Episode Summary
Through Emily Dickinson's poignant words about being "out with lanterns looking for myself" during a family move, Kate Harris explores how profound disruptions scatter the pieces of our identity and force us to search for our authentic selves. Dickinson's experience of losing her "memorandum" of who she was in life's chaos becomes a powerful metaphor for the transformation that occurs when we're cracked open and awakened to our true nature. Kate emphasizes that darkness isn't our enemy but the place where our most authentic self waits to be discovered, where rebellion takes root, and where our true power begins to emerge through courage and willingness to illuminate what we've kept hidden.

Creative Prompts

• Song as Mirror: Identify a song that captured your pain or truth and became "your favorite song." Write a brief note about how this song helped you recognize something authentic in yourself and inspired you to step away from conventional expectations.
• Ragnarök Reflection: List 3 structures or beliefs you're dismantling in your life and 3 new elements you're building in their place. What old patterns are you releasing, and what new perspectives are you embracing?
• Connection Exercise: Think of someone whose authenticity has inspired your own rebellion. Write down one specific moment from their journey that resonated with you and how it influenced your path. How might you acknowledge this connection?

Join The Rising

• Resources
• Instagram: @katemharris and @istoria_studio
• Join Kate's Weekly Newsletter
• Istoria Studio

Episode Overview

Drawing parallels between Steve Jobs' famous "Think Different" campaign and Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland," Kate Harris explores how both celebrate the power of seeing things differently. She reveals how Jobs, like Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole, rejected conventional wisdom and created new paths rather than following established ones. Kate emphasizes that what society calls "madness" is often innovation in disguise—the ability to hear music others cannot, to believe in impossible things, and to create your own doors rather than searching for the right ones. The episode challenges listeners to embrace their inner "mad ones" and recognize that profound curiosity and wonder-fueled thinking are what drive real change in the world.

Creative Prompts

• The Wonderland Workshop: Write a short story where Steve Jobs and Alice meet at a tea party hosted by the Mad Hatter. What impossible ideas do they share? What innovation emerges from their conversation that changes both our world and Wonderland?
• Six Impossible Things: Imagine you've been challenged to believe in six impossible things before breakfast. Things that don't exist yet but could revolutionize how you live. What are they, and why does the world need them?
• Down Your Own Rabbit Hole: Reflect on a moment when you followed curiosity despite uncertainty—a personal "rabbit hole" that led to unexpected growth or discovery. How did this experience change your perception of what's possible in your life or work?

Join The Rising

• Resources
• Instagram: @katemharris and @istoria_studio
• Kate's Weekly Newsletter
• Istoria Studio

Episode Summary

Join Kate Harris as she explores the powerful concept that profound growth comes not from choosing between easy and hard, but from choosing which hard we're willing to embrace. Through personal examples, Kate shares how they adopted the motto "non sine periculo" (not without danger) to guide their choices. She emphasizes that whether we acknowledge it or not, we are always making decisions—the question is whether we'll choose deliberately. When we select the hard that stretches us, we not only transform ourselves but become lighthouses for others standing at similar crossroads.

Creative Prompts

• Write a single text message from your future self to your present self about the hard choice you're facing today. Keep it under 50 words.
• List three everyday routines you do on autopilot. Pick one and write two short paragraphs: one describing how it feels to stay in that pattern, and one imagining how it would feel to deliberately change it.
• Choose an object in your room that represents comfort or safety to you. Write 4-5 lines about what it would mean to let it go. (Could be literal or metaphorical)

Join The Rising

• Poet's Rebellion Resources
• Instagram: @katemharris and @istoria_studio
• Kate's Weekly Newsletter

Rebel Poets Rising is produced by the Istoria Studio. To learn more, visit https://istoria.com/studio/.