Latest / Daily Influence / 769. Seeing the Person Behind the Problem: Shannon Roy on Empathy, Accountability, and the Power of Second Chances

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769. Seeing the Person Behind the Problem: Shannon Roy on Empathy, Accountability, and the Power of Second Chances · Daily Influence

• 0:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to Daily Influence, your daily dose of positive influence.
• 0:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm Brian Smith founder of IA Business Advisors and co-author of the Iain team series.
• 0:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: Each day we share stories and insights to help you find be and build your influence in a positive and responsible way.
• 0:27
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I'm Greg Clino, partner at IA Business Advisors, and co-host of Daily Influence.
• 0:32
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• 0:48
  [SPEAKER_02]: Welcome to another episode of Daily Influence.
• 0:50
  [SPEAKER_02]: I have a quick note before we dive in.
• 0:52
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• 0:59
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• 1:04
  [SPEAKER_02]: Today, I'm joined by Shannon Roy.
• 1:07
  [SPEAKER_02]: She's the founder of Roy Law firm.
• 1:10
  [SPEAKER_02]: In Denver, Colorado, as a criminal defense attorney, Shannon spends her days working with people during some of the most difficult moments of their lives.
• 1:19
  [SPEAKER_02]: Her work goes far beyond the courtroom.
• 1:21
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's rooted in seeing the humanity and every person, recognizing that everyone is a story and believing that no one should be defined by their worst mistake in a world that often rushes to judgment, Shannon reminds us of the power of empathy.
• 1:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: Accountability, second chances, and intentional influence.
• 1:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: Whether you're a business leader, a parent, an entrepreneur, or a community member, this conversation will challenge you to think differently about how you see others and the impact a single act of kindness can have on a life.
• 1:55
  [SPEAKER_02]: Shannon, welcome to Daily Influence.
• 1:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: Great, thanks so much for having me.
• 2:00
  [SPEAKER_02]: Shannon, before we talk about the lives you've impacted, I'd love to understand the experiences that shaped your perspective.
• 2:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: You said that everyone has a story and that no one is worth throwing away.
• 2:13
  [SPEAKER_02]: What experiences your life and career led you to develop that belief and how has it influenced the way you practice law and lead your firm today?
• 2:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: Um, you know, Greg, I think that the thing that really impacts me is I think about that I meet people at their lowest moment.
• 2:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: Um, you know, everyone is so quick to judge, but when you realize that if you think about a year meeting someone in a snapshot, polaroid and time, and then we put a magnifying glass on that, and then we judge that as if that's the only thing that exists in life, and really, we're all a beautiful story.
• 2:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: We all have come from somewhere.
• 2:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: We all are so much more
• 2:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I think really viewing people like that has really helped me realize be slow to judge and quick to listen.
• 3:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: And you'll realize that people are really good.
• 3:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: Most people are really, really good at heart.
• 3:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: They just made really, really poor decisions.
• 3:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: Or they're really going through a really tough time.
• 3:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: and if you just listen, sometimes people just need someone for the first time ever to hear them without judging them and then they feel safe to be vulnerable, be open and really emit what's going on and then that's when you can kind of get to the bottom of how really you could help them change the trajectory that they're on in their lives.
• 3:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: So that, that was my really big thing, is just realizing that everybody has a story.
• 3:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: Someone is someone's son, someone's daughter, someone's partner, someone's best friend.
• 3:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: And if they, if they're talking about the moment that I'm meeting them on, they're normally ashamed, they're more mad at themselves than the world could be mad at them for the things that they've done.
• 4:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, that is so true, and that perspective is especially powerful in a profession where many people are judged solely by that one action.
• 4:15
  [SPEAKER_02]: Absolutely.
• 4:16
  [SPEAKER_02]: Can you share a moment when looking beyond someone's mistake, allowed you to make a meaningful difference in their life?
• 4:23
  [SPEAKER_02]: And what did that experience teach you about the responsibility we all have to influence others with compassion rather than judgment?
• 4:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, when it just jumps out to mind when you ask that question, so obviously in our world, especially nowadays, guns at school is a huge hot topic, right?
• 4:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: And you hear it and you're like, oh, that's a terrible kid.
• 4:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: You probably came from a terrible family and everybody judges so fast.
• 4:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: I had the pleasure of representing this young man.
• 4:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: He was only 10 and he was walking to school with his brother and they found a backpack and it was really cool backpack and when they first looked in it had some really cool stuff.
• 5:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: So being kids, they picked it up and they brought it with them to school.
• 5:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: So as they're going through it at school,
• 5:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: They find that there's a gun in it and everybody freaks out, everybody calls the police and now they're being arrested because they're two kids that brought guns to school.
• 5:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: My little guy was so tiny that when the police came, they're trying to handcuff him and handcuffs keep sliding off of him.
• 5:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: He's picking them up off the ground and he's like, do you need to put these back on me?
• 5:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, just just the sweetest little kid in the whole world.
• 5:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so, you know, everyone is like, he needs to be out of this school.
• 5:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, my God, he's such a dangerous kid.
• 5:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I'm sitting down and I'm having this conversation with this kid about what he wants to be in life.
• 5:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: And he's telling me that he's really torn between, you know, he always wanted to be a comedian because he loves making people smile.
• 5:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: But he loves dinosaurs.
• 5:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: So his goal was to be the first dinosaur comedian that has ever lived.
• 6:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: and I, my heart is breaking because the world is like this monster kid and they have every right to because we've had some very big tragedies, but he was just a sweet little kid who found a backpack.
• 6:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I'm telling my dry cleaner who is
• 6:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: just the sweetest lady that has ever lived.
• 6:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: And one thing about me is I love suits, but I am probably the worst person to ever trust with an iron.
• 6:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so there's no hope for me so they have to go to the dry cleaner.
• 6:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: But I'm telling her, she always jokes like, if I ever need an assistant, she wants to just ride her long and be a fly on the wall for all these crazy cases.
• 6:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I'm telling her that I'm so sad because the school has these strict rules that if you bring a gun to school
• 6:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: And this kid's family did not have any money to send him to a private school.
• 6:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: So he was going to have to go to an alternative school where there are some pretty bad kids that choose to do poor decisions every day.
• 7:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: And this kid didn't need to be there.
• 7:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: And it was going to be the roughest year.
• 7:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: She was so tiny.
• 7:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: I just was visualizing him getting beat up.
• 7:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: I was so sad and I'm telling her.
• 7:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: And she said, get me their name.
• 7:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: have them pick a private school and I'm going to sponsor him for a year at any school that he wants to go to.
• 7:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: And it just made me pause and I was like, man, there really are good people out here.
• 7:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: And you just have to be willing to, you know, I'm sharing with her just my frustrations because it's a great kid and with no judgment.
• 7:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: And she said, I don't want you to tell them where it came from, I don't want any credit for it.
• 7:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm not doing this for no variety.
• 7:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: She just wanted that kid to have an opportunity to be great and not be a product of his mistake.
• 7:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: because if you'd have gone to that alternative school, he would have had to become somebody he's not to survive.
• 8:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so just the selfless act from a kind and caring person, it just goes to show if we all listen without judgment and we all just were all one act of kindness away from it entirely different life.
• 8:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: So that's a story that really stands out to me, just the world was so quick to judge them.
• 8:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: And then there was somebody out there who just listened, didn't judge and changed his entire life for the rest of his life.
• 8:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, it's just such a beautiful story that always sits and resonates with me.
• 8:31
  [SPEAKER_02]: What a beautiful story.
• 8:32
  [SPEAKER_02]: Thank you for sharing that.
• 8:34
  [SPEAKER_02]: Working with people at their lowest points must also come with its own emotional and professional challenges.
• 8:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: What is one difficult case setback or personal challenge that changed the way you think about resilience, accountability, or leadership, and looking back what lessons from that experience can listeners apply when facing their own difficult circumstances?
• 8:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, the one that really sticks out to me, it was a murder case.
• 9:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I am representing this gentleman.
• 9:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: And he had obviously made some decisions and was caught in a situation where he had to make a choice.
• 9:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: that person or me, I'm in ended up with somebody losing their life.
• 9:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: And in the state of Colorado at least, murder care is life without parole.
• 9:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so I have this case for years.
• 9:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: I am so vested.
• 9:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: I know his family.
• 9:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: I know his children.
• 9:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: I know the situation.
• 9:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: I know how tough it was.
• 9:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I got him.
• 9:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: a deal where he would have to plead guilty, but he would be home within seven years or less to his family.
• 9:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: So it takes away the possibility of never coming home.
• 9:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I'm sitting down with him and I'm telling him and he was so dead set.
• 9:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: Like I had to do this this was self-defense.
• 10:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: I want to get up and tell my story.
• 10:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I'm not taking any deal.
• 10:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I'm telling now I'm sitting I'm almost begging him like do this so I can get you home to your family But his truth was that he needed to get up there and tell his truth and it was a reminder to me that
• 10:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: I can only control what I do.
• 10:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I can be the most prepared person and give him the best defense in the whole world and make sure that I have interviewed everyone I can.
• 10:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: I have done everything for him, but I can't control him and I can't dictate him.
• 10:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I think that that's a thing that we all get caught up on.
• 10:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: We are so busy worrying about everybody else in my, right?
• 10:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, why is in this person recognizing that I'm doing this?
• 10:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: Why aren't they doing exactly like I'm doing?
• 10:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: Because this is the right thing to do.
• 10:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: And if we just let people be them, our job is to live and lead by example, right?
• 11:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: So,
• 11:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: It was a really big reminder to me, Shannon, do everything that you can and should do for this human but you have to let that human live his truth and you have to let everybody else you can't control anything all you can control is yourself and so his truth was that he needed to take that stand so his family could hear why he did what he did so the world could hear so the victims family could hear
• 11:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: And we ended up beating the first degree murder church, him taking the stand and speaking his truth.
• 11:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so it was a huge reminder that even though my intentions were the best for him and that I wanted to do the thing that I promised him the day that I met is get him home as quickly as possible to his family.
• 11:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: I can't control the path that he wants to take that on, right?
• 12:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: All I can do is know that I'm showing up the best way that I can every day.
• 12:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: And if I do that, I can sleep good at night.
• 12:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I can know that somebody, you know, if they're watching me can can learn or decide like, wow, look at how she's doing that.
• 12:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe I'm going to do that too.
• 12:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: But I can only control me.
• 12:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: And that was, that case was a huge reminder for me.
• 12:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: You just have to show up and you have to work on you and you have to be the best you, and that's all you can do.
• 12:33
  [SPEAKER_02]: So that is a great message.
• 12:34
  [SPEAKER_02]: Thank you for sharing that.
• 12:35
  [SPEAKER_02]: And you know, many people want to be more understanding and supportive of others, but they aren't always sure how to do it and practice for leaders, business owners, a community members who want to become more intentional about seeing the person behind the problem.
• 12:50
  [SPEAKER_02]: What practical framework habits or questions do you recommend that they use before making judgments or decisions about others?
• 12:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, it sounds so simple, but listen before you speak, you know, most of the time we want to speak because we think that we know what the other person wants to ask we think that we know what's wrong with the other person we think that we know the issue we know we don't see the world as it is we see the world as we are and so if we listen before we speak, if we
• 13:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: ask questions without judgment.
• 13:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: Then we actually get to the core of why we're sitting down and engaging with this person.
• 13:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: And we're not assuming that we know why we're here, we're listening, and sometimes if you listen without speaking first,
• 13:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: you get to know so much more about a person than you would ever have imagined because if you lead with judgment, if you lead with assumptions, you have just closed off that person and now they feel that they have to defend instead of having a vulnerable honest conversation with you, they're actually being very protective because they feel like you've already judged them before you, they've said one word.
• 14:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I think if we all just took a moment to pause,
• 14:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: And listen before we speak in any situation, we will get an entirely different outcome from that interaction with that human than we would have if we lead with our motives, our directions, our assumptions on on the whole situation.
• 14:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: 100% absolutely, thank you for sharing that and you know, you often work with people who are trying to break patterns that may have existed for years or even generations.
• 14:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: What have you observed about the individuals who successfully changed the direction of their lives?
• 14:45
  [SPEAKER_02]: Are there specific mindsets, behaviors or daily actions that help people move from feeling stuck to creating meaningful change?
• 14:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely.
• 14:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: Honesty.
• 14:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: you will get nowhere in life if you cannot be honest and it starts with being honest with yourself.
• 15:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: So many of us, we don't have a problem.
• 15:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't have, I deal a lot with people who have substance abuse issues.
• 15:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you can't be honest and vulnerable, I have a huge problem and I need help and I can't do it on my own.
• 15:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: I've tried on my own and I can't do it.
• 15:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: So honesty, it doesn't matter if it's being honest, you could be a multi-million dollar CEO.
• 15:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you can't be honest that you've sacrificed your family time, your kids' commitment at school, maybe their after-school curricular events, you've probably missed a lot of those games to climb that corporate ladder, to provide, now your goal and your intentions might be to provide the best life possible for your children, but if you can't be honest that that came with a price tag of sacrificing time,
• 15:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: You gave them more money in lieu of your time and your presence.
• 16:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you can't be honest, then you can't start to do things to change that.
• 16:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, you know, maybe I'm going to delegate that Thursday meeting that I miss my daughter's volleyball game.
• 16:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to delegate that to somebody else and I'm going to start attending that.
• 16:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you can't be honest, that your absence from the things that really matter in life, then you won't make a change.
• 16:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: So it doesn't matter if you're, you know, the drug addict that needs to be honest that they have a problem to change their life, or you're the top of the totem pole, and you need to be honest with yourself that you've missed a lot of moments that you'll never get back with your family.
• 16:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: at all in your life.
• 16:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I think if we're and honestly has to start with yourself being honest with others is great but it has to start with yourself because we cannot give anything that we don't have.
• 17:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: So if we don't have that transparency with ourselves, that vulnerability with ourselves, we can't give it when we show up to meet anybody else where they're at.
• 17:10
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, that is so true.
• 17:12
  [SPEAKER_02]: One theme we often discuss on daily influence is that influence isn't something that we have occasionally.
• 17:19
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's something we have every day, whether we realize it or not.
• 17:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: How do you intentionally use your influence with clients, colleagues, family, and your own community?
• 17:29
  [SPEAKER_02]: And what are some specific ways you ensure that your words and your actions align with the kind of impact you want to have on others?
• 17:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: lead by example.
• 17:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: I my husband and I we have this routine and we have this thing that says, the mornings are for us and the world gets the leftovers.
• 17:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: So we wake up every single day, every day it's non-negotiable.
• 17:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: We wake up at five, we read.
• 17:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: And we're not reading, you know, 50 shades of gray.
• 18:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: Nothing against that.
• 18:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: Nothing in reading is is great for your brain regardless, but we read really intentional growth material to help us then we sit and we talk about the content that we've read and and digest it.
• 18:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: We work out.
• 18:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: We journal.
• 18:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: We have very intentional mornings so that by the time we are stepping out into the world, we're set or grounded or mindful, we're focused on our purpose.
• 18:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so that is like the theme in our household is that the mornings are for us and the world gets the left over because if you don't take care of yourself, you can't lead by example.
• 18:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you are starting your
• 18:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: and you don't feel good and you're in a bad mood and you're just going to be running on you know empty and you're going to be going through the motions of the day and then you're no good to yourself and you're no good to others.
• 18:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I think that if you're intentional with your life and you're intentional with
• 19:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: with growing and being a better person every day, there is no way that you're gonna run into somebody in the day, whether it's incidental or you're having a meaningful conversation and you're not going to bring their day a little brighter.
• 19:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: bring their day a little better because you've already done that.
• 19:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: So you exude what you are.
• 19:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: You give what you have in abundance.
• 19:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so if you're grateful in the morning and you're just sitting in your gratitude and you're it's going to start exuding from you so that when you bump into somebody else they feel it and all the sudden maybe they were a little
• 19:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, grouchy and they rolled out of the wrong side of the bed that morning, your energy is going to change the way that you can't see someone laughing, a genuine uncontrollable laugh, and it doesn't at least crack smile on your face.
• 19:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's infectious.
• 19:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you see somebody negative and screaming and yelling and they're in a bad mood, you can't help, but it puts you a little off.
• 20:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: Like your energy is magnetic, so choose the energy that you want to take out into the day.
• 20:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so that's why, again, our motto, the mornings are for us and the world gets to leftovers.
• 20:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's a non-negotiable on how we live our day in it.
• 20:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's really changed, changed our life and we can see how it impacts others.
• 20:21
  [SPEAKER_02]: I love that so much.
• 20:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: I think that morning routine is a brilliant idea.
• 20:25
  [SPEAKER_02]: And if you can't have every, you know, take care of yourself first.
• 20:29
  [SPEAKER_02]: How can you take care of others?
• 20:31
  [SPEAKER_02]: So your family is setting that attention that we're taking care of ourselves first.
• 20:35
  [SPEAKER_02]: The world gets the rest.
• 20:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: So that is beautiful.
• 20:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: Thank you for sharing that.
• 20:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, as we begin to wrap up, I'd love to bring this full circle.
• 20:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: If you could sit down with your younger self and share one lesson about life, leadership, and the way we treat people, what would you say?
• 20:51
  [SPEAKER_02]: And for our listeners who want to make a positive difference, but aren't sure where to begin, what is one specific action that they can take today that could have a lasting impact on someone else's life?
• 21:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: Great, I would say.
• 21:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: Environment is everything.
• 21:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: you know this this podcast is the daily influence and I and I saw a quote the other day that has just been resonating with me and it said influence doesn't make an announcement.
• 21:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: So you are influenced every day, whether you realize it or not.
• 21:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's not gonna say, hey, you're about to change negatively.
• 21:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm coming in hot, it doesn't.
• 21:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: But your environment dictates everything.
• 21:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: And if I could sit down with my younger self, and I mentor a lot of people, so I sit and I tell them, you do not understand.
• 21:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: how important your environment is.
• 21:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you hang around five motivated, healthy, wealthy, just genuinely good people, you're going to be the sixth.
• 21:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you hang around five,
• 22:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: drug addicts, whether you realize it or not, their habits will become your habits.
• 22:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: You can even see if you start to hang around with somebody and they are always saying, like, catchy phrases or they have things that they always say, all of a sudden you find yourself saying it and you don't even realize when you started saying it or how, it's just, it's how we move to a different country that has a different language in a different accent and all of a sudden we find after years.
• 22:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: We have accent all the sudden, what dated that start?
• 22:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know, but it's because we are our environments.
• 22:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you are learning a different language, you immerse yourself, you watch TV and that language.
• 22:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: You speak to people in that language because what you're around, what you do, most of your day, dictate your life.
• 22:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so I think I look back at the shady characters that I hung out with like in high school and I'm like, Shannon.
• 22:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: What were you doing?
• 22:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I see I got into some trouble back then and I'm like, well, well, what did you expect?
• 22:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so really just emphasizing to people if you sit back and take an inventory of who gets the most of your time, you will
• 23:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: figure out why your life is where it is.
• 23:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: Good or bad, right?
• 23:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: So realizing that environment is everything and to pick that, like it's the most sacred thing in the whole world, is really the best advice I would give.
• 23:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: You can change your whole
• 23:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: whole life by changing your circle.
• 23:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, if you feel that you can't speak freely, if you can't do things, you don't have a circle, you have a cage.
• 23:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so really picking who you're around, if people aren't applauding your successes and L.C.
• 23:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: feel weird tension and almost like jealousy, again, that's not the environment you need to be in.
• 23:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: So choosing your environment will dictate your life.
• 23:54
  [SPEAKER_02]: If every listener committed to changing just one thing after hearing our conversation today, what would you hope it would be?
• 24:01
  [SPEAKER_02]: And how do you believe that one small action could create a ripple effect far beyond what they can see?
• 24:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: If they took one thing away from today, it would be to be a little bit more kind.
• 24:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: One act of kindness can change the world.
• 24:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: I literally say every day, we're all one small act of kindness or one judgmental, non-judgmental conversation away from an entirely different life.
• 24:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: So lead with kindness, lead with love, listen more than you speak, and
• 24:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, be the change you want to see in the world.
• 24:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I think that the world would be such a different place if we all just practiced living that way.
• 24:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: Shannon, what a powerful reminder that influence often shows up in the smallest moments, a conversation, a chance to listen, a decision
• 25:00
  [SPEAKER_02]: Your message reinforces something that we talk about often on daily influence.
• 25:04
  [SPEAKER_02]: Every interaction is an opportunity to positively impact someone's life.
• 25:08
  [SPEAKER_02]: We may never fully know what another person is carrying, but we can choose and put the accountability and kindness in how we show up.
• 25:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: Shannon, if our listeners want to get in touch with you, what is the best way to do so?
• 25:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: My law website is www.royruidefence.com or my speaking and mentoring page is www.polaropposatelife.com.
• 25:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: Right, we'll put that information in the show notes.
• 25:40
  [SPEAKER_02]: Shannon, I am so grateful for you and the positive influence.
• 25:43
  [SPEAKER_02]: You are having on your clients, their families, and really everyone that you come in contact with.
• 25:49
  [SPEAKER_02]: Thank you so much for joining us and sharing your stories and your advice today.
• 25:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: Great, thanks so much for having me.
• 25:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: Pleasure was mine.
• 25:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: And to our listeners, thank you for joining us on daily influence.
• 26:02
  [SPEAKER_02]: As you go about your week, I encourage you to take one intentional action, reach out to someone, offer encouragement, listen without judgment, extend grace where it's needed, small actions, often create the biggest ripple effects.
• 26:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: And share this with someone who could use a little positivity today.
• 26:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: Until next time, remember that influence isn't about titles or positions.
• 26:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's about the difference you make in your life in the lives of others every day.
• 26:31
  [SPEAKER_02]: Have a great day.
• 26:32
  [SPEAKER_02]: Bye-bye.