Stephanie Shipper, Conquer Your Enemies of Potential

08/26/2026

𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫
August Theme: 𝐀𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐓𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐮𝐞 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐝

Article on Grit:
𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬:

“𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒖𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒕𝒚-𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏.” — 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧

As my mentor has always emphasized, “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐮.” Simply engaging in the daily ritual of practicing the necessary steps toward what is important can truly be the difference that makes the difference.
Enclosed, please find an excerpt from the article, “𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬.”

Read the article here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-grit-more-important-than-intelligence-talent-success-shipper-thd6c/

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞:
Call: (919) 572-2215
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://lnkd.in/gJSB6X53
Linkedin: https://lnkd.in/gYmcRuWt
https://lnkd.in/g2ca7kb3
www.stephanieshipper.com

Success is often associated with talent and intelligence, but there is another factor that plays a crucial role in achieving one's potential: grit. Grit is defined by psychologists as the "perseverance and passion for long-term goals".

08/25/2026

08/08/2026

𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫
A 12-Month Plan to Focus and Develop Virtue
“𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬.”

August Theme: 𝐀𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐓𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐮𝐞 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐝

“Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on to an incomplete task.”
- William James

Promoting and focusing on what is truly important in the long term and seeing yourself achieve your long-term vision may be one of the most important keys to overcoming burnout and feeling genuinely accomplished in life.

Beginning with the end in mind, therefore, becomes your primary goal for developing sustained self-esteem. Making this your weekly focus creates a solid foundation that helps you withstand life's inevitable challenges and unexpected events. Even when setbacks occur, you have a framework that enables you to get back on the horse and continue moving forward.

Stephen Covey provides a well-tested Four Quadrants model for managing your time. These quadrants offer a practical structure for prioritizing what is most important and keeping your long-term goals in focus:

1. Urgent and Important
2. Important, but Not Urgent
3. Not Urgent, but Not Important
4. Neither Urgent nor Important (Avoid if Possible)

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞:
Call: (919) 572-2215
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://lnkd.in/gJSB6X53
Linkedin: https://lnkd.in/gYmcRuWt
https://lnkd.in/g2ca7kb3
www.stephanieshipper.com

08/01/2026

𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐚 🌲🛶

"𝑰𝒏 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒌𝒔."
— John Muir

There is something profoundly grounding about being surrounded by towering mountains, calm waters, and the quiet rhythm of nature. Exploring Deep Cove by kayak offered more than breathtaking views—it was a reminder that perspective often comes when we slow down.

In seasons of constant demands, uncertainty, and change, nature invites us to pause, breathe, and reconnect with what truly matters. The stillness of the water and the strength of the landscape remind us that resilience isn't about resisting every wave—it's about learning to move through them with purpose and balance.

Sometimes our greatest insights don't come from the next meeting or the next goal. They come from moments of reflection, gratitude, and the simple beauty of the world around us.

Here's to making space for experiences that restore our perspective and renew our capacity to lead with clarity. 💙

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞:
Call: (919) 572-2215
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://lnkd.in/gJSB6X53
Linkedin: https://lnkd.in/gYmcRuWt
https://lnkd.in/g2ca7kb3
www.stephanieshipper.com

07/16/2026

𝐒𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝

In a world of cell phones, emails, and limited personal contact, the art of truly understanding is virtually lost.

This talk restores the ability to truly understand what a person needs beyond
what we believe they said. When we release the habit of mind reading and recognize that mind reading is often misreading, we begin to build trust, deepen relationships, and connect to what truly matters.

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞:
Call: (919) 572-2215
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://lnkd.in/gJSB6X53
Linkedin: https://lnkd.in/gYmcRuWt
https://lnkd.in/g2ca7kb3
www.stephanieshipper.com

View the program here: https://lnkd.in/gD7FS5Hf

07/09/2026

There are places inside Florida's state park system that feel genuinely prehistoric — not in a dramatic movie sense, but in the quiet, unsettling way of realizing the forest around you has looked almost exactly like this for thousands of years and has never needed anything from the modern world to survive. 🌿🛶 Fakahatchee Strand is one of those places, and it earns that feeling completely.
Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park protects the largest strand swamp in North America, a slow-moving sheet of water that seeps southward through a dense cathedral of bald cypress and royal palms along a natural limestone depression in Collier County. It is home to the largest concentration of native orchid species in North America, including the ghost orchid — one of the rarest and most elusive flowering plants on the continent, made famous in Susan Orlean's book and the film that followed it. The park sees a fraction of the visitors that the Everglades attracts, which means on a weekday morning you can paddle its blackwater trails in something close to genuine solitude, surrounded by a living ecosystem that has been largely undisturbed for centuries. 🌸🌴
Florida's lesser-known parks often hold its most extraordinary experiences. Which state or national park in Florida has felt the most like stepping into a completely different world?

07/08/2026

𝑽𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝑰𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝑳𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓
A 12 Month Plan to Focus/Develop Virtue
𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕, 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔.

Month of July Theme:
𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐨𝐫𝐭, 𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐳𝐞 & 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡

“𝘿𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙚 𝙨𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙖 𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙧 & 𝙖 𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝” - Claire Montrose

The ability to sort through our personal and professional experiences, synthesize what we learn, and recognize and live according to the truth leads to the ultimate rewards of peace, accomplishment, and a life lived with energy and intention. Developing the wisdom to discern what is true—and choosing to act on that truth despite the challenges it may bring—is a lifelong journey. Through this process of discernment, we cultivate a deeper sense of purpose and experience the lasting rewards of an intentional, authentic life.
The following roadmaps are adapted from Ignatian and Quaker discernment practices, which provide thoughtful frameworks for reflection, decision-making, and living in alignment with one's values.
*****
𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐢𝐬𝐝𝐨𝐦: 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝟏𝟎𝟏
What must I do? What may I do? There are myriad options in any one moment, let alone any one lifetime. Each of us is a deep well of spirit and grace, even as we are also busy people engaged in a complex world. How often do we dip into this refreshing well that helps to shape direction and meaning in our decisions? This graphic volume is a manual in spiritual discernment, the art of making decisions in light of our spiritual natures. Most of the wisdom about discernment of spirits and decision-making is pulled from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola but with a modern twist. The content is of equal interest for those who are already engaged in a lifelong journey of faith, and for those who consider themselves “spiritual but not necessarily religious.”
*****
𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞:
Call: (919) 572-2215
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://lnkd.in/gJSB6X53
Linkedin: https://lnkd.in/gYmcRuWt
https://lnkd.in/g2ca7kb3
www.stephanieshipper.com

07/02/2026

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦!🌿🎉

Stephanie has successfully completed the Louisiana Master Naturalist Certification Course, an intensive program that combines classroom instruction with hands-on field experiences to educate participants about Louisiana's diverse ecosystems, native plants and wildlife, forestry, wetlands, ecology, conservation, and natural resource management. Throughout the program, she explored forests, marshes, and waterways while learning from experts and gaining the knowledge and skills to become a better steward of Louisiana's natural environment.

This achievement reflects Stephanie's dedication to conservation, environmental education, and serving her community. The Louisiana Master Naturalist Certification is a 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝟓𝟎-𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 designed to equip participants with the knowledge and practical experience needed to become informed advocates for Louisiana's natural resources.

Congratulations on this well-earned accomplishment. 💚

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞:
Call: (919) 572-2215
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://lnkd.in/gJSB6X53
Linkedin: https://lnkd.in/gYmcRuWt
https://lnkd.in/g2ca7kb3
www.stephanieshipper.com

06/24/2026

The longer I live, the more deeply I learn that love — whether we call it friendship or family or romance — is the work of mirroring and magnifying each other’s light. Gentle work. Steadfast work. Life-saving work in those moments when life and shame and sorrow occlude our own light from our view, but there is still a clear-eyed loving person to beam it back. In our best moments, we are that person for another.

~ James Baldwin

[Art: Oleg Shupliak]

06/23/2026

Amazing Restoration project at Sam Houston Jones State Park in Calcasieu Parish !