In the global pandemic, and everything else going on in the world today, there is every reason to be unhappy. Who decided that we grownups have to act our age and put playtime behind us? There are many benefits of playing like a kid, even through hard times--maybe especially in difficult times. So, when is the last time you played like a kid?

Jeff Harry shows individuals and companies how to tap into their true selves to feel their happiest and most fulfilled--all by playing. Jeff has worked with Google, Microsoft, Southwest Airlines, Adobe, the NFL, Amazon, and Facebook, helping their staff infuse more play into the day-to-day.

Show Highlights:

• How Jeff is intensely passionate about utilizing play to help people figure out who they are and how happy and joyful they were as kids
• How Jeff brings his passion to everything he does and loves to “nerd out” about any topic--along with his “fancy” bowtie that says he’s just there to have fun
• How Jeff didn’t always fit into his father’s box of “a time and a place for everything”
• Cultural factors that affected Jeff growing up as the child of first-generation immigrants include how he had to learn not to take things seriously and make play his armor
• How adults try to follow the correct way of living that ends up not being correct for them
• Why Jeff never felt like being “more” was a bad thing, and he actually regrets not being enough of himself because of fear and playing it safe
• How we allow our inner critic to control us and why we need to address it head-on
• How the flaws in our educational system tamp down and destroy genius in the classroom
• How Jeff uses play as a superpower to attack evil, disconnection, and shame
• How Jeff had to go through his own bullshit and identify his limiting beliefs
• Why Jeff doesn’t take things too seriously, practices being present in the moment, and uses his “play” lens to figure things out
• How Jeff helps others “come alive” and take a leap of faith and curiosity to reconnect with their “kidself”
• Final words from Jeff: “You’re alive for a reason. You have a variety of superpowers, and when you liberate yourself, you help others liberate themselves.”

Resources:

Rediscover Your Play

Find JeffHarryPlays on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter

The Power Manual by Cyndi Suarez

This week I had planned to talk about gifted kid burnout and how many of them may actually be twice-exceptional, but it was hot today and my brain was kind of mush so I decided to share part of my lesson on positive coping skills instead!

In this episode:

• Types of unproductive skills. 
• Having empathy for our coping skills, and understanding what needs they are trying to meet.
• Common elements in productive coping skills. 

Links:

Summer Camp Scavenger Hunt

Embracing Intensity Community

Embracing Intensity Store

Cosette “CoCo” Leary loves to live out loud. She’s a jubilant speaker, professional coach, author, and educator. CoCo has overcome a childhood of poverty and abuse, raised four children through hard work and painful decisions, and has gone from surviving on welfare benefits to earning her university degree in Public Administration, graduating with highest honors and serving as a staff member in both a senatorial and congressional office. Ms. Leary pulled herself out of poverty to show others how to do the same. She exists to breathe life back into improving communities, rekindling relationships across economic class lines, and empowering women.

Show Highlights:

• Why CoCo is intensely passionate about not accepting society’s rules for her and being empowered to challenge the status quo; her passion comes from growing up as a foster child who was pregnant with her first child at age 14, and had to go against the court system to keep her child and not be forced to terminate
• How CoCo determined to have a life worth living for her and her baby
• CoCo’s personal brand of intensity is absolute determination and a never-give-up attitude in going up against economic class systems
• Why CoCo knew she had to start with education to advance herself to help others
• How CoCo’s children watched her at work to better herself despite living in Section 8 housing and shopping at Goodwill
• How CoCo’s intensity was affected as she grew up by her loving father who gave her the gift of imagination but died when she was 12; a few years before his death, her parents divorced, and her mom remarried an abusive man
• How CoCo was beaten regularly and repeatedly ran away from home but was carried through those hard times by the self-love instilled into her by her father
• Why CoCo had difficulty expressing herself with language other than that of the “hood” where she grew up--until she found the local library
• How I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou changed CoCo’s life at age 12 when she lived in an orphanage
• After working in DC and then returning to Washington state, CoCo went through two years of homelessness even though she had a degree in Public Administration; no one would hire her
• How she started building her brand even while homeless and working as a CNA, living in a motel for several months
• Now, CoCo helps other low-income women build their brand and helps women entrepreneurs fall in love with themselves
• Why CoCo’s intensity never got out of control because her drive was mandatory for survival
• How her health suffered from diabetes, high blood pressure, and a stroke in 2018
• How CoCo uses her fire for good by encouraging others to use their fire and giving others permission to really see who they are
• Habits that helped CoCo harness the power of her intensity: “Being honest with myself, telling myself the truth, and realizing I need a good support system, and I need to be a support system for others.”
• Last words from CoCo: “Love yourself. Tell yourself, YES. Whatever you want to do for you, find a way to do it.”

Resources:

From Welfare to The White House

Find CoCo on Instagram: @welfare2whitehouse

From Welfare to the White House by Cosette Leary

I've seen some conversations recently about how being a Highly Sensitive Person can overlap with characteristics of specific disabilities & neurodiversities such as ADHD or Autism. There was some discussion of whether identifying as HSP might prevent or delay seeking a deeper underlying diagnosis and it got me thinking about how other traits such as multi potentiality and giftedness might also interfere with getting diagnosis and treatment.

In this episode:

• How in our attempt to avoid labels or pathologizing we might miss important treatment and supports.
• The impact of late or no diagnosis on self esteem. 
• Why we should look deeper if we feel a trait is having a negative impact on our lives. 

Links:

Embracing Intensity Community

Free Harnessing the Power of Your Intensity Workbook