SNS 169: Saturday Night Special - Interview with Speaker, Coach, and Podcaster Sean Allen

[00:00:00] Scott Maderer: Welcome to tonight's Saturday Night special episode 160.

[00:00:04] Sean Allen: I'm Sean

[00:00:05] Allen, and I challenge you to invest in yourself, invest in others, develop your influence and impact the world by using your time, your talent, and your treasures. To live out your calling. Having the ability to live in two opportunities without burning out is key. And one way to be inspired to do that is to listen to this The Inspired Stewardship podcast with my friend Scott Maderer.

[00:00:37] So relinquishing all of, as my doctor said it through my assessment, they say, Oh, you're an A type personality. A type personality. Individuals normally are leaders. They're, they move by plans. They have all of those things in place, right? However, this was a place that. You had to use your. [00:01:00]

[00:01:01] Scott Maderer: Welcome and thank you for joining us on the Inspired Stewardship Podcast.

[00:01:06] If you truly desire to become the person who God wants you to be, then you must learn to use your time, your talent, and your treasures for your true calling. In the Inspired Stewardship Podcast, you will learn to invest in yourself, invest in others. And develop your influence so that you can impact the world.

[00:01:26] In tonight's Saturday Night special, I interview Sean Allen. I ask Sean about his journey from the corporate world to coaching. I also ask Sean about his faith and how that intersects and influences his journey. And Sean also shares with you why so many people fail to find and live their passion in. One area that a lot of folks need some help with is around the area of productivity.

[00:01:53] Getting not just more things done, but actually getting the right things done can be [00:02:00] really tough. I've got a course called Productivity for Your Passion that's designed to help you do this and then to hold you accountable and walk with you so that you can tailor productivity, not just to be getting more done, but actually getting the right things done.

[00:02:19] What's more, we take the approach of looking at your personality and how you actually look at things in the world and tailor the productivity system to your person. Because the truth is, a lot of the systems that are out there are written really well for somebody with a particular personality type. But if you have a different approach to things, they just don't work.

[00:02:42] But there's tools and techniques and approaches that you can take that will work for anyone, and we help you do that and productivity for your passion. Check it out over@inspiredstewardship.com slash launch. Sean Allen is a charismatic and high spirited [00:03:00] speaker, life coach and podcast host. His eclectic aquarium DNA embodies the passion for building stronger and healthier communities, one soul at a time.

[00:03:10] His keen ability to analyze and strategize his second to none. He stood before many groups in workshops, conferences, and seminars, leaving them spell bound. Sean's coaching expertise has impacted the lives of leaders and executives in entertainment, government, luxury, retail, technology, and healthcare. The core of his work is chiseled in authenticity and passion.

[00:03:32] Once your life has been touched by his genius skill, it will forever remain transformed. He's moving by leaps and bounds in the speaking and life coaching. Trail BA blazing a path for others to follow. Welcome

[00:03:45] Sean Allen: to the show. Thank you so much for having me, Scott. I'm glad to be here on the show with you Inspired stewardship.

[00:03:52] I'm excited about today's interview.

[00:03:54] Scott Maderer: Absolutely. I'm looking forward to it too. So one of the things I mentioned a little bit about [00:04:00] in the intro, but just I wanted to unpack it a little further. You used to be quote, in the corporate world working for Neiman Marcus and doing other things, and now you are focused on being a speaker and a life coach.

[00:04:13] Can you share a little bit about what happened in your life and what was your journey and why do you go from corporate and what looks like a good job to being a life and coaching business?

[00:04:25] Sean Allen: Actually it was a series of events, right? When we, I just want to talk about it from a destiny standpoint.

[00:04:32] And when we look at the definition of destiny, it says that it's often correlated with a series of events that lead us to our final destination. I loved my previous career. I loved the relationships. That I was able to build in that capacity working for Neiman Marcus as a product specialist on the front line of representing an international brand.

[00:04:59] I [00:05:00] love that. But as I wanna share, as we walk through the interview today, with all those that are listening apart from what we do in regards to our daily jobs, careers, professions, each and every one of us have a purpose. And I would say for me the shift in moving into the speaking role, motivational speaking, inspirational speaking transformation Life Coach, podcast host.

[00:05:29] It was something that I, when I looked through the prophet scope of time, purpose, and destiny. As we talk about stewardship, we talk about time. I believe this was already mapped in my destiny. However, there were certain things that I had to naturally go through in order to get there. And one of the things was I have a mentor that is very active in my life that gives solid counsel and I honor her guidance.

[00:05:57] I was at a pivotal place [00:06:00] and in wanting to know what was next for me after five years and I took a leap of faith I've heard people saying that they resigned from their jobs and was ready to launch out into entrepreneurship. But mine wasn't really mapped that clear and that clean, it really wasn't the, A type personality in me would've loved for it to flow in that direction.

[00:06:22] But that was not the path of the road for me. And I did do the resignation. To Neman Marcus and shortly after I had a tragic experience of becoming ill and that illness almost put me into a state of death. And in that time a lot was being revealed to me, downloaded to me about, okay, what is next?

[00:06:49] And I believe, Scott, you and I talked about this in the green room sometime back that I had seven doctors when I was in the hospital going through my near death [00:07:00] experience with pneumonia and both of my lungs right and left. And all of them said we know what your previous career profession was.

[00:07:10] We have this strong feeling that you should be doing motivational speaking and so here am I'm laying in the bed like . Okay. A doctor is telling me that I should be doing motivational speaking and that it would also help with my pat to healing and restoration. Growing up I was always put in leadership roles and speaking roles.

[00:07:31] However, moving. And accepting it fully as a part of my purpose was not something I had given attention to. So that time of me going through such a traumatic, physical, spiritual, and emotional experience highlighted for me what the next chapter of Sean inspire Sean Allen, what that purpose would be for me next.

[00:07:55] Scott Maderer: How talk a little bit about that, cuz I think a lot of [00:08:00] times people think. So you'd already resigned before you had the illness. So it's not that the illness caused you to make the transition, but the illness is what opened up your eyes to maybe where you should go. Absolutely.

[00:08:13] Sean Allen: I personally believe and oftentimes it doesn't take something tragic for us to come into discovery of purpose.

[00:08:22] However, that though it seems like

[00:08:23] Scott Maderer: that happens a lot more often exactly. Than

[00:08:26] Sean Allen: we would like . Exactly. And so that was something written in my map and I had to work with it. And working with it, I learned more about myself and being able to one accept once you accept it, you have to embrace it and then you have to do the work to walk into it fully.

[00:08:47] And so that path for me coming through that as I was coming through recovery. Things were being made crystal clear. Even the name Sean inspires came to me very [00:09:00] audibly in a still small voice. Sean inspires. And so it was my work to do more work on finding out what Sean inspires, what actually be built into and impacting humanity.

[00:09:13] Scott Maderer: Yeah I don't have any resignation with or any connection with the word inspire at all. He says sarcastically the, I got it. . Yeah. But sometimes I used to have a student when I was teaching that actually brought a button to class and. Every time I would say something really sarcastic and no one would laugh.

[00:09:33] She would hit the button and it would go boom. So that everyone knew that I was kidding, . Cause not everyone gets my sense of humor. Were so let's go

[00:09:40] back a little bit further. You had already resigned from the Neiman Marcus position. What actually brought, what opened your eyes up to the idea that you needed to resign from that position and do something different?

[00:09:52] Sean Allen: I hit the pinnacle and I knew I had reached a the, all of the expectations that [00:10:00] was placed upon me in that role, in that capacity. And I didn't wanna be a general manager. I didn't wanna go off and manager a store. I didn't want to go into the buying field. None of those roles were at my forefront of interest.

[00:10:16] But internally, I felt that something bigger. Was calling me in a different way, but I didn't know, Again, I did not know what that was until I went through the experience that I had. And so if I could share with the listening audience, sometime when you are in your profession and you hit the pinnacle, and you may not wanna be a VP or you may not wanna be a COO or a c o.

[00:10:47] it's okay if you don't have the answer to your next step. At that moment. And the other thing I would like to add is don't allow outside pressure that don't [00:11:00] have full insight or voices of divine wisdom to help you in forging ahead on that next. Make sure that you anchor yourself in a space so that you can get clarity on what is next.

[00:11:16] Scott Maderer: So how did that journey of both the leaving the job and going through the illness and then launching your own speaking business, how did that journey interact with your faith journey and how you saw where you sit in terms

[00:11:33] Sean Allen: of faith? I'm glad you asked. Scott, that's a very good question.

[00:11:37] I am a person of faith. I am a spiritual man. Most importantly, I believe that it is the core of who I am. So it has always throughout my journey as I became a believer and a spiritual being and continue to evolve in that faith, to me is currency. [00:12:00] Just like money is currency. Faith to me is currency.

[00:12:04] It is a supernatural operation that you don't have to have big faith. You, your faith does not measure, but having some. Measure of faith in your life is important. And so for me, this was a place of really putting that faith on the front line because this was something totally new, something totally different for me that I had never crossed over and operated in before.

[00:12:33] So relinquishing all of, as my doctor said it through my assessment, they say, Oh, you are a type personality. A type personality. Individuals normally are leaders. They're, they move by plans. They have all of those things in place, right? However, this was a place that you had to use your faith. Even when it comes to trusting for salary and [00:13:00] compensation, that is faith.

[00:13:02] Because you are going from a great salary with bonus commissions and all of those things to a world of hey entrepreneur here. So that's where your trust comes in, right? Trusting and relinquishing that just as God. Because this is a faith-based inspired stewardship is faith-based, Christian oriented organization.

[00:13:27] I can move and flow as I feel freely too. That is the place where we really put into operation what it is to be a faith-based person and a Christian, and trusting God at all lands. So with that in mind, and a lot of your journey is mine too. I left a position that I actually really loved and was highly compensated and yada, yada to go launch my own business.

[00:13:52] Scott Maderer: And a lot of the people around me were like you're crazy there. There's, this is stupid. What are you doing? And like you, I had a [00:14:00] few people that I really trusted that I was able to lean on and get some advice from that, that I really trusted. How do you or how did you.

[00:14:09] Discriminate what voices you should listen to in your life versus what voices you needed to ignore when you were making that.

[00:14:18] Sean Allen: Very good question. I'm a strong person of discernment. Even growing up, people used to tell me all the time, Oh, you're quiet. You don't really talk a lot. But again, that was a internal gifting and ability and discernment is the ability to judge appropriately, accurately what is operating and what is being said.

[00:14:43] So for me, When it comes to voices of inspiration, voices of wisdom speaking into my life, I've always been very discerning in allowing that even in my professional career. And now more so in my entrepreneurial role. [00:15:00] And I would say one of the key things is it's a common saying, but it's very relevant and relatable.

[00:15:05] You judge a tree by the fruit that it bears. And so for me, that is my personal principle. I would never go to someone. Not saying that they cannot, but I would never go to someone for sound wisdom on relationship, and I've seen a consistent pattern of broken relationship in their

[00:15:26] Scott Maderer: life. Don't ask for marriage advice for the person that's been divorced.

[00:15:29] Seven.

[00:15:30] Sean Allen: Exactly . So I would look for a little bit more consistency. I would look for a little bit more strength a little bit more of witness of faith on the fire, right? And being able to see that journey and hear the journey. That to me, One, that they're authentic voices and two trusted voices.

[00:15:57] So if one of the most important things that [00:16:00] I could share is you judge the tree by the fruit that it bear, it may sound elementary, it may sound old school, but it is a relatable and true fact that you judge it not by arrogance or by ego, but you judge it from purity of. Knowing that you only want the best voices for your life, speaking life into and over your destiny.

[00:16:23] Scott Maderer: So Sean, during this journey too of course we had covid that happened as well. How did the pandemic intersect with this transition that you were making in effective.

[00:16:37] Sean Allen: So actually for me, Covid was, it was pivotal in my own life. It took me to a greater place of certainty, clarity, restructuring Greater awareness of how to continue to build, Sean inspires how do you wanna [00:17:00] continue to be represented in the world?

[00:17:03] It was an intense time globally for everyone. And so for me, I shifted some things. Scott, if I could unpack this a little bit. shifted some things in how I was connecting with the audience of Shawn as inspires because we were limited on where we could go, what we could do, who we could. They started to create these bubbles.

[00:17:26] But I had to get a little bit more creative in still being able to reach individuals, and I saw something happen after I started doing it. So I know we couldn't go to the gym. So one of the ways that I still was able to reach on a daily basis, The Sean Inspires audience in addition to people who probably started following me that I was, that wasn't following me before, was I hit the ground running.

[00:17:53] I physically was walking and jogging. In and through the neighborhood [00:18:00] recording inspirational videos and launching them live because we were at a time where people didn't know even, Okay, I can't go to the gym, so what do I do? So I wanted to connect with them in a way that they could see me moving with messages of inspiration that though we may be confined, You're actually not confined.

[00:18:24] You're only confined by what you allow to confine you. And so that was, for me, was key in shifting. How was I going to keep that momentum going in connecting with the audience and in continuing to build Sean inspires. That was one pivotal way for me that I did consistently for almost an entire year as we were going through Covid.

[00:18:47] Scott Maderer: Awesome. So if somebody out there is facing a challenge themselves right now, maybe it's a health challenge, like you went through, like I've been through a job challenge or just any of the challenges that [00:19:00] life throws at us, what would you give them as the number one piece of advice that you would share with them today?

[00:19:06] Sean Allen: One of my golden nuggets is for every challenge there is solution, and I don't even like to use the word problem. . And the other thing is perspective. Make sure you have the right perspective because sometime when we are being challenged, there's an opportunity for growth. It is not always an opportunity to retreat or to fall in a default mindset.

[00:19:38] And so again, I would strongly. Suggest and impart perspective in making sure that you move from a place of solution. Don't get stuck in the challenge or on the challenge for everything that we face in life. [00:20:00] Professionally, career wise, as entrepreneurs, there is always a solution. Always. So why do you think that so many people seem to struggle with finding and living out their purpose and their passion?

[00:20:16] One of the things that I think personally for myself as I discovered. My, my purpose and then begin to really move in it with passion is conversation. Oftentimes we have conversation. Go to college, get your degree into some field of study. Those are the prevailing conversations as you grow up in and through life.

[00:20:42] Even in workplace settings and cultures, it sometime you may have people sitting in the same position five years, seven years, 10 years, 15 years, and no one unpacks or introduces the conversation about what may be next for that individual, even within [00:21:00] that dynamic. So I think community conversations around purpose.

[00:21:07] And then when you couple purpose with passion, that is even greater. So I think sometime people don't have that access is because one, they may not be in a community of people that are purpose driven or individuals that are purpose mind. So I would say find your hub. Find your community. Find your tribe.

[00:21:31] That they're living in purpose and that they're living in it with great passion. That is really important.

[00:21:37] Scott Maderer: So Sean, before I move on to a few questions I'd like to ask every guest, is there anything else that you'd like to share about your coaching or your

[00:21:45] Sean Allen: speaking? Yes, Sean Inspires is a niche operation that's focused specifically on transformation.

[00:21:53] That is the area of passion for me. Scott, we talked about passion and so that is the area of passion. [00:22:00] For me, and in the speaking realm, inspirational speaking, that is my heartbeat. That is my fire. I believe words have power and every word that is spoken, it is a seed that causes activation, whether it's good or whether it's bad.

[00:22:17] So for me that is those two components. That's my. Awesome.

[00:22:23] Scott Maderer: So one of the things my brand is inspired stewardship. And stewardship is one of those words that, that I run my life through, and yet I've discovered over the years that word means a lot of different things to a lot of different people.

[00:22:37] So for you, how would you define the word stewardship and what is the impact of that understanding? Bit on your.

[00:22:43] Sean Allen: So for me, the first and the first understanding, if I wanna start there, the first understanding that I had of the word stewardship being a believer was coming to understand what is stewardship.

[00:22:57] And for me, I believe it's being [00:23:00] entrusted with whether it's gifts, whether it's talent, whether it's substance on how you manage. All of it and how you manage it, coupled with your intentions and your motives, because you can be considered a good steward and you can also be considered a bad steward, right?

[00:23:25] So I believe we all wanna be a, we should at least wanna be good stewards over our time, over whatever talent we have, over whatever treasures we're given. and we wanna steward them well and not from a place of looking at, Oh, look what I've done. But from a place of knowing that God has given you special things in your life through work, through effort through talent, gifting, and ability, but you wanna make him proud.

[00:23:56] And you also wanna feel good about being [00:24:00] able to steward all of the things that you're given. So for me, stewardship is being entrusted with, whether it's your time, you're telling your gift skills or treasuries. That's what stewardship is for me, and making sure that you're doing it well. So here's my favorite question of the, I.

[00:24:16] Scott Maderer: If I invented this magic machine and I was able to pluck you out of the seat where you sit today and transport you into the far future, maybe 150, 200 years, and through the power of this machine, you were able to look back on your whole life and see all of the ripples, all of the touches, all of the connections, and all of the impacts you've left, what impact do you hope you've left behind on the world?

[00:24:39] Sean Allen: I would like to say that from my heart to those that are listening, we talked about challenges because life in life, we have seasons, and every season always presents something different. And so I would like my [00:25:00] life's work. We never know what legacy will be because legacy lasts after we're gone. But I can only say for now, since you've asked me to look through the scope, I would say that people would be able to look at my life and say, He just didn't say it.

[00:25:19] We saw him live it.

[00:25:22] And so for me, that's what I want.

[00:25:25] Scott Maderer: So what's on the roadmap? What's coming next for you on this journey as you're living your life?

[00:25:32] Sean Allen: So as I'm living my life in fulfilling purpose and continuing to build, Shawn inspires what we have Next is devotional that I actually started writing physically writing before I transported it into my laptop.

[00:25:47] I believe in energetic transfer that I wrote in 2017. And so now we are at the place. Publishing. So that is next. I'm very excited about that because that is something people [00:26:00] will be able to carry with them wherever they are. It's not long. It's a 30 day devotional. So that is the next piece of work that is tangible as far as product.

[00:26:11] For those that are listening and the followers that currently follow me in that regard and continuing to build out the Shawn Inspires podcast, I'm, I've been doing new things for a year and a half now in that dynamic and launching out into some new areas of bringing on talent continuously that are experts in their.

[00:26:33] Scott Maderer: You can find out more about Sean on Instagram as Sean underscore inspires, or check out the Sean Inspires podcast on iTunes or anywhere that great podcast or find found. Of course, I'll have links to all of this over in the show notes as well. Sean, is there anything else you'd like to share with

[00:26:50] Sean Allen: the listener?

[00:26:51] There is one I would like to say thank you for having me on, but for the listening audience, I [00:27:00] really, I'm feeling strong today to share with you guys. Always know that there is a solution for whatever you're facing. The second thing is curate your space from negative. Those two things are great tools in helping you navigate your road to great stewardship.

[00:27:25] So for now, that is what I would like to leave and to have the listening audience sit with.

[00:27:31] Scott Maderer: Thanks so much for listening to the Inspired Stewardship Podcast. As a subscriber and listener, we challenge you to not just sit back and passively listen. But act on what you've heard and find a way to live your calling. If you enjoyed this episode please do us a favor. Go over to inspired stewardship.com/itunes.

[00:27:58] Rate all [00:28:00] one word. iTunes rate. It'll take you through how to leave a rating and review, and how to make sure you're subscribed to the podcast so that you can get every episode as it comes out in your feed. Until next time, invest your time, your talent, and your treasures. Develop your influence and impact the world.