Gray Matters Podcast Hosted By Renee Collins

08/01/2025

Over the past year, when traveling outside of Kentucky- I have met THREE people who have introduced themselves to me and it goes a little like this….

“Hi, I’m Karen…but I am a NICE Karen”

How awful, challenging, stressful, and horrific it must be to feel as a result of your name and for a biased label a group of people have assigned to the name alone - that you have to position your introduction in a manner that sounds like a disclaimer for the receiver to interact with you going forward!!!! And I am also talking more generic label assignment - whether it be “ok boomer” or “snowflake” or whatever the male equivalent to “Karen” is in today’s language. (I know the answer - but no longer want to “name” it as a label)

A lesson I personally learned a while ago and opened my own mind to receiving on the topic of “intent versus impact” is this- When it comes to name calling or story assigning- “intent” does not matter- “impact” does. If I step on your foot- even accidentally- it hurts. It doesn’t matter what my intent was- the impact is what creates the pain.

While you can’t feel my intent in that situation- you do feel the impact. If I accidentally run into your car with my car- I am not liable for my intent but I am liable for the impact - You do not see my intent- but you see the damage to your car.

I am one who has always not liked “joking around” because 1) there is usually some element of truth in the “joking” and 2) no matter HOW close your relationship is with someone- on any given day- you do not know how that “joking with ya” will land with that person at that moment in time. Let’s try to address the real issue of our underlying and unconscious biases - mostly attributed to our own background, experiences and past interactions that create the lens through which we see the world. All of that creates who we are both privately and publicly.

Most of what we are and most of what we know now- we learned between the ages 4-16 and those lessons are also the hardest things to shake off if they need to be shaken off. I am not saying my viewpoints are correct or assigned to you in any way shape or form either- I am simply just walking this walk through the lens of what I am observing. Your perspectives contribute to the broadening and transforming of my own.

Interview segment from Jordyne Carmack’s The Women of the Bluegrass podcast “Exploring Leadership Development in the Music Industry”

12/08/2024

I am practicing, (and failing most of the time) the virtues of patience, courage and bravery this month while purposefully engaging in a season of self-reflection, inner work, visualization and planning for a future that exists outside of my present circumstances. It is really important in times of change and crisis- that we all maintain a strong sense of who we are - to ourselves, to our family and to all others who are beneficiaries of our presence, that role and who you are in their own lives.

We all have an inner compass aligned around our own values that drives much of our behavior during the day. Just like a pilot of an airplane flies off course sometimes up to 95% of a planned route to a destination- we all do that as well each and every day, do it well each month and most likely every year- yet we almost always end up where we are supposed to be as a result of this inner compass and internal pull towards who we are, what we do and who we serve by doing all that!

17/06/2024

Jay McChord is a former University of Kentucky Mascot and tells of an early childhood dream at just 9 years old of becoming the UK Mascot someday. Film By Room 17 Productions in partnership with the UK Nunn Center for Oral History and Special Collections Research Center

Jay McChord is a former University of Kentucky Mascot and tells of an early childhood dream at just 9 years old of becoming the UK Mascot someday. Film By Room…

31/01/2024

Fabulous and most awesome share by my friend Billy Crank and to me- it represents what I talk about in my leadership classes - “ THE RUT” or what I call the - R eoccurring U niform T rap-
easy to get in to…and oh so hard to get out of….

01/11/2023

If you dont tell 👄 your story 📖 - someone else
will tell your history. When writing ✍️ that story 📖 , do not let anyone else hold the pen 🖊 . So much on my mind 🤔 today after a deep dive 🏊‍♀️ into a lot of books 📚 and articles📝 on wisdom 🤓 tv 📺 segments that came to me at just the most opportune time ⏰ that caught my attention 👀 and called for a period of mindfulness 💭 and reflection. This is on my desk and never far from sight as a focus mechanism that has served me incredibly well through tragedy, joy, disappointment and hope. If you can define what each circle ⭕️ represents to you- you will find your PURPOSE - having purpose is a compass compass 🧭 for daily living no matter what you choose to do in life- personally or professionally. When you wish upon a star- your dreams come true!

07/08/2023

Monday Morning Challenge. First read each sentence from top to bottom...THEN read each sentence starting at tht bottom to top. Life is most often entirely how you 👀 look at it.

06/06/2023

Corporate Business Renee by Day and Broadcast Media Renee by Night

28/05/2023

EPISODE #23: The Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire - Part 1 (VIDEO) On this episode of Gray Matters Hosted By Renee Collins, we interview three men who have authored…