The Inner Work: Shaping Leadership Through Reflection and Resilience
Season 6, Episode 9 Details
Featured Guest: Sasha Saladziak, Director of National Special Events, Live Nation Canada
Sasha Saladziak, director of national special events at Live Nation Canada, shares how resilience, self-reflection and embracing change can shape both leadership and life.
Podcast sponsored by Visit Atlantic City.
Listen to more Dare to Interrupt podcasts: MeetingsToday.com/Dare-to-Interrupt.
Meet Our Guest:
Sasha Saladziak is the director of national special events at Live Nation Canada, where she leads the strategy and execution of private events across 13 iconic venues nationwide.
With more than a decade of experience in live events, Sasha has built a career around bringing people together through unforgettable experiences that blend creativity, entertainment and precision planning.
Her portfolio spans everything from intimate galas and brand activations to large-scale corporate takeovers, and she’s known for transforming concert venues into immersive event spaces. Sasha leads a cross-country team that works closely with clients, partners and production teams to deliver seamless, high-impact events that are transforming the business events community.
Relationship-driven and hands-on, Sasha is deeply focused on elevating the guest journey and creating meaningful moments that resonate long after the event ends.
Connect With Sasha:
LinkedIn
Instagram: @sashasaladziak
Website
More About Our Host:
Courtney believes that transforming past experiences into impactful conversations through raw, authentic storytelling challenges the status quo, connects people from all walks of life and results in great change for the world.
Courtney is the youngest member to have ever been elected to Meeting Professionals International’s (MPI) International Board of Directors.
She is the recipient of Smart Meetings’ Entrepreneur Award, MeetingsNet’s Changemaker Award, the Association for Women in Events (AWE) Disruptor Award, the MPI Chairman’s Award and MPI RISE Award.
Named Collaborate and Connect Magazine’s 40 under 40 and a Meetings Today Trendsetter.
Recognized as one of the event industry’s most impactful change-makers, Courtney serves on the Events Industry Sexual Harassment Task Force, AWE’s Board of Directors, MPI’s Women’s Advisory Board, is a Meetings Mean Business Ambassador and is the co-founder of the award-winning movement, #MeetingsToo.
Courtney was named as a 2020 Meetings Trendsetter by Meetings Today.
Connect With Courtney:
Website
LinkedIn
Instagram: @courtneyonstage
Twitter: @courtneyonstage
Facebook
Transcript:
Editors note: The following transcription was facilitated by AI program Otter.ai and proofed by our editors. Although it is fairly accurate, there inevitably will be some mistakes, so please consider that when reading. Thank you.
Courtney Stanley
Welcome back to Dare to Interrupt, the podcast that dives deep into the personal and professional stories of women defining leadership in the events, hospitality and tourism industry. I'm your host, Courtney Stanley, and today's conversation is one that you'll want to lean all the way into. Sasha Saladziak, Director of National special events at Live Nation Canada, has spent more than a decade shaping unforgettable experiences in some of the country's most iconic venues. But what stood out in our conversation wasn't just her impressive career, it was the way she approaches life and leadership with self awareness and introspection. In this episode, Sasha opens up about embracing change, staying grounded in your values, and navigating the different seasons of your life and career. This is a conversation about resilience, growth and the power of doing the inner work. Let's dive in. Welcome to the show. Sasha, how are you?
Sasha Saladziak
I'm great. I'm super grateful to be here today and with your gorgeous audience. Yes, thanks for this opportunity. Courtney, oh my gosh, connect and see you. Hear you again. I guess
Courtney Stanley
I know. When is the last time we saw each other? I don't actually remember. Would it have been?
Sasha Saladziak
Probably, well, I don't even think I saw you. I think it was a whatsapp chat of going to the hotel room, you know, restoring next, next speaking engagement. But I would probably say a year, a year previous to that. But I feel like I've seen you with your travels and your speaking and the way you're touching, you know, our community online. So really, well done.
Courtney Stanley
Oh, thank you. Yeah, I don't feel like it's been that long either. And now that you mentioned it, I actually do remember the WhatsApp chaos and everything that was happening there. Are you going to IMAX this year? You're not, right? I'm not.
Sasha Saladziak
No, I'm not. I definitely want to go to IMAX Frankfurt, though. So that's where I'm making the switch, I think, this year, but you all have a great time without me. I will hopefully see a bunch of you in the Frankfurt one in March.
Courtney Stanley
So the best part about IMAX Frankfurt is that you can tack on a trip before or after, probably after, maybe before. I don't know, I always tried to turn it into a vacation. I'm like, let me just do a little Euro trip while I'm over here. Oh, you can share me your tips afterwards.
Sasha Saladziak
I want to do that, especially with a long flight. I, as much as we all like travel for workers, still haven't perfected it after, you know, doing it for 15 years...
Courtney Stanley
life's always an adventure, you know, like, we'll figure it out one day. One thing we'll be out on, yeah, so before we get into our conversation today, I would love to hear a little bit more about how you got into this space, what first drew you to live events, and what made you want to build a career in our field.
Sasha Saladziak
Well, I will blame or thank my family. I think at first I actually thought I was going to end up in the hotel and restaurant space, and I realized very early on I didn't know, didn't know, actually that, and it was my body's telling me that I didn't enjoy as much structure and that I wanted to kind of create and build something from the ground up, I went to school for hospitality at University of Guelph, which is just outside of Toronto, an incredible experience, great program that was there, and I hope it continues, because our industry needs a more incredible leaders in the hospitality and event space. But actually, I came from a family. I'm an Eastern European background, and we would always have epic Sunday dinners. And you know, even just the way that we would put like we make place cards for our family, even though we know it was the same eight of us every Sunday, and my aunt would take me in the kitchen, and we would start perfecting these recipes, since I was, like, the age of six, so chef school wasn't for me, but I loved being in the kitchen. I loved seeing it all come together. And my mother actually worked for Labatt, and she was executive assistant. And we all know that lots of executive assistants wear many hats, and Labatt would plan these parties around Alexander Keith and his epic birthdays in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and we would be able to go to them as a kid growing up. So I was really fortunate, really grateful to, like, see, you know, and experience what live events really means. And this is not just like a glass of wine in a spring roll. This is like full bone productions and just the energy, like I remember, just in the cheers and the laughs I. Um, and I'm pretty sure I actually was probably sleeping underneath a tablecloth table, you know, after, after a certain point there. But I kept following my heart, and it kept leading me into, I want to build something. And, you know, Courtney, you run an incredible business. And I had an opportunity, you know, to kind of have the comfort of a of a company. But about four years ago, Live Nation Canada, came over and said, you know, would you be interested in taking our venues that we own for concerts and building out a special events division? And I've been with a company for 10 years, and still I love them. I work with him every day. But I was looking for a little bit more, and it was kind of picking at me. And again, fall with your heart. I leave with it. And I knew this was like a crazy move to do. Most people were saying like, Why would you leave? Why? Why would you be a lifer at me, please, sports entertainment. And I just wanted to make more impact and change and create legacy as well, too, for industry, not necessarily just for myself, but we needed new things after the pandemic and some, something really stuck with me is in chaos. Still, good things can happen, and I wanted to be a part of that. Good things could happen.
Courtney Stanley
That's beautiful. What? So we know that it was very chaotic, especially at that time of covid, 2020, all of that. What were some of the good things that happened? Autonomy.
Sasha Saladziak
I remember my first day starting and like, there was some like, training. There's no like, you know, there's just one HR person, because everything was so lean, and I was came into the world of entertainment, and that's gonna be a bit tough, like, it can be ugly some days, you know, they come from a culture of very aggressive and male dominated. And, you know, how do I fit in this mold where they know nothing about what I do? And I was used to a style of, like, top down, and as much as it was a challenge at first, that turned into a great thing was, you know, they gave me the autonomy. They said, here's the laptop, here's the, you know, the Wi Fi, and you build it because we trust you. And that was so beautiful to hear and see, which we believe in myself, not just for the business, but also for how this makes me as a female leader, a friend, a family member, the confidence that it just brought me and dominoed into many different avenues of my life really, really resonated. So that was like the biggest thing was the autonomy and the confidence that it really gave right off the hop.
Courtney Stanley
I can relate to that. And I always tell people, one of the greatest gifts that I've received, deciding to become a business owner, being an entrepreneur, is the confidence that I have developed over time in my own self. You know, like to know that you can do hard things, to do the hard things, to lean into the growth, the growing pains included, and then to come out on the other side, it changes you. So I can relate to that. I really can.
Sasha Saladziak
I think too, when you know that, when you've accepted the fact that like change can be a good thing, or that change is inevitable, and when you kind of shift your mindset in that. And I know we were talking, before we jumped on here, about some other great podcasts, but you know, we were talking about Diary of a CEO, and I was sharing about, you know, decision making process. And just like sometimes you only have 51% of the information, and that's, there's something gold in that, and you don't necessarily always need the 49% to be able to make the next leap. And sometimes we're just one decision away from changing our lives, right?
Courtney Stanley
Oh, I think it's a bit of a reframe, but let's be bold like that's where we get better. It is where we get better. I think where we get better is when we decide to be bold and we can't see the full picture. It's that other 49% that we're unsure of. When you first stepped into this role, it was so much uncertainty. You know, it was completely gray. They said, We trust you. We want you to just build from the ground up. And let's just see what happens. What do you wish that you had known? What was that other 49% that you wish that you had known, stepping into that role? And how would that have helped you along the way?
Sasha Saladziak
I think again, just navigating the unknown waters, right? And I've had four bosses in four years, and they I'm very fortunate that they're all, you know, executive or C level and but navigating, like, different personalities, like and the rapid growth like I, I guess I didn't really believe in as much as success as I was going to have, like, I had a mentor, and he's like, you're going to hack away every day. He's like, it's going to take you three or four years to kind of get there. And I'm at my three or four years now, right? And so kind of, like, stepping back, I look, and I go, I'm like, holy crap. How did I have the stamina to be able to do that? How did I manage all that chaos and still, like, try to serve. Me and do all these different things, but I really, I really feel like just yet, not like no one. I couldn't even have predicted what could have happened, right? So I look back, it was just me, and now I'm team of seven. I had three venues. Now I'm 13. I'm not perfect. You should see how horrible our folders look but I've been able to change my life and like, personally and professionally from this, right? I've been taking that, that like again, that navigation of change and applying to my life, right? I bought a house last year. I was telling myself a narrative for the last 25 years, I, you know, grew up downtown Toronto, worked in sports, entertainment, hotels and hospitality. We know the grind and the burnout can be and I crave. I crave, like nature in my downtime, and, you know, finding the next little cute coffee shop and a hiking trail and having people for dinner. And like, I missed that. It was living for the long weekends and I but I still wanted to have my entertainment life. So can we flip that narrative last year, and I really think I owe it to this big change that I made going into this this job, and I know it's, you know, some people just say, You're a number, but I actually was able to align myself and who I want as an individual with an organization, but I am able to ask more for myself In all avenues of life because of that change. It's irrelevant as to the job, but it was the decision making process that got to be where I am. But I do truly feel like it's helped me live more purposeful and value led life in all aspects.
Courtney Stanley
That's so beautiful, that's so good to hear.
Sasha Saladziak
And yeah, I'm fortunate. I know it's doesn't happen every day for everyone. I went through the part of my language the shits for sure, of jobs and roles and hard times and how many weddings I haven't been to, or family moments and things like that. But, you know, we have many chapters. And for anybody that's like listening today, that's kind of like, oh my god, starting over again, or, you know, like, it's not all the things. Like, you can live many versions of your life, right? And we're here for seasons and reasons. So that's why I always love, like, the start of September, because it's kind of like, Happy New Year, like the or the next Happy New Year. Or like, you know, it's four months left in the year. Like, what can you do that's going to serve yourself, maybe others, right?
Courtney Stanley
I love what you said about different seasons, different reasons, and really the concept of the possibility that we could be living so many different lives depending on the decisions that we make. How do you choose? How do you choose which path to take?
Sasha Saladziak
I think it's getting clear on your values. You know, I've done a lot of like Shadow Work and, you know, I
Courtney Stanley
Wait, let's pause there for a second. What is Shadow Work for people who may not have heard itbefore?
Sasha Saladziak
Yeah. So I guess you know, Shadow Work is taking the kind of time to pause and feel the challenges you may feel, and then pursuing into them. So it's the things that might kind of make you feel a little tight in the chest sometimes, and then creating space for you to kind of go dig or dig deeper into. Like, what is that feeling or that emotion you have in your head or your body. And you know, some people might label these like traumas and whatnot, but it's a nice term, I think, just to pause and reflect on those kind of things, they're a little bit of a shade of gray for you, and dig a little bit deeper into that. And I love that, because I find I get so much growth out of myself and also release so long after short,
Courtney Stanley
No, it's a great answer, and it's a good explanation too. Okay, so Shadow Work is can be considered your personal traumas, but it's just kind of a different way to frame the concept. What does that look like when you do shadow work? How old you do Shadow Work?
Sasha Saladziak
Okay, so I used to be a woman who would get up in the morning and I would be like, I used to race out the door. I would used to almost like, oh my gosh, I got out in 12 minutes. Good for you. Sash, horrible. Like, that's awful. But, you know, I kind of retrain my my mindset, my body, that I'm allowed, I we are allowed to have the permission to have a slow morning and to check in with yourself first, and that kind of, like sets your tone. I was related back to, like I used to when I worked in the restaurant industry, like I'd come in as the manager at the 6pm shift, like, and work, you know, kind of close the bar down, and it's like a hurricane in there. And they're like, I need a void. I'm like, Hi. How are you? What can I do for you? Is everything okay? Like, just slow it down. That's funny. Now I laugh because, like, that's what I'm doing for my own self, and I found that that's what I need. Might be different for other people. Here, you might be in night owl. You might be an introvert, extrovert doesn't matter, but I've found what kind of works for me, and journaling, they say is consistently done, is one of the most like, profound ways to express what's going on in your head. They say, like, a person could have about 4000 words a minute, which is the equivalent of, like, reading Harry Potter in like, 20 minutes and that, or like, you know, in that time frame. And sometimes we have to put those thoughts down to help actualize things in life. And I find that's one of my things that I swear by. I always have a journal in the car, in my carry on, beside my bed, and it's just a nice check in. It's a really healthy way to just kind of pursue things. And I don't have a prompt tool or anything like that. There's plenty of options out there, but that's my foundation, for sure.
Courtney Stanley
When you journal, are you just totally off the cuff, like, for example, you're in the car, you're driving, something pops into your head and you whip out the journal and you write it down. Or is it, it could be both too. Do you have a practice where you get up in the morning, or you're winding down at night and you're kind of prompting for thoughts that may be there but haven't been given attention yet?
Sasha Saladziak
So it evolves for me. I think if I'm doing some certain type of like shadow workbook, which takes, like, a Sunday afternoon and, you know, I think about, you know, the start of a new year, for example, you I would sit down and I would have, like, specific prompts for something like that, if I was tackling, but on a day to day, it's start from a place of gratitude, like we just woke up in the morning. That's what I do. The first thing I do is have that my ginger shot, I put on some beautiful, like, Jazzy, you know, music, you know, I pet my dog, and I give myself the permission to, like, be slow, and I'm doing this in bed. It's like, such a nice way to wake up and, you know, hear the birds chirp or the sunlight. And I just, I kind of like, thank the universe. I They start with gratitude of my god, that was a great day yesterday. We're like, that was an epic concert I went to. Or like, you know, like I slept good, you know, that's even, like, it's the simplest things that we kind of need to dig deeper and to find joy, to give us a little bit more meaning and purpose in the chaos of life in the world, especially how hard it can be these for people these days, um, kind of bringing it back to those small little moments is great. And I know it's not for everyone, or some people might be rolling their eyeballs, but I find that really works. And I go into like, how am I feeling today? Great, good, tired, anxious. Why? Like, I kind of sound like a little two year old niece mine. Like, what you doing? Angie sash, like, you know how you feel today. What are you doing? And then I talk about how great today is going to be, and what am I looking forward to? And I remind myself about great things about I'm strong, I can kind of handle anything beautiful, yeah, and it works for me, and it's funny, working in the events industry, like right now, I have a, like, a catering rental company, yeah, as like, my notebook for it, anything pretty for me, I Have nothing cute. I have, like, broken off, like pens, you know, it just shows like you don't need much, you don't need to invest in anything, but you should be investing in yourself like that, in some which way,
Courtney Stanley
Whatever works for you. Do you ever go back and reread your entries?
Sasha Saladziak
No, it's funny. You ask that. Oh, you know why? I think some days like it, sometimes that scares me.
Courtney Stanley
What about it scares you?
Sasha Saladziak
I think it's like, wow, oh god, I really, like, got hung up on that. Or, like, Sash, like, you're okay. Or like, what are you blabbing on about today? Like, wow. Like, what Kool Aid Did you drink? You're talking about all the birds and all these other things, right? But I think, yeah, I should, though, because I need to flip my script in my head right now, even though you just said that Courtney, like, show the evolution, right, and that everybody's allowed to have, like, peaks and valleys, right? And that's, that's the right of life, if it was all the same every day, my goodness, how bored would we be? Mm, hmm, right.
Courtney Stanley
Yeah. And I think it really does speak to growth, you know, like, the first thing that came to mind is, I was thinking about, I don't know if you had a diary when you were a kid. Oh, diaries were so cool. I'm like, Do people still do kids talk diary?
Sasha Saladziak
This is the modern day diary. People think it's so Woo to journal, right? Like, the amount of people who are like, Oh, here's you with your journal. Sasha, I'm like, Yeah,
Courtney Stanley
I think it's a beautiful practice. And I really go back and I think about how occasionally, if I'm at my parents house and I'm visiting, I'll open, you know, a desk drawer in my old childhood bedroom, and I'll pull out. My heart shaped red diary with a lock that doesn't really actually work on it. It had the lock. The key was always in the lock. So, you know, I don't know what the point was there, but, and I'll open it up and I just laugh because, you know, it's so dramatic, and it's the problems of my, you know, eight year old self were so different than the problems that I would journal about now, but it's, it shows, it shows the growth, and I think that's what's so special. Obviously, that's a very extreme example. But even looking back at, you know, a journal from a year ago, two years ago, three years ago, you were living a completely different life.
Sasha Saladziak
Absolutely, you know, it's funny you say that, like even just today is actually the day that I closed on my house last year and I moved in here right like, now, I just literally looked at screen, you know, looking at September 4 like, wow, that was a year ago. And we forget sometimes those Type A's and people and events and just living a full life like, I know I need to do the work of stepping back and looking at the accomplishments or the things that you know really didn't matter one week, one month, one year down the road, right? And how resilient we are as human beings, and that we haven't met all the people we're going to meet in life. And we, you know, again, just that chapters like there's, there's always new chapters coming, right? And I'm excited to embrace those. And, you know, just to keep just to keep growing, that's always been a baseline, I think, and that that comes with good and bad, but it was a reminder like this too shall pass, whether it's good or whether it's bad, yeah, yes, this too shall pass.
Courtney Stanley
And so I know I took us in a little bit of a sidestep there, because I wanted to dig into the shadow work a little bit more. But you were originally answering my question of, how do you choose the right path? You know, every season has a reason, and you were talking about, it's, it's important to do that work first. What else do you think would help somebody navigate choosing the right path for them in their current life chapter.
Sasha Saladziak
I think it's really, truly understanding, like, who you are and what you want, right? And I know I'm going back to the pen and paper method here, because I'm just a visual person, and I think there's so much meaning and document writing things down. And they have said that, like, you know, scientifically proven that that works. But really, what, what do you? What do you value? Like, is it? And what do you what is not serving you, right? So kind of getting clear on what you value will really help you lead to your like, understanding actually, what is my purpose, right? And then it's like, okay, now you know your purpose. Are you spending your day and living in your life with purpose, right? And let's also keep in mind like, your values can change, and that's okay. And so for people that like, feel a bit stuck, like, I think it's important to kind of check in with your values. Like, I write a little note on my iPhone, like, on my little like note section of like, you know, I the things I want in my job, the things I want in a partner, the things I want in my family, and values don't change that much. So that's where I'm like, if you're stuck and you kind of don't know where, go back to the values first get, like, crystal clear on that, because those are like, foundational things of like, kind of who you are. And I get it. Maybe life moments happen, and those completely crack and change, but it leaves space for you to reset and really focus on that. And that's like the that's like the roots of, you know, beautiful kind of like flower and blossoming, right? And, you know, with seasons, things go dormant, right? And then they need to be watered. They need to be cared for, they need to rest, and then they come back and they flourish, right? So I would just say, start, start understanding your values first, and and using that to engage to your purpose would probably be the best, the best start.
Courtney Stanley
What do you think your purpose is?
Sasha Saladziak
Oh, I uh, so it's funny, you say this like I'm kind of going through, like, I know my values, but my purpose is changing right now. I've been a year in a new home. I'm downtown city slicker most of my life, and moved to a town of 20,000 people, but I am going to go do the work. I'm going to go back to go back to my values, and if I ant, you know, putting me on the spot here, which I love, you know, I still want to be a connector. I think that's one of the things where I lead every day, like, I want to make people feel good after I leave them. And that's through my work, through my family, that could be just a simple interaction of like being at the gas station and thanking somebody for, you know, getting me my Gatorade or something like that. But that is something I'm going to have to work on, because I'm coming up to a new chapter of my life. My career is about to change in another step, like three, four years in, and I. Know, I'm a little identity lost right now, to be honest, I'm done hacking away, and now I'm like, who's Sasha, right? And I think for those out there, like I'm also afraid to face what is my purpose, right? And to do that work some days. But I know that, if I could just sum it up quickly, definitely about just making others feel, you know, that they have a sense of place another herd that they're seen, and that I've left a good impression, you know, and I've been around them, right? So it's also why I'm in events, but I'm still living it. I just think it's important to be a little bit more granular as well, too.
Courtney Stanley
There's so much about what you would you just said that I appreciate and two things, really I'm pulling from this conversation that we're having at the moment. One is the concept of us going through seasons, and I really love that you said that, and I want to dig into that a little bit more, because talking about having seasons of rest, seasons of nourishment, seasons of growth, seasons of flourishing, like there are different seasons that we step into. And the other thing that you said that, I think coincides with this as well. Something that I'm personally taking away from this is when you feel a little bit disconnected from your identity, your present identity, or maybe you've even left that identity behind, and you're stepping into a new identity, but you don't exactly know what it is, yet not being afraid to reinvent yourself.
Sasha Saladziak
What's Winston Churchill's line? It's like, when you're marching through hell, you just keep marching. Yeah, yeah. It's like, Mom, you know, she said, like, I was asking her, you know, I'm in this project right now, of like, what's Sasha's new role? And I was like, I kind of had to take out the word Sasha and be like, what's the role need? Because it was easier, right? And just like, the one thing you say, like, the again, the resiliency that we are as human beings, right? Just like you, you all like, you get knocked down, and then you just get, get back up. Don't get me wrong. Can be tiring, exhausting, emotionally grating.
Sasha Saladziak
Yes, it is. But again, one thing you can count on and rely on life is change, good or bad, right? And even you just bringing up that summary to me, I was like, Oh my God, I've been growing for three years, and it's a little uncomfortable right now to just kind of being here and not hacking away, right?
Courtney Stanley
That is exactly what I described to you prior to hopping on to this part of our conversation where we're actually recording where I was trying to explain to you where my business is today and how, over the last two years, I have been sitting in a place of post growth, where the first three years of building this business, I had to hustle. I was excited to grind. There were so many problems to solve, there were so many things to learn, and I was building, building, building, building, building, and I hit a point where the season changed and I didn't know what to do.
Sasha Saladziak
What what? Like, what was your what point did you realize that something was changing? Though? Like, was there a specific thing, or was it, if I can ask that, like, was it just Yeah, that's a great question.
Courtney Stanley
So I would say, at the peak of the build, when everything was going exceptionally well, better than I could have ever anticipated, I was really proud, but at the same time, I was also exhausted, and I was so burned out and so exhausted that I knew that I needed to enter a season of rest, and that really was the key indicator that things were changing. It wasn't that the business was changing. It wasn't that anything had gone wrong. I just knew that I needed to rest, and I didn't know what to do in that season of rest.
Sasha Saladziak
I'm not really a rester, and I was gonna say, Courtney, what's best to you? Because, you know, shavasana for six months, you know, yeah,
Courtney Stanley
Which was hard, but that's kind of what that season required. It required me to do things differently because I had already built the thing that I needed to build. So it was either, are you jumping right into building something again, or are you in need of a moment to rest and then do the work to discover what this next build is going to be, what this next iteration is going to be? And it took longer than I expected it to take. I mean, it took. It took about a year and a half of. Of just kind of coasting and resting and keeping the business in a good spot, but at the same time feeling lost, yeah, and needing some sort of clarity and epiphany and redirect to step into this next season. And what really helped me be able to do that, make that leap into a new season, which I really recently have entered, was talking about
Sasha Saladziak
it, yeah, I was gonna say, like, getting it off your chest and sharing, yeah, telling you so much, like power and even just, like hearing, like, just hearing your story today, Courtney, because I'm, I'm kind of in the same, same same boat right now, and just knowing that, like, we have other people that are there in it as well. Like, there's just so much peace in that, I think. So I'm sure there's people that are going to listen to this, and who are listening today, and who can resonate with that, right? And it's just being seen and heard again, and that it's
Courtney Stanley
Okay, yeah, it's okay. And it's empowering to own what your season you're in. That's the other thing is, like, it's so much more exhausting to pretend like you are in a different season than you really are, dropping the facade and owning the season that you're in and letting people support you. That is so much healthier. It's more peaceful and it's more productive. It's what's going to push you into that next iteration.
Sasha Saladziak
Exactly, yeah, exactly, yeah, there is. But again, it's can be hard to, you know, if you don't have the community around you, right? And you know, again, the vulnerability to share. And I think, you know, you don't have to always share everything, but just little snippets. You know, try that out, right? If it's if it's too much, and sometimes those people can help you get there quicker, right? And you don't have to be all alone in it,
Courtney Stanley
And that's the most beautiful thing. I think a lot of people experience that during covid, during 2020 where a lot of people lost their jobs, a lot of people were laid off, and they realized that community support and also taking their mask off and putting it to the side, there was such a beautiful chapter of humanization that happened during That time, where people really looked at each other differently, and they were able to see themselves differently, ask for support, be super real about what life was like in that moment. And it in my life, in my 36 years of life, that probably was the most vulnerable that I've seen our communities be. And it was beautiful. It was hard, but it was beautiful.
Sasha Saladziak
And that's the thing, is, I feel like there's some things from them that we kind of like, I wish we could see more of that now. I think we kind of a lot of people just, you know, some of those practices might have gone away, right? And I get it, you know, there's people who return to office and all these other things, and there's a lot of chaos going on the world. But we need to, we need to do better to try to bring those things back. And I always think, like, be mindful of, like, what what you can consume and like, what can you just do today? Right? That'll help you embrace some of those things again, that you know, allow the layers and the the onion to come out, right?
Courtney Stanley
So. Sasha, this has been the most beautiful, organic conversation I asked, I think, one of the questions that I had prepared for you today, which is my favorite kind of conversation, like, rip the script up, throw it away, burn it in a trash can and just see what unfolds.
Sasha Saladziak
Yeah, I agree, and I, and I, that's what I love about what you do, Courtney and and especially your your community too, right? That tunes in is, you know, they get something different all the time. But I'm just super grateful that I can be here, and hopefully it's a value, and we all have really cool stories to tell. And I just encourage everybody else to take a moment to try, to try to share a little bit more about themselves, right? They might need it. Whoever's on the other end, and same, same with you.
Courtney Stanley
Yes, we all do. Nobody's excluded from that. Sasha, is there anything that you want to leave the audience with? Is there any final words of wisdom or a statement or a question, or anything from the season that I'm on.
Sasha Saladziak
And, you know, my chapter is just a reminder about just your intuition and like, your gut, right? You know, I think it's an overused line, but there's so much like going on upstairs in our head that we can't actually, what am I truly feeling like what and how intuition can show up. Like, I've been, I've been in like, this funky mode all summer because it's hard to get anything done. I know these like falls coming, a beautiful time of the year. There's pressure with summer and like, I didn't realize, like, I was holding on. Do it so much and and I couldn't figure it out. And I was like, like, Sasha, like, trust that just is a sign. Like something is you gotta listen to it. And I wasn't, maybe more frustrated. But if anybody, yeah, if anybody listening today, I would say, just really go back to some basics. They work. And trust your intuition. Trust your gut. You've been keep good, keeping good company in in our bodies here, like Courtney, you and I, like 3036, 37 years each, like we had a lot of experience, and it's been lived. And keep true to yourself. Trust that intuition or that gut, whatever vernacular you want to use, and just take the time to listen to it, and that will help you make the best decisions for you in the future.
Courtney Stanley
That's beautiful. That's so beautiful. Thank you so much, Sasha, this was awesome to just get to know you better, personally speaking, but also for sharing your story and your wisdom with everybody in our community today and of course, audience, thank you so much for tuning in. Please share what you learned from this episode with us on social media by following at @meetingstoday and at @Courtneyonstage, and be sure to never miss an episode by subscribing to Dare to Interrupt on any major podcast platform. Listen to your intuition, embrace change and keep daring to interrupt my friends until next time you
