Transcript – Episode 1 – Sharing The Arena’s Purpose

Hello, and welcome to – The Arena. I’m Rena Lewis, Founder of Signature Intentions and host of The Arena podcast – which I’m so excited about. 

In this first episode, – before I begin my series of the very special guest interviews I have planned for you, I wanted to take just a couple of minutes to share my intention for this forum.

So, for several years now, I have been a huge Brene Brown fan. Her wisdom and the practical insights that she gleans from her extensive research have been – I guess sort of like my North Star – both personally and professionally – She’s just a phenomenal woman.

You may have read or heard her quote a passage from Theodore Roosevelt’s “The Man in the Arena” speech which includes (and I’m quoting here):

“It’s not the critic who counts. It’s not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done it better. The credit belongs to the person who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred with blood, sweat and dust, who at the best in the end knows the triumph of high achievement and who at worst, if he fails, he fails daring greatly.” 

That quote inspired the title of Brene Brown’s “Daring Greatly” book which, if you haven’t read yet, I highly recommend.

It’s also what inspired me to name this podcast The Arena – for marketing, communications and branding “warriors” who are out there every day, impressively maneuvering their professional battlefields – often winning, occasionally losing – but they are always striving for excellence or that “triumph of higher achievement” that Mr. Roosevelt alluded to. You are going to hear from folks who are continuously –  innovating, learning from, and iterating their efforts to ensure that they are meaningfully and measurably contributing to their organization’s success.

Now, I’ll be digging deep during my guest interviews with our fellow warriors, so you’ll also hear lots of actionable advice, tips and techniques, as well as some of the key lessons they’ve  earned and learned throughout their journeys.

So, my intention is that you will find it worthwhile to spend a few minutes of your valuable time with me and my guests here in The Arena. It’s an exciting place to be. I hope you’ll join us, share your thoughts including any future topic suggestions, and pay it forward by sharing with others who may also benefit from our discussions. Thanks so much for listening.