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25. Stories with Kori – Featuring Liz Forkin Bohannon (the author of Beginner’s Pluck)

1/28/20

We are so stinking excited you are here. We have the heart to share the stories of others finding grit and strength as they work to take the next step forward. We invite to you soak in today’s story… we hope you find encouragement to keep moving forward.

Meet Liz, she is the founder of a global socially conscious fashion brand Sseko Designs and the author of Beginner’s Pluck. She is the wife to her college-ish sweetheart and the mama to two small boys and calls Portland, Oregon home.

I had the incredible opportunity to capture her Portland stop on her book tour and we connected to bring you this encouragement! She challenges us with bold encouragement to own your average, dream so small you start, and to not just dream but actually get out there and build it. Her stories will inspire you and motivate you to move… one little or giant step forward at a time!

Our heart is to always make our stories easy for you to take in. We have the option to listen, watch or read today’s story. Here’s the link to our YouTube channel if you’d rather watch it instead.

https://youtu.be/zmCRd-dGSeU

She found herself saying the things she wrote in her book… over and over and over again. She clearly had a lot of thoughts on this stuff and so that was the sign to her that it was time to articulate her heart into book form. The most acute point was Sseko designs and the business community that they are building.

Sseko Designs is a direct sales company. They sell their product through individuals in their community. A woman buys samples and she starts sharing the story with her friends and she styles her friends and then she earns an income on that. They now have an incredible community of women selling all over the country. Some women do a few trunk shows a season and then they have some women who are making this their full-time income and then everything in between. So in addition to running Sseko Designs Liz took on the teaching and training of how you build a life of purpose, passion, and impact. It became very apparent that there are a few key narratives and mindsets that are keeping people stuck. Keeping people from moving forward. So through that process, it became clear that what we are getting in current culture isn’t working and it’s not only not working… but it’s actually creating a lot of fear and anxiety. This book debunks some of those thoughts.

Liz shares that this book will challenge you about what you think you know about “finding your passion” and the mentality and mindsets that if you adopt, will propel you out of a state of waiting and into a state of creating … and we need you to create because you were CREATED TO CREATE.

There’s a whole chapter on owning your average.

A whole chapter on dreaming so small that you start.

Another chapter on choosing curiosity over criticism.

But “Passion and purpose are built over time with consistency, courage, commitment and pluck” – Liz

There are so many people who want the upside of passion. They want what they see on social media. They want the fire in their belly. Yet, when it gets tough, when it gets hard, when you get knocked down. When you hear no, when you hear that the solution you thought was the solutions shows that it wasn’t, there is a lack of willingness to say I’m gonna get back after it, I’m gonna stay curious, I’m gonna evolve.

What people don’t understand is that THAT IS HOW YOU BUILD PASSION. The root of the Latin word passion means to suffer. In our culture we have lost the message about what passion is. The way we talk about it is how we should talk about momentary interests or happiness. We want the upside, the getting up every day looking in the mirror knowing you are co-creating the future that I want to live in and I am doing work that matters. And I’m living into my purpose. But we aren’t always willing to suffer for it. We aren’t willing to dig deep within ourselves for it or sacrifice in the day for what tomorrow might hold.

If you really want to make it happen you might go through a season that is kinda tough. What she wants to say to young people…

DO today what your 33-year-old self will thank you for. Because you won’t have the freedom you want today if you don’t give up that freedom today and build something for tomorrow.

Of course, we need to be aware of burnout and we need to take it seriously. but there is such a time and place to go all in. That is where passion is built. When you have come too far. When you have clawed your way to this place. When you know you have come too far to turn back now. When crap hits the fan you think about all you have sacrificed. I’ve come too far to turn back. And you don’t get that if you quit when it gets hard. You will discover more of who you were created to be… You will be surprised by the things that bring you to life. And then hopefully, over time, not immediately you’ll get to lean more into those things. You’ll get to build something that allows your core competencies and talents where you get to spend the majority of your time.

It can take years to build your passion. you don’t arrive there. It’s on you. It is one of the core messages of the book. Liz ends the book encouraging people with this…

You already have everything you need to go out and build an extraordinary life. You do not need more connections. You do not a higher IQ. You do not need more inherent talent. But you DO need to commit to these mentalities and mindsets.

You do need to make promises and you need to keep them. You need to allow yourself dream small and then to take those dreams seriously and then actually act on them. And hold your self accountable.

The great news is that EVERYBODY can do this. and do it tomorrow!

We switched hears a little bit as we chatted a bit more about having a passion for things that can be heavy and hard. Liz talks about sometimes our passions take us into places where she says “it is not safe… but it is good”

This is an important thing to talk about because as we talk about passion people can easily get discouraged when life gets hard. And we do have a choice to build a life to protect ourselves. But when you say I want to work towards a world that is a little more equal and fair, and where there is justice and hope for someone who might not feel like they have it right now. You are consenting a type of darkness that you could have chosen to protect yourself from. So, when it gets hard and really messy do not give up. We need more people willing to acknowledge how hard it can be so that when others see just how hard it is they know not to give up. Not to just move on because it’s not easy. It is always difficult and the bigger the problem you are trying to tackle the messier and more complex the answer will be. We are doing it as humans with all of our own complexities and we can’t wait for perfection before we jump on in. Don’t wait on the sidelines. Keep Moving forward!

Beginner’s Pluck is this year’s must-read book! (Did I mention that I struggle to read and I couldn’t put this one down!) It will equip you with some tangible steps to keep you moving. If you haven’t snagged your copy yet… grab yours here: https://amzn.to/2RvqxHw

To learn more about Liz visit her website: http://lizbohannon.co/beginners-pluck/

We hope you loved today’s story! You can head over to our website to see more stories at http://www.storieswithkori.koriandjared.com

You can always read our stories on our blog: http://koriandjaredblog.com/?s=stories+with+kori

If you’re interested in partnering with us to continue telling stories you can email us at storieswithkori@gmail.com

Be sure to follow us on Instagram, where we’re super active!

http://www.instagram.com/koriandjared

Cheering you on,

 Kori

Today’s Story was made possible by our friends at Culture Coffee. 

http://www.instagram.com/culturecoffeebar

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