Elkins Consulting

Elkins Consulting Elkins Consulting offers a variety of coaching services, including Gallup Strengths, communication, and storytelling to individuals and businesses.

We also offer great keynotes and workshops and current, relevant topics.

"Your stories don't have to be EPIC. They have to be MEANINGFUL."If you know me, you've heard me say this often.And yet....
09/01/2026

"Your stories don't have to be EPIC. They have to be MEANINGFUL."

If you know me, you've heard me say this often.

And yet... there's a time and a place for an epic story, right?

Today's episode of Your Stories Don't Define You is one of those epic stories.

And what's fascinating and wonderful about epic stories is the small, deeply meaningful stories that happen days, months, and years later, as a result of that experience.

It started as a lovely weekend of camping, fishing, and a gorgeous hike along a creek, and ended with lessons on resilience and receiving.

Listen on my website, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you find your favorite shows, link is in the comments!

"It was my experience as a parent that helped me see things from that perspective, but it shouldn’t take being in their ...
08/18/2026

"It was my experience as a parent that helped me see things from that perspective, but it shouldn’t take being in their shoes to offer compassion and assistance."

How many times have you heard people say "it takes a village!" when describing raising kids?

And then how many people have you seen shaking their heads in judgment when a parent struggles with their toddler's tantrum in the grocery store?

I've seen and experienced A LOT of that hypocrisy.

Here's a brief podcast episode about a recent experience in an airport, when a little compassion and kindness went a long way.

Listen on my website (link in comments), on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you find your favorite shows!

Some pivotal moments happen because you realize you predicted something important. In this story it's something that hap...
08/13/2026

Some pivotal moments happen because you realize you predicted something important.

In this story it's something that happened last week, but that I predicted many years ago.

I've been spending time thinking about this, wondering "if I was right about this, am I right about other things? How can I leverage this foresight to the benefit of the people around me? Is there anything I can do with it?"

Has that happened to you?

Listen to this brief episode of Your Stories Don't Define You, and maybe you'll reveal your own stories of predicting the future!

(You can listen on my website, link is in the comments, on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you find your favorite shows.)

It’s not surprising that our lives take on new or different urgency when we experience the death of a loved one. If we’r...
08/04/2026

It’s not surprising that our lives take on new or different urgency when we experience the death of a loved one. If we’re paying attention, we see firsthand and suddenly know how uncertain, unpredictable, and precious life is, and a lot of us make conscious decisions to live more fully in the moment, to make sure we’re telling the people we love how much they mean to us. 🦋

But does that zest for life and meaning last more than a few months?🌱

Given that my family experienced a lot of grief over the course of around two years, first my father-in-law, then two close friends who had fatal accidents but were otherwise healthy, and then my father, it’s not surprising that those two years had me deeply rethinking my priorities.

Which is why this pivotal moment, the one I’m about to describe, came as a surprise to me.

Curious? Listen to this brief episode of Your Stories Don't Define You on my website, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you find your favorite shows!

I've said this before, and I love the reaction I get from people:"If you have to tell people you're an expert, you're pr...
07/28/2026

I've said this before, and I love the reaction I get from people:

"If you have to tell people you're an expert, you're probably not doing it right."

Giving yourself a label doesn't make it true or compelling.

In this week's episode of Your Stories Don't Define You, I share a story about my answer to a question Scott Ferguson asked me when I was a guest on his show It's Time To Shine Today.

I didn't think about my answer, I just said it... and realized its power immediately. I've been thinking about it ever since.

You can listen on my website (link is in the comments), on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you find your favorite shows! 🎧

When is a story just a story?Never.And there's a growing body of evidence to prove it.“Can you tell a 4-year-old to lear...
07/21/2026

When is a story just a story?

Never.

And there's a growing body of evidence to prove it.

“Can you tell a 4-year-old to learn lessons about morality and ethics in bible stories and fables, but to ignore lessons and signals they get from Disney films like Cinderella?”

Listen to this week's

I love to travel.I love performing for an audience.That doesn't mean they necessarily go together...It was a memorable t...
07/16/2026

I love to travel.
I love performing for an audience.

That doesn't mean they necessarily go together...

It was a memorable trip, I had lots of meaningful moments, but most of them felt like lessons about what not to do, how to be more prepared for things, and what to avoid in the future.

Until the right question helped me see a special moment and guided me to reframe the entire experience.

Listen to this week's episode of Your Stories Don't Define You on my website (link is in the comments), Apple Podcasts, or wherever you find your favorites shows!

"Sometimes our quieter meaningful stories are forgotten or underestimated.I had one of those moments a few days ago when...
07/07/2026

"Sometimes our quieter meaningful stories are forgotten or underestimated.

I had one of those moments a few days ago when I performed as a backup vocalist and played flute with a friend and talented singer/songwriter and her band at a local bar to a crowd of enthusiastic fans."

It's easy to look back and see a major shift in myself from a moment in time, a pivot point, but I believe transformation usually happens more like a dimmer switch, growing slowly enough that I don't notice - until I notice.

That's what this week's episode of Your Stories Don't Define You is about.

What's something you've made progress with and didn't notice - until you did?

"I almost said no, but something about her made me think if I did, she’d never offer this gift to a stranger again. It w...
06/30/2026

"I almost said no, but something about her made me think if I did, she’d never offer this gift to a stranger again. It was almost as if she was the one who needed a hug." 💛

Have you had a moment like this? When a stranger offered you kindness and it became a pivotal moment in your life?

In my years as a storyteller and storytelling coach, I've learned that we rarely know a pivotal moment is happening at that time of the experience.

It's when we look back that we can see how it influenced us, how it shaped who we were to become.

That's the new format of my podcast. In under 20 minutes we'll explore a guest's pivotal moment story (or my own), pull a thread, and find the insights.

Listen to this week's monologue to hear how a stranger's kindness changed me. Maybe it will remind you of your own experience, and maybe you'll begin to collect your pivotal moment stories to share when opportunities present themselves?

You can find Your Stories Don't Define You on my website, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

06/02/2026

Every year volunteers place wildflower markers along the lower trails of our mountain for school kids taking end-of-year hikes. A few years ago they started putting a map and qr code at the trailhead so anyone could follow along and learn something interesting as they hiked.

I've been trying to learn the names of these wildflowers for years, and I remember one or two more each spring on my hikes.

My favorites are the plants and flowers that look like their name, like rabbitfoot crazyweed, fuzzy tongue penstamon, and arrowleaf balsamroot.

This week's

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