Living For Purpose with Andrea Bell

Today's guest is Francine Favret, a Heart-centered Coach, Speaker, and Empowered Empath who assists the ambitious in reconnecting with what matters most and guiding them to inner peace.

We explore her life's mission in this interview, leaving people feeling wholly alive and reconnecting with what matters most.

Listen in as we unwrap her story and teachings to help people communicate with their true selves.

The Journey from a Corporate Career to Entrepreneurial Coach

2:43

Francine began working at a young age when her parents operated a convenience shop. She was introduced to the business world in her early twenties and worked in retail for about six years. Through her 25-years long career in corporate leadership and coaching, she enjoyed the element of assisting others in progressing to the next level.

3:57

Francine felt a calling to exercise her entrepreneurial gift and leave the corporate world, to have more space in order to reach a larger audience. In 2015, she launched her own coaching company, and the rest is history.

Helping People Get to the Next Level Personally

6:08

Francine knew she was attracting many high achievers. They were already successful at reaching goals. Still, she thought that what they needed most was the spiritual aspect and getting reconnected to who they are.

7:37

She related to these clients, and decided that she needed to pivot. Francine now leads her clients on the path to understand what truly ignites the light in their soul and advance in discovering who they are and what truly matters.

Moving Forward with Fear

11:58

When something uncomfortable is going on, it’s probably not real fear. Francine explained that genuine fear - fight-or-flight mode – has a real purpose, to help us survive. For the most part, what we experience is a false fear – a false alarm.

13:44

Recognizing that uncomfortable feeling and what is holding hour back, will help you break through that barrier. The more you step up, the more you'll be able to conquer it and get there. You have to do the thing.

The Universe Is Working for You

17:27

Francine trusts Tony Robbins when he says that life happens for us, not for us. She also suggests keeping a journal at the end of each day because writing is powerful.

From Anxiety Towards Peace

19:21

She mentioned meditate can help, we can have a morning routine of spending time creating space for self-care. A lot of times, that a lot of time, it will manifest in anxiety. It doesn't have to belong but creating that space, which will be helpful.

Dealing with Emotions

23:09

If there's an individual or situation that is getting in the way of you feeling fulfilled. It's the internal stuff that makes the external world manifest. It could be a certain personality, or it may be a situation. Maybe it's a particular situation. It might be fear. Fear may be providing you with a chance to overcome your fear.

Transforming Anxiety to Peace and Serenity

27:46

It’s a shift! When we’re off purpose, out of alignment with who we are, our body/mind/spirit will set off an alarm system and it manifests as anxiety. The more we get clear on our purpose, on why we’re here, it gets better.

You can start by getting rid of the noise, and listen to what your soul really wants. It’s as simple as just getting still.

Francine is launching a six-week course on Transforming Anxiety to Peace and Serenity. The group will work on knowing your purpose; you'll learn what it is, and you'll have tears in your eyes, it's your soul speaking. Go to www.FrancineFavret.com to learn more.

Essential Routines and Rituals that Support Wellness

32:02

Francine mentioned that walks, meditation, eating cleaner, cutting out a lot of sugar helps to support her wellness. Keeping a clean channel also helps and gives her time and space. Creating an environment, including using essential oils. Providing time in the morning, at least 30 minutes, to just read and feed my spirit.

Connect with Francine

Go to Website: www.francinefavret.com

The Happy Fulfilled Woman Program - 5 months of one-on-one coaching

Doors Of Life - Two Day Transformational workshop

Transforming Your Anxiety To Peace & Serenity – 6-week group coaching On

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/francinefavretcoaching

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francinefavret/

Connect with Andrea Bell

Website: https://www.livingforpurpose.co

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LivingForPurposeWithAndreaBell

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreahaasbell/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to episode 4 of Living For Purpose podcast – a show that is about creating wellness and balance while working for purpose as a frontline fundraiser.

Today’s guest is Tesha McCord Poe, Founder and CEO of Joy-Raising, a fundraising and diversity consultancy that is unafraid to have discussions about money and race in order to help organizations move forward and do great things.

In this conversation, we touch on her process of building Joy-Raising, and talk the impact Tesha wants to have on the Joy-Raising journey and about the importance of making our fundraising practices more inclusive.

Tune in and let’s unpack some practices on how your organization, and everyone in philanthropy, can create more inclusive philanthropy programs and make our work even better. 

The Birth of Joy-Raising

1:34

To give a brief background, Tesha has been involved in many diverse works – fundraising, development, consulting, equity inclusion etc. Tesha needed a name for her venture that could cover everything that she is passionate about. Tesha’s middle name is Joy. And in all that she does, it is rooted from doing things with joy. At the end of the day, all she wants to do is to help people to have more joy in their lives. And the “Raising” comes from fundraising. That’s how she coined her business’ name Joy-Raising.

2:55

According to Tesha, the dash in between joy and raising is intentional. It started with the simple fact that Joy-Raising without the dash was not available as a URL, but that with the dash, it reminded her of the poem, The Dash Poem. It talks about the importance of the “dash” that is written in between the date of a person’s birth and the date of their passing. The “dash” in the middle part is what we can actually control. It is the years in between those two significant dates that we need to focus on and that reminds us to live for today. 

3:33

Tesha’s Joy-Raising is a culmination of all the things that she is passionate about. She believes that we have a lot of choice in what we do every day. For Tesha, it's all about making the most of her dash.

Goals of Joy-Raising

4:23

Joy-Raising has two major goals. One is to have more people of color involved in philanthropy as professionals and as donors. Then the other is to have everyone who works in philanthropy to do that work more inclusively.

Advice to a Development Department that is Getting Started with this Work

5:20

It’s important to not think that your encompassing fundraising goals and working on inclusivity are at odds with each other. We can start by setting that thought aside. Being rooted in how we can live out our mission and values through the work that we do in philanthropy, and doing that inclusively, that's a really good start.

6:31

Also, start thinking about how you would want to be treated if you are a beneficiary of this work. Would you want to be characterized or portrayed in the ways that you are doing as a fundraising shop?

7:19

A communications audit might help you to build up those muscles so that you're using that lens more readily. Examining specific examples of things that you are doing. Use set of principles or values that you have and you can hold tight to in order to make choices are more aligned with your goals.

Ongoing Projects of Joy-Raising and Their Plans in the Pipeline

8:54

With the onset of the pandemic, being in a virtual space, Tesha realized that there was a lot that they could do. The world's response to George Floyd's killing and the Black Lives Matter movement, helped to really give a bigger audience to the diversity work that they do.

9:28

In the next few months, Joy-Raising continues to build a community focusing on bringing more people of color into the work as donors and as professionals. And at the end of June, Tesha will be hosting a conference that she calls The Summit, covering really interesting conversations around how people of color in particular are able to do this work effectively.

12:00

In the meantime, Tesha is building an online community of people and organizations who would be able to post jobs, opportunities that they have, and have access to professional development that Joy-Raising is providing and other resources so that they really can help build that pipeline.

Tesha’s Favorite Part of Joy-Raising

14:27

Tesha’s most favorite part is when an idea starts with a little bit of a hint of something and then it grows and you bring people in and it gets better. And then ultimately people experiencing it.

Thriving In This Difficult Time

16:47

To continue to thrive in this very difficult time, Tesha has become more intentional in wanting to make sure that whatever she is doing, in life or work, she is moving things forward, and that she does not get stuck. Every day, Tesha practices the act of gratitude and consistently asks herself “How can I be a blessing today?”

18:59

Shifting from a physical office to working virtually, Tesha commits to keep inspiring her team to remain connected and move forward with their real big fundraising goals.

19:25

Tesha also allows herself to take breaks especially on days when she didn’t feel like being productive.

What Living For Purpose means to Tesha

20:34

Purpose is something that has been a part of Tesha’s development, so it doesn't come as something as an unimagined idea. It means having clarity about how you spend your days.

Connect with Tesha McCord at Joy-Raising.com

Go to https://www.joy-raising.com/ to know more about The Summit (6/23/2021), The Relaunch, a four-part series that will give you strategies to create more inclusive philanthropy programs in your organization, and more.

You can also connect with Tesha on her socials:

LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram

Or email her at [email protected]

Resources mentioned:

• Poem: Linda Ellis - THE DASH
• Website: 1440 Multiversity
• Book: Mike Lewis – When to Jump: If the Job You Have Isn’t The Life You Want
• Book: Isabel Wilkerson – Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the Living For Purpose Podcast, we are joined by Michelle Jean Champion, L.Ac., M.S.O.M. Founder of Cultivate Wellness Studio. Michelle is a graduate and a former faculty member at the Motherland Herbal Studies School. She is also a California State Licensed acupuncturist and herbalist. Michelle serves her clients in private practice and at Lake County Tribal Health in Northern California through her modalities in acupuncture, herbal formulation, medical Qigong, massage, cupping, quassia, flower essence consultations, and wellness education.

Listen to this episode to learn the mysticism of Heaven, Earth, and Man, and how they converge as one.

Michelle’s Journey

01:27

Michelle has always been a caring a person and always looked out for those around her and herself. That balance, combined with her upbringing surrounded by a loving and supportive environment, allowed her to come into a place of being an acupuncturist, an ancient Eastern artform, in the modern Western world.

03:26

Following a knee injury, Michelle embraced Chinese medicine. She casually took classes in acupuncture to integrate the medicine in her life, got hooked, and found her calling.  Today, she is studying Chinese medicine and is practicing it at Lake County Tribal Health.

Eastern vs. Western Medicine

04:58

Michelle describes Western medicine as being very linear. Different specializations exist to address specific structures of the body.

05:49

Chinese medicine on the other hand is more circular. Acupuncture is also a specialization for a structure in the body, which is in actuality a whole system, the energetic system. It consists of meridians (path) where the qi (energy) flows.

Community Health

09:15

Michelle is in the transition to find out what it looks like to be working in different communities and how she can contribute. As an individual, you need to find stability and notice the flow between you and the community. The community is a collective psyche, a large vibration.

10:17

There is a divisiveness and extremism with the current situation of the world. People are pushed to the extremes because we don’t have connection. Heaven-Earth-Man are the three levels in Chinese medicine. The human lack of connection to the Earth and the natural rhythms, not looking up to the stars, pushes heaven and earth apart. What needs to happen is a great unity and bringing things back together.

11:48

We’re seeing a lot of disconnect. We need to be mindful of what the universe wants us to do moving forward,  is really where the medicine is, and an excellent way to approach community wellness.

The “Accidental Accupuncturist”

13:42 Bridging Heaven and Earth is Michelle’s Tao in this lifetime. She jokes that she’s the “Accidental Acupuncturist.” She didn’t mean to become an acupuncturist, wasn’t attending to go to a 4year acupuncture school, and certainly didn’t think she’d be an acupuncturist working with the Tribal Community.

How to Stay Connected with the Heaven and Earth

17:22

Michelle suggests slowing down to do diaphragmatic breathing. So many of us don’t know how to breathe. People are inhaling everything that’s happening and now is the time to exhale—to practice that breathing.

18:15

To start, you need to be comfortable, relax your shoulders, and straighten your spine. Visualize as you inhale, the abdomen goes out, and as you exhale, it goes in. Imagine you’re breathing into the belly.

19:15

Through that simple exercise, it mimics how the heaven, earth, and man are interconnected with one another.

Self-Care for Community Building

22:12

Michelle moves a lot and has a strong morning routine of drinking tea to stay connected to the heaven and earth. Ritual, connection and sense of purpose is important. She acknowledges, honors, and loves the challenges of being a practitioner in this day and age.

27:40

A community is a collection of individuals. The community must take time to listen to each other, digest, and understand the strengths and weaknesses. Everybody must take care of each other and the environment, together.

Learn more about Michelle at:

Lake County Tribal Health: https://www.lcthc.com/about-us/providers/medical/michelle-champion-l.ac-m.s.o.m/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the Living for Purpose podcast, we are joined by Stacey Street, the Chief Operations Officer of RCF Connects. Stacey graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard University. From her high school to college years, she had been involved as a classic vocalist and still sings with the local choir. It seemed natural to start her career in the arts, and Stacey gained extensive experience in arts administration, including having served as Executive Director for the California Symphony for over 7 years. Stacey also served as Executive Director for the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society, where she successfully helped the organization traverse the aftermath of a devastating fire in the shelter. Most recently, she was Director of Capital and Major Gifts for Planned Parenthood where she coordinated a significant capital campaign that raised $6.5 million. Today, she is serving as a full-time COO of RCF Connects (formerly Richmond Community Foundation). RCF Connect’s ultimate goal is to mobilize the power of connection to build healthy, thriving communities with equity as its core value. Stacey shares her journey for 25 years, transitioning from the arts, development, marketing, to community building with equity as its core value.

Listen to this episode and learn some simple tips you can follow if you plan to walk the same path as Stacey’s.

From Arts to Community Building – Career Journey

2:53

Stacey entered into the nonprofit world right out of college with an interest in arts, because she had been exposed to a lot of managing of her choirs when she was in high school and college. She believed that there was a job meant for her in that field even for a short period of time. Stacey always wanted to do something where she could help people, be a volunteer, and make a difference in people’s lives.

3:48

Stacey was captivated by the first orchestra she worked in because they had a phenomenal education outreach program that went into communities that didn't have classical music, and worked with them directly and inspired them with the beauty and art of creation.

4:28

Stacey had a goal of becoming an Executive Director where she can be at the helm of an orchestra and help make a difference with the work and expand on that kind of education, outreach, and touch more lives and inspire particularly people especially the young ones who need hope and inspiration now more than ever.

5:52

Stacey ended up having the opportunity at Berkeley Humane Society, which was another learning journey for her. During her first few months in the job, they were hit by a huge fire, which led her to learn everything at once. Despite being overwhelmed, Stacey is grateful for that opportunity to work Berkeley Human Society.

6:53

Reflecting on her experience working with Planned Parenthood, it was a privilege for Stacey to be able to work with those officers. They were passionate and fearless. They were vigilant about everything related to supporting particularly marginalized women. She has learned so much from them about policy advocacy and its importance, and how getting engaged in politics on at least a local level is critically important to actually help achieve the change that she was always hoping to see.

9:05

When Stacey was hired at Richmond Community Foundation, RCF was really in an evolutionary state. They only had recently become a Community Foundation. She ended up being successful in her job as Chief Development Officer, and was an integral part of helping build infrastructure. As part of that, they had to identify what their core value was and what their big WHY was for the work that they did.

9:34

When equity was really identified as the core value of RCF, that’s where it really started for Stacey. That was the AHA moment for her to recognize that she was in the right place. Their work involves connecting resources, connecting people and helping diverse groups of stakeholders to work together, elevating ideas and generating true solutions to community issues and policy change.

The Role of Partnership and Building Community

11:47

West Contra Costa County and East Contra Costa County are the two parts of their county that are the most under resourced. Geographic Community is really figuring out how to connect the people that are doing the good work on all sides of the county, bringing the whole county together around important issues.

12:26

Geographic Community was not a traditional funder. Most of the community foundations operate from donor funds. But Geographic Community was born from community work. They were helping create a school and proving that the children at that school, given the right supports and resources could be as successful as any other kids anywhere else. In the process of really making that school successful, Geographic Community had to work with neighborhood partners with the local city government, with the police, with the community leaders and with philanthropy. In that process, they learned that it was really a Community Foundation work. When they shifted to being a Community Foundation, in that moment, there was a feeling to be a typical Community Foundation and build funds and do what all the other folks do.

14:03

Geographic Community recognized the incredible need to being the third party facilitative type organization that can really be a convener and a backbone for collective impact groups and Coalitions. If there’s really going to be long term change, it has to happen on all the levels. You have to have stronger, better resourced organizations that are doing the good work that needs to be done within their communities. You need to have the coalitions that come together so that you can have the shared knowledge and coordinated goal. You can have the drive towards bigger systemic issues and policy change and narrative.

The Personal Change That Transpired in Her Life

18:56

Stacey holds her own personal universal values that she stand for. Simultaneous to the work the RCF was doing, she was really fortunate to participate in a program called The Leadership for Equity and Opportunity, which is using the Radical Transformational Leadership Framework created by Dr. Monica Sharma.

19:34

The whole foundation of the work is that everything is sourced from and begins with an individual's stand in their universal human values. And when you figured that out, you can connect with other people from the basis of their universal values. You can start to think about projects and organizations from the standpoint of values.

20:41

Stacey always knew that compassion is one of her values. That’s what drove her to want to help other people. But she also discovered that love and courage are also her core values and they're actually all connected.

24:26

Stacey recognizes that she has been held back by a lot of fear. But she has no reason to be afraid. Being able to recognize her own fears is really important. Because courage is acting in spite of fear, not in the absence of fear.

25:05

Stacey is really learning the need to step back, give up her power, and just deeply listen.                            

Simple Steps to Take to Walk the Same Path

26:43

One thing is really accessing all the wealth of resources that are out there right now. There’s so many wonderful books and podcasts, even movies and training programs that exist, that people can really avail themselves of, without having to look too deeply.

27:09

Connect with people in life who are different from you – different experience, different point of view, and different backgrounds. Connect with them and listen to them.

28:05

Build time into your life to be able to reflect when you encounter a challenge or a hardship

29:01

Have the courage to notice your fears

What’s next for RCF?

35:39

RCF is in the process right now of figuring out the best way to deeply engage with the community that we serve.

36:39

RCF wants to hear as much as they can from the people that they want to serve, because they have the solutions. RCF wants to uplift their voices as part of the process.

38:18

RCF also has an initiative that they have recognized that black women and girls in Contra Costa are not being served in the same way that other marginalized communities have been. And that's going to be a really interesting opportunity for RCF to talk about intersectionality

Go to https://www.rcfconnects.org/ to know about RCF’s upcoming grants, workshops, and RCF news! Together, let’s build healthy thriving communities.

You can also connect with Stacey on: LinkedIn

Resources mentioned:

Book: Monica Sharma – Radical Transformational Leadership

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the first episode of Living for Purpose podcast – a show that is about creating health, wellness, and the life that you deserve, while working for purpose as a frontline fundraiser.

Let me ask you a couple of things: do you live and breathe for your organization? Is your identity so intertwined with your work that you have trouble distinguishing between the two? Then you’ve come to the right place!

I’m Andrea Bell, your host, and I am here to help you unwind from your work, create health and balance in your life, and increase your energy and focus, so that you can live your best life and go out there and serve others, your organization, and make a difference in the world!

If you’re anything like me, I know you are a busy individual, and I want to be mindful of your time, so I’m not going to waste any second of it.

Therefore, in today’s episode, you are going to learn the foundation of wellness through five simple, actionable steps that will help boost your energy.

If you want to find out more about who I am, why I started this podcast, and how to start living for purpose, then tune in, and join me in this journey.

In this episode, you will learn:

• The biggest obstacle that most fundraisers face when it comes to living for purpose. (02:10)
• My intention behind this podcast. (03:54)
• Why being a fundraiser is, in many ways, similar to running a marathon. (04:45)
• The number one thing we need to do to improve the quality of our lives and our work. (05:49)
• How to embrace the concept of stress in order to become stronger, smarter, and happier. (06:15)
• The power that exercising and getting outside in nature have for increasing your energy levels. (11:02)
• How to improve your relationship with sleep. (12:15)
• How to use caffeine to your advantage & the concept of Nappuccino. (14:27)
• The foods and drinks that will help you boost your energy. (16:49)

Let’s connect:

• LivingForPurpose.co
• Instagram
• ACast website

Resources mentioned:

• Book: Lynne Twist – The Soul of Money: Transforming Your Relationships with Money and Life
• Book: Kelly McGonigal – The Upside of Stress: Why Stress is Good for You, and How to Get Good at It
• Ted Talk: Kelly McGonigal – How to make stress your friend
• Book: Daniel H. Pink – When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing
• Daniel H. Pink - Nappuccino: A Scientific 5-Step Guide to the Perfect Nap

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.