This week on the podcast Sammy is joined by REGULARS Rik Brown and Mish Wittrup for some stories of poo, sexy confessions and a man who mugged his wife. It's the perfect start to your Sunday, especially if you want to feel better about your own life.This podcast is part of the Nearly Podcasting Network: nearly.com.auFollow Rik on instagram: @_Rik.Brown_Follow Rik on twitter: @RikSplosiveFollow Mish on instagram / twitter: @MishWittrupFollow Sammy on twitter: @MrSammyPFollow Confessions on instagram: @ConfessionsOfTheIdiotsFind us on facebook dot com! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 21Literature and Life LessonsPLANET - 512911- ⑄Loulabella Anas-Marum requests a planet from which they can compose their romantic novels in peace away from her terrible public.Consultant Recommendation; Error, file overwritten and locked. Original Consultant Recommendation; Confusing desert planet. Nomadic writing palanquin. Underground sex bunker. Employable more-than-friends. Too much oil. Content Warning for:Comedic violenceEmotional abuseAlcoholismChild neglectSpecial thanks to Sea-Glass and Duckpond for this episode's Planet Brief Submission and this week's Patrons: Cait F, Morrow Grove, Elizabeth Cornwell, Kerry Lloyd, Casey Peavler, Flighty Broad, Rebecca Coffey, Tatum B, Addy Bats, Gladys Gonzalez, Zedd Newton-Whitaker, Anna Z, Megan Griffin, Emptyface Buttercup, Kathryn Cwynar, Kylee Berry, Emily Johnson, John Cullen, Metrophor, Meghan O'Grady Created by Tim Meredith and Ben MeredithProduced by Lowri Ann DaviesExecutive Producer Alexander J NewallPerformances:I.M.O.G.E.N: Imogen HarrisDavid 7: Ben MeredithTrexel Geistman: Tim MeredithHR Operative: Evelyn LockleyEditing: Alexander J Newall and David DevereuxMusic: Samuel DF JonesArtwork: Anika Khan.Featured SFX: kineticturtle, SoundsExciting, sagetyrtle, the_yura, Stevious42, Plant monkey, Stickinthemud, prosounder, InspectorJ,deleted_user_7146007, ickleJones, n2p5 & previously credited artists via freesound.org.Subscribe using your podcast software of choice or by visiting www.rustyquill.com/subscribe and be sure to rate and review us online; it really helps us spread across the galaxy.Join our community:WEBSITE: rustyquill.comFACEBOOK: facebook.com/therustyquill TWITTER: @therustyquillREDDIT: reddit.com/r/RustyQuill EMAIL: [email protected] Firma is a podcast distributed by Rusty Quill Ltd. and Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Sharealike 4.0 International Licence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paul Smith is the author of three books: Parenting with a Story, Lead with a Story, and Sell with a Story. On this episode, he reveals how to tell teens stories that teach them important lessons about life. He also shares a few of his favorite parenting stories that you can steal and tell to your own kids.If you've enjoyed Talking to Teens, we'd love if you could leave us a five-star rating, and if you have time, a review! Full show notesNot Another Boring Story...“Let me tell you how I learned the value of a dollar.” Does this sound like the beginning of a riveting story? No! It sounds like a long, boring charade that your grandfather will go on about for 45 minutes while you pretend to listen. Hopefully you won’t have to remember specific details later because there’s no way you took anything away from this one-sided conversation. Why don’t people realize that their tedious recollections are not an effective way of teaching teens lessons using stories?Have you considered that your kid might feel this way every time you try teaching teens lessons using stories? Surely this isn’t the case, right? At least some stories from your youth you’ve told to your teen have left an impression on them. They have to know that you lived a full life before they were born and that there’s plenty of wisdom for you to pass on to them. But to be frank, it’s probably only the crazy stories — like the time you drove your mom’s station wagon through your neighbor’s yard — that they actually remember.Teaching teens lessons using stories can help them learn how to deal with the struggles that come with growing up — should they choose to listen. That being said, what’s the best way to tell stories that’ll have a lasting impression on them and not just be ignored? In this interview, we ask one of Ink Magazine’s “Top 100 Leadership Speakers of 2018.”Paul Smith is the author of three books on storytelling, Lead with a Story, Parenting with a Story, and most recently, Sell with a Story. He has interviewed hundreds of successful people all over the world and collected the most impactful stories from their lives. In this episode, Smith discusses how teaching teens lessons using stories can be achieved by sharing your experiences, as well as those passed on from friends and family, in a way that is impactful and interesting to your teen.Crafting the Perfect StoryBefore becoming an author, Smith spent much of his time listening to renowned leaders tell stories about how to inspire, motivate, or instruct others in the workplace. He closely studied the methods discussed in these stories, finding out what did and didn’t work. Smith then set out to write a book about how these stories can be used to teach leadership in the workplace. However, after interviewing hundreds of successful people all over the world, he realized that many of the findings he collected could also be used for teaching teens lessons using stories. That inspired him to write his second publication, Parenting with a Story.As a parent you might be racking your brain for stories that will be applicable to your teens life. Sure you’ve had a few wild experiences (and some you don’t ever want your kid to know) but for the most part, you might have a hard time teaching teens lessons using stories because you can’t seem to find any stories that will be interesting and relatable to them. Smith acknowledges that because their upbringing is a generation removed from their teen, many parents worry that their stories will come off as mundane or out of touch.Smith insists that teaching teens lessons using stories is all about drawing the right types of stories out of people. He found that oftentimes people don’t think of experiences they’ve had in their life as stories unless their brain connects it with a specific value or lesson they learned. Smith realized that he was able to find better stories when he asked people to tell him something interesting or surprising that’s happened to them. Smith recommends that parents think about how surprising things you’ve experienced ended up impacting your life in a bigger way than expected. For example, maybe when you met your spouse you initially thought they were pretentious and obnoxious. But somehow you came around to liking and eventually marrying them. Funny stories like this will make your kid laugh and can also teach them how first impressions aren’t always accurate.In this interview, Smith offers many other tips for teaching teens lessons using stories including how to structure your story in an intriguing way. He states that not all stories should be told chronologically because sometimes the most interesting part happens in the very beginning. Human brains are wired to remember things better when there's a surprise or twist at the end. Think about it, wouldn’t you enjoy a story more if you didn’t know what would happen next?Smith shares an anecdote he often uses for teaching teens lessons using stories. It’s about a young boy who, much to his mother’s frustration, spends all his time in the kitchen watching his kettle boil water and release steam. It’s not until the end of this story that he reveals it’s actually about James Watt, the man who would go on to invent the steam engine. Smith points out that what makes this story memorable is that he didn’t initially tell you who this story was about — the twist ending is what really sticks with you. Of course you might not have a remarkable story like this, but that doesn’t mean you can’t craft one of your own experiences into something just as intriguing. The key is to find the most surprising part, like how you won $1,000 on a gameshow you went on in High School, and save it for the end to really pack a punch.Drawing their Own ConclusionsEffectively teaching teens lessons using stories, you have to let the teenager discover the answer for themself. Once you’ve hooked them in with a cleverly crafted story, ask them what their takeaways were. You may be hoping it’s something specific like, “parents always know best” or “treat people the way you want to be treated,” but Smith insists that you need let them come to their own conclusion. Teen’s have a high need for autonomy and when their parents tell them what to take away from the story, they often feel compelled to do the exact opposite.A common misconception of teaching teens lessons using stories is that it’s about giving advice to your teens. But the truth is, they don't really want your advice. Teenagers often feel misunderstood, and as a parent, you’re only making matters worse if you use storytelling as an opportunity to force your beliefs onto them.What teens actually want is for you to listen to them and value their opinion. By using Smith’s tips on crafting a good story, you can present them with an interesting, applicable, and concise tale that paves the way for them to open up to you. When you are done telling the story, let them do the talking. Only if your teen comes away with the exact w...

Neal Thompson, author of Kickflip Boys, discusses the drama of raising rebellious and defiant teenagers. He reveals some of the strategies he found that worked for getting through to his kids in the end and talks about how he coped with the rebellious years.If you've enjoyed Talking to Teens, we'd love if you could leave us a five-star rating, and if you have time, a review! Full show notesAre your boundary lines being crossed like hopscotch? Maybe this problem goes beyond the house, too. Your teen could harbor a greater rebellion towards authority than you know…Without knowing how to deal with teenage defiance, these behaviors can spiral out of control. They might be skipping classes, dissenting coaches and teachers, and even experimenting with drugs and alcohol in risky ways.Whatever the cause of this behavior, the stress can leave you understandably wondering how to deal with teenage defiance.This can feel like a lonely situation for a parent. However, the guest I’m here to speak with today insists you are in fact NOT alone, and there ARE things you as a parent can do. You can learn how to deal with teenage defiance!Neal Thompson is a father of two wonderful and rebellious boys, and he captures his inspiring story in his book Kickflip Boys: A Memoir of Freedom, Rebellion, and the Chaos of Fatherhood. Neal has learned some valuable lessons on how to deal with teenage defiance in a positive way. A lot of the lessons he credits to his wife.It’s easy to think within the constructs of societal roles that Neal would be the “bad guy” dad, and his wife would be the “comforting” mom, but it wasn’t really like that for him. He explains that he and his wife are equal partners, and they each have a different style of parenting their two boys. Still, it was his wife who found a lot more success in getting their boys to open up.PatienceHere’s a lesson about patience from a skateboarder. Neal loves skateboarding, and was thrilled when his boys got into skateboarding, too. His wife was interested because the boys were interested, but she kept her distance from the skateboarding community. When the “dark side” of the skateboarding community showed its edge in the teenage years, Neal didn’t know how to deal with teenage defiance with patience.When his boys would push back in rebellion, Neal admits his tendency was to instantly go to a place of stress and anger. Neal liked skateboarding culture and was around it all the time, but when the rebellious side came out, he struggled to stay calm. Doing nothing didn’t register as an option when he saw his boys make poor decisions within a culture he loved.It was easier for Neal’s sons to his wife because she had a calmer demeanor. She wouldn’t yell and scream like he would. She knew how to deal with teenage defiance by creating a safe space and listening. You might be asking, though,“What is a safe space, and how do you create it?”A Safe SpaceWhen figuring out how to deal with teenage defiance, Neal noticed that his wife could diminish teenage rebellion by creating safe spaces. Neal explains that to his two boys, being in the car with mom was like being in a protective bubble.What they didn’t necessarily know, was that she would use trips in the car to have conversations. The boys knew a relaxing car ride with mom and her calm demeanor allowed them to relax. Once they could relax, they could open up.What’s interesting about the car is that it provides a shared objective. When everyone is in the car, the objective is to go somewhere. Any conversation that happens is a byproduct of the objective and not “a talk.” This reveals an important point of teenage defiance.A defiant teen will get instantly defensive if you sit him or her down for “a talk.” If the objective is the conversation, and your teen is naturally defiant, then expect pushback and raised voices.In order to create a safe space, it’s important to identify activities that are comfortable for everyone that don’t necessitate conversation. This can be going for a walk, going fishing, or working on the car. Neal and his wife found that if you can disguise your objective to have a conversation with a shared activity, you can lessen their reaction when feedback is provided. This might feel sneaky and deceptive for some parents, so I asked Neal about that, too.Trust and Teen PrivacyParents may be wondering how to deal with teenage defiance when it becomes such a problem that an invasion of your teen’s privacy is necessary. Neal explains his perspective on this with excerpts from his book. He describes a time when he found information about his boys by stealing their phones and doing “stealthy parent work.” With the evolution of technology, this is such an interesting issue, and teens are wondering about it, too.I asked Neal if he thought his “stealthy parent work” backfired when his boys found out. He explained that the goal is never to spy on your kids. That by itself is bad. But you want to keep them safe. As a first line of defense, stealthy parenting is a poor tool. Being a stealthy parent runs the risk of damaging trust in the parent-teen relationship. Neal’s boys were the first to point out his invasion of their privacy.However, when the stakes for his boys were as high as intense drug usage and alcohol, Neal found such deception to be almost necessary. He knows some parents will disagree. He also admits he may have crossed a line in some of the book’s stories. He still believes, though, that stealthy parenting should be a tool kept available for extreme scenarios.In this new age of technology, parents have a lot to learn about how to deal with teenage defiance. What’s important to remember is that the persona of your teen online doesn’t accurately represent who they are in real life.What Does it Mean to be a “Good” KidYou might be wondering how to deal with teenage defiance at home, even though everyone around your teen keeps telling you they are the kindest, most hard-working kid on earth. Are we talking about the same kid?Neal shares a story about how he had a fight with his son one morning. His boy had woken up fairly hungover from a night out, and Neal was mad about that. When his son left for work bagging groceries at the grocery store, Neal was still mad. However, when he stopped by the store later, he was surprised to see that his son had a genuine smile on his face as he helped customers at the counter. It was a side of his son he hadn’t seen before.He realized that just because his son was an extremely rebellious teenager, didn’t mean his son didn’t care. In fact, he was the good kid Neal always thought he was, but just hadn’t had the chance to see.Neal has some unenviable stories in learning how to deal with teenage defiance, but the value of his life lessons goes beyond words. The amount of love he has for his kids really shines, and he definitely has one or two words of knowledge for every parent in this episode.Along with how to deal with teenage defiance, other topics covered include:Getting permission to share stories from his family, and the greater nuances of publicly “airing dirty laundry”Some clarity on birth order effectsWhy he wishes he had relaxed and stressed less about the future