Short Story Long: Life Lessons from Leaders, Coaches, and Entrepreneurs
Short Story Long shares life-changing stories of growth, resilience, and reinvention from leaders, coaches, and everyday people navigating pivotal turning points. Hosted by leadership coach Beki Fraser, each episode explores the moments that shaped someone's path and the lessons we can all learn.
Every other week, Beki follows up with a Skill Builder episode that breaks down insights from the previous story into practical tools, reflection prompts, and leadership actions.
Whether you're building a business, transitioning into a new career, or learning to lead with greater purpose, this podcast offers real stories and practical strategies to help you grow. New episodes every other week.
Episodes
68 episodes
When Your Dream Job Evolves — Michelle Davis' Story
You can “pick your own hours” and still feel like you never stop working. That tension kicks off a candid conversation with executive coach Michelle Davis about the real cost of solopreneur life, from the guilt of taking time off to the constan...
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Season 3
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Episode 12
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52:43
Leadership Through Uncertainty
Leadership doesn’t wait for you to feel ready. It shows up when a team is stuck, when a tough decision is sitting untouched, or when the tension in the room is obvious and no one names it. I’m Beki Fraser, and I’m breaking down the leadership s...
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Season 3
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Episode 11
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22:49
Leaving The Ladder — Ed Holinski's Story
What does it take to pivot from a successful sales career into shaping the culture and capability of a global company—without formal training? We sit down with Ed Holinski to unpack the inflection point that moved him from brokerage and risk se...
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Season 3
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Episode 10
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51:42
When Control Becomes the Problem
What if the fastest way to lead better isn’t more hustle, but clearer language for your strengths and a smarter design for your team? We explore how to move from forcing outcomes to architecting around what people naturally do well, so pressure...
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Season 3
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Episode 9
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20:19
Self-Awareness at Work — Ingrid Stabb’s Story
A frantic book club, a late-night search, and an unexpected coffee with a hero set off a career pivot that rewired how we think about time, collaboration, and leadership. Becky sits down with author and Enneagram expert Ingrid Stabb to explore ...
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Season 3
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Episode 8
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45:57
Respect Under Pressure: Why Civility Matters at Work
Pressure is rising in many workplaces, but turning up the heat rarely creates better thinking. Becky makes the case that civility is not window dressing—it’s the operating system for clear decisions, resilient strategy, and teams that speak up ...
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Season 3
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Episode 7
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25:45
So You Tried Harder And It Got Worse
We trace the quiet moment when hard work stops moving the needle and show how to shift from good intentions to real impact. We share stories about overfunctioning, misaligned roles, and becoming the bottleneck, and we offer simple tools to buil...
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Season 3
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Episode 6
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12:10
Alignment Over Achievement — Robert Heath's Story
Ever chased “go-to” status only to realize it’s costing you results at work and presence at home? That’s the tension we unpack with Robert Heath Sr., a nationally recognized leadership strategist and former Marine Corps officer who rebuilt a st...
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Season 3
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Episode 5
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1:09:55
Stop Performing Leadership And Start Practicing It
Ever felt like you’re acting like a leader instead of being one? We dig into the real difference between performing leadership and practicing it, and why steady confidence grows from competence, follow-through, and results under pressure. No gi...
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Season 3
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Episode 4
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19:14
Leadership Without Pretending — Jose Bordetas' Story
A single moment can rewire a life. For Jose Bordetas, it was the birth of his daughter—and the decision to trade the kitchen line and tour buses for a people-first leadership path that scaled from help desk to global operations. We dig into how...
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Season 3
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Episode 3
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49:40
Self-Regulation Is Leadership
Pressure doesn’t make great leaders—presence does. We dig into why the best leadership moves often begin inside your nervous system, long before a difficult conversation or high-stakes decision. Drawing on lived experience and insights from a p...
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Season 3
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Episode 2
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18:55
Beyond The Plan: Compassion And Power — Annie Paraison's Story
A quiet alarm in the body can be louder than any strategic plan. That’s where our conversation with Annie begins: the moment joy dimmed, restlessness rose, and an inner knowing said it was time to step away from nonprofit work and build somethi...
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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47:00
Human Choices, Real Leadership
We revisit five leaders whose choices show how humanity shapes real decisions under pressure. Fulfillment, empowerment, grace, resilience, and agency move from ideas to habits you can use right away.• Integrating identity with leadershi...
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Season 2
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Episode 39
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14:58
Lead Through The Swirl
Uncertainty isn’t just noisy—it quietly warps how we lead. Beki digs into the hidden cost of a chaotic year: not only drained calendars and frayed nerves, but a distorted leadership identity that turns visionary thinkers into reactive firefight...
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Season 2
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Episode 38
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22:07
Trust Your Voice: Two Interviews Reveal the Heart of My Work
Start with the person, not the playbook. That simple shift runs through Beki’s journey from HR leader managing mergers and reorganizations to a coach who helps thoughtful, questioning leaders turn inner clarity into outer results. Across two ca...
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Season 2
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Episode 37
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1:00:28
No, Not Every Challenge Is A Gift, But Gratitude Still Works
I explore gratitude as a daily leadership practice that turns ambition into belonging and presence into progress. There's a simple three-direction exercise—upward, outward, inward—to make gratitude real at work and at home.• gratitude a...
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Season 2
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Episode 36
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5:04
When Vision Meets Uncertainty, Choose Presence
Plans rarely survive contact with real life, and that’s where leadership truly begins. Drawing on Kaila’s leap from solopreneur to agency owner while becoming a parent, we explore how to trade grind for grace and control for connection without ...
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Season 2
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Episode 35
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24:30
Shifting Leadership From Me to We — Kaila Sachse’s Story
Ever built two babies at once—one human, one company? That’s the real-world tension Kaila brings to the mic as she shares how a leap from solo designer to agency owner collided with a surprise pregnancy, forcing her to redesign time, pricing, a...
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Season 2
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Episode 34
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45:59
Rewriting the Story of Success
What if safety and fulfillment were not opposites, but partners you could design on purpose? We walk through a practical, human path from control to contribution—using a true story about shifting from programming to journalism as a lens for sma...
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Season 2
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Episode 33
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26:22
Starting to Shift with a What If — Holden Galusha's Story
What if the safest choice isn’t the most honest one? That question frames a candid conversation with science journalist Holden Galusha, who started in programming for stability and found his voice by following curiosity, not clichés. A personal...
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Season 2
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Episode 32
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47:30
You Don’t Need Confidence. You Need Practice
The ground will shift—so what do you train for? We dive into resilience you can actually use: the steady, repeatable practice of recovering with intention, not the myth of unbreakable confidence. Sparked by Greg Stephens’ honest story about nea...
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Season 2
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Episode 31
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20:00
Everything You Create, Promote, or Allow — Greg Stephens' Story
Some choices don’t arrive with fanfare—they hit like a shove out of the nest. Greg Stephens shares the moment he was on his own at seventeen and the vow that followed: choose the path that honors your gut, then move one step at a time until the...
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Season 2
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Episode 30
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39:24
From Drifting to Driven: Building Career Ownership and Growth
Ever feel like your career is steering you instead of the other way around? We dig into the shift from autopilot to agency and unpack how development-minded leadership turns growth into a daily practice rather than a once-a-year form. Drawing o...
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Season 2
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Episode 29
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17:20
No More Autopilot: Claim Your Leadership Agency — Tammy Daniels’ Story
What happens when you finally take control of your career? Tammy Daniels' story reveals how one pivotal decision transformed her professional trajectory and personal understanding.After years of following the work at established law fir...
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Season 2
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Episode 28
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57:09
Layoffs and Job Hugging: Leading Through Uncertainty
Layoffs shatter our sense of security and challenge our professional identity in profound ways. Whether you've just received the news, survived while colleagues departed, or sense the anxiety of possible workforce reductions, this episode offer...
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Season 2
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Episode 27
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24:55