Have a story or inflection point to share? Tap here to message us — we’d love to hear it.

Pressure doesn’t make great leaders—presence does. We dig into why the best leadership moves often begin inside your nervous system, long before a difficult conversation or high-stakes decision. Drawing on lived experience and insights from a previous conversation with Annie Paraison, we explore how to read the body’s early signals, pause before reacting, and turn tense moments into opportunities for trust and clarity.

First, we unpack somatic awareness: those subtle cues like tightness, dread, or irritability that appear before your brain writes a tidy story. Instead of powering through, we treat those sensations as data that can prevent costly missteps. You’ll hear how ignoring signals leads to reactive leadership and quiet burnout, and how listening to them can redirect your path with honesty and courage.

Next, we move into self-regulation—the real-time skill of creating space between stimulus and response. We break down a practical micro-ritual: three deep belly breaths, naming sensations, and choosing timing, tone, and intention that align with your values. You’ll see why most relationship damage comes from the state we’re in, not the topic at hand, and how a single, well-placed pause can protect both clarity and reputation.

Finally, we introduce relational groundedness: staying rooted in yourself while staying open to others. It’s the difference between caring and rescuing, listening and agreeing. We map the balance between personal boundaries and collective needs, showing how grounded leaders stop keeping score and start expanding what’s possible. To make it stick, we share a 30-second challenge you can use before any hard conversation or meeting.

If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a leader who needs it today, and leave a quick review to help others find it. Your pause could be the culture shift your team has been waiting for.

Connect with Beki on LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/BekiFraser
Learn more about her coaching: TheIntrovertedSkeptic.com

Learn more about 75 LEAD: FocusForGrowth.com/75LEAD

Follow Short Story Long's LinkedIn Page: Linkedin.com/showcase/shortstorylongpod

Get her book, C.O.A.C.H. Y.O.U.: The Introverted Skeptic’s Guide to Leadership - Amazon

Short Story Long is produced by Crowned Culture Media LLC

Have a story or inflection point to share? Tap here to message us — we’d love to hear it.

A quiet alarm in the body can be louder than any strategic plan. That’s where our conversation with Annie begins: the moment joy dimmed, restlessness rose, and an inner knowing said it was time to step away from nonprofit work and build something rooted in freedom, fairness, and love. From that leap came Love Before All, a practice that pairs self-regulation with compassion to create real, measurable change in people and the systems they live in.

We dig into the mechanics of that change. Annie walks us through how history and power shape institutions, why scarcity cultures persist, and how a relationship-first lens reframes leadership. We talk brain science in plain language: the amygdala’s threat response, somatic signals as data, and how a pause-and-breathe habit restores choice. She shares a grounding question that guides hard moments—what is the most loving thing to do now?—and a practical method for tough conversations: look for patterns, ask permission, lead with positive intent, and time it for trust.

Annie’s path from Haiti to New York adds a powerful through line of empathy and perspective-taking. That experience sharpened her ability to “put herself on a shelf,” meet others without judgment, and build bridges across difference. We connect this to culture change at scale: when individuals grow compassion from the inside out, teams regulate better, organizations collaborate more, and wellness becomes a shared priority. If belief can outrun truth, then let’s design beliefs that steady the nervous system, expand our options, and make room for facts to land.

You’ll leave with tools you can use today—how to notice somatic cues, interrupt reactivity, and deliver feedback without burning trust—as well as a bigger vision for how compassion can propagate across homes, schools, and workplaces. If you’re ready to integrate who you are with how you lead, press play, share this conversation with someone who needs it, and leave a review to help more listeners find the show.

To learn more about Annie Paraison, visit LoveBeforeAll.com

Connect with Beki on LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/BekiFraser
Learn more about her coaching: TheIntrovertedSkeptic.com

Learn more about 75 LEAD: FocusForGrowth.com/75LEAD

Follow Short Story Long's LinkedIn Page: Linkedin.com/showcase/shortstorylongpod

Get her book, C.O.A.C.H. Y.O.U.: The Introverted Skeptic’s Guide to Leadership - Amazon

Short Story Long is produced by Crowned Culture Media LLC

Have a story or inflection point to share? Tap here to message us — we’d love to hear it.

We revisit five leaders whose choices show how humanity shapes real decisions under pressure. Fulfillment, empowerment, grace, resilience, and agency move from ideas to habits you can use right away.

• Integrating identity with leadership choices
• Choosing fulfillment after loss and fear
• Shifting from expert to team builder
• Leaving with dignity and clear boundaries
• Treating joy as a resilience strategy
• Practicing agency and narrative fit
• Translating values into calendar and habits
• Preparing for a new season with intention

If you found this episode helpful, share it with someone who could benefit from it

Episodes mentioned:

• Starting to Shift with a What If — Holden Galusha's Story
• Aaron Wilkerson's Story: The Mindset Shift That Fueled His Promotion
• Shannon King's Story: Surviving the Fallout of Broken Corporate Promises
• From Burnout to On Purpose: Rewiring Work & Life — Chris Blount’s Story
• No More Autopilot: Claim Your Leadership Agency — Tammy Daniels’ Story

Connect with Beki on LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/BekiFraser
Learn more about her coaching: TheIntrovertedSkeptic.com

Learn more about 75 LEAD: FocusForGrowth.com/75LEAD

Follow Short Story Long's LinkedIn Page: Linkedin.com/showcase/shortstorylongpod

Get her book, C.O.A.C.H. Y.O.U.: The Introverted Skeptic’s Guide to Leadership - Amazon

Short Story Long is produced by Crowned Culture Media LLC