Welcome to the Sword of Sure podcast. Where doubt looms, fear whispers, and the only way forward is through. I'm Samar Carbo, and if you've ever felt like you're just sort of sure about what you're doing, you're not alone. This is where we face the uncertainty. Push past the hesitation, and keep going anyway way. So take a breath, step in, and let's move forward together.

Hello and welcome to the Sort of Shore Podcast. My name, as you may have heard in the beginning, is Samar Carbo, and I am so excited to bring this conversation with Lynn Thompson to you today. She is the host of the Storied Human podcast, and she started that to feature ordinary people who have extraordinary stories, and she is one such person. But before we get to that, if you have a story to share, shoot me an email at sort of surepodmail.com let's have a listen.

My name is Lynn Thompson. I'm a technical writer. I have about 25 years of corporate experience. I'm also a creative writer. I write for Medium and I had a blog for four years back in the day. I have 100 interviews. Can't believe it seemed like impossible when I started, but I'm up to 100. And I interview people from all walks of life who have overcome significant life challenges or who have made big life change. I really like to hear stories about people that have left the corporate world and become their own boss, things like that. They share what they've learned with me and I've learned so much from them. It's been a wonderful ride. So I learned a lot from trying to crawl back into the corporate world. I took some time off to have my own business and be with the kids. So I wasn't doing the corporate tech writing thing. And it was like five years I did that. And I had a terrible time getting back in because nobody cares what you did before five years ago, especially in the technical world. So it was quite a humbling experience. There were years where I only worked three months, and at one point, like, I was looking for jobs every day. It was right around, I guess, the 2008 recession. So it was, you know, I got back in and then the recession happened. So the whole time, like three years was really tough. And I looked every day and I was doing everything I knew you're supposed to do. And at one point I just said, well, maybe I'm not supposed to be a tech writer anymore. Maybe this is, you know, evaporated. And my husband says, I just saw you at the computer every day. You were doing your due diligence. You were looking at, you know, job postings, you were answering emails. You were, you know, widening your search. You were talking to ex colleagues, and you never gave up. And when I look back on that period of time, I realized it's crystal clear and so simple, it's stupid. You know, like, what's your secret? I just never stopped doing it. And eventually I got a hit. And also, I have a friend who is a biostatistician. I've known her forever. And she said in the midst of all this, she said, don't give up. You just need one hit. And I figured, you know, she knows statistics, so I'll listen to her. And it's true. Like, you just have to keep doing it even when there's no feedback that it's working. I think that's the hardest part about persistence. I had no feedback that it was working, but I just kept doing it because I'm stubborn, I guess. I think stubborn people do better.

I really think stubborn people do better. Yes. And it was something. When I was in my much younger years, a friend of mine who was. We were working together, trying to make businesses happen and all that stuff, he looked at me one day and he was rather successful already.

And he said, you know, man, I.

Really feel bad for you. I said, what are you talking. What are you talking about? He said, you're trying to do it right, and I'm just trying to do it. And that was a day, honestly, that changed my life because I stopped, you know, it took me a very long time to learn, but I stopped trying to do it right. And I just started trying to do things. And the point about that is you have to keep going, because you can't know in a month or so if it's working. You just. And just like you said, in the face of there being no feedback, you have to keep moving. And it's wonderful that you had that statistician friend.

Yeah.

Sort of give you that kick in the pants, like, hey, you only have to get one hit.

And I thought that was brilliant. Yeah, it really helped me. And I'm, you know, I'm a tech writer. I'm super logical. Part of me is very logical. So she hit that logical part, and I was like, oh, yeah, I just need one hit. And I just kept going. Like I was saying, it doesn't matter how many times I look or how many jobs I apply for or how long it takes. I just, you know, out of that body of data, I just need one. I need to connect once. So she said the right thing to me at the right time.

So obviously, in that there is inherent understanding that there was a bit of you that was saying stop. So how do you quiet that voice? How do you turn off the. I need to stop doing this and do something else of the situation?

That's a great question. I really think I was just sort of head down. I just kind of convinced myself, well, I'm going to try a little bit longer. I'm going to try a little bit longer. Because after all, that had been what I had done for quite a long time, you know, before I took some time off, I had done my. My professional career for, like, 15 years. So it was. It was too ingrained in me. That's what I did, you know, and that's what I wanted again. So I just kept sort of lying to myself like, oh, just a little bit longer. Just a little bit longer. But it worked, and I'm back in, and I, you know, I have my career back. And I kind of zoomed, and I couldn't have done it if I hadn't just kept banging my head, you know, banging on the keyboard. It's hard to explain where that comes from. Part of it is stubbornness. Part of it is what you grew up with. I grew up with a family where nobody ever stopped. Nobody. Nobody gave up. I never saw anyone give up. I saw everybody working really hard, and I think that that formed my backbone. That is helpful. But you don't have to have that. I love what you said earlier, and it really is so enlightening about, you know, just get it done. You don't have to do it right. Or as my friend recently said to me, there are many right ways. You know, we think there's one right way. Like, we have to be perfect, but getting it done is better than perfect. And I think what really changed my mindset was I did this podcasting class with Kathy Heller, and it was about podcasting. I learned a lot, but it was also about mindset. And she talked about understanding failures. Like, failures are just little steps along your road to success. Failures help you grow and maybe pivot a little, but again, the overarching thing is you just don't give up. And she also talked about accepting being a B student. You don't have to be an A student, which I found kind of shocking. And, you know, I rejected at first. It's like, of course you want to be an A student, but that's kind of unrealistic in the world. Of business. You don't want to be perfect. You want to be 80% there. It's better to be out there, messy and done right. It's way better than trying for perfect and not getting anything done. So that was huge for me.

There was a bit there you talked about. You grew up around people who never quit. Can you talk a little bit about what that environment was?

Yeah. I saw my parents make a lot of changes. That was really cool. Like my father. It's a great story. My father wanted to be a commercial pilot. My parents grew up in Pennsylvania, and his first job was at Bethlehem Seal. And they had him out on the floor. They didn't have. Not at the floor. That's right. He was smart, and they put him behind a desk to be a manager. And he would watch the floor and see all these people doing fun things like smelting and all these fires and, you know, creating. And he was like, what am I doing here? And he just wanted the excitement of being out there. He also really wanted to be a pilot ever since he was little. And my mother was super supportive of that. And so I. I didn't appreciate it till much later in my life. I looked back and realized he never gave up that dream. I saw him just keep going. Like, he had always had a job or two jobs or three jobs and was always taking flight lessons. He was always gathering hours. It's much harder outside of the military to gather enough hours. And eventually he got a job with a small corporation doing, you know, Cessnas and stuff, flying people around in D.C. and we moved from Pennsylvania to D.C. which sounds like nothing today, but it was a big deal. Like, nobody left Pennsylvania, small town. You know, nobody did that back in the. Whatever it was the 60s. But my father did, and my mother supported him. So I saw that persistence and I saw that never giving up. And he ended up in his early 30s. He was hired as a commercial pilot with Eastern Airlines. So I saw that arc. I grew up with that person who never gave up. But I also saw my mother always worked really hard, Even when she was home in Virginia and couldn't drive. My father was away flying. She would make up little. Like, around Easter time, she would make up little Easter arrangements, and we would sell them in the neighborhood. Like, she never stopped. She made candles in the basement. So I was around people that worked really hard and, you know, chase their dreams. It's powerful.

And do you think that gave you habits, that sort of stoke that. That fire of persistence in you, or is there. Are there things that You've had to develop in your own life to keep that fire going?

Yeah, that's a really good question, I think. Yeah, I think it just gives me this I'm going to find a way kind of attitude. I'm just going to find a way. I'm going to keep going, and I'm going to find a way. And that's what I was taught. So that's always been. I just don't take. No, I just, you know, I just try to find a creative way to figure out another way to keep going on the same path.

That's really wonderful. And so this. You're in the technical writing field for work, but for podcasting, you are in the collection field. Are you. Were you just a creature of sort of like hoarding? Do you just like taking stories and having them, like a little dragon's hoard? Was it. Or was it someone else's suggestion to get this podcast started?

Yeah, I don't. I guess it just came out of a natural. You know, I write stories and I write poems, and I have my whole life, so. And I majored in English, so the literary world is very lively for me and telling stories, and I understand the power of stories, so it wasn't hard to transfer that to. Well, I'll interview people with interesting stories and like this. The themes in the. In their stories are the same as what I studied in college, like the, you know, the hero's journey and the struggle and the overcoming, and it's very, very similar. You know, we're all living out our own journey, so the journey is what interested me and how people remake themselves. So, yeah, I loved hearing the stories, and I began to see myself as someone who could facilitate the sharing of these stories so that people could be inspired. When they hear someone did something and got through it, then they know they can. And I just. I felt like that as an older person, you know, I wanted to share more and. And get stuff out there. I just had this impulse to share these, you know, to be the one that through me, they could share the stories. And so that seems to have worked well, because I like it very much. And I think that, you know, it's. It's a worthwhile pursuit. I enjoy it.

Yeah. I mean, you've done, what is it, 97 episodes?

Yeah, I think I'm close to 100. I haven't checked, but you're in the corner.

I mean, if you. If you didn't enjoy it, good for you. Well, that is so beautiful. And collecting stories, of course, is the most Sacred of work. Does this sharing of hope extend to other areas of your life, or is this just focused on podcasting?

That's a fantastic question. I'm kind of like an untrained therapist, you know, Like, I just. I'm super supportive of people. I just. I believe everyone should. I mean, it's kind of, like, corny. But I do believe that everyone has gifts, and if they're not sharing them, then they should, because, you know, we only have one life and we have gifts that are different from everyone else. And I really try to support. So it's fun to be able to do it on a slightly larger scale.

That's beautiful. Well, I always like to ask, and no different here, do you have advice for someone out there who may want to get where you are professionally or, you know, family or however, but they're stuck in the throes of imposter syndrome or self doubt, or they're just in an unsupportive place that'll help them get out of that even for a moment?

That's a fantastic question. And it's going to be different for everybody. But my. My one piece of advice, because this works for me, and I've been stuck lots of times, is just do something different, even something tiny. Start a journal, take a free webinar. Just do something different to sort of shake up where you are. And that might lead to something else. It doesn't have to be big, you know, because that leads to, you know, oh, I can't do that. It's too big. Just do something small. Change your environment, take a course, start a new habit. Whatever works for you. Like, I can't tell you what that is, but definitely make a small change.

I love that. That is so good. And people don't realize that the massive effort it takes to make that small change. But even if it doesn't take the massive effort, it'll create massive change, right?

It has to start somewhere. And if you stay where you are in every facet of your life, then you're going to stay stuck. It seems so obvious, but it's. That's what you have to change is something about the way you're doing things or something about your outlook. And that's not going to change if you're sitting there, you know, looking at stuff on your laptop, kind of waiting for something magical to strike you. And we've all been there, right? I've been there, like, oh, I can't do that. You know, just keep sort of wallowing in your own, like, inadequacy but it's not true. You could start tomorrow, but you shouldn't worry or think real big or scary. Just think small. Just say, well, I'm going to try this and see. Because that's what happened with me. I clicked on that, you know, advertisement for Kathy Heller's podcast class and I went to a free webinar and I got all charged up and I loved what she was saying and I started to believe I could do it. I mean, it was a little process, but it started with that small change, that free webinar.

Absolutely. And knows we've all been there before. But, but it's all about, like you said, not quitting, just persistence. Now, I do want to ask, is there anything that we haven't gotten to on the podcast that you wanted to mention?

You know, you can find me wherever you find your podcast. The name of it is the Storied Human. If you're interested in mental health and how people have dealt with their own mental health struggles, I have a couple of those. I have a bunch of entrepreneur stories and I love those because those are such brave people to jump out of their corporate job and start their own business. I have a couple of those. And then there's some, you know, interesting, other different ones. Like I, I have some immigrant stories. And my most recent episode, which is, is great, it's about a man who's a retired Army Ranger and he's going to row with four other of his friends, his, his veteran friends. He's going to row across the Pacific from Monterey, California to Hawaii to call attention to the mental health issues that veterans are facing and how many veterans take their own lives every day. He's, he's distraught over it and he really wants to help. And so people are giving money and I bought, you could buy T shirts. It's, it's a really great episode because he's so determined to, you know, to make a difference. And I just was so struck by him because he's, you know, he's a top, he was in a top notch part of the army and he's very accomplished and he's kind of like a tough guy, but he cares so much about his brothers, you know, his veterans that veteran brothers and friends that are struggling. And I just was very touched by that.

That is such a great story. I'll have to check that out.

Beautiful man. Beautiful man. Roy Emerson.

I'll make sure we've got your, your show in the show Notes for everyone listening.

Okay, thank you so much. Good luck to you.

Thank you.

Lynn and to you as well. You have a great day.

You too. Bye Bye.

Bye now.

What a fantastic conversation. I had a ton of fun talking with Lynn and I hope you had some fun listening.

As we head out of this episode.

I want you to remember, if you have a story to share, shoot me an email at sort of surepodmail.com and don't forget, on the [email protected] you can check out my burnout blueprint to guide your way out of burnout. Thanks so much for listening. I'll see you next week. Later days.