BROADCASTS.com

b'In This Episode:\\n\\n\\n\\n* How coach & strategist Valerie Black led herself through a year of ups & downs* The practices she uses to find her center and stay present\\u2014so she doesn\\u2019t end up \\u201cfuture-tripping\\u201d* What she did to hold boundaries around her work as clients started to come back* The question she\\u2019s asking to find direction for the next phase of her work\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\nI used to live in Astoria, Oregon.\\n\\n\\n\\nThat\\u2019s where the mighty Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean\\u2014the northwest corner of the state and the home of the Tribes of the Chinookan people.\\n\\n\\n\\nEvery day, I\\u2019d walk along the river several times and just watch the water flow.\\n\\n\\n\\nBecause we were so close to the mouth, the river actually experienced considerable tides. Throughout the day, the height of the river might change anywhere from 6-10 feet.\\n\\n\\n\\nNot only did the level of the water change dramatically throughout the day, it would appear that the flow of the river reversed.\\n\\n\\n\\nWhen the tide was out, the river flowed as you would expect\\u2014toward the ocean.\\n\\n\\n\\nWhen the tide was coming in, it looked like the river flowed backwards toward Portland.\\n\\n\\n\\nIt was wild.\\n\\n\\n\\nOf course, under the surface of the rising tide, the Columbia River continued its journey toward the Pacific. The river never actually changed course\\u2014just the water on the surface.\\n\\n\\n\\nLife and work can create a similar illusion.\\n\\n\\n\\nIt can feel like half of the time we\\u2019re moving forward\\u2026\\n\\n\\n\\n\\u2026and half of the time we\\u2019re being pushed backwards by forces outside of our control.\\n\\n\\n\\nBut under the surface, we\\u2019re still growing, adapting, emerging. We\\u2019re continuing our journey.\\n\\n\\n\\nWhen you\\u2019re building a business, you\\u2019ll inevitably experience ups and downs, ebbs and flows.\\n\\n\\n\\nWhen things are bad, it can feel like every success you\\u2019ve ever experienced is being washed away by failure.\\n\\n\\n\\nBut, of course, the truth is that we\\u2019re always learning and moving forward.\\n\\n\\n\\nAs we continue our series on leading yourself and examining the practices that small business owners used to navigate this wild year, I\\u2019m thrilled to introduce you to coach and founder of The Change Agency, Valerie Black.\\n\\n\\n\\nI met Valerie at this time last year and was immediately struck by her mix of gentleness and tenacity. She is both strategic and intuitive, open-hearted and strong-willed\\u2014not that any of those things are mutually exclusive, of course!\\n\\n\\n\\nValerie has had a year of ebbs and flows, as she put it.\\n\\n\\n\\nAnd I wanted to capture her story and learn more about the self-care practices that saw her through this year.\\n\\n\\n\\nNow, let\\u2019s find out what works for Valerie Black!'