Have you ever heard of the phrase, Ask questions; don't make assumptions? In this episode, Sophia tells the story of her experience going to the Diamond Head on the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu and how her experience made her realize that assumptions can be helpful, but also can be proven unproductive— even damaging. This week, our challenge for you big dreamers is that if you hear someone make assumptions about a situation, ask them to rethink their thoughts. Who knows, Maybe they don’t even know the whole story. Try to help them and you’ll see that life is so much better without (making quick) assumptions. Enjoy the episode!
This week's episode is inspired by the famous quote from Jack Welch, “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” In this episode, Sophia tells the story of how she led her family through the Dole Plantation's giant Pineapple Garden Maze, the world’s largest maze. She shares the strategies and the things she learned from being an effective leader. Sophia and Olga also talk about why leadership is one of the most important skills you can learn, and how you can practice leadership every single day. Join us on our journey, and follow us on Instagram at @dreambigpodcast
Have you ever heard of the saying that Your Worst Enemy Could Be Your Best Friend? This is the central question for today's podcast and something that has confused and bothered Sophia for a while. I'm sure most of our Big Dreamers can relate to that too! In this episode, Sophia will share the story of riding the biggest rollercoaster she has ever seen in her life: the fear she felt leading up to the ride and the four strategies she used to overcome her worries, all of which ultimately allowed her to find joy in the supposedly scary rollercoaster ride! This episode will also see a new challenge for all of us Big Dreamers, inspired by one of our favorite quotes, which many attribute to former first lady and well-loved humanitarian Eleanor Roosevelt: "Do one thing everyday that scares you." We know how "everyday" seems like a huge task, so let's start small! Try a new thing for at least for three days, something you are unsure of and scares you. Let us know about your experience by emailing us at olga@dreambigpodcast.com. Also, join Sophia in her journey, and follow us on Instagram at https://instagram.com/dreambigpodcast Enjoy the episode!
How many rejections are you willing to take before giving up on your dream? In today's episode, Sophia and Olga talk about the visionary who created the happiest and the most magical place in the world, Walt Disney. He is proof that even if you get more NOs than YES, about 300 to be precise, if you have the vision, will and determination, you will make your dream a reality. Sophia also shares the most memorable moment from her recent Disneyland trip, and the 3 important lessons we can all learn from Walt Disney. We challenge all you big dreamers listening to try something you are afraid of or know nothing about— expect rejections, cook up new strategies and try again. Repeat as many times as needed! Take notice of how people’s reactions differ when you try different methods to get your desired result. One such strategy is to imagine yourself in the other person’s shoes: what can you say or do that will get the result you want but also be of benefit to others? Let us know! For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/309
We are on vacation this month, so decided to rebroadcast some of our favorite interviews from the past. Fortunately with over 300 original episodes, there are many amazing interviews to choose from. This week we are sharing with you Eva’s interview with Simon Sinek, best-selling author of “Start With Why” -- which we consider a must-read and offer our highest recommendation. Simon believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together. Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Simon teaches leaders and organizations how to inspire people. With a bold goal to help build a world in which the vast majority of people go home every day feeling fulfilled by their work, Simon is leading a movement to inspire people to do the things that inspire them. For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/308
Kechi Okwuchi is a singer and motivational speaker. She was one of the two survivors in the Sosoliso Airlines Flight 1145 crash on December 10, 2005 that claimed 107 lives, 60 of which were her schoolmates. Kechi spent the next seven months in the hospital with a majority of that time in intensive care and has endured more than 100 surgeries. She credits her faith, family, friends, and singing for keeping her going. She eventually moved to America in 2007 for reconstructive surgery and later enrolled in the University of St. Thomas where she graduated summa cum laude in 2015. We first learned about Kechi’s story when she auditioned on America’s Got Talent in 2017 as a singer, and finished the competition as a finalist. She later participated in America's Got Talent: The Champions in 2019, where Simon Cowell gave her the golden buzzer, sending her straight to the final. We fell in love with Kechi’s talent and story, and were thrilled when she agreed to be a guest on the podcast. It’s one of our favorite interviews ever, so we decided to rebroadcast it since it’s been over 3 years since it was first published. For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/307
This weekend, we went to an art, yoga and music festival called Lightning It A Bottle (LIB) at Buena Vista Lake, just outside of Bakersfield, California. It was our first time camping at a festival like this with tens of thousands of people, and needless to say, our family saw people wearing outfits and expressing themselves in ways that you don’t typically see at your local CVS. Sophia loves to give compliments and so as we were walking through the festival, she would constantly be stopping people and telling them how much she liked their hat, sunglasses, or dress.. We saw firsthand the power of compliments as she brought such huge smiles to everyone she complimented, and even had a few people gift her the things she complimented them on (as you’ll hear in the episode). You’ll love hearing Sophia and Olga describe our experience at the LIB festival and Sophia issues a challenge to all Big Dreamers that you won’t want to miss!
During a recent visit to grandparents house, Sophia pointed out a quote that adorns a piece of artwork in their bedroom. It says: “Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning how to dance in the rain.” At a family dinner one night, we started talking about the meaning of this beautiful quote and looked for stories from our own life that were consistent with its meaning. Olga and Sophia recalled the perfect sequence of events from our recent time in Hawaii. We thought why not share the story and discuss the meaning of this quote with all you Big Dreamers, which is exactly what you’ll enjoy listening to in Episode 305 of the Dream Big Podcast. For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/305
This coming weekend, Eva will be celebrating her bat mitzvah.This is an important day in the Jewish tradition as it symbolizes Eva coming of age -- i.e when a child becomes an adult. At the ceremony, Sophia will be giving a speech on the 10 ways that Eva inspires her. We thought it would be nice to have Sophia share what she’ll be telling our family at the ceremony with our extended family here at the Dream Big Podcast! Congrats to Eva on this wonderful milestone. We are so proud of you! For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/304
We met a sad, lonely goat in Hawaii. It was tied to a small leash all day long. Even its bleat (the sound goats make) sounded sad. You’ll hear the full story when you tune into this week’s episode. Rather than just let the goat be sad, Sophia, Eva and Olga sprung into action and found the goat a new home. And now the goat is happy. Not only did we help the goat, but the goat helped us by teaching us 3 important life lessons that Sophia and Olga share in this episode. For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/303