Episode 15
Dreamers and Doers with Liz Sumner | LAYC15
There are dreamers and there are doers. And then, there are many that say “I ALWAYS WANTED TO . . . “
Too frequently, that’s where it ends. The thought is not acted upon, it’s stuffed away in the back of our mental sock drawer, never to become a reality.
Liz Sumner is on a mission to transform many more of us “I Always Wanted To”-ers into “I Did It!”s by curating stories of inspiration and DIY examples.
I think you will be amazed and delighted how my soft spoken, self-acclaimed introvert adeptly coaxes fascinating, informative and humorous accounts from individuals who transformed their dreams into careers, adventures and legacies!
About our Guest:
Liz Sumner is a recovering procrastinator turned Productive Life Coach. She understands women who struggle with motivation, and long to feel a sustained sense of accomplishment.
A Productive Life means feeling good about yourself and what you’re accomplishing, not just one hurdle, but over time. You are on task, learning and growing, and making progress on your goals at a pace that suits you. After working with Liz, clients feel able to prioritize what’s important to them; create healthy boundaries from a place of authenticity; and find their own productivity style.
An ICF-certified coach with a Master’s in Organizational Development, Liz is also the host of the podcast, “I Always Wanted To”. She interviews people who are doing things that others long to do.
Liz lives in a lovely medieval village in central Italy, sings with a jazz orchestra, and does her best to communicate in Italian.
Teaser:
Listen to the end if you want to discover something about Liz that you probably won’t find on Google!
Discover even more about Liz Summer and how she Lifts & Climbs:
https://betterhumans.pub/finding-the-right-productivity-style-7f3d0dfc7145
Listen to the Italian songstress that inspires our guest:
About the Host:
Isabel Banerjee - Your Next Business
Strategist and Transformation Catalyst
Dynamic, a self-made entrepreneur who overcame obstacles with an unrelenting positive nature, a farm girl work ethic and a conscious choice to thrive rather than survive, Isabel Alexander Banerjee cultivated an award-winning, $10 million+ global chemical business and grew it from dining room table to international boardrooms.
Isabel’s strengths include the ability to initiate & nurture strategic relationships, a love of lifelong learning and talents for helping others maximize their potential. An inspiring speaker within both industry and community, she is a driving force behind those with the courage to foll0ow her example of thriving against the odds.
With 50+ years of business experience across diverse industries, Isabel is respected as an advisor, a coach, a mentor and a role model. She believes in sharing collective wisdom and empowering others to economic independence.
Founder of the Lift As You Climb Movement (www.facebook.com/groups/liftasyouclimbmovement)
and
Chief Encore Officer, The Encore Catalyst (www.theencorecatalyst.com) – an accelerator for feminine wisdom, influence, and impact.
also
Author & Speaker ‘Who Am I Now? – Feminine Wisdom Unmasked Uncensored’ (www.IsabelBanerjee.com)
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/isabelalexanderbanerjee/
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If you have questions about this episode, please send me an email at Hello@TheEncoreCatalyst.com
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Full Transcript for Accessibility and for those who like to read along!
LAYC15 - Dreamers and Doers with Liz Sumner
Isabel: What a happy day this is. Here I am sitting in Arizona, in the United States, and I have the pleasure to have a almost next door feeling with my new friend, Liz Sumner. Who is sitting in central Italy in an absolutely beautiful historic town, almost medieval. I believe you've described it. Liz is an ex-pat from the US, now living the life in Italy. And she has been a recent guest, an expert speaker, on the Global Serial Entrepreneurs Summit. And I'm thrilled to have her to be one of the very first of my guests on the Lift As You Climb podcast. Hello, Liz!
Liz: Hi, Isabel. Thank you so much for having me. I love the work that you do, and I'm really happy to be a part of it.
Isabel: It has been such a joyful experience in these few short months of testing my Lift As You Climb Movement and discovering that there are so many other women around the world that share that same philosophy. Well, and more than a philosophy, it's a way of living, and showing up every day in the world. You certainly typify this new circle that I love being part of, as we make a difference in the world together.
Isabel: I have become a great fan of yours also, I'm in that sort of groupie category, because when people read your Bio, they're going to discover, that not only are you a traveler and a learner of other languages, but you're an accomplished jazz singer. And you have your own podcast, which that's what really hooked me in the beginning to pay attention to... Who is this woman?... The podcast title... I Always Wanted To... Just speaks to my whole soul about it's time in my 60s... Not to keep going... I don't like to do that. I want to be able to look in the rear view mirror and say, I always wanted to, so I did.
Liz: Yes. That's who I'm talking to those people. that's wonderful.
Isabel: Yay. So for all of you that are out there in the audience, listening, hurry up, grab a pen and paper or journal. and replay this after and start making a list of all of the things that you wanted to. We'll get together. Liz and I, will come up with a strategy for you to execute and be able to say I did.
Liz: I love it. And I want to know what's on the list too, so that I can bring in guests that address those things. So, I want to know... Because what I do is I interview people who are doing the things that other people have always longed to do. And so I want your ideas, so please, communicate with me.
Isabel: Okay. There is an absolute fabulous challenge. So in the show notes, you'll find the email address... Hello@TheEncoreCatalyst.com Please flood our inbox with suggestions on things that you've always wanted to... Liz is going to help you. She's going to be your guide by bringing in guests that have done this and interview so that you will have a strategy, a map, an inspiration, to go forward and do. And then maybe, if I'm not overstepping my bounds, Liz, you might interview some of our listeners in the future, after they have a "Fait Accompli"... Right?
Liz: Ohh, please, Yes! If there are people who are doing things, I want to be pitched. So please write and tell Isabel what the topic would be, and fill in the blank of... I always wanted to... blank. and let us know that story. I want to, I want to hear that story.
Isabel: Oh my gosh. That's going to add such momentum to the Lift As You Climb Movement, because we're going to have all of you articulating it, speaking it out loud so that we can support you. You will have an accountability group that will lift you as you do this.
Isabel: So there's the challenge, Liz's contact information is going to be in the show notes as well. So again, listen to her podcast, reach out to her, give her some suggestions for inspiring speakers. So Liz, let's circle back a little bit to, how did this all come about? How did you end up living in Italy? What was the inspiration for your podcast? I'm dying to know.
Liz: Let me see... well, the podcast is a little different... but let me start in on Italy first... My husband and I, had visited Italy and loved it, and kept talking about coming back regularly. But you know, life gets in the way, and you don't get back as often as you want to. I think it was 2010. My husband surprised me, right around my birthday, with tickets to Venice And he had found this area South of Venice, called Le Marche. It's a region next to Tuscany and Umbria, but it is not as well known. He had been doing research, and discovered that Le Marche was just as beautiful as Tuscany and Umbria. But lots less expensive and way less touristed. And so, we got these tickets to Venice and then rented a car and came down to just explore, just to see what's going on, see what it looks like. And we're going to spend a week, just driving around, check it out for the very first time. We're driving to a place called the Frasassi caves, which is the largest cave system in Western Europe... it happens to be on the cover of National Geographic this month, so people can go look and see how beautiful it is.
Liz: So we're on our way... Stopped for coffee in this little town called Perdella???? I decided, we must speak to a Real Estate Agent, just, to get it over with, then we can get on with our trip. Just see what's possible. See if it even is possible to buy something. So we stopped in this town called Pergola, which is absolutely medieval, it was founded in 1234. And it's one of those medieval Hilltowns where the Nobles would defend their Hilltown from the Noble on the other Hilltown... So cobblestone streets... Really beautiful. So we stopped for coffees, and found a little real estate place called CasaMania, uh, which I love the name of it. So we, stopped in, asked the woman there... though in those days, our Italian was a little limited. She didn't speak any English. But we just managed to get across... Is there anything in the central historic district? Is it possible to get an apartment? And she said, Oh, sure! And starts reaching for her keys, grabs a set of keys, and starts to take us out to show us the apartments that were available.
Liz: We had never, in our wildest dreams imagined that we'd actually go see places, but we walked around the corner, and came up in this Palazzo built sometime after 1300, and walked up the grand staircase with the huge arching ceilings, and looked at this apartment, which had been... actually all of the ones that we saw that day looked like... Grandma and Grandpa had just left to go off to church or something like that... They all were fully furnished, had little note cards on the table, and doilies on the furniture. They were right out of central casting for old Italian apartment. So we looked at three and ended up buying the first one we saw. Both of us, agreed at the same time. That this was the special place.
Liz: We talked a little further with Paola, the Real Estate Agent, about what was possible. What we'd have to do. We didn't tell her at that point that we were ready to buy, but we thought we were eager, but reserved. The Italian system of customer service is quite different from American, and the salesmanship is a very different animal here. So we went back to the US at the end of our trip and kept thinking that she'd get in touch with us and that we wanted to play it cool... And we never heard. So we having to write to her, and saying, Hello, We're interested! And she never in her wildest dreams, thought that we were serious. She thought she'd never hear from us again.
Isabel: You were playing hard to get,
Liz: It was foolish, but that was November, and we came back in the beginning of May, and closed at the end of May.
Isabel: Amazing! So your going to be our go-to our resource now for those of us who always wanted to. And will do so. And it's interesting to also think about how culturally the process is different. Right from that initial sales, it's not the aggressive pursued model.
Liz: It's possible that people who want a country property, something that would be more expensive than what we ended up purchasing. Somebody might have a different experience, there might be people who speak English for one thing, because it's a bigger expense, They might have, a different style of salesmanship. Because ours was really affordable. One of the things is that the Italians are very used to people having second homes, or third, or fourth, because they inherit from family. They're used to people having places, where they don't actually live, that's not their primary home. So they have good systems for having all of your bills, go to the bank to get paid. That made it very easy for us to manage things from afar, when we only had our tourist visa, and could only come back for 90 days at a time.
Isabel: Now you've got me tingling from head to toe at the prospect that this is doable.
Liz: It really is. It really is
Isabel: Make that first step. And of course, I've shared with you before, I've had a, lifelong uncommitted to goal of speaking multiple languages and what better way to do so than immerse myself in the local culture, and just be Italian, not speak Italian.
Liz: It's wonderful. But let me give you a piece of advice that I wish I had followed myself, is that, when you do it... Don't spend too much time with English speaking friends. I have not learned Italian as quickly as I wish, because I have too many English speaking friends. Don't make the same mistake I did.
Isabel: So they're enabling you to still lean on your first language.
Liz: It's true, it was hard for me, because I'm not the same person when I'm speaking Italian. I can't be funny, at least not on purpose, in Italian. I'm much more limited in my personality. I don't get to shine. It made me sad to, be quiet and only speak the sentences that I knew how to say.
Isabel: Has there ever been a time that you've said in your life I've always wanted to be a standup comedian?
Liz: Nope. No. Don't think so.
Isabel: Right then I have another question. Can you sing in Italian?
Liz: Yes. As long as there aren't Italians listening. One of the things That works for me is, that I happened upon this wonderful jazz community, and they play the great American songbook. So I am the go-to person for how to pronounce American. That's a great joy. but occasionally I will sing in a Napoletano song, or something like that. There is a major singer, who is not known in the US, her name is Mina and she was in the sixties and seventies enormous. She was like Sinatra and Barbra Streisand put together. She's huge. She's beloved. And she's a wonderful singer, but I had never heard of her before I came here. Have you ever heard of Mina?
Isabel: No, but I'm going to check her out after...
Liz: Do, she's fabulous, everybody sings Mina songs... and they're great songs, but I tried one time, singing Mina songs at a concert... I also tried at karaoke as well, but because these people have grown up with Mina songs... Having an American, sing Mina songs, is just wrong. So I'm a little shy about singing in Italian.
Isabel: Perhaps you could help me for the benefit of our listeners, give me a couple of YouTube links to her songs, your favorite ones, and we'll share those in the show notes.
Isabel: Okay, that was the accidental tourist became the on-purpose resident. About how many years did it take you to go full time in Italy?
Liz: Five. It took me a while because the kind of visa that I wanted, which is called a Lavoro Autonomo. I work for myself. That is little known... When I went to the Consulate in Boston, I was living in New Hampshire at the time... They were familiar with the kind of Visas that retired people get, but they didn't really know the workings of how to... You could do student Visas or retired people Visas. But they didn't understand the others... and of course, that branch of the government, doesn't talk to the branch of the government here. It took me a while to find someone to navigate the serpentine process, of how to get the right visa. And it really, that actually was quite complicated. So it took a total of five years to both find, figure it out, and actually get the kind of Visa to stay here. One of the things that your listeners should know, is that it's very easy to buy an apartment or a house. It is not easy to buy a car, you cannot own a car, until you are a permanent resident.
Isabel: Interesting.
Liz: Unless you're an American, British or Dutch. You must be a permanent resident.
Isabel: That's interesting. Can you have a scooter?
Liz: I don't think so. I think that anything that's on the road.
Isabel: What has been one of the surprises for you in becoming a resident in Italy, that you just wouldn't have thought of that?
Liz: I was surprised by how welcoming the people were. I had a belief, back in like 2002, when my husband and I considered, maybe living here someday. I got this thing in my head, because I am not Italian, I don't have family roots here... I will never belong. I will never feel the warmth that somebody who was actually Italian, would feel... and I was so wrong. The people here have embraced us so much. Particularly because we moved to a small town in a place that isn't full of tourists. So they feel honored. They feel like we chose them, and we did, the people in Pergola are the friendliest people I have ever...
Transcript
What a happy day this is.
Isabel:Here I am sitting in Arizona, in the United States, and I have the pleasure
Isabel:to have a almost next door feeling with my new friend, Liz Sumner.
Isabel:Who is sitting in central Italy in an absolutely beautiful
Isabel:historic town, almost medieval.
Isabel:I believe you've described it.
Isabel:Liz is an ex-pat from the US, now living the life in Italy.
Isabel:And she has been a recent guest, an expert speaker, on the Global
Isabel:Serial Entrepreneurs Summit.
Isabel:And I'm thrilled to have her to be one of the very first of my guests
Isabel:on the Lift As You Climb podcast.
Isabel:Hello, Liz!
Liz:Hi, Isabel.
Liz:Thank you so much for having me.
Liz:I love the work that you do, and I'm really happy to be a part of it.
Isabel:It has been such a joyful experience in these few short months
Isabel:of testing my Lift As You Climb Movement and discovering that there
Isabel:are so many other women around the world that share that same philosophy.
Isabel:Well, and more than a philosophy, it's a way of living, and showing
Isabel:up every day in the world.
Isabel:You certainly typify this new circle that I love being part of, as we make
Isabel:a difference in the world together.
Isabel:I have become a great fan of yours also, I'm in that sort of groupie category,
Isabel:because when people read your Bio, they're going to discover, that not only are you a
Isabel:traveler and a learner of other languages, but you're an accomplished jazz singer.
Isabel:And you have your own podcast, which that's what really hooked me in the
Isabel:beginning to pay attention to...
Isabel:Who is this woman?...
Isabel:The podcast title...
Isabel:I Always Wanted To...
Isabel:Just speaks to my whole soul about it's time in my 60s...
Isabel:Not to keep going...
Isabel:I don't like to do that.
Isabel:I want to be able to look in the rear view mirror and say,
Isabel:I always wanted to, so I did.
Liz:Yes.
Liz:That's who I'm talking to those people.
Liz:that's wonderful.
Isabel:Yay.
Isabel:So for all of you that are out there in the audience, listening, hurry
Isabel:up, grab a pen and paper or journal.
Isabel:and replay this after and start making a list of all of
Isabel:the things that you wanted to.
Isabel:We'll get together.
Isabel:Liz and I, will come up with a strategy for you to execute
Isabel:and be able to say I did.
Liz:I love it.
Liz:And I want to know what's on the list too, so that I can bring in
Liz:guests that address those things.
Liz:So, I want to know...
Liz:Because what I do is I interview people who are doing the things that
Liz:other people have always longed to do.
Liz:And so I want your ideas, so please, communicate with me.
Isabel:Okay.
Isabel:There is an absolute fabulous challenge.
Isabel:So in the show notes, you'll find the email address...
Isabel:Hello@TheEncoreCatalyst.com Please flood our inbox with suggestions on
Isabel:things that you've always wanted to...
Isabel:Liz is going to help you.
Isabel:She's going to be your guide by bringing in guests that have done
Isabel:this and interview so that you will have a strategy, a map, an
Isabel:inspiration, to go forward and do.
Isabel:And then maybe, if I'm not overstepping my bounds, Liz, you might interview
Isabel:some of our listeners in the future, after they have a "Fait Accompli"...
Isabel:Right?
Liz:Ohh, please, Yes!
Liz:If there are people who are doing things, I want to be pitched.
Liz:So please write and tell Isabel what the topic would
Liz:be, and fill in the blank of...
Liz:I always wanted to...
Liz:blank.
Liz:and let us know that story.
Liz:I want to, I want to hear that story.
Isabel:Oh my gosh.
Isabel:That's going to add such momentum to the Lift As You Climb Movement,
Isabel:because we're going to have all of you articulating it, speaking it
Isabel:out loud so that we can support you.
Isabel:You will have an accountability group that will lift you as you do this.
Isabel:So there's the challenge, Liz's contact information is going to
Isabel:be in the show notes as well.
Isabel:So again, listen to her podcast, reach out to her, give her some
Isabel:suggestions for inspiring speakers.
Isabel:So Liz, let's circle back a little bit to, how did this all come about?
Isabel:How did you end up living in Italy?
Isabel:What was the inspiration for your podcast?
Isabel:I'm dying to know.
Liz:Let me see...
Liz:well, the podcast is a little different...
Liz:but let me start in on Italy first...
Liz:My husband and I, had visited Italy and loved it, and kept talking
Liz:about coming back regularly.
Liz:But you know, life gets in the way, and you don't get
Liz:back as often as you want to.
Liz:I think it was 2010.
Liz:My husband surprised me, right around my birthday, with tickets to
Liz:Venice And he had found this area South of Venice, called Le Marche.
Liz:It's a region next to Tuscany and Umbria, but it is not as well known.
Liz:He had been doing research, and discovered that Le Marche was just
Liz:as beautiful as Tuscany and Umbria.
Liz:But lots less expensive and way less touristed.
Liz:And so, we got these tickets to Venice and then rented a car and came down
Liz:to just explore, just to see what's going on, see what it looks like.
Liz:And we're going to spend a week, just driving around, check it
Liz:out for the very first time.
Liz:We're driving to a place called the Frasassi caves, which is the largest
Liz:cave system in Western Europe...
Liz:it happens to be on the cover of National Geographic this month, so people can
Liz:go look and see how beautiful it is.
Liz:So we're on our way...
Liz:Stopped for coffee in this little town called Perdella????
Liz:I decided, we must speak to a Real Estate Agent, just, to get it over
Liz:with, then we can get on with our trip.
Liz:Just see what's possible.
Liz:See if it even is possible to buy something.
Liz:So we stopped in this town called Pergola, which is absolutely
Liz:medieval, it was founded in 1234.
Liz:And it's one of those medieval Hilltowns where the Nobles would
Liz:defend their Hilltown from the Noble on the other Hilltown...
Liz:So cobblestone streets...
Liz:Really beautiful.
Liz:So we stopped for coffees, and found a little real estate place called CasaMania,
Liz:uh, which I love the name of it.
Liz:So we, stopped in, asked the woman there...
Liz:though in those days, our Italian was a little limited.
Liz:She didn't speak any English.
Liz:But we just managed to get across...
Liz:Is there anything in the central historic district?
Liz:Is it possible to get an apartment?
Liz:And she said, Oh, sure!
Liz:And starts reaching for her keys, grabs a set of keys, and starts
Liz:to take us out to show us the apartments that were available.
Liz:We had never, in our wildest dreams imagined that we'd actually go see places,
Liz:but we walked around the corner, and came up in this Palazzo built sometime after
Liz:1300, and walked up the grand staircase with the huge arching ceilings, and looked
Liz:at this apartment, which had been...
Liz:actually all of the ones that we saw that day looked like...
Liz:Grandma and Grandpa had just left to go off to church or something like that...
Liz:They all were fully furnished, had little note cards on the table,
Liz:and doilies on the furniture.
Liz:They were right out of central casting for old Italian apartment.
Liz:So we looked at three and ended up buying the first one we saw.
Liz:Both of us, agreed at the same time.
Liz:That this was the special place.
Liz:We talked a little further with Paola, the Real Estate
Liz:Agent, about what was possible.
Liz:What we'd have to do.
Liz:We didn't tell her at that point that we were ready to buy, but we
Liz:thought we were eager, but reserved.
Liz:The Italian system of customer service is quite different from
Liz:American, and the salesmanship is a very different animal here.
Liz:So we went back to the US at the end of our trip and kept thinking
Liz:that she'd get in touch with us and that we wanted to play it cool...
Liz:And we never heard.
Liz:So we having to write to her, and saying, Hello, We're interested!
Liz:And she never in her wildest dreams, thought that we were serious.
Liz:She thought she'd never hear from us again.
Isabel:You were playing hard to get,
Liz:It was foolish, but that was November, and we came
Liz:back in the beginning of May, and closed at the end of May.
Isabel:Amazing!
Isabel:So your going to be our go-to our resource now for those of us who always wanted to.
Isabel:And will do so.
Isabel:And it's interesting to also think about how culturally the process is different.
Isabel:Right from that initial sales, it's not the aggressive pursued model.
Liz:It's possible that people who want a country property, something
Liz:that would be more expensive than what we ended up purchasing.
Liz:Somebody might have a different experience, there might be people who
Liz:speak English for one thing, because it's a bigger expense, They might
Liz:have, a different style of salesmanship.
Liz:Because ours was really affordable.
Liz:One of the things is that the Italians are very used to people having
Liz:second homes, or third, or fourth, because they inherit from family.
Liz:They're used to people having places, where they don't actually
Liz:live, that's not their primary home.
Liz:So they have good systems for having all of your bills, go to the bank to get paid.
Liz:That made it very easy for us to manage things from afar, when we
Liz:only had our tourist visa, and could only come back for 90 days at a time.
Isabel:Now you've got me tingling from head to toe at the
Isabel:prospect that this is doable.
Liz:It really is.
Liz:It really is
Isabel:Make that first step.
Isabel:And of course, I've shared with you before, I've had a, lifelong uncommitted
Isabel:to goal of speaking multiple languages and what better way to do so than
Isabel:immerse myself in the local culture, and just be Italian, not speak Italian.
Liz:It's wonderful.
Liz:But let me give you a piece of advice that I wish I had followed
Liz:myself, is that, when you do it...
Liz:Don't spend too much time with English speaking friends.
Liz:I have not learned Italian as quickly as I wish, because I have
Liz:too many English speaking friends.
Liz:Don't make the same mistake I did.
Isabel:So they're enabling you to still lean on your first language.
Liz:It's true, it was hard for me, because I'm not the same
Liz:person when I'm speaking Italian.
Liz:I can't be funny, at least not on purpose, in Italian.
Liz:I'm much more limited in my personality.
Liz:I don't get to shine.
Liz:It made me sad to, be quiet and only speak the sentences that I knew how to say.
Isabel:Has there ever been a time that you've said in your life I've
Isabel:always wanted to be a standup comedian?
Liz:Nope.
Liz:No.
Liz:Don't think so.
Isabel:Right then I have another question.
Isabel:Can you sing in Italian?
Liz:Yes.
Liz:As long as there aren't Italians listening.
Liz:One of the things That works for me is, that I happened upon this
Liz:wonderful jazz community, and they play the great American songbook.
Liz:So I am the go-to person for how to pronounce American.
Liz:That's a great joy.
Liz:but occasionally I will sing in a Napoletano song, or something like that.
Liz:There is a major singer, who is not known in the US, her name is Mina and she was
Liz:in the sixties and seventies enormous.
Liz:She was like Sinatra and Barbra Streisand put together.
Liz:She's huge.
Liz:She's beloved.
Liz:And she's a wonderful singer, but I had never heard of her before I came here.
Liz:Have you ever heard of Mina?
Isabel:No, but I'm going to check her out after...
Liz:Do, she's fabulous, everybody sings Mina songs...
Liz:and they're great songs, but I tried one time, singing Mina songs at a concert...
Liz:I also tried at karaoke as well, but because these people have
Liz:grown up with Mina songs...
Liz:Having an American, sing Mina songs, is just wrong.
Liz:So I'm a little shy about singing in Italian.
Isabel:Perhaps you could help me for the benefit of our listeners,
Isabel:give me a couple of YouTube links to her songs, your favorite ones, and
Isabel:we'll share those in the show notes.
Isabel:Okay, that was the accidental tourist became the on-purpose resident.
Isabel:About how many years did it take you to go full time in Italy?
Liz:Five.
Liz:It took me a while because the kind of visa that I wanted, which
Liz:is called a Lavoro Autonomo.
Liz:I work for myself.
Liz:That is little known...
Liz:When I went to the Consulate in Boston, I was living in New Hampshire at the time...
Liz:They were familiar with the kind of Visas that retired people get, but they didn't
Liz:really know the workings of how to...
Liz:You could do student Visas or retired people Visas.
Liz:But they didn't understand the others...
Liz:and of course, that branch of the government, doesn't talk to the
Liz:branch of the government here.
Liz:It took me a while to find someone to navigate the serpentine process,
Liz:of how to get the right visa.
Liz:And it really, that actually was quite complicated.
Liz:So it took a total of five years to both find, figure it out, and actually
Liz:get the kind of Visa to stay here.
Liz:One of the things that your listeners should know, is that it's very easy
Liz:to buy an apartment or a house.
Liz:It is not easy to buy a car, you cannot own a car, until
Liz:you are a permanent resident.
Isabel:Interesting.
Liz:Unless you're an American, British or Dutch.
Liz:You must be a permanent resident.
Isabel:That's interesting.
Isabel:Can you have a scooter?
Liz:I don't think so.
Liz:I think that anything that's on the road.
Isabel:What has been one of the surprises for you in becoming a
Isabel:resident in Italy, that you just wouldn't have thought of that?
Liz:I was surprised by how welcoming the people were.
Liz:I had a belief, back in like 2002, when my husband and I considered,
Liz:maybe living here someday.
Liz:I got this thing in my head, because I am not Italian, I
Liz:don't have family roots here...
Liz:I will never belong.
Liz:I will never feel the warmth that somebody who was actually Italian, would feel...
Liz:and I was so wrong.
Liz:The people here have embraced us so much.
Liz:Particularly because we moved to a small town in a place
Liz:that isn't full of tourists.
Liz:So they feel honored.
Liz:They feel like we chose them, and we did, the people in Pergola are the
Liz:friendliest people I have ever met.
Isabel:That's such a beautiful testament to the people, and your
Isabel:decision, to belong to the community.
Isabel:I appreciate that.
Isabel:That's an important thing...
Isabel:That you can't just decide that you're going to be above it all.
Isabel:You really need to be part of the community.
Isabel:I think it's quite interesting as well, that your husband and you
Isabel:both agreed, on this big move.
Isabel:That must have been, an unusual occurrence to make such a major life transition,
Isabel:and you're both on board for it.
Liz:We agree on big things, and we both like adventure.
Liz:He had lived in the South of France when he was in his twenties.
Liz:He knew what he was getting into.
Liz:I was definitely ready for a change.
Liz:But because we live in the, historic center, we aren't on the
Liz:outskirts, it's not like we have to come to town periodically.
Liz:We are here, in the center of town.
Liz:So some people, who moved to the area, but don't get involved in things,
Liz:might not feel as welcomed as we do.
Liz:I joined the choir, and I volunteered at a local cat shelter.
Liz:We were invited to be guest speakers at the local high school to speak about
Liz:the American Civil Rights Movement.
Liz:Which was something that we were not knowledgeable about, but we did a
Liz:bunch of research, and then became yearly speaker at the high school.
Isabel:How wonderful!
Isabel:So you were also making a contribution, to the community, in ways that you
Isabel:wouldn't have thought of necessarily.
Liz:Yes.
Liz:And it gave us the opportunity to meet all kinds of wonderful people
Liz:that we wouldn't have met otherwise.
Isabel:I love that!
Isabel:Do you find, the young people come to you and ask you...
Isabel:How can we move to the United States?
Liz:Yes, everybody wants to go to New York.
Liz:I'm not a city girl, so the idea of New York is...
Liz:Oh dear...
Liz:and also I lived in the Northeast and...
Liz:I'm a Red Sox fan and I'd see all these people with Yankees hats on...
Liz:and Ughh...Ohhhh...
Liz:I don't like seeing that
Isabel:Ah, if they only knew...
Isabel:right.
Isabel:All right.
Isabel:Is there anything that comes to mind, that you miss, about the United States.
Isabel:That you haven't found something equal or better in your new home country?
Liz:I have now found just about everything.
Liz:Sometimes I have to order it online, and it might be a little expensive.
Liz:But there is some products that I missed, particularly blueberries.
Liz:When I lived in New Hampshire, you'd get blueberries from April to November,
Liz:and they were huge and delicious.
Liz:I spend a fortune on little, half pint containers, of not as tasty blueberries,
Liz:but they're better than nothing.
Isabel:So climate wise is just not conducive to growing juicy blueberries
Isabel:like we have in the Northeast.
Liz:Or else, the people just don't care for it.
Liz:I also miss Mexican food, because Italians have delicious food, but they
Liz:only eat their own delicious food.
Liz:They don't like other cultures' restaurants.
Liz:So, I'm in a small town.
Liz:I'm sure in Rome or Milan they could find other kinds of cuisine, but
Liz:I do miss some good Mexican food.
Isabel:We'll be sending a care package along.
Isabel:Let me restate that.
Isabel:I shall deliver.
Liz:Oh, I would welcome you with open arms.
Liz:I will, even if you don't bring me some tacos.
Isabel:Well, we'll work on that, most definitely.
Isabel:I love this adventurous spirit.
Isabel:I love the global perspective that this conversation gives...
Isabel:To get outside of what's comfortable and familiar, and has become in
Isabel:many respects for me anyway...
Isabel:Taking for granted what I have, and being open to experience
Isabel:something new and fresh...
Isabel:even if it's the taste of something different.
Isabel:How wonderful.
Isabel:How did that transformation of your entire lives...
Isabel:Lead to the podcast...
Isabel:or where did the podcast come in?
Isabel:Because just so curious.
Isabel:These are two huge events in a woman's life.
Liz:I was wanting to collaborate with a colleague that I knew from New Hampshire.
Liz:She's on my mailing list for my coaching business.
Liz:We were just chatting back and forth one day in emails.
Liz:I was trying to imagine, how might I collaborate with Nancy?
Liz:she's a Vocal Coach.
Liz:I was thinking...
Liz:What is something that we could do together?
Liz:I was batting around ideas and the idea that .. I've always
Liz:wanted to learn to sing.
Liz:And then I thought ...I always wanted to...
Liz:then I started popping with all these other things that
Liz:people might always want to do.
Liz:I just loved the idea!
Liz:I could think of so many people, just in my acquaintance...
Liz:Who did things that other people would be excited about.
Liz:I thought...
Liz:I could do a podcast...
Liz:It has just evolved since then.
Liz:I keep coming up with really cool people to interview who are doing cool stuff.
Isabel:You certainly do.
Isabel:I can attest to that I have been fascinated by the diversity of the
Isabel:activities, the pursuits of your guests.
Isabel:I've also been thinking...
Isabel:How did you get connected to that person?
Liz:I'm very fortunate now to have a bunch of sources of people
Liz:who want to be on podcasts.
Liz:For those of you out there who are wanting to be guests on
Liz:podcasts or who have podcasts...
Liz:and you're looking for guests...
Liz:I recommend a service called there's also another one called PodIt, another
Liz:one called MatchMaker, and another one called Audry A U D R Y, and all of them...
Liz:They reached out to me...
Liz:I think because I have an RSS feed...
Liz:People who are in the business of connecting people, find the RSS feed,
Liz:then get in touch with the podcasters...
Liz:And say...
Liz:Hey, we have this service for you.
Liz:So I tried them out, and all of them have given me wonderful people.
Liz:There's a lot of people who pitch me that have obviously not listened
Liz:to my podcast, or read my profile, or know a thing about my podcast...
Liz:, they pitch themselves without even reviewing that.
Liz:I find that annoying but...
Liz:There are wonderful services now where you can find all kinds of wonderful people.
Liz:The other great tool that I have found is...
Liz:the app ClubHouse...
Liz:You and I have spoken about this before...
Liz:that the app ClubHouse, which is an audio social chat app...
Liz:, You go into these rooms with people from all over the world,
Liz:talking about the topic that the room is set up to talk about.
Liz:I found wonderful people I never would have connected with otherwise.
Liz:Just before we started talking tonight, I was interviewing a
Liz:woman that I met on Clubhouse because I had been searching for...
Liz:Somebody to tell me the story of finding her birth mother.
Liz:I couldn't find that on any of my sources, but I found her own
Liz:Clubhouse, I was in a room...
Liz:We were talking about podcast topics, and they have places, where you pitch a
Liz:show , or pitch yourself to be a guest.
Liz:I said I'm looking for somebody who can tell me the story
Liz:of finding her birth mother.
Liz:And she said, I'll do it.
Liz:I didn't know what the story was going to be about.
Liz:Oh my goodness.
Liz:It was so beautiful.
Liz:I was sobbing.
Liz:Her story is so great.
Liz:She'll be on the show...
Liz:Season seven, begins Monday, the 3rd of May...
Liz:I think it's going to be at the end of June.
Liz:I am thrilled now.
Liz:I have wonderful sources for great guests.
Isabel:Thank you for that.
Isabel:That's a lot of lifting.
Isabel:Thank you.
Isabel:I love the fact that.
Isabel:We as podcasters have this opportunity to make connections and discover
Isabel:really fascinating stories...
Isabel:From people all around the world, completely different backgrounds.
Isabel:I hope.
Isabel:And I believe that certainly the case with what you're doing Liz...
Isabel:Is that story, that we reveal, or you share, inspires
Isabel:someone else to do something.
Isabel:Fabulous example of lifting and climbing!
Isabel:What else would you say you have learned, to become a very successful Podcaster?
Isabel:What were the other tips that you would give to somebody who's thinking?
Isabel:I always wanted to have a podcast.
Liz:I'm learning an enormous amount, particularly from experts on Clubhouse.
Liz:There are resources there that I never knew before.
Liz:There are a lot of tips on the steps to take to get yourself both
Liz:recorded, and then distributed.
Liz:It's easy to do.
Liz:It's not very expensive.
Liz:The part that I wasn't aware of is that it isn't as simple to get your podcast out
Liz:into the world, to build your audience.
Liz:One of the things...
Liz:a lot of people start a podcast, but don't keep it up.
Liz:The commitment to doing regular episodes is important.
Liz:Have a fairly clear focus, It's easier to build your audience when
Liz:you know who they are, and you know precisely what they want to hear.
Liz:If there's a niche...
Liz:It's like with any entrepreneurial business...
Liz:You need to know your audience, and you need to be filling a need for them.
Liz:You need to know where to reach them.
Liz:That's true for podcasting as well, to build the audience, to
Liz:keep your episodes consistent.
Liz:That's the tough part.
Isabel:Because I'm an ingenue in this area...
Isabel:I'm just starting to learn a few of these terms.
Isabel:I have recently learned the term...
Isabel:pod fade...
Isabel:What you were referring to, is that those of us who start out with
Isabel:great enthusiasm about creating a regular podcast and then lose that
Isabel:commitment along the way and fade away.
Liz:It's a lot of work.
Liz:It's very rewarding.
Liz:You get to have really great conversations with people...
Liz:But there's a fair amount of work before and after.
Isabel:Absolutely.
Isabel:I am learning.
Isabel:I'm studying at your feet now.
Liz:Oh, there are people that know a great deal more than I do, I appreciate
Liz:your support, But there's a room and a newsletter, called Podcasting Seriously.
Liz:Everybody who's interested in podcasting should sign up for this newsletter.
Liz:I will put the link to that in the show notes as well, because the
Liz:people that I'm learning from...
Liz:They give away such valuable material.
Liz:I highly recommend them.
Isabel:Do you remember when you first became aware of podcasts and
Isabel:started listening to them yourself?
Liz:My husband has been listening to them for probably 10 years.
Liz:I think I began listening maybe five years ago...
Liz:it was when the first season of Serial...
Liz:Do you know the, show Serial?
Liz:Sarah Koenig is the Creator.
Liz:It was a story of a young man who had been accused of murdering his girlfriend.
Liz:She did this 10 part series that was absolutely fascinating.
Liz:It was a style of both interview, and storytelling, and sound design.
Liz:It was gorgeously produced, and the twists in the story were amazing!
Liz:Luckily, I came to it, when most of the episodes had already been released.
Liz:So that I could binge it!!!
Liz:I hated the idea of having to wait a week, for the next episode.
Liz:I wouldn't have been able to stand that, but that was, my first introduction.
Liz:Since then I have fallen in love with a number of others.
Isabel:Excellent.
Isabel:I asked because I'm pretty new to podcast Many of my entrepreneurial
Isabel:friends have been consuming pod content for a number of years...
Isabel:but for me, it's probably only in the last two, three years, that it's become
Isabel:part of my life and even more so since the pandemic, where I seem to slow my
Isabel:routine down a bit more, and I have more time to walk and listen to audio.
Isabel:I love, I love.
Isabel:The opportunity to feel like I'm almost part of a conversation
Isabel:like you and I are having.
Isabel:I listen in and learn something that I otherwise would not have been exposed to.
Isabel:I like that it's manageable time segments as well.
Isabel:So that's good.
Isabel:(Yeah) Alrighty...
Isabel:I really appreciate you sharing sort of the...
Isabel:Inside the candor of...
Isabel:What it's like to be a podcaster...
Isabel:and make that commitment.
Isabel:I know there's a great deal more.
Isabel:you would come back again maybe we'll talk specifically about that.
Isabel:For any of our listeners who are thinking (meh) kind of like to, but I'm
Isabel:a little afraid of what I don't know.
Liz:Wouldn't it be interesting to have the conversation with
Liz:your podcast teacher too?
Liz:Have the three of us talk about it.
Isabel:Yeah, absolutely.
Isabel:I recently interviewed Loubna Zarrou...
Liz:Ohhh, I just met her through your group and she is very interesting.
Liz:Ooh,
Isabel:Totally, in fact her episode was launched today, we're recording
Isabel:this interview with Liz today on April the 28th, and Loubna's story is equally
Isabel:fascinating on how she came to have a podcast, which I just loved the name...
Isabel:That's what hooked me...
Isabel:The Entrepreneurs Sushi Club podcast.
Isabel:How can you not check out?
Isabel:What is that about?
Isabel:I love that style that she has.
Isabel:This is great...
Isabel:It's a way that we are becoming connected with each other all around the world.
Isabel:Part of my great passion with Lift As You Climb is...
Isabel:The more you understand about someone else, the more that creates
Isabel:this community, of wanting to help each other and to climb together.
Liz:I want to say how well you model that, you asked me, what my thoughts
Liz:about Lift As You Climb were...
Liz:You are the picture of that..
Liz:You are always putting other people first and giving them opportunities...
Liz:Sharing things to your community about your community.
Liz:You model it brilliantly.
Liz:And I really admire that.
Isabel:Well, thank you very much for saying that.
Isabel:It's very easy for me because I've had so many experiences in my own life where
Isabel:others have reached back, giving me a hand up and one of my super powers that goes
Isabel:along well with that is I'm fascinated by the unique qualities of people that I
Isabel:meet and what makes them distinct and what their gifts are and their super powers.
Isabel:This is a great platform for me in looking for other...
Isabel:I'm going to say women because that's mostly who my message is directed to.
Isabel:But it is not exclusive of anybody.
Isabel:To find other people that embrace that whole philosophy that...
Isabel:we do better.
Isabel:, We do well, when we are doing good, with others.
Isabel:And how, just joyful is that, to discover what other people do and
Isabel:what's their gift to the world.
Liz:The idea of having a conversation with somebody who
Liz:thinks you're fascinating, is a pretty wonderful experience.
Liz:I mean, you can easily bring out the best in someone, when they
Liz:feel like you're fascinated.
Liz:I like that feeling.
Isabel:Good, then I'm coming back to talk to you often.
Isabel:I have barely, barely glimpsed...
Isabel:At all of the excitement, and the adventure of your life, and how...
Isabel:when I first met you I thought, Oh, she is very introverted, very quiet.
Isabel:Maybe I'm a little too out there.
Isabel:But as days went by, or the minutes went by, I thought...
Isabel:ooh, there's another little facet of this personality that didn't show right away.
Isabel:Glad I stuck around here for a little while.
Liz:Glad you did too.
Isabel:Yes, Yes.
Isabel:Yes.
Isabel:It's so cool.
Isabel:thank you for that.
Isabel:What I haven't talked to you about, and I'm really curious now.
Isabel:You mentioned your coaching business how does that all tie into...
Isabel:Who Liz is, and how she shows up in the world?
Isabel:Tell me a little bit about that.
Liz:I call myself a productive life coach, and what I mean by a productive
Liz:life, is one where you are fulfilling your dreams, your reaching your goals.
Liz:You're at your own pace, by your own definition.
Liz:And you may hesitate now and then, you may get a little bogged down, but you pick
Liz:yourself back up and you move forward, at the end of the day, you feel accomplished.
Liz:My ideal clients are probably not driving type A personalities.
Liz:They are women who might struggle with motivation, but they still
Liz:want to live productive lives.
Liz:They still feel like they want to reach their goals.
Liz:basically I'm coaching myself.
Liz:That's my sweet spot.
Liz:I have achieved a version of success, that is really comfortable to me.
Liz:I haven't always felt this good about myself.
Liz:I feel like I have some things that I can guide people, who are like me...
Liz:so they don't necessarily have to go through what I went through.
Liz:, I really like coaching older women around productivity,
Liz:your own style of productivity.
Isabel:I so appreciate that.
Isabel:And, I'm recalling now an article I read that you had written about
Isabel:finding the right productivity style.
Isabel:And I thought, you're absolutely right.
Isabel:Not everybody's Type A.
Isabel:Not everybody has a fire burning under the soles of their feet to do
Isabel:something That in societal standards, a measure of success or accomplishment.
Isabel:We are all very, very different.
Isabel:My deceased ex-mother-in-law, I loved her dearly for her very
Isabel:clear perspective on the world.
Isabel:She was a little like four and a half foot tall English woman from Coventry, England.
Isabel:And she said, I don't want people to be like wallpaper, that
Isabel:can't all be the same and match.
Isabel:So there we are...
Isabel:To be able to offer up a supportive system for...
Isabel:Who you are.
Isabel:And you know, my favorite topic...
Isabel:Who am I now?
Isabel:And what feels good for me?
Liz:Well you were saying, Loubna also works with people on
Liz:productivity, but she coaches in much different way from the way I do.
Liz:Her ideal clients are different and her approach is different.
Liz:The world is big, and there's room for lots of us out there.
Isabel:Absolutely true.
Isabel:Absolutely true.
Isabel:That's why I've never understood why people get all hung up on competition
Isabel:and being proprietary about everything the world is huge, it's vast, and the
Isabel:opportunities, and the needs are vast.
Isabel:If you feel like somebody is copying exactly what you're doing, then
Isabel:it's time that you up-leveled and maybe improved what you are doing
Isabel:for the people that it matters to.
Isabel:Right.
Isabel:This is so cool, to have this conversation and to affirm, that there are women
Isabel:like us, in our sixties, out there...
Isabel:going...
Isabel:Yeah, there's a better way to do this for me now.
Liz:I'm nowhere near dead and there's a lot more life left and one
Liz:of the great joys of menopause is that I don't care the way I used to.
Liz:There's a whole lot of self doubt that I left behind.
Isabel:Oh, okay.
Isabel:Now that is definitely a place holder.
Isabel:That's a pin in what I want to bring you back to talk about with me.
Isabel:How differently we feel about ourselves now and what were the
Isabel:significant changes or milestones?
Isabel:So before I let you go, we've hinted at a lot of very interesting facts about you.
Isabel:I certainly will be providing in the show notes where people will be able to connect
Isabel:and get more involved in your orbit.
Isabel:Would you share something that we might not be able to find
Isabel:on Google about Liz Sumner?
Liz:The first thing that comes to my mind is that in 1987, I
Liz:went to the miss America pageant.
Liz:I had been a pageant junkie for most of my life, my best friend was even
Liz:a stronger pageant junkie than I.
Liz:We went to Atlantic city for a week and we watched the way they set
Liz:it up every night of the week is like a mini pageant because they do
Liz:all of the talent competition and the gowns and the bathing suits.
Liz:Every night of the week then only the, semifinalists, do
Liz:it on the Saturday night.
Liz:The woman who ran the choreography for the group numbers was my dancing
Liz:school teacher when I was nine.
Liz:so I got to see Ms.
Liz:Marsha again, it was a really silly experience.
Liz:That was a lot of fun.
Liz:Of course, I picked the winner...
Liz:I had no doubt, it was Kaye Lani Rae Rafko.
Liz:There was a press conference afterwards, and I got to ask her a
Liz:question in the press conference.
Liz:That was a major moment.
Isabel:See Ms.
Isabel:Marsha again, like Wow!
Isabel:I would not have ever guessed, that is what you were going
Isabel:to tell me, so love that.
Isabel:I'm going to share my Rockette story with you.
Isabel:Thank you again.
Isabel:Absolutely.
Isabel:A joy to speak with you.
Isabel:I look forward to our next opportunity, in audio in video,
Isabel:but especially in real life.
Liz:Isabel, it has been such a pleasure.
Liz:I really enjoy talking with you.
Isabel:Ciao!!!
