Hi Reader,

This week in episode 310, we're talking about eating fire and chasing tornadoes. 😎

Jackie Lowery grew up in a very small town in rural Mississippi, the oldest of three. When she was a little girl, her grandmother had her memorizing and reciting in front of the church, and during severe storms she required her and her two younger siblings to turn off the lights and be still and quiet while the storm passed.

Jackie didn't understand any of it at the time. Only years later, reflecting as an adult, did she recognize that her grandmother had been giving her a gift in those years.

In this episode, Jackie shares how those lessons, along with the responsibilities she took on at home while her mom worked nights, turned into a lifelong habit of figuring things out.

She became an expert at figuring out life's challenges.

With each new challenge, Jackie faced something new and scary. From driving into Memphis every day for her first corporate role, to relocating to Chattanooga, Tennessee, with her youngest son to join Volkswagen as it built a new manufacturing plant, with no family or connections in the city, to taking on projects she'd never done before.

One day, over a coffee conversation with her mentor, she heard the words that described her. He said he was looking for people who eat fire and chase tornadoes.

She immediately resonated with this phrase because it described how she was raised and how she figures things out.

Our conversation explores how she balances that strength with self-awareness, why she asks whether it's the fire or the fireplace, and how, at this stage of her career, she's becoming more selective about which fires she chooses to eat.

Jackie Lowery: Eat Fire. Chase Tornadoes

As noted, we discussed the importance of self-awareness as a strong foundation for facing all of life's challenges. In my upcoming webinar, The Self Aware Seller, I focus on the challenges of getting people to say yes to your ideas, whether you're selling a product or service, or presenting your 2027 plan to the Board. You'll hear me walk through the five insights below in this free webinar.

I will unpack these five insights in a one-hour (free) webinar to be delivered twice before the end of 2026:

In this webinar, I'll cover the following principles and practices:

Leading others. A simple way to recognize the people you serve at every level of their work, so clients and prospects feel seen, not sold to. Put it to work: pause before you prescribe, and recognize the work behind the deal.
Leading through change. How to handle price increases, client transitions, and uncertainty with conversations that build trust instead of avoiding them. Put it to work: when a client goes quiet, lower their risk.
The Trust Audit. Five questions built to surface what a client isn't saying, before it turns into a lost deal.
Customer signals you might be overlooking, and how to read them.
One question that will change how you walk into your next sales conversation.
Bonus: every client's favorite word, and how to use it in your favor.

This session is for you if:

You're a solopreneur, consultant, coach, or small business owner who wears a sales hat.
You sell B2B and want more influence in your conversations.
Your results are good, you sense they could be stronger, and you suspect the answer isn't another sales tactic.
You often present ideas that you want people to agree with.

This free webinar isn't a course on scripts, how to pitch, or closing techniques. It's about the person doing the selling. You!

Attend The Self-Aware Seller Webinar

Choose one of these two dates (same session):
November 13th, 12 PM Eastern
December 4th, 12 PM Eastern

Can't attend live? Register to get the replay.

You Can Catch This Week's Episode:

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What Growing Up Self-Reliant Teaches You About Leadership

In episode 310, Jackie Lowery shares how she became an adult who "eats fire and chases tornadoes," not literally, but metaphorically.

Who This Is For

Leaders who’ve been told they’re “too direct” or “too intense” and aren’t sure what to do with that feedback
Professionals stepping into a role, a city, or a challenge they’ve never faced before
Anyone who learned self-reliance early and wants to understand how it shapes the way they lead
Parents and grandparents curious about the lasting impact of lessons kids don’t understand yet
Leaders later in their careers who are rethinking where their time and energy should go

Five Key Takeaways

Some of the most important lessons don’t come with an explanation. Jackie’s grandmother never told her why she was the one speaking in church or sitting silently through storms. As a kid, Jackie felt singled out. Only as an adult, looking back, did she realize her grandmother had been planting seeds.
Stillness is a skill for uncertainty, not just storms. “Be still and be quiet” came back to Jackie in her first corporate job in Memphis, when the storm was an internal one created by everything new. Quieting that noise let her focus, contribute, and speak up instead of playing small.
Figuring things out can be learned early. As the oldest of three, with her mom working nights, Jackie helped run the household and did her homework without help. That built the learning agility and resilience she later used at Volkswagen to build and launch an entire internship program she’d never done before.
Ask whether it’s the fire or the fireplace. When Jackie heard she was too direct or too intense, she did the self-awareness work on where to turn the knob down. She also learned to ask whether a room was built to hold her strengths, and whether she belonged in it.
Later in a career, the question changes. In her 50s, Jackie asks less about what she wants to accomplish and more about where she wants to make an impact, who she surrounds herself with, and which fires deserve her energy.