. Because isolation and loneliness is actually number three, to obesity and smoking for health related issues. And high achievers suffer more with that than we admit. We may not call it loneliness, but we're always working towards that next thing, thinking that we'll arrive at this magical place called caught up, where we rest and connect. I lived in that cycle for years and I was lonely, but I didn't recognize it at the time as loneliness. I mean, most of my days were spent surrounded by people. What I was lonely for, was people that I could safely share my hopes and my dreams, and my fears and my failures, because we get trapped in our heads. The term is psychological safety and I needed a place where I could feel safe with my thoughts and my emotions. I was so busy performing and being productive. I wasn't sure who really knew me for me. Not just me for my achievements or what they needed from me. I didn't really have a place I could lay down my fears and unleash my dreams. Where I felt safe to talk about them and to think about them in a beautiful way. And that's what this type of connection does. And the confidence and the courage that grows from this meaningful connection is unmatched. These women are still today supporting each other in daily practical ways. They're also doing strategic business deals together, looking for ways to represent each other's businesses. They're reaching out and asking for help from each other. I mean, think about that, asking for help. They now see that as a power move, not a negative. It's palatable the confidence and the courage in these women, and how much it's grown. I mean, shoot, one of them got married this weekend. She realized through this experience that running her business had become her life. And she wanted more in her life. And through the connections with these people, she opened her heart to new possibilities. Now I can't promise you we'll find you a spouse, but we can promise that you'll find more of you, whatever it is that you want for your life. What most of us forget, is we already have everything we need to thrive within us. Our authentic and unique gifts are already enough. We don't have to go searching for another degree. Another certification, another brownie badge to put on our lapel. We've become obsessed with control, and more, and busy. And the answers for ourselves are buried under busy, deep within ourselves. So with Rise and Thrive, we help them remember who you are, so that you can stand tall in your story. As we facilitated the discussions of the participants at this event that we held on March 5th of this year, the overwhelming feedback from the men in the room was, we want something like this too. So this year I've built an experience similar to Rise and Thrive. But for men and women called Business is Human, we start in October. So I'm looking for four to five men and four to five women to join us for a nine month experience, here in Indianapolis. And then we'll celebrate your journey in June of 2021. So if this is something that you're interested in, click the link, give me a little bit of info, let me know you're interested and I'll schedule a time to chat. But I'm excited to launch this site to you where these stories are captured. And I have to throw out a huge thank you to John Degregory, founder of Cantaloupe TV, for being my story consultant on this project. John's company helps you tell authentic stories for your business. And there's a real art and science to great storytelling. It's not just about grabbing a camera and capturing our video. John has been schooling me for years in our business partnership on the art of great storytelling. And it shaped my business model, and it shaped this experience and this event. A great story leaves you wanting more. Another chapter, another episode, our lives are a story. We're each writing chapter by chapter. So how can we live these stories with great intention? How can we live these stories excited about where things are going and wanting more, but not more meetings, more meaning. And being able to find that meaning in daily ways each day, not just waiting till the end for retirement to find our meaning. I'd love to introduce you to John and his team. They designed the site, A Book of Stories. So if you're an entrepreneur or business owner looking to tell your company story, let me connect you with John. Because I'm a connector. We've already talked about that. So here we go. We're launching into an eight week series called Stand Tall In Your Story. You click the link in the show notes. It'll take you to the site. Each week, we'll highlight the theme of the story that's being told on stage. And I'll give you some of the backstory about the person speaking, about the Thrive Guides, our partners, the experience. Y'all, I cannot wait to be back in a room full of people, sharing our stories. And I have faith that God will heal the brokenness that has kept us divided and get us back together. A huge thank you to the Cabaret Theater for hosting us in your beautiful space. It was magical. So let's start today. Enjoy the opening video, click that little circle at the top of the first page. Watching it again this morning brought tears to my eyes, reliving this experience. And what a beautiful night of celebrating our stories. Here we go. And I'll be back next week with more.