My husband Mark and I are back in California after our Hawaiian vacation. We loved the kayak adventure we had there, so we decide to get a two-person kayak.

But not just any kayak. We need one that’s built for speed. It’s not as stable as others, but it’s going to go fast and be so exciting!

We take this kayak out on a maiden voyage and, after tipping over into the ocean a couple of times, we get the hang of it. We’re having the best time paddling, and we go several miles out. So far out that the shore looks like a speck of land…

Then I feel it.

Something has hit the bottom of the kayak. What the?? I think, “We’re in the middle of nowhere. How could we have hit something?”

I keep paddling… and it happens again. BUMP!

Mark says he sees… A FIN, and we go silent and still.

If we tip over again, we’re done. The shark bumping into our boat is going to get us, and no one will ever know what happened because we’re so far offshore.

And all of a sudden, the creature jumps out of the water, spins, and goes back in. And another. And another…

We’re inside a pod of 40 or 50 dolphins! What was a terrifying moment becomes magical!

Sometimes in life, what scares us turns out to be a gift that not only changes the story of our experience, but also the lessons we learn so we can help others.

Speaking of stories changing our experience, my special guest today, Adrienne Smith, is an athlete and entrepreneur who has had that happen, many times over. Adrienne is building an intuition-based wellness movement. And in this episode of the Storytelling School podcast, you’ll learn lessons about the stories we tell ourselves and the stories we can create in this world, through her experiences.

Plus, you’ll hear her stories about rowing across the Pacific with a four-person team, earning Adrienne a world record title, and how her daughter recently reiterated the feebleness of trying to force things, along with answers to questions like:

What’s an example of a mindset shift that changes your story when things aren’t working out? How can you create stories in even the most unusual and uncomfortable situations? How can incorporating storytelling change you as a public speaker? And what can you do to visualize in a way that’ll help you create the future story you want to see happen?

• How circumstances can sometimes redirect you to change your story
• Why force can just complicate things and make your story take longer to unfold
• How listening influences the story you tell other people

As a mom, athlete and business owner, Adrienne Smith has an appreciation for the strategies necessary to overcome obstacles and reach success. Drawing on firsthand knowledge of how it feels to be stuck when striving to accomplish goals, she is enthusiastic about sharing systems that help others transform anxiety, get organized and motivated, and most importantly, reignite a passion for life.

Adrienne is building a movement of expanded awareness to cure the personal energy crisis in our world through creative connection, storytelling and intuition-based wellness programs. She helps individuals and teams make the seemingly impossible possible – like she demonstrated by setting a new World Record rowing across the Pacific Ocean with her team.