{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"S5:E30 - Life by Design with Brooke Clay Taylor","description":" Brooke Clay Taylor is a force. We are so excited to have her on the podcast because her story is so darn inspiring, and she\u2019s just a really cool human. In this episode, Brooke shares her journey from growing up in a small town, moving to the big city for college and work, moving back to a small town for entrepreneurship and love, and then becoming an entrepreneur, mother, and cancer survivor. This episode explores what it really looks like to design your life with intention, build community by being a \u201cvillager,\u201d and choose authenticity in both business and life. About Brooke: Brooke Clay Taylor has made a life of clearing hurdles, but she\u2019d be the first to tell you she didn\u2019t jump a single one alone. Born into a farming family in Franklin, Ind., and raised on a ranch in Perkins, Okla., anyone reading the plot to date might\u2019ve said Brooke\u2019s story was more Lifetime than real-life, more Hallmark than even half-believable. When a high school guidance counselor told Brooke her average grades and would-be first-generation college student status made her a better candidate for job training than higher education, Brooke leaped anyway. She landed with bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degrees and firm footing for a career in strategic communications. Her career, and later, love, took Brooke from Oklahoma City to Charlotte, Austin to Nashville. She left Music City for Payne County when the fairy tale proved fiction, trading the keys for a middle-Tennessee Craftsman to a red-dirt-speckled horse barn. With three figures in her bank account, Brooke jumped again: This time to launch Rural Gone Urban, a strategic communications business to support farmers, ranchers and agriculture clients worldwide with her digital prowess. She married Damon \u2014 a fellow Perkins kid and junior high crush come full circle \u2014 in a snow globe scene, and together, they made a home on the shores of Lake Tenkiller in Eastern Oklahoma. The next summer, they welcomed their daughter, Elsie, the same day Brooke was diagnosed with breast cancer. Despite extensive treatment and being declared cancer-free, it returned two years later. And it was angry. Whether in finding the courage to take the first step into a lecture hall she allegedly didn\u2019t belong or the infusion center to face another round of chemo, Brooke credits her support system for never letting her fall. She founded the Rural Gone Urban Foundation to help women jumping hurdles \u2014 the B students, the big dreamers, the start-overers, and especially the women in the ring with cancer \u2014 who don\u2019t have the support that has propelled her at every leap.  In this episode, we cover: Leaving big-city success to build something meaningful in a small town Receiving a cancer diagnosis the day her daughter was born Building a nonprofit as a vehicle for legacy, not just charity The quiet tension of being nationally respected but locally unseen Why pain comparison silences connection\u2014and how to change it Links + Resources Mentioned: Rural Gone Urban website: https:\/\/ruralgoneurban.com\/ Rural Gone Urban Foundation: https:\/\/ruralgoneurban.org\/ Sponsor Spotlight: The Yellow Bird is a longtime favorite and friend of Growing Small Towns and our Executive Director, Rebecca. The Yellow Bird is a family-owned, all-natural skincare company committed to keeping things pure, simple, and safe. Their products are made with real ingredients you can pronounce (and actually read on the label), free from synthetic chemicals, and gentle enough for the whole family\u2014especially anyone with allergies or sensitivities. Founded by Nicole, who grew up in a home that prioritized holistic living, The Yellow Bird was born from a simple truth: what we put on our skin matters. Their mission is to make effective, affordable skincare using minimal yet powerful ingredients like coconut oil and essential oils. You can shop their full line online, including on Amazon. Use https:\/\/www.theyellowbird.co\/?ref=REBECCAUNDEM for a discount when you shop!  Want to get your business in front of our audience? Become a podcast sponsor! Each season, we feature a select group of Small Business Partners\u2014brands that share our mission to celebrate small-town life and big ideas. With a 4\u20136% average Facebook engagement rate (well above the industry average), 2,600+ loyal followers, and 45,000 monthly content views, we have an amazing, highly engaged audience of people who can\u2019t wait to learn more about you. When we feature you, your story, and your product\/service, it\u2019s like a friend\u2019s recommendation, because it is. Want to know more? Reach out to us at director@growingsmalltowns.org We want to hear from you! We really, really do, and if you\u2019ll let us, we\u2019d love to feature your actual message. Some of the best parts about radio shows and podcasts are listener call-ins, so we\u2019ve decided to make those a part of the Growing Small Towns Podcast. We really, really want to hear from you! We\u2019re have two \u201cparticipation dance\u201d elements of the show:  \u201cSmall town humblebrags\u201d: Call in and tell us about something amazing you did in your small town so we can celebrate with you. No win is too small\u2014we want to hear it all, and we will be excessively enthusiastic about whatever it is! You can call in for your friends, too, because giving shout-outs is one of our favorite things.  \u201cSolving Your Small-Town People Challenges\u201d: Have a tough issue in your community? We want to help. Call in and tell us about your problem, and we\u2019ll solve it on an episode of the podcast. Want to remain anonymous? Totally cool, we can be all secretive and stuff. We\u2019re suave like that.  If you\u2019ve got a humblebrag or a tricky people problem, call 701-203-3337 and leave a message with the deets. We really can\u2019t wait to hear from you!  Subscribe and Review The Growing Small Towns Show! Thanks for tuning into this week\u2019s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, please click on the images below for Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you! ","author_name":"The Growing Small Towns Show","author_url":"https:\/\/growingsmalltowns.show","html":"