Awkwardly Awesome w/ Jason Freeman

Hosted by author and professional speaker, Jason Freeman, Awkwardly Awesome Podcast is a show founded on the belief that EVERYONE has an important and engaging story to tell. Sometimes profound, sometimes funny, sometimes educational and always motivational. May you, dear listener, use this podcast to relate, to better understand, to be inspired, and to increase productivity, especially in the areas of life you wish to improve.New episodes air weekly.Video broadcast available on YouTube @imperfectbest

Awkwardly Awesome w/ Jason Freeman is a education podcast hosted by Jason Freeman, with 81 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Jason Freeman hosts Awkwardly Awesome w/ Jason Freeman, a education show with 81 episodes published.

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  Episode #294

  For Music's Sake with Shannon Abels | Ep. 294

  Sep 30, 202658 min

  “I’ve found I get really bored with routine. So, I love that I don’t have a set plan and never have. My life has kind of taken its own path and shape. I like riding the waves. Sometimes if you have a plan you miss out on an opportunity that wasn’t part of your plan.” ~ Shannon Abels Shannon Abels found her first love at the age of eight. It came in the form of a piano at that age and evolved into a flute by the age of ten. Yet, when she found herself in college as an undergrad in Music and Social Work, she didn’t think a career in music, no matter how much she loved it, would ever be able to pay the bills. One of her music professors gave her some advice, “When you do music for something other than music’s sake you aren’t going to perform at your best.” And so, Shannon took a great variety of non-musical jobs to make ends meet. From coffee shops to a yogurt shop, to a job as a small town activity director. While working as the health unit coordinator of a large emergency room. Shannon took inspiration from her coworkers who were working in the ER full-time while raising families and going to grad school. She thought, if they can manage super-busy lives, I can too. So while working full time at the hospital, Shannon Abels obtained a Masters in Musical Performance from the University of South Dakota. Nowadays, Shannon keeps busy with her one true love. And by busy, I mean, she teaches orchestra at two Sioux Falls Public schools; teaches Flute at the University of Sioux Falls, Dordt University, and Northern State University. She plays flute in the Northwest Iowa Symphony Orchestra, the Aberdeen University Civic Symphony, and the Worthington Area Symphony Orchestra. Shannon estimates that she drives 700 miles a week fulfilling all of her musical endeavors, but is quick to point out: NOT during the summer. Those are the months she stays put, playing with the Sioux Falls Municipal Band, as she has been doing for the past 26 years. Reflecting on her love for music and the career that has emerged from it on its own terms, Shannon says, “I’ve been able to make music my career, even though I didn’t think it was going to be the way I made my money. I think if I had really pushed for music to be some fantastic career, it wouldn’t have happened. Sometimes if you push something you love too hard it doesn’t work out the way you want. Sometimes you just have to love something for what it is and it will love you in kind.” _______________________________________________ **Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest **Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

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  Episode #293

  Restarting w/ Jerry Burns | Ep. 293

  Sep 24, 20261h 15m

  “Life can be beautiful, enjoyable and deeply satisfying, just as it can be full of struggle, self-doubt and uncertainty. It seems to always be swinging somewhere between the extremes, so it’s important that we learn to find joy in the struggle because it’s as much a part of the gift of life we’re given as is the feeling of being on top of the world.” ~ Jerry Burns, Ph.D. At 78 years old, Professor Jerry Burns, Ph.D. recently ran and completed his town’s 5k road race. He takes great pride in his ability to still do this at his age but he also admits that he’s finally coming around to thinking a good deal about, “coming into old age.” As is natural, this stage of life also finds him a bit more reflective on where he’s been and what’s gotten him here. Jerry remembers his forties being a turning point. When he started them he was pretty disappointed with life. He hadn’t made tenure at the prestigious college where he taught because he hadn’t published enough academic books and articles. And the one thing he wanted more than anything: to meet the woman of his dreams, fall in love and get married . . . well, that JUST. WASN’T. HAPPENING. He felt slighted at virtually every peer’s birthday party he attended, as if “Over the Hill” applied solely to him, reminding him that his best years were behind him. So Professor Burns decided to restart. He moved to the Philippines as a Fulbright Scholar for two years. He didn’t meet the love of his life, however, he found great satisfaction rejuvenating intellectually and emotionally. While in the Pacific, he wrote a book entitled, “Presenting America, Encountering the Philippines.” When Professor Jerry Burns returned to the States, he landed a position at Franklin Pierce University, a small liberal arts college in New Hampshire. With the expectations to publish academic works removed, Jerry found himself taking on more leadership opportunities on campus and thoroughly fell in love with the art of teaching. After the publication of “Presenting America, Encountering the Philippines”, Jerry returned to the Philippines on a book tour and, while there, he met Ruth, the woman he would marry. They would have a son and live a very full life together. Now, as he closes in on his eightieth year, Jerry feels like he’s restarting once again as he encounters new limitations and creates new priorities. Who knows exactly what life has in store for any of us, but as Jerry’s story demonstrates, just when we think we’ve gotten all we can get from life, we can choose to restart. _______________________________________________ **Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest **Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

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  Episode #291

  The Accidental Rancher with Eliza Blue | Ep. 291

  Sep 2, 20261h 12m

  “The more I’ve let myself show up in the world as just who I am, the more peaceful and content I feel. It’s almost like you feel like a square peg in a round peg world. If you show up as a square peg, you will find a place for yourself. And you will find people and other creatures who will support and champion you. We each are so completely unique. It’s a life's work to find the place you fit.” ~ Eliza Blue Perkins County is in the northwestern part of South Dakota, it boasts a land area 2.7 times greater than the smallest US state, Rhode Island. Not to be outdone, however, Rhode Island is home to over a million people more than Perkins County. It’s important to understand the lay of the land because land is precisely what our next guest, Eliza Blue, tends to, along with a cadre of dogs, cats, sheep, horses, gardens, and family. She, her husband and their two children proudly account for four of Perkins County's 2,835 residents. She’ll also be the first to admit that she came by this lifestyle completely by accident. Eliza Blue was born in Detroit, Michigan, went to high school in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and attended Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania where she majored in English Literature, specializing in Shakespeare. After school, she lived in New York City, where she pursued her dream of being an artist. Then she moved back to Minnesota where she began to enjoy a burgeoning music career. Despite this impressive and rapidly expanding resume, Eliza grappled with her reality that, “This should feel like joy. I’m supposed to feel like I’m living my dream….but I don’t.” See, throughout most of her twenties, Eliza struggled mightily with anxiety, depression, feeling overwhelmed and out of place. Yet today, she weaves a tapestry that includes parenting, ranching duties, the stories that emerge from the making and sharing of food, building communities in innovative ways, hosting a TV show that celebrates rural life, giving a lecture on Shakesphere in England and hobbies that seem disparate yet work companionably together in surprising ways. Eliza Blue remains a gifted singer / songwriter and also recently authored a book entitled, “Accidental Rancher: Lambs in the Laundry Room and Other Stories from Perkins County,” where she brings “a new voice and a musician’s grace to the culture of rural America.” Yes, all of the imperfections Eliza once faced drove her to discover a completely unexpected life she now finds delightful. _______________________________________________ **Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest **Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

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  Episode #290

  Through the Void: A Journey Out of Burnout with Olivia Morrow | Ep. 290

  Aug 26, 202659 min

  “I enjoy the freedom of expression to just be me. I get to connect with family and friends, to communicate with the animals in my life, train and study in so many different modalities from Yoga Therapy, to Reiki, to breath work, to herbalism and sound healing.” ~ Olivia Morrow Tell me if you’ve heard this story before? Olivia Morrow had a decent job in medical billing, she was good at it and it paid the bills, but it left Olivia feeling unfulfilled. Struggling through various states of unhappiness for five years after she left her medical billing job of 11 years, she knew there had to be something more to life than what she was experiencing but she didn’t really know how to access it for herself. Until she discovered the world of transformation and motivation online. Olivia soaked up as much motivational and inspirational content as she could get her hands, eyes and ears on. It turned her hopelessness into hope that maybe she could transform her life into something she enjoyed more and found greater meaning in. Knowing that true change begins within, Olivia began experimenting, first, with changing her mindset. Not too long after, she gave her notice at work and took a leap. Though many of the talks and videos that encouraged Olivia mentioned romantic notions like, “Once you take a leap, a net will appear.”, Olivia began to wonder if her virtual teachers forgot to mention how far one would have to fall first. She describes the time between her secure job and discovering what she wanted to do next as a “downward spiral” into an “empty void.” YET, she stayed on the path through uncomfortable terrain and often messy creation, building a business that brings her the fulfillment she once only dreamed about. The people and animals she now regularly connects with continually inspire her growth, giving her the opportunity to develop deeper understandings of life and the modalities she’s committed herself to. Adulthood doesn’t come with a guidebook, making choices that have an impact on your life and the lives around you is often not easy work. Olivia Morrow listened to what called her, chose the path she is living, and that choice ripples out to create more harmony and ease in the world. I encourage you to tune in, may her words reach the part of you that’s missing something, the way other inspirational teachers once did for her. _______________________________________________ **Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest **Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

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  Episode #289

  Claiming Voice with Afomiya Dejene | Ep. 289

  Aug 19, 202657 min

  “Without discussing different sides of an issue, we lose the chance to find middle ground. Talking things through opens space for questions and helps us move beyond polarized and familiar thinking patterns. I love conversations—talking, listening, yapping—because every exchange gives me new perspectives to consider.” ~ Afomiya Dejene Afomiya Dejene immigrated to the United States from Ethiopia, Africa with her parents when she was just three years old. Now, at age twenty, she’s majoring in Criminal Justice and minoring in Sociology at the University of South Dakota, as an aspiring attorney. Recently, she gave a brilliant TEDx talk entitled, “The Power of Conversation,” that I had the privilege of being in the audience to applaud. But using her voice hasn’t always come naturally to Afomiya. In elementary and middle school, she often felt isolated as a black immigrant attending schools where the student body was predominately white. She was reluctant to speak much for fear of how people might view her. But in her hesitation to speak in her early years, Afomiya learned a very valuable skill in the art of listening. In high school, Afomiya decided she had had enough with being insecure and shy. As a Sophomore at Roosevelt High School, she became President of Black Student Union, where she created Culture Day, a celebration of those born in other countries to promote inclusivity and belonging. At the end of this era, instead of graduating virtually unknown by her peers, she was chosen to deliver an address to her class in front of an estimated 700 people in attendance called, “The Reality and Beauty of Diversity”. Claiming her voice has opened up Afomiya’s world in profound ways. In addition to attending University, she is currently a Criminal Justice Analyst at the Institute for Youth in Policy, Medicaid Policy Intern at the Department of Social Services, and founder of Civic Impact Initiatives, LLC whose motto is “Turning Ideas Into Civic Action.” She is passionate about advocating for girls and women around the world and helping them claim their voices. I know that at age fifty, I’m still learning better ways to claim my voice both in conversation and on stage. I’m an avid practitioner of listening and do all that I can to absorb what someone is saying, even when they hold a differing view than me. It’s a rewarding challenge, to say the least, and there’s always room to learn more and do better. I’m excited to learn from Afomiya. Won’t you join me? _______________________________________________ **Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest **Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

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