Quiet No More

Stepping Out of the Shadows: Embracing Growth and Celebrating Heritage

• Carmen Cauthen

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What if the journey to personal fulfillment begins with a single decision to step out of the shadows? Join me, Carmen Cauthen, as I recount my exhilarating transformation from a life of quiet anonymity to one bustling with public speaking, podcasting, and creativity. With a new series of children's history books in the works, I'm embracing a path filled with curiosity and ambition. This episode is packed with stories of emotional and material organization, cultural rediscovery through theater and travel, and the sheer joy of assuming new roles. Reflecting on these adventures I invite you to consider your own next steps, be it an exciting career change, picking up a new hobby, or making room for more joy and spontaneity in your day-to-day life.

Exploration doesn't end there; the episode delves into celebrating heritage and the art of preserving memories. Discover how local events, music, and museums pay homage to cultural legacies and how something as small as a Christmas ornament can serve as a cherished souvenir from your travels. I encourage a thoughtful look at the spiritual dimensions of life and what you might hope and pray for in the future, no matter your faith. Share your journey and thoughts via email as we collectively strive to be "Quiet no more." Whether you're contemplating retirement, seeking new experiences, or simply in need of a spark of inspiration, this conversation promises insights and encouragement for your personal growth journey.

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Carmen Wimberley Cauthen is an author, speaker, and lover of history, Black history in particular. As a truth teller, she delights in finding the hidden truths about the lives of people who made a difference - whether they were unknown icons or regular everyday people.

To Learn more of Carmen:
www.carmencauthen.com
www.researchandresource.com

Speaker 1:

unseen, unheard. We've lived like that far too long. I'm carmen coffin and this is quiet, no more. So what's next for you? I know what's next for me. I am working on five or six books a dinner, I don't know. Some children's. I'm working on a children's series of books history books and there's other stuff because I am busy, my mind is busy. I think that my mind has always been busy. I've always been curious. I told you about asking why all the time, and so curiosity doesn't kill this cat. Curiosity makes this cat do some more stuff.

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But what's next for you? What are you going to work on in your life? What are you going to learn new? What are you going to transition to next? You might be at the beginning of your work life. You might be in your 20s, you might be in college. What are you going to do next? How are you going to figure it out? Is there a path? Have you already got a path planned and you're going to do this and this and this, and so you're going to follow that path, and life is not going to interrupt any of that path, is it? Ha, yes, it will. But what's next for you in this next year or two years. What things have you decided that you're going to move forward with?

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When I moved out of the house three years ago, I thought that by this point in my life I would have built a house in the country and moved there. I certainly didn't think I would be doing a podcast. I was very resistant to that idea and I didn't think I would live in Raleigh anymore, in a mid-sized city. But here I am. I didn't think I'd be doing a lot of speaking, but here I am. I didn't think I'd be doing a lot of speaking, but here I am, and it's been a delight. I am learning more things about myself than I ever thought I needed to know. I am learning more things about other people. I am finding more and more history that is important, not just to me, not just to my locality, but literally to the world that I feel such a need to share, and to share it in a way that will make people excited to learn something new.

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So what's next for you? What about in your life? Is it time to start planning retirement? Is it time to start planning kids? I don't have to do that part. I've already got to 29 and 24. They're not quite grown, yet they think they are. But what's next? Are you getting ready to be a grandparent? Are you going to be a single parent? Are you about to take a grandparent? Are you going to be a single parent? Are you about to take a new course or learn a new language? It's part of learn something new every day. Plan something different every day.

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One of the things that I'm working on also is cleaning. Organizing what I thought needed to be organized is an emotional process for me. It's actually to get rid of some things and to not feel like I have to hold on to everything and to not have to go buy something all the time that's new for me, thing all the time. That's new for me. So if you see me somewhere, ask me if I need what's in my cart, because I can use that accountability too.

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What about play? What's new for you? What's next for you in terms of play? I'm starting to go to the movies more often. I've always loved the theater and music and I didn't do very much of that for 30-some years. If my kids were in a production, I would go to that. That was usually at school. But going to a concert or going to a new movie or, you know, having having going out with groups of friends to do things like that, meeting up with somebody just to have coffee or a drink. I didn't do any of that, so that's new play for me. And traveling I didn't do very much of that either, unless it was work related. I didn't do very much of that either, unless it was work related. And then I would make sure that work related travel had some fun in it, because whenever I travel, I want to go see what the black people are doing.

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I want to know how are other localities celebrating our history? How are they celebrating our things going forward? Are there new musical programs coming out? Are there new physical things, museums? Where can I go find the next Christmas ornament to go on my tree? So if I travel, there's an ornament that's going to come home to go on the tree, because that's one of the ways that I hold memories, and memories are important. They are an important part of our legacy and they are the part that makes our life the best. What are the new things that you're going to pray for next? What are the new things that you're going to pray for next If you are in a place where you do have a religious background, or you're a Christian believer or you're Jewish or anything.

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What are the things that you're going to talk to about, to, about? So I think that's an important quiet place, that spiritual place, that meditative place, because those things help us to put the other things in perspective. And so I'm asking you what are you going to do next in that area of your life? This is going to be a short podcast today. I want you to reach out and tell me what you're going to do next. Let's start a dialogue, a conversation, because next is important and next always comes after now and we can't stay in now forever. So, when you figure out what you want to do next, or what you're going to do next, I want you to email me. Email me at carmen, at researchandresourcecom, c-a-r-m-e-n, at R-E-S-E-A-R-C-H-A-N-D-R-E-S-O-U-R-C-Ecom dot com, because I want to do, I want to hear what you're going to do next in your life, in your work, in your play and in your pray. That way, none of us will be quiet anymore. You've been listening to Quiet no, no more where I share my journey.