00 | Listening Louder

In this inaugural episode of 'Where We Rise', host Khalila McCoy introduces the podcast's mission to foster genuine conversations and reflections among everyday people. She emphasizes the importance of listening, understanding diverse perspectives, and the growth that comes from sharing personal stories. Khalila aims to create a community where listeners feel seen and heard, encouraging them to reflect on their own experiences and learn from others.

Remember: Our growth begins with listening. Let’s rise together — one story, one conversation at a time.

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Transcript

Khalila McCoy 0:00

Hey there, welcome to Where We Rise. My name is Khalila, and I'm so excited that you are here with me. This is gonna be so much fun, and I'm so excited to share all of the things, all of the things with you. Now, when I say all the things, you're like, okay, what things? We're gonna have such great conversations with different people. The point of this podcast is for people to get on here and share about their lives, to share about a joy, to share about a struggle, to share about a circumstance, to share about anything that they feel they want the world to know. I truly believe that every single one of us has a story to tell. Every single one of us has something that can help and improve the life of others. So let me tell you about how this podcast came to be. I love talking to people. I tell people all the time one of my favorite things to do is to talk to strangers. I've had strangers just start talking to me and opening up to me about very personal and private things. And I'm sure some of you listening have had that same experience. And when that's happening, like in my head, I'm like, wow, like I don't even know you and you're sharing this with me. But also, I'm not thinking that in a weirded-out type of way. I'm thinking of that in such an honored way. Like you don't know me, but you feel comfortable enough to share these intimate details about your life with me. And I understand that it might not just be me. You might just have had the day and need it to get off your chest. And I just happen to be there, but I still feel honored to be that person to be there, to listen to them and help them. I don't want to say that I help them in any way, but I just give them that space and that opportunity to share what they're thinking. But one cool thing that I feel like I do is I'm a very reflective person. So after I've had these conversations and heard these intimate details, I always take it back and think, okay, what did I learn from this situation? What did I learn about myself? What was I thinking when they were saying things? Was I being judgmental in my head? Was I learning new information? Am I now aware of a different perspective that I didn't know existed? Does it give me pause to think in the future? How am I going to handle a situation that might come around like that? And it also gives me things to be thankful for. It gives me things to be mindful of. It gives me reasons to pray. It gives me reasons to laugh. It gives me reasons to, when I see somebody else, kind of respond to them differently than I might have had I not had that conversation with that person. Whenever somebody talks, especially when they're telling us about themselves, when they're opening up about themselves, I love the line that says, we need to listen louder than we speak. I've had people tell me some things that I'm like, hmm, that's very interesting, but like in a negative way. But the more I hear them speak, I understand their lives and where they're coming from and why they might feel the way they feel. It doesn't necessarily mean that I change how I feel or I change my core values, but it gives me a different perspective. It gives me a different way to now engage with the next person that I meet or to understand why somebody acts or reacts the way they do or doesn't react or act the way I think they should. It helps me to grow as a human being. It helps me to rise. Get it? That's where it is. That's where we rise, right? When we take the time to truly understand those around us, we elevate not only ourselves but our community. And we can share, we can share those lessons. When we listen to others, when we allow other people to share a little bit of themselves, we become better. We become stronger in that relationship and as an individual because it elevates our next conversation, it elevates our next interaction. And there's always a place to rise. No matter where you are, you can rise, you can do better, you can encourage and love and guide. So that's kind of the point of this: just to have chill, laid-back conversations with just everyday ordinary people. And we get to dive into their lives. They are, you know, they know what they're getting into. They're choosing to come on to this show and just share something that's important to them. I truly believe that every single person has a story to tell. Everybody has an experience. Everybody has something that they can say that can inspire and help other people. I have gained so much from these types of conversations. I feel like I have not that I'm like this great, wonderful, amazing person. I mean, I think I'm pretty cool. And hopefully you'll think so too, as we journey together. But I think that because I've had these experiences talking to different people, I can look at people differently and I can create relationships with people easily because of what I've learned in the past. And I want that for everybody. I want that for you too. And again, I'm not expecting you to be like, oh, I'm a brand new person tomorrow after hearing the first episode. But I really want you to reflect and think and just, you know, like I said, is it, is this story now giving you gratitude for the life that you live? Is it pushing you to change something? Is it driving you to now go talk to somebody else that you weren't talking to before or have a new perspective? What can you take from the conversations that you hear? And at the end of every conversation, I'm gonna ask the person who's sharing, based on what you've shared with us today, how can we rise? What is it that you want us as listeners to take away from this conversation? Because I think that's so important. A lot of times we say things and we're misunderstood, or the point that we think we're making doesn't necessarily get across. So I wanna give my guests the opportunity to get their point across and for you to hear what their point is. And I love that because sometimes when they're talking, you're gonna be like, oh, I didn't get that at all. I got something completely different, which is fine because there's so much that we can take from what people say. But I think it's so important for the person who's telling their story, who's sharing their life to let us know what they wanted us to get from it, how they felt they came off in this situation, how they grew and what they wanted you to really hone in on. And then we just take that and we grow with that. So always reflective, always listening louder than you're speaking. I want you to hear what everybody has to say, and I want everybody to be heard. Again, I'm just so excited for this journey. I hope I did a good job explaining why this podcast came to be. No matter where you might be when this podcast is playing, what you might be doing, I really hope you take the time to soak in the real conversation, give yourself some time to reflect, and then go and share with others.