Are you struggling with self-worth and depression? If you’ve ever searched for joy and happiness quotes and wondered what it’s like to truly feel authentic joy, you’re going to want to stick around for this episode today.
I have my personal mentor, Shannon Kaiser, on to share how she successfully found joy and even wrote a book about it. By the end of this conversation, you’ll feel more optimistic, positive, and hopeful that things will get better and you’ll even have a game plan on how to get there.
For those of you who may not know, in 2018 I lost my long-term post divorce partner to suicide, which put me into a extremely difficult situational depression, and even had me contemplating my own thoughts of perhaps having the same fate as my late boyfriend. It was very difficult and my way through it was I assembled a support team. One of the people on the support team was Shannon Kaiser.
Through Shannon’s coaching and mentorship, she not only helped me discover what my true purpose was, but also helped me build this exact platform that you are watching me on. It’s pretty exciting when you think about it.
Episode Highlights
Inner Child Work Can Be Surprising
Reaching back to our deepest and furthest memories of our own joys of childhood can be so transformative for us as adults
Always Be Open To Alternative Solutions
After Shannon was diagnosed with clinical depression and she had a prescription in her hand, and as fate would have it she also came across an article on how dogs can help with depression. By keeping her options open she got her dog Tucker who truly transformed her life.
Be Truly Honest With Yourself
Knowing exactly what it is you want and not necessarily what everybody else around you wants is really the first step in being one step closer to being closer to your true purpose and experiencing joy. This has been Shannon’s experience as well as many other people that I’ve had on the show.
Self-Awareness is Key
Shannon’s first step to joy seeking is self awareness. Knowing what it is you truly want, having a sense of self awareness and knowing who you are, what would you put on this earth to do and how can you best value others can all bring you closer to finding joy.
Be Kind To Yourself
Have compassion for yourself and love yourself. Because when you’re able to do that, you’re able to then find the strength that you need to transform.
What’s your favorite take away from my conversation with Shannon today? I definitely want to hear and get in on the conversation. So leave a comment below or tag me or Shannon on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter and let us know what you think.
Watch or Listens to today’s episode below.
Watch on YouTube
Listen on Corrie Lo Radio
Joy and Happiness Quotes
Connect with Shannon:
? Website: https://www.playwiththeworld.com
? Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/shannonkaiserwrites
? Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ShannonKaiserWrites
? Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ShannonLKaiser
? YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/PLAYWITHTHEWORLD
? Books: https://www.playwiththeworld.com/joy-seeker-book/
Show Transcription:
Corrie Lo: 00:00 Are you struggling with self worth and depression? If you ever wondered what it’s like to feel joy and true, authentic joy, you’re going to want to stick around for this episode today. I have my personal mentor, Shannon Kaiser, on to share how she successfully found joy and even wrote a book about it. By the end of this conversation, you’ll feel more optimistic, positive, and hopeful that things will get better and you’ll even have a game plan on how to get there.
Corrie Lo: 00:34 My name is Corrie Lo Guidance and I’m a motivational strategist and speaker who truly knows how difficult it is to struggle with self worth and depression. For those of you who may not know, and 2018 I lost my longterm host of Wars, partners suicide, which put me into a extremely difficult situational depression, which even had me contemplating my own thoughts of perhaps having the same fate as my late boyfriend. It was very difficult and my way through it was I assembled a support team and one of the people on the support team was Shannon Kaiser. Through Shannon’s coaching and mentorship. She not only helped me discover what my true purpose was but also helped me build this exact platform that you are watching me on. It’s pretty exciting when you think about it. Before we go ahead and get started, if this type of inspirational conversation helps motivate you, definitely be sure to stop right now and hit subscribe so you get updated the next time. New episode hair. Now let’s dive into today’s show. As I mentioned, my guest Shannon Kaiser is not only my personal mentor, but she is also the best selling author of what were five books including the self-love experiments and the very, very new as of the airing of this episode book joy seeker as an international life coach, speaker and retreat leader, Shannon helps people discover their truest potential. I’m so excited to have Shannon on to share her story with you today and now it’s time for the story to begin.
Corrie Lo: 02:03 Hey everyone, welcome to the Corrie Lo Show. I am so excited today to have a very special guest. Shannon Kaiser is joining us. How are you doing, Shannon? Hi. It’s so good to be here. Thanks for having me on your show. It’s so fun to actually have you here cause a lot of people may not be aware, but Shannon has actually been my own business mentor since I started coaching. It’s so awesome to see everything you’re doing and helping and motivating everyone. It’s beautiful. I’m so happy that we get to be here together like this. So thank you. Yeah, no, thank you so much and I’m really excited to have you share your story with the audience as well as all the new things that you have coming up, new and exciting things. Um, so let’s go ahead and dive right in. So I start off my show with the same question for every single guest and it’s what was childhood like for you? It’s such a layered question, but you know, child, like in general
Shannon Kaiser: 03:00 I, and as far as my family structure, I had a lot of love. I was very scared for, but my family, there was a pivotal time between like age, I’d say five to nine where we moved a lot. We moved to different States and I moved. I was in three different schools in three different years. So I got made fun of a lot. At age nine, I started at an eating disorder because I didn’t feel like I fit in. I would come home, my parents were both working to try to provide for us and I would overeat. And I became very, very bad as a little kid. And this perpetuated the, uh, bullying at school. And then once I hit high school, I became anorexic. And so I suffered internally with not feeling like I fit in, even though I know my parents love me very much.
Shannon Kaiser: 03:45 I didn’t, I wasn’t able to feel it. And I really traced with all the inner work that I’ve done in all the trauma and the, as the, I do these different processes, I was able to trace all of this back to when I was actually born. I was born prematurely three months early. I was only three pounds when I was born. And I didn’t even know how that would affect me. But I went on a shamanic journey, uh, went to a place called Rhythmia where you do this inner child work. And it was interesting cause I went back to the moment I was born and I was put straight into an incubator. I didn’t even have a human touch. And so at that moment, I had a belief that was created. I’m unlovable, I don’t belong. And so my whole life up until, you know, my mid-thirties, I felt like I didn’t belong. So all of that is kind of packed into. Although I know I was loved, I definitely didn’t feel it. So it was, it put me on a [inaudible]
Corrie Lo: 04:34 self love journey though. Wow, that’s incredible. So it took you till your 30s during that journey at Rhythmia specifically. So what, what actually brought you to Rhythmia? Cause I know I, I follow you online, you know, on social and you post, you know when you go, when you do those, those visits. So what actually brought you to that as being a potential kind of solution or like healing journey? You know, it’s interesting cause I, I didn’t
Shannon Kaiser: 04:58 I, this is a great question. I didn’t realize. Um, I was going to Rhythmia to do inner child work. I’m a wellness journalist and I’m also a wellness writer. And through play with the world, my website, I do a lot of travel and I was just looking at it as an opportunity to, to experience more wellness. But it was transformational for me because you do these Shimano journeys each night where you go into these deep meditative States. And while I was in those, my intention going in was to remove all blocks holding me back and I let the universe kind of control that. I didn’t have any idea what that would look like, but because that wasn’t my intention, I think that allowed me to go into the, the moments my beliefs were created, the pivotal moments of my life where I thought I wasn’t good enough.
Shannon Kaiser: 05:41 But really I was able to see it in a more compassionate way that every single thing I’ve been through was actually a beautiful part to help me learn what it is I need to learn. Self, love to love yourself no matter what, to learn how to be authentic and not, you know, fall into the fears of the world. So it’s been a beauty, I think my traumas, I think my pivotal moments, although they were impossible to get through, it felt like it would actually lead to the most like my career as an author and a coach. Sure.
Corrie Lo: 06:08 No, not so often the case with everybody that I’ve had on the show who I interview, it’s through, you know, these, these really, really deep, dark life challenges that we find like the inspiration and motivation to kind of go on and do bigger and better things for us in the world at large.
Shannon Kaiser: 06:22 Yeah. And even with you, you and your own journey, you know, it’s like these things we go through, um, they, we feel sometimes, I’ve obviously we’ve heard it before, that they’re happening to us. They’re, they’re really kind of showing up for us and helping us get into a more, I guess, healthier, authentic state.
Corrie Lo: 06:38 Right. No, I agree. And I think it also is meant to kind of teach us something along the way. Yeah. Six out of her best that it’s put in our path, that we’re meant to learn something and it’s through the challenge and the struggle of actually getting through it, that those lessons, you know, becoming a parent for sure. Yeah. Awesome. So, you know, kind of circling back to, you know, your young adulthood, you know, I know you mentioned you had, you know, struggling with eating disorders. Um, you had mentioned, you know, addictions and stuff and eventually depression. So could you walk us through, you know, what that experience was like for you and what you specifically did in order to kind of, um, you know, motivate yourself out of that situation?
Shannon Kaiser: 07:16 Yeah, so for many years I was kind of, um, doing what I thought the world wanted of me and, and, and, and I ended up going into a career in advertising, which I’m at. I was a graphic designer and art director. I’m really good at art. I love art. I see the world in a visual way. So I loved that career until all of a sudden it didn’t feel like what I thought it did and it, I was in the corporate world working in advertising. Um, I thought it’s what I wanted, but it’s also what I felt the world wanted of me, you know, get a job, get a high paying job, all that. And I was very depressed. I would cry myself to sleep every night. My eating disorders went rampant and this was in my twenties, like they just more intense than they ever been.
Shannon Kaiser: 07:59 And I actually started, um, using drugs and I became addicted to drugs. My relationships were really superficial. Um, I was dating a man who wanted to marry me, but I knew that the relationship was built on, you know, drug use and it, it didn’t feel like it was the right fit for my big picture. Um, what happened is I went to the doctor, they diagnosed me with clinical depression and I came home and I had a pivotal moment. I cried on the bathroom floor and my inner voice said, there’s something better for you. It said, you don’t have to keep living this life. That is not for you. Just follow your heart. And that’s when I realized I haven’t been following my heart. What does my heart want? In the very next day, I read an article that said dogs can help with depression. So I had a prescription in one hand in a magazine article about dogs and I was like, I don’t want to go the dog out for, let me try that out.
Shannon Kaiser: 08:47 Now I know that prescriptions medicine helps people at very important times in their life, but my personal path, I went and I adopted a, and his name was Tucker and he changed everything for me, his love by my side. I found self-love, I left advertising, I moved back from, I was living in Chicago, moved back to Oregon where I grew up and started my own business as a writer and a coach and I never looked back. So Tucker was really kind of a pivotal moment for me as wow. However, two years ago, he died of of old age. So we, you know, that we know that’s coming, but anytime someone dies, a loss is a loss. And that grief, it spun me into a whole deeper level of myself. I never even know. So I went into a deeper depression and I had to ask myself some of the deep questions.
Shannon Kaiser: 09:35 The first question I asked is, um, who are you? What do you really want? And I had already asked myself those, but I think we always have to check in with ourselves, especially when traumas happened or when, um, situations that we feel out of control happened. And then I asked myself, would have you always wanted to do that? You’ve never given yourself permission to do. And anyone listening, watching, I think you should write that down. It’s a great journal question. What do you always wanted to do but you haven’t given yourself permission to do? Because we all have these dreams that come back to us. And my inner voice said, travel, travel the world full time. So that actually led me to go travel. Um, which was a beautiful journey. I realized as a coach and a writer, I had been doing my work for over eight years.
Shannon Kaiser: 10:12 I was in a very, um, stable place to be location independent. That was my goal. Why wasn’t I doing? So I did, I set out to travel and work and it was by far the most successful, most beautiful abundant year of my life. Oh, that’s amazing. So where was the first place you went? The very first place was Cuba and it’s all because it was a little bit, um, you know, they say Americans aren’t allowed to go to Cuba. There was all these things. The reason Cuba was first is that I found a plane ticket that was so cheap and I was like, I guess I’m starting my whole journey. They’re like, how could you pass off that amazing ticket? And then I read some articles later and, um, the political administration at the time had, had done something with central America in that area to make basically not going there as easy.
Shannon Kaiser: 11:00 So they dropped the prices right away before that was installed. So I didn’t know. But I grabbed that deal and I had a one way ticket. I just, I created an itinerary, but I knew I was speaking in certain countries at certain times. So I knew I just needed to position myself as a coach and a writer. I can use Skype, we’ll talk to anybody in the world. What was really amazing about the journey that I didn’t expect is I’d have people when I was in Croatia, clients and people who lived in other countries, or like I’m in this country and we would meet in person, which was, you know, I’d have coaching sessions with people that I wouldn’t have really had the opportunity, you know, so it was beautiful. Oh sure. That was so fun. So, and it’s interesting too because many of the guests that I’ve had on this show, especially ones that I’ve had those, you know, pivotal life moments and that kind of fork in the road that you get to kind of like start over and like you had mentioned to like what it, that I want to do that
Corrie Lo: 11:54 I’ve never allowed myself to do. Because truth is when we have those, you know, life experiences, it’s in that moment that we really do have a chance to kind of more or less start over. Right. So that’s what’s free time to actually sit and think, okay, well what is it that I, I’ve always wanted to do that I now can do because this opportunity has opened up and so many people that I’ve interviewed on the show of travels, you know, that it’s been like, uh, yeah. It’s such a therapeutic journey. So what did you find was the, the most healing aspects about the travel journey for you?
Shannon Kaiser: 12:25 Oh, well for me, that’s a beautiful question. To me. One, it was this is the big dream and I’m going for it. I’m following through, but two, writing is my therapy. I wasn’t planning on writing a book, but I wrote a book, I call it the joy seeker journey, my journey, my personal journey. And um, I knew I needed to do it, but the writing happened to be the most therapeutic part because I wrote about it in the book. It comes out, it’s, it’s out in October like this fall. So the most amazing thing is um, when you follow your heart you are always provided for, but we have to have the tools in place and writing is my tool. So I didn’t realize that all that would fall into place. But on a, on a side note as well, traveling, this is the thing I didn’t expect, you know, I was going to these places.
Shannon Kaiser: 13:10 My intention was this is the biggest dream I’m going to go, I’m going to look at my bucket list, I’m going to tackle everything on it. I full tower check, you know, Barcelona, all these things. Check, check, check, check. But about four months in I was exhausted. I was actually getting angry, I was resentful and I was feeling really like what is the point? And that’s when I said what does traveling really about? It’s the inner journey we go on. And I think to truly be a traveler in the world and why I love travel so much is because we are looking for more and we think we’re going to get it outside. I thought I’d get it. And the next big bucket list checkoff. Same thing at home though. Even if you’re not traveling, if you’re looking for that goal, wait the next career, big the book deal, you know, the next relationship status, whatever it is. We’re looking for things outside of ourselves in the biggest thing, the joy secret journey gave me is to recognize everything we need. We’ve heard it before, but I feel it and know it now is truly inside of us and joy, happiness, success is not in the next big thing. It’s right here where we are. Right, right here, right now. [inaudible] so, so when you’re writing the book,
Corrie Lo: 14:20 right, as you’re traveling, you know, you’re going through this, this joy seeker, you know, experience and journey. Did writing initially start as like journaling or did it come to you as you know, intended to be a book?
Shannon Kaiser: 14:33 Such a good question. It wasn’t a journal at all. In fact, I was secret. I was on the phone with my agent and I had a whole other book proposal and actually the other book written like 50,000 words of another book that might see the light of day someday. Um, and he’s like, okay, I’ll just want to get your permission. I’m going to send it out to publishers. Do I have your permission? And I’m pushing go. And in that moment I didn’t even know. But I said, actually, I have another book I did called joy seeker and it was like coming through me and I didn’t even know. And I just said, I’m, I’m traveling full time this year and I think this needs to be the book. And he’s like, okay, great. Go for it. So I have a great agent. Um, and so I spent the next month really looking at if this book is a process, what is it?
Shannon Kaiser: 15:19 And really it’s about authentic living and it’s about how to let go of what’s holding you back so you can be who you’re meant to be. And so the book itself, there’s a couple of travel stories in there, but it’s not a travel memoir at all. It’s not a travel story at all. In fact, that was the other book we were going to pitch, which was from a previous travel trip. And so it’s interesting. It really turned into, it was almost like I downloaded it and I’d write from, my favorite thing is to write from different coffee shops in different cultures. So when I get to each city I would scope out the places to work and I inspiration was coming to me and it wrote itself. It was the most joyful experience I’ve ever had writing a book. Oh, that’s fascinating. That downloaded to you so quickly.
Shannon Kaiser: 16:01 So is it like, cause I know you and I have spoken about this even with my coaching, you know that I channeled, right? Kind of like comes out. So is it similar to that? It really was and it came out relatively fluid and easy. There wasn’t a lot of editing. And so I think that’s what happens when we’re truly aligned and connected to our best self. We’re an open channel for our higher self and for our true self in our heart to lead the way. And that was just a Testament. So it was a, it was, it was a very rewarding process. Yeah. That’s so fun. Yeah. So, so what’s the process are, sorry, so you know, when it comes to being a joy seeker, you know what, what does that definition, you know, when somebody picks up the book, what should they be expecting?
Shannon Kaiser: 16:47 Yeah. So the book itself is how to let go of what’s holding you back so you can live the life of your main force. So the book is for anyone who is exhausted from trying so hard to make things work. Anyone who feels like they’re off track or behind, if we get stuck in comparing ourselves to others, that inner critic still kind of running the show, but truly what a joy seeker is in the, it is such a beautiful journey in art. I just got done. I got back from LA reading the audiobook and as we were talking before we, we got on here and I am, as I read the audiobook, I realize how beautiful of an inner journey we go on together and I loved it and now I put it in the work and as you’re reading it, it’s a process. Joy seeker is about living from your heart and being who you’re meant to be from an authentic place, living in the most highest version of you. And it’s not about being the best you can be because there’s always going to be something better. Right? We’re always striving. It’s about allowing yourself to be who you’re meant to be. That’s a difference. Right?
Corrie Lo: 17:51 Perfect. No. So for somebody who wants to get started on that journey today, what is one thing that they could do to get more in tune with that?
Shannon Kaiser: 18:01 I think ask yourself the questions become more self-aware. Self-actualization is key. When I was stuck in my depression, I was, I was not able to ask the questions because I was so in the depression of I feel stuck, I feel stuck. No one understands me. I’m lost, I hate myself. But asking a question as simple as, is this the life I really want to live changed for me? Another question that you can ask yourself, journaling or just ask yourself what is something I’ve always wanted to do but haven’t given myself permission? And then another question, the final one, you know, power of three is, uh, what brings me joy? You know, what is it that a lot of us don’t know and we know in our heart, but we’re so busy living up here. So I think a powerful process for all of us is to start asking the questions and don’t be afraid of the answers. Just that will reveal your truth,
Corrie Lo: 18:54 right? No. And something you just said to really hit a chord, cause I remember it was something you had asked me and as far as like what is it that you really like to do? And I remember when we had first started working, which was about a year ago now that I’m thinking, which is crazy by one of the first questions you had asked me was what did I like to do as a child? And I incorporated that now even when I coach other people because when you really think about it, you know, when we are children, that is the closest that we’ve really ever been to are you know, true cells before society and you know, other people’s, you know, thoughts and intentions and belief systems kind of get imparted on us. Totally think about what it was that we love to do as a child. It really gets,
Shannon Kaiser: 19:35 you know, really close to that answer I think for a lot of 100% and you saw it firsthand and I was so excited cause you did that and dove into it in the very next session. You’re like, yes, I know and look at where you’re at now. It’s beautiful. I asked myself that same question when I was depressed and I realized as a child I used to like sit in nature on the playground and write and that’s part of why I was made fun of. Kids were like, Oh look, she’s like writing and I don’t know why. Cause it’s something that brought me so much joy. So I returned to what I did as a child. I think all of us. That’s the question, right? What did you love to do as a child? Right. More of that now. What do you like to do now? Yeah.
Corrie Lo: 20:11 Yes. Clarity is such an important element. Even for our, you know, the people that I work with, you know, one on one coaching. That’s usually the very first thing we start with. Cause so many people just, they know they want more than I have today, but they have no clear picture of what that actually looks like, and know.
Corrie Lo: 20:28 knowing exactly what it is that you want, you can’t possibly see the path to get there.
Shannon Kaiser: 20:35 Yep. Yeah, exactly. I agree with you on that. Yeah. And I went through that too. And that’s what I share in the joy seeker book. There’s actually a whole section about the stages we go through because when I, when I, when Tucker passed, I questioned everything and I didn’t know what I want. I actually love writing and coaching. Love it. But I was questioning, is this what I’m supposed to do? Which is crazy cause it’s my purpose. But I went to a complete lack of clarity and then I realized there’s a process we go through. It’s almost like a, whether you’re a griever or not, not having clarity turns into, okay, I could have the more clarity and give myself permission and then it turns into I can’t not do what I know I’m meant to do. And that’s where that’s like you live in your truth Malon and doing all the work you’re doing in all of what we do, you get to a point where you can no longer hide from your dreams because you know that that’s what you’re meant to do.
Corrie Lo: 21:28 Right. No, that’s so true. And then, and to kind of add onto, you know, what you mentioned too, I know for part of my own journey, you know, as far as you know, creating my coaching business. So one thing I ran from so long was I had some kind of guilt surrounding my business background and no matter what, and I’m not sure if you remember this from way back when, but I was like, no, I want to be a life coach,
Shannon Kaiser: 21:50 blah blah blah. Like I want to work with people on their individual problems. I don’t want to necessarily work one on one with businesses. But the more I ran from it, the more opportunities showed up where I was actually able to use that skillset to any life coaching setting. Because ultimately there are people out there that want you to start businesses that don’t know how to create the systems that they need in order to do it or how to launch it or you know, how to market. And so by finally learning to accept that part of me and to be proud of it instead of, you know, moral ass, you know, be ashamed of it, um, has allowed me to transform more lives then I absolutely, absolutely. I think a lot of entrepreneurs go through that too because I was kind of like, I don’t want anything to do with advertising corporate world.
Shannon Kaiser: 22:39 No. But then I realized, Oh my gosh, as an I know marketing, I know advertising. So to me as a book author, it doesn’t even feel like advertising or marketing. It’s just sharing. And I love it that says like marketing my books and my coaching is just as fun as doing it because that’s a skillset. Same with you. And I went through the same process where I was running. Um, I do think that’s part of human nature, but you nailed it. Once we accept it, everything changes you. Your life is rich and you realize, wow, that’s a skill set that came into my life to help serve me for the higher good.
Corrie Lo: 23:13 Right. No. And then, and then to even kind of add to that further. So the other thing which I, I teach on right now and I talk about it a lot online is every single opportunity that we have at some point in time, it’s going to prepare you for where you’re meant to go. So for me, you know, and I don’t know how this worked out for you, Shannon, but our backgrounds are kind of similar in that I went to art school. So I went for graphic design. I was a digital artist. Um, I did a digital media, so I did video and stuff like that. And when I got out of school and because I went to art school, I didn’t have a job. I ended up working for my family who then taught me everything I needed to know about business. But it’s interesting where those skillsets ended up for me later because now in what I’m doing as a coach and a content creator and stuff, I’m using literally every single skill I learned.
Corrie Lo: 23:59 It’s amazing. It was to create a podcast or write some market to teach other people. So you know, so many people I think kind of have this like the self-limiting belief that wherever they are today is not good enough because they feel they’re meant for more. But really what I challenge people to do is to think, okay well where I am today is essential for me to get to where I need to go. I just need to figure out what the lessons are. Totally. Honestly. That’s exactly it. Yep. Totally. So you do a lot between writing and coaching and speaking and traveling. What if you had to pick one, what would be your favorite?
Shannon Kaiser: 24:38 Well, it’s definitely, I remember talking to you about this too because we were saying there’s always that one. Like you see people who do a lot. For me it’s, it’s writing. That’s everything comes from my writing. It’s interesting. There’s a lot of other coaches out there who are coaches first and you see it. And I have really good friends who have books, but they’re speakers first. You know it cause when they’re on stage they’re alive. I love all of them, but everything seems to come from my writing. When my books come out, that’s when the lemon very first book. I tried to have a coaching practice before, but it was like the book came out and people were like, I need to work with you. The retreats come from the books. And so for me, it’s not just everything comes from that. It’s just I become a more authentic version of myself. Every time I write a book and I become the next level teacher that I need to be. And, um, it’s a beautiful process. It’s so fun to write. I love writing books. I’m already working on my next one.
Corrie Lo: 25:36 So, so Shannon, you know, speaking of all your past experiences, you know, and you’ve been through a lot, just like we all have, um, you know, between your, you know, the eating disorders, you know, addictions, depression, for somebody out there that’s listening today who may be in that same situation, who’s looking for their way out, what’s one thing you would want them to know?
Shannon Kaiser: 25:57 I would say to please be more self compassionate to yourself. Please be more kind to yourself. Uh, we put so much pressure that we’re not where we’re supposed to be. Something’s wrong with us. We’re damaged, we’re wounds. This happened to me. So very first self-compassion, I know when you’re in it, it’s hard to know that it’s connected to your big picture, but just like you and I were just talking, it is connected. And I see so clearly how that depression that I went through and the drug addictions led me to the next part, but I didn’t know when I was in it. So what I would say is to trust, trust yourself, trust if you have your higher power, your, your connection. Trust it. Beautiful. Well said.
Corrie Lo: 26:37 So, so Shannon, where can my viewers and listeners find you?
Shannon Kaiser: 26:41 So my website is playwiththeworld.com. You can get a free audio meditation on living your ideal life. I also have a lot of resources there. My book, Joy seeker, um, has a lot of information as well that’s available. Bookstores all over. I will be on book tour. Uh, but on social media, Facebook and Instagram, Shannon Kaiser Writes, W, R, I, T,E S, uh, like my author page. I’m always posting positive content and I’d love to see you over there. Awesome. I will be sure that we link up to all of that in the show notes and make sure everybody has the link to go ahead and buy your book. And while you were saying that, I also, I wanted to give you kind of like a shout out for anybody out there that’s listening to this show on Corrie Low radio. That was Shannon’s idea Its going to be the Corrie Low show for both. And she was like, no, you should go Corrie Radio. We can, this sounds so cool. And it’s very evergreen. Like it, it lasts a lot. Like years. I see it being super, super longevity, right? No, that was the plan. So, so thank you for, for being part of that. It’s so cool. It’s so cool to see and work with you and it’s, it’s been an honor to be here on your show too. Thank you. Yeah, no thank you.
Corrie Lo: 27:49 If there’s anything you take away from my conversation with Shannon today, I really hope it’s this. If you’re courageous enough to try it. Inner child work competes so surprisingly. So whether it’s you haven’t experienced similar to Shannon, where you learn that you are holding onto self limiting beliefs from being a newborn from the moment you were born or to doing self purpose work in really thinking back on what it was that truly stoked joy for you as a child. Reaching back to our deepest and furthest memories of our own joys of childhood can be so transformative for us as adults always be openminded to alternative solutions. So after Shannon was diagnosed with clinical depression and she had a prescription in her hand, as fate would have it, she also came across an article on how dogs can help with depression. So by keeping her options open, she got her dog Tucker who truly transformed her life.
Corrie Lo: 28:44 You never ever know where something will take you unless you have an open mind to actually try it. Being honest with yourself, truly honest and knowing exactly what it is you want and not necessarily what everybody else around you wants is really the first step in being one step closer to being closer to your true purpose and experiencing joy as well as Shannon’s experience as well as many other people that I’ve had on the show. Travel can be a truly transforming and therapeutic experience if you haven’t tried it yet. I also love Shannon’s first step to joy seeking, which was self awareness. Again, this kind of circles back to what I talked about just a few moments ago as far as knowing what it is you truly want, so be able to be in tune with that. It requires a sense of self awareness and knowing who you are, what will you put on this earth to do and how can you best value others?
Corrie Lo: 29:35 It’s being true to yourself and making the time and learning the strategies to more self-aware will be beneficial overall. And lastly, shins advice for anybody out there who has gone through what she had gone through. And that’s to be kind to yourself, to have compassion for yourself and to love yourself. Because when you’re able to do that, you’re able to then find the strength that you need to transform. What’s your favorite takeaway from my conversation with Shannon today, I definitely want to hear and get in on the conversation. So leave a comment below or tag me or Shannon on Facebook and Instagram or Twitter and let us know what you think. Ready for even more motivational content. Be sure to head on over to my website, www.corrielo.com and sign up for my email list. Every single week you’ll receive tips, tools, resources, and interviews. Just like this one, designed to help you lead a life filled with passion, positivity, and purpose. I look forward to connecting with you there. .
