In his book How To Be an Adult, David Richo refers to assertiveness as “owning your own power.” This is so important because one of the best things we can do to increase our energy is to increase our sense of power and reduce our feelings of powerlessness. The most crucial way to do this is by getting clear on what we want and asking for it.

In this episode:

• Assertiveness is owning your own power
• Passivity is giving your power away.
• Aggressiveness is changing power to control.
• You can use the four step STAR (Stop, Think, Act, Request) to communicate assertively.

Links:

Embracing Intensity Store

Embracing Intensity Community

Free workbook on Harnessing the Power of Your Intensity

Today’s guest made quite an impression on me when I found him on TikTok. His specialty is self-regulation, and he has found inspiring ways to teach his techniques to teachers and parents. Join us to learn more.

Chazz Lewis, aka “Mr. Chazz,” is a preschool teacher who currently focuses his talents on teaching teachers to teach. He’s a mentor and motivational speaker who also hosts the podcast, Mr. Chazz’s Leadership, Parenting, and Teaching.

Show Highlights:

• Why Mr. Chazz is intensely passionate about becoming the best version of himself and helping others do the same
• Why Mr. Chazz teaches self-regulation to parents and teachers
• Why we need to be careful to not “crush” someone’s superpower
• How Mr. Chazz’s personal brand of intensity means being in flow with his natural superpowers and giving and receiving energy from others
• How Mr. Chazz struggled in school, was always trying to catch up, and took ADHD medications that made him feel constricted
• The interpersonal battle over what people wanted for him vs. what he wanted as his own success
• How cultural factors affected how Mr. Chazz expressed himself, especially within the framework of his private Catholic school with a very specific discipline and structure
• The #1 lesson Mr. Chazz has learned: we need to adapt the way we teach to the way children learn instead of expecting them to adapt to the way we teach
• How Mr. Chazz has to tone down his curiosity by decreasing the number of questions he asks
• How Mr. Chazz has learned to know his likely triggers in certain situations so he can plan to pause and create a safe environment for his emotions
• How Mr. Chazz harnesses the power of his intensity through journaling and goal setting
• How Mr. Chazz helps others use their fire for good by helping them identify their fire
• The importance of finding your WHY--no matter how the circumstances change
• Final words from Mr. Chazz: “Spend a lot of time figuring out who you are and what lights you up.”

Resources:

Mr. Chazz Podcast

Mr. Chazz on Patreon

Website coming soon at Mr. Chazz

Find Mr. Chazz:  TikTok: mrchazzmrchazz

Instagram: Mr Chazz Mr Chazz

Facebook: mrchazzmrchazz

This week's episode is brief, with a quick update about my quarantine, exposure to Covid and awaiting our test results. 

In this episode:

• Barriers to early identification.
• Asymptomatic spread.
• Even when we follow all the rules, we can still get exposed. 

Today’s show brings inspiration and joy from my guest and her story. She’s doing great things in the world of gifted adults, bringing them together by highlighting their unique qualities. Join us to learn more!

Nadja Cereghetti is the host of the Unleash Monday podcast for gifted adults. Based in Switzerland, Nadja has a passion for learning new things, talking to people, science, and all things Marie Kondo. I’m thrilled to have discovered her podcast and to introduce her to you today!

Show Highlights:

• Why Nadja is intensely passionate about gifted adults and empowering women
• How Nadja’s personal brand of intensity always involved her being “too much” and “too loud”
• How Nadja learned in school and went through times of failure and times of success
• The cultural factors that affected Nadja growing up in Switzerland in being white and not being limited by gender
• Why traditional education isn’t necessary in Switzerland to get a good job or make a good living
• Why Nadja tones herself down by avoiding alcohol, mainly because no one can handle her uninhibited self
• How Nadja is able to control her intensity by practicing karate
• Why Nadja created her podcast to touch people, meet new people, and highlight unidentified gifted adults
• How the language around giftedness has evolved and developed
• How Nadja uses coping mechanisms to hide her dyslexia and gain confidence to reject other people’s opinions
• How Nadja received advice from her stepdad about not fitting in and having your own way of doing things, and why that’s perfectly acceptable
• How others’ perceptions of you change according to how you dress
• Books that have influenced Nadja: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo, Joyful by Ingrid Fetell Lee, and The Book of Joy by the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu
• How Nadja helps others by creating a community and leading by example to show that a bubbly person can still achieve things in life
• How Nadja suffered from imposter syndrome but has finally discovered who she is and how she can help others

Resources:

Connect with Nadja and find her podcast

Find out more about our EI community and events  

 The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

 Joyful by Ingrid Fetell Lee

The Book of Joy by the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu

I wasn’t sure what to talk about for today’s podcast when I happened upon Paula Prober’s newest blog post, Can Gifted Kids Become Ungifted Adults? Hint: No but, read the full post for her take.

This got me thinking how I’ve observed as I’ve followed more neurodiverse folks on social media that people will often refer to their own giftedness in past tense and in quotes like “I was a ‘gifted’ kid,” as if giftedness was not something that still affected them now as an adult. I got to speak with Nadja Cereghetti, host of a new podcast for gifted adults called Unleash Monday, and we talked a lot about how a lot of gifted adults either don’t know they are gifted or no longer think they are.

In this episode:

• We often confuse giftedness with achievement, or executive functioning skills.

• Highly gifted folks don’t always fit the standard achievement picture because their thinking is outside the typical box.

• Acknowledging our giftedness allows us to connect with our strengths and values to figure out what achievement really looks like for us.

• Finding ways to support us in our executive functioning and self regulation skills can help us harness our energy in a positive direction.

Links:

Your Rainforest Mind Blog

Unleash Monday Podcast

Embracing Intensity Community

Free Harnessing the Power of Your Intensity Workbook