The Power of Storytelling: A Year of Connection and Resilience

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One year ago, we embarked on a thrilling journey with You Only Go Once, little knowing the transformative stories we would uncover, the profound connections we would forge, and the ways in which our own lives would be changed forever. As we celebrate our first anniversary, we're grateful for the myriad of guests who've graced our podcast, each bringing their unique narratives to bear. From the adventurous duo of Mary and Cassie Chomyn and their tales of conquering Mount Kilimanjaro, to the countless other voices who've inspired us to live life to its fullest, we're humbled by the experiences shared with us.

Navigating the labyrinth of life's highs, lows, and unexpected twists can be daunting, but within that chaos, we've found an illuminating beacon in the wisdom and resilience of our guests. Our own transformations and personal insights have been buoyed by their impactful narratives, bringing a sense of joy and purpose to our lives. As we prepare to embark on another year, we anticipate many more dialogues filled with resilience, courage, serendipity, and most importantly, life – after all, you only go once. Share in our gratitude for a year of storytelling, connection, and celebration.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hello, hello, hello everyone.
Hey, this is a special segmentfor you Only Go Once, a podcast
that I, Cheryl Cantafio and myfantastic co-host, Eileen Grimes
do regularly, where we explorestories around the limited time
we have on this Earth to createa fully layered life.

(00:23):
Because you only go once.
And it's special today becausewe have approached our one-year
anniversary and our minds areblown Unbelievable.
We've had quite a year, yeah.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
Definitely Holy, holy cats, holy cats indeed.
So obviously not a typicalepisode in any way, shape or
form.
But yeah, I wanted to look backand just reflect and have some
gratitude.
I think, gosh, it's that timeof year anyway, right, so might
as well have that approach withit.
But it's funny because Cherylactually reached out to me just

(01:02):
yesterday Something's happeningin December we should maybe
think about, and it was theone-year anniversary and, cheryl
, I can't believe it's been ayear.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
I know it only feels like sometimes it feels just
like a couple weeks that we juststarted this, and then we look
back and we have so manydifferent guests that have made
such an impact, from our firstguests, mary and Cassie Choman,
who shared with us theirexciting stories about climbing

(01:35):
Mount Kilimanjaro and Cassie, bythe way, at the time was only
anywhere between 15 and 16 yearsold.
It's such an impactful story tosee how people are just living
their lives to the fullest andwhen they have something that
either poses a challenge orthere's something out there that

(01:56):
calls to them, they answer thecall, and we've been so
privileged to talk to so manypeople.

Speaker 2 (02:02):
Definitely and I mean I will speak for myself in this
and that when we started this ayear ago well, I mean a little
more than a year ago, to be fair, because it takes time to get
stuff together and order micsand stuff Small things, the
little things, small things.
You know, I myself, outside ofthe guests, was in a very

(02:27):
different place a year ago andthat felt a lot darker and a lot
of heavy and you know, havingthe guests on that we've had has
just been so much light and somany of the things that I needed
to hear this past year that Ididn't even know that I needed

(02:52):
and I just I feel reallygrateful for all of that, while
also having time with you.
You know, after leaving afull-time job where we got to
work together, I, to be able tostill be here with you and all
of that and and have this spacefor us is incredible.
And then, while navigatingthrough ending a marriage and

(03:14):
things like that, to to havethese incredible stories of of
living life on purpose and inpurpose has been everything I
needed, everything I never knewI needed this past year.

Speaker 1 (03:28):
I love that friend, thank you and same.
You know, 2023, I've often saidon this podcast, has chosen
violence.
So you know, there have been somany bright spots throughout
this year and just the fact thatpeople were like sure we'll
come and talk I mean that to me,is just it will always be
mind-blowing.
You know, when we started this,this podcast adventure, eileen

(03:52):
was the one that said this ishappening and and, as you know,
that's like one of our keyquestions that we ask, like
what's on your this is happeninglist?
And I will honestly say thatstarting a podcast was not on my
this is happening list untilEileen kept saying it'll be fun,
why we try this, sure?
And and here we are a year laterand I look forward to doing our

(04:17):
recordings with people.
I am constantly amazed at thepeople who who are willing to
give their times to us.
I'm thrilled to pieces that wehave an audience base and some
of those are international.
We know that we have at leastone person from Germany that
that listens on a regular basis,which is really kind of cool so

(04:42):
yeah, yeah, yes.
All in all, I would just saythis is a wonderful experience
that we want to continue andhave many more anniversaries to
celebrate and, eileen, I can'tthank you enough for saying this
is happening, enough to thepoint where I listened and
agreed to this, and we've beenpartners in proverbial crime for

(05:04):
many years working together,and I love that we are carrying
on our adventures in this and Iadore you and thank you so much
for believing in me in this.

Speaker 2 (05:18):
Thank you always my friend, truly always.
Well, with that I think we'llkind of wrap up, but just, you
know, gratitude for each other,certainly, and gratitude for
those of you who just keepshowing up and listening and all
of our amazing guests and thoseyet to come.
I'm amazed in this space and,yeah, I just I can only imagine

(05:42):
what's going to be happening atthrough the end of this year and
then in 2024, and I just can'twait to see it same here.

Speaker 1 (05:49):
All right, everyone.
So thank you again and help uscelebrate.
So reach out to us.
Let's know what your favoriteepisode was.
If you're interested in being aguest, if you have something
that you want to share, pleasereach out to us.
You can reach out to us onInstagram.
That's probably the best bet,and it's you only go once, and

(06:09):
we look forward to more excitingstories ahead, and potentially
your story.
So with that, on behalf ofEileen Grimes and myself, thank
you and again, thank you forbringing us to our first year
anniversary.
Take care bye.