How much emphasis do you put on play in your life? Somehow, as we enter adulthood, we lose our affinity for play. Today’s guest has made it his mission to bring play back into the lives of busy adults, and he’s here to tell us how his intensity has made it all possible.

Gary Ware is someone I first met at the World Domination Summit this past year. People are drawn to his playful energy, and he is twice-exceptional, with ADHD and dyslexia. Gary will share how he’s learned to channel his energy in positive ways to help himself and many other people as he teaches them how to bring more play into their lives. Gary is the founder of Breakthrough Play, and he’s a sought-after corporate facilitator and keynote speaker with nearly a decade of experience as a performer in improv theater. He assists teams with unlocking creativity, confidence, and sparking collaboration with experiential methods proven to drive peak performance. Gary spent over a decade in the corporate world and originally pursued improv to master public speaking. He discovered that combining improv and play could be a powerful solution to achieve various business challenges. Naturally, he created workshops for his team and other executives in his network to deepen relationships and improve creativity. Gary became obsessed with learning how to use play as a transformational tool, and, as a result, happily transitioned from marketing to pursue facilitation full-time. When Gary isn’t leading workshops and keynote speaking, you can find him learning magic or off on an adventure with his wife, Courtney, and son, Garrett.

Show Highlights:

• Gary’s intense passion for helping people be more authentic
• Why people feel uninspired and unengaged at work today
• Why finding joy in what you do is a conscious choice
• How Gary uses his personal brand of intensity to find different ways to solve complex problems, even using hypnosis and neuro-linguistic programming
• As Gary grew up, he was a curious and playful ball of energy, and always the class clown
• The cultural factors that affected his intensity because he attended a different school almost every year because of his father’s military career
• Becoming a “social chameleon” to fit in wherever he was, but never really knowing who he was
• Gary’s identity crisis as an African-American
• How Gary had to learn what was necessary to survive and how to operate with a filter
• The story of an out-of-control moment of a food fight in school
• How Gary uses his superpower of making people feel comfortable
• How Gary harnesses the power of his intensity in being his goofy self, but always in connection with others
• Why Gary views his ADD as a superpower now
• Why Gary calls play “a gift” and a “form of meditation”
• The best advice Gary ever received: “You are perfect just the way you are.”
• Books that have helped Gary: Play DHD, The Big Leap, and The Happiness Advantage (see resources below)
• How Gary brings playful methods to interesting situations
• Gary’s advice for listeners: “Think about how you played as a young child, and think about how you can bring that back into your life.”

Resources:

Breakthrough Play

Find Gary Ware on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook

Books:

The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor

Play by Dr. Stuart Brown

Play DHD by Kirsten Milliken

The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks

Check out Embracing Intensity for more info about the Befriending Your Brain course series, launching in the fall.

"We suffer not from lack, but from paralyzing abundance." A few years ago I did a survey and someone used the term "paralyzing abundance" and it has stuck with me ever since. Today we will be talking about how to prioritize when you are suffering from paralyzing abundance. 

In this episode:

• Examining our "shoulds"
• Questions to ask yourself when you think you "should" do something.
• 4 ways to simplify your life.

Links:

Embracing Intensity Community

Upcoming Group Calls

Embracing intensity means figuring out who you are and who you want to be, whether other people like it or not. Part of the equation is figuring out why trying to fit a square peg into a round hole just isn’t going to work out well. Such is the story of my guest today who uses her personal experiences with giftedness to bring resources and counseling services to others.

Emily Kircher-Morris is a Licensed Professional Counselor in private practice near St. Louis, and her practice specializes in meeting the needs of gifted and twice-exceptional (2e) learners. Before working in private practice, Emily worked as a school counselor and teacher of gifted programming. She frequently speaks to groups of educators and counselors about meeting the needs of high ability learners, and she hosts The Mind Matters podcast, which explores issues related to the development of gifted and 2e individuals throughout the life span. I first encountered Emily through her podcast, as I was a recent guest there, so this is the perfect time to return the favor and have her on the show. Enjoy!

Show Highlights:

• Why Emily is passionate about her career focused on gifted and 2e kids, as a mental health counselor, a podcaster, and someone who helps those who are unnoticed and unrecognized
• The need for resources for gifted and 2e kids--and their parents
• Emily’s personal brand of intensity and her fiercely independent “just let me do what I want to do” attitude
• As an elementary student, Emily had an ADHD diagnosis and was impulsive, intense, and “too much and out of proportion”
• How her mom was consistently in her corner through all her childhood years
• How the stigma about behavioral expectations and gender roles affected Emily
• How Emily has to tone down her intensity constantly but has gone through growing pains of being too intense
• The life-changing experiences that have brought her reflection and greater awareness: motherhood and obtaining her master’s degree in counseling and therapy
• How Emily feels her intensity is out of control when she feels “on the edge” and “about to tip over”
• How intensity has affected Emily in many relationships
• How Emily uses her experience every day with gifted and 2e clients, helping them understand and accept their intensity for themselves
• Why Emily started a podcast and a non-profit to help with parent support for those with gifted and 2e kids
• How Emily has to harness her power in personal and professional relationships with others
• Why Emily had to find and use an organizational system
• The best advice she’s ever received came from a counselor: “Don’t pretend that your needs don’t exist or try to extinguish them. Recognize and accept them.”
• Why the book, A Wrinkle in Time, has meaning and long-term influence in Emily’s life
• How Emily uses Carl Rogers’ “unconditional positive regard” to help her clients
• Why we have to teach our kids to find their sense of belonging

Resources:

The Mind Matters Podcast   Find Episode 37 to hear “You Never Outgrow Giftedness”

Find Emily and Mind Matters on Twitter:  @mindmatterspod  and @emilykm_lpc

Visit Embracing Intensity to join the daily challenge to bring more play into your life

Thanks to everyone who filled out my survey to help shape the future of the Embracing Intensity Community! This week, I share a brief overview of the results and you can find a full summary on the blog. 

In this episode:

• Overview of community survey results.
• Next steps in shaping the direction of the community.
• Join our Summer Camp Scavenger Hunt!

Links:

Blog

Embracing Intensity Community