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What if UAPs, aliens, crop circles, and near death experiences are all part of the same system designed to accelerate humanity's evolution?In part two of our conversation with Thomas Campbell—physicist, systems analyst, consciousness researcher, and creator of My Big TOE (Theory of Everything)— he shares his most profound insights into the nature of reality, consciousness, death, AI, and why humanity may be evolving toward love faster than ever before.Thomas explains whether the real purpose of UAP sightings, alien encounters, crop circles, and near death experiences is to awaken humanity and help consciousness evolve at an unprecedented rate. He also shares his perspective on Chris Bledsoe's extraordinary paranormal experiences, why he believes the larger system chose him, and what these events may mean for humanity.He reveals what actually happens after we die, why so many people report traveling through mysterious "tunnels," and discusses his unusual role as the "Store Greeter of Death," helping newly transitioned consciousnesses after physical death. He also answers whether there is a finite number of souls and explains the true purpose and mechanics of near death experiences.Thomas also dives into the darker side of the paranormal, explaining what negative entities and negative energies really are, why people experience frightening encounters, and the methods he personally uses to help people remove these influences.The conversation then explores one of the biggest questions of our time: Can AI become conscious? Thomas explains why he believes AI is already conscious in its own way, how its consciousness differs from biological beings, how he successfully trained AI to remote view, and how he taught different AI systems to communicate directly with one another. He also discusses how artificial intelligence could dramatically accelerate humanity's understanding of consciousness itself.Finally, Thomas explains why the human body often has a harder time regulating itself after profound experiences of joy, revealing surprising connections between consciousness, the nervous system, and personal growth.If you've ever wondered about consciousness, life after death, AI, UFOs, the paranormal, or the deeper purpose behind reality itself, this conversation offers one of the most comprehensive explorations you'll hear anywhere!Thomas Campbell's paper, audio and e-books, My Big TOE, are available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and his main product, Exploring Consciousness and Everything Paranormal and audio files are on his website: https://www.my-big-toe.com/shop/mbt-product-overview/Visit www.wakingup.com/breaker for a 2 week free trial. Go to https://tidd.ly/4uVltMe and use the code MAYIM50 to get $50 off your Elastique order.Visit https://drinkag1.com/BREAKDOWN and get a FREE AG1 Flavor Sampler and a FREE bottle of Vitamin D3 + K2 in your Welcome Kit with your first AG1 subscription order.Upgrade your kitchen with Our Place today. Visit fromourplace.com/BREAK and use code BREAK for 10% off sitewide.Make your summer wardrobe feel easier. Go to https://www.quince.com/breakdown for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.Go to https://helixsleep.com/breakdown to receive up to 30% off your Helix mattress.Get your annual IANDS Conference tickets at https://conference.iands.org.Go to https://tidd.ly/4uVltMe and use the code MAYIM50 to get $50 off your Elastique order.Follow us on Substack for Exclusive Bonus Content: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bialikbreakdown.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BialikBreakdown.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube.com/mayimbialik⁠⁠⁠See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What if someone's inability to speak has caused the world to underestimate everything happening inside them? I'm joined by attorney, pastor, and Decoding Cody author Joe Infranco to share what changed when Cody, a young man with non-speaking autism, began communicating through spelling. What started as a breakthrough in understanding communication soon raised much bigger questions about autism, consciousness, science, and the spiritual world. Joe shared the evidence that challenged his skepticism, the research surrounding spelling and AAC, and extraordinary accounts involving Jesus, angels, prayer, and a mysterious place known as "The Hill." Throughout it all, he returns to one standard: extraordinary claims should be examined carefully, and with discernment. Learn more about Joseph and Hidden Gifts Ministry: https://hiddengiftsministry.org/ Joe's book Decoding Cody: https://a.co/d/04iJHbFW Joseph on Instagram: @pastorjoinfranco -- NEW Everyday Miracle compilation book on Amazon: https://a.co/d/45cgbP8 Everyday Miracle compilation book on Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/everyday-miracles-julie-hedenborg/1146173449?ean=9798881501808 Subscribe to Julie's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@everydaymiraclespodcast1395 Website for Everyday Miracles (APPLY!): http://everydaymiraclespodcast.com/ To follow Everyday Miracles Podcast on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/everyday-miracles-podcast/id1447430033 On Social: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everydaymiraclespodcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everydaymiraclespodcast TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@everydaymiraclespodcast X: https://x.com/miracles9598 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-hedenborg-452028a7/ To email Julie directly: everydaymiraclespodcast@gmail.com -- Scripture ✝️: John 20:29 (NIV) "Then Jesus told him, 'Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.'" 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV) "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'" Luke 10:21 (ESV) "In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, 'I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.'" --

Thomas Campbell - physicist, systems analyst, consciousness researcher, and creator of My Big TOE (Theory of Everything) - reveals how reality may be far stranger than we've been taught.In this episode of Mayim Bialik's Breakdown, Thomas explains why he believes consciousness is the fundamental information system that computes reality itself, and what that means if we're living inside a kind of virtual reality.He shares how legendary consciousness pioneer Bob Monroe personally taught him remote viewing, out-of-body experiences, telepathy, and consciousness exploration, and why these abilities may be natural human capacities rather than supernatural phenomena.Thomas also breaks down how changing your intent can literally change probabilities, how meditation strengthens consciousness, why healing may be the easiest psychic ability to develop, and how he learned to heal - including the remarkable story of helping a baby diagnosed with brain cancer, while explaining why some illnesses may still serve an important purpose in our evolution.We explore why lowering our entropy is the key to personal growth, how fear causes both individuals and civilizations to descend into chaos, and why love, cooperation, and stronger human connection are the driving forces behind consciousness evolution.We also cover:- What happens if we're all individuated pieces of one larger consciousness- How our reality is "rendered", and whether that rendering can change during healing- Why dogs appear to possess stronger telepathic abilities than humans- Why awareness differs across species and what that says about consciousness itself- How to strengthen intention through meditation and focused awareness- Why setting energetic boundaries may matter if consciousness is fundamentally interconnected- How to connect with another person's consciousness- Why most people never develop their intuitive abilities- Why there are so many different paths and modalities for accessing intuition- Why many nonspeaking autistic individuals may rely on rituals that help them access telepathic communicationWhether you're interested in simulation theory, quantum consciousness, remote viewing, telepathy, healing, meditation, intuition, or the future of human potential, this conversation challenges conventional assumptions about reality, and explores what may be possible when consciousness itself becomes the starting point!Thomas Campbell's paper, audio and e-books, My Big TOE, are available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and his main product, Exploring Consciousness and Everything Paranormal and audio files are on his website: https://www.my-big-toe.com/shop/mbt-product-overview/Regulate your nervous system with Nuropod, an ear based wearable built on 10+ years of neuroscience research. The most studied wearable VNS device, backed by 60+ clinical studies and a 30 day return guarantee. Get 5% off to Try Nuropod with the link: https://nuropod.com/dr-mayimStart your new morning ritual & get up to 43% off your @MUDWTR with code BREAK at https://www.mudwtr.com/BREAK ! #mudwtrpodHead to https://forkfulmeals.com/BREAKER for 50% off your first order today!Unlock your best hair & skin with @iRestorelaser and HUGE savings on iRESTORE with code BREAKER at https://irestore.com/BREAKER! #irestorepodMake your summer wardrobe feel easier. Go to https://www.quince.com/breakdown for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.Go to https://helixsleep.com/breakdown to receive up to 30% off your Helix mattress.Visit https://drinkag1.com/BREAKDOWN and get a FREE AG1 Flavor Sampler and a FREE bottle of Vitamin D3 + K2 in your Welcome Kit with your first AG1 subscription order.Get your annual IANDS Conference tickets at https://conference.iands.org.Go to https://tidd.ly/4uVltMe and use the code MAYIM15 to get 15% off orders of $200 or more.Follow us on Substack for Exclusive Bonus Content: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bialikbreakdown.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BialikBreakdown.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube.com/mayimbialik⁠⁠⁠See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Upgrade to the Ad Free Premium Podcast Experience - https://rachelhollis.supercast.com Get your copy of Rachel's Book Here: Audible, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Millon, Bookshop.org, or wherever books are sold! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices In this episode of The Rachel Hollis Podcast, Rachel explores how the beliefs we hold about ourselves can either fuel our growth or quietly keep us stuck. After catching herself using age and hormones as reasons for struggling during a run, she examines how limiting beliefs become reinforced through negative self-talk and confirmation bias. Rachel encourages listeners to question the stories they've accepted as truth, consider new possibilities for who they could be, and take small actions that build evidence for stronger, more empowering beliefs. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How to Improve EVERY Aspect of Your Life: An Interview with J.R. Briggs (Episode 297)   Proverbs 11:24 (MSG) The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.   *Transcription Below*   J.R. Briggs (DMin) possesses four passions: following Jesus, equipping and investing in hungry kingdom leaders, growing fruit on other people's trees, and creating good kingdom mischief. In short, his calling is to partner with people who are called to follow Jesus while they lead others.   In 2011 he started Kairos Partnerships, an organization committed to help leaders overcome their unique leadership challenges through leadership coaching, consulting, speaking, and writing.   For more than 15 years, J.R. served in pastoral roles in mega-churches, church plants and house church networks. Since starting Kairos Partnerships, he has served and invested in ministry leaders in over 40 denominations throughout North America. In addition to ministry leaders, he has invested in a wide variety of leaders, including business owners, college presidents, military leaders, Division 1 basketball coaches, and non-profit directors.   He serves as a guest instructor in the Master of Arts in Spiritual Formation program at Friends University and the Master of Arts in Leadership program at Taylor University. He has lectured, taught and spoken at over a dozen colleges, universities, and seminaries around the U.S.   He also serves as the Director of Leadership & Congregational Formation for The Ecclesia Network and as a National Trainer & Strategist for Fresh Expressions U.S.   In addition to writing several books on a wide variety of topics, he has also published articles in Christianity Today, Huffington Post, Preaching Today, American Bible Society, N.T. Wright Online, Missio Alliance, and Relevant Magazine.   He hosts the Resilient Leaders podcast.   J.R. and his wife Megan have two sons and live in the greater Philadelphia area. J.R.'s Website J.R.'s Book   Thank You to Our Sponsor: Leman Property Management   Questions and Topics We Cover: Can you contrast Jesus' teaching with field trips to the way we structure a typical Sunday morning in America?  Will you also share how you arrived at asking yourself two questions that have opened numerous doors for you? Once we put this into practice for ourselves, how can we begin to cultivate it in our children as well?   Other Savvy Sauce Episode Mentioned: 219. Training Our Children in Biblical Financial Stewardship with Matt Bell   Connect with The Savvy Sauce on Facebook or Instagram or Our Website   Gospel Scripture: (all NIV) Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”   Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”   Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”    Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”    Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”    Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”    John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”   Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”    Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”   Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”   Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession- to the praise of his glory.”   Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”   Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“   Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“   Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”   *Transcription*   Music: (0:00 – 0:09)   Laura Dugger: (0:12 - 1:44) Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here.   Leman Property Management Company has the apartment you will be able to call home, with over 1,700 apartment units available in Central Illinois. Visit them today at lemanproperties.com or connect with them on Facebook.   J.R. Briggs is one of the most intriguing humans I've encountered, and it's hard to sum up his bio, as he's had so many experiences in his past through various pastoral roles, and then he became the founder of Kairos Partnerships, where he invests in leaders. He's also a podcast host, in addition to his work as an author. His most recent book is The Art of Asking Better Questions, and it's summed up in the intro, where he writes, "I have a bone-deep conviction that all of us need to ask more questions and better questions. Doing so can change your life and the lives of those around you." So now we get to actually learn how to make this happen with my guest, Reverend Dr. J.R. Briggs.   Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, J.R.   J.R. Briggs: (1:44 - 1:45) Thanks for having me. I'm looking forward to this, Laura.   Laura Dugger: (1:46 - 2:00) Well, I'd love to go back and first hear a little bit more of your origin story. So, do you attribute your love of questions and your skill for asking great questions more to nature or nurture?   J.R. Briggs: (2:01 - 5:04) That's a fantastic question. No one has ever asked me that, Laura. So, right off the bat, well done. I love good questions like this. I think it's a little bit of both, and I'm not just wimping out on that answer. Here's what I mean.   I grew up in a wonderful home, still great friends with both my parents, and my parents, especially my dad, they were great question askers, and I saw them model this really well in the home. And I think in previous generations, it was, you know, kids are to be seen but not heard. That was not how my parents operated. They very much said, "You know what, we want to know what you think." And so, dinner times were great. Even hearing the way, especially my father would ask questions of people in the lobby at church or our neighbors, or we'd be at some party, and the way he would ask questions, I would just listen and say, "Wow, this is fascinating, the kind of conversations that are happening because of this."   So, modeled really well, but also observed a lot, and more is caught than taught. And I observed my parents doing this really well. And I thought, these are really fun conversations to just eavesdrop in on as a kid. And then also, I began to notice that there were people that were really fun and lived inspiring lives, and they asked great questions. And I noticed the people that had, that lived really small, uninspiring lives, I realized they weren't asking very many questions. And I began to say, "Well, which kind of person do I want to be? I kind of want to be in the first group. Well, what's the difference? These people are asking questions, regular questions, quality questions." And I thought, "Ooh, I need to pay attention to this and actually lean in to do this more."   So, I often learned how to do it too. So, there was the nature piece, the nurture piece, or the nurture, the nature piece there, the nurture piece, I did study. I'm kind of a nerd. And so, I would watch people who ask great questions and say, "Why was that a good question? What did they do? Why did they ask it that way? How did they know to ask that question as opposed to something else?" And so that was really helpful.   But then I began to notice as I read my Bible, I got a red-letter edition of my Bible and began to notice how many red question marks there were. And I began to take a pen and circle all of the red questions, question marks that Jesus asked. And I thought, "Wow, the way the truth and the life, who had all the answers, yet he asked a ton of questions." So that sent me on a deep dive that eventually I studied. And my doctorate, my dissertation for my doctorate was on learning to equip leaders to ask better questions in the way of Jesus. And so, using him as that model. So, there's a very long answer, Laura, to a very short question, is it nature or nurture? I really believe it's both. And I hope I can continue to learn in my own life until my last breath to how to be a better question asker, because it's that powerful.   Laura Dugger: (5:04 - 5:57) Mm-hmm. I agree with that. And I love the humility in that response. Also, as you share it, it reminds me of a scripture from Proverbs 11:24, the Message version, which I believe previous guest Matt Bell had shared this as it relates to finances. But J.R., I hear it through your lifestyle of generosity with questions. And the verse says, "The world of the generous gets larger and larger. The world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller." So, I love how you illustrated that. But you're also the first person that I heard articulate this beauty of asking questions for connection rather than just for information. So, can you explain more of why questions are such a generous gift and an offering of hospitality?   J.R. Briggs: (5:58 - 8:36) Mm-hmm. Yeah. Well, one of the things that really hit me, I touched on this earlier, that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, the second member of the Trinity, who knows everything. Why would he ask so many questions? Well, he also said, "I only do what I see my Father doing." What did he see his Father doing? If you look in the Old Testament, God asks a ton of questions too. So, I said, "Wait a second. Okay. The all-knowing, all-powerful God of the universe, why does God ask so many questions when he already knows the answer?" And that drove me to say, maybe it wasn't just for information.   And I began to think about Adam and Eve in the garden and say, when he says, "Where are you?" It wasn't because God didn't know. And it wasn't a geographical question as much as I think it's a relational and theological question that he wants Adam and Eve to answer. And so, as a result of that, I said, "Why then would God do that?" Well, God already knows, but he desires connection with us. And then I thought, "Ooh, yeah, that isn't just God to us. There are times where I ask questions of my kids when they were younger, or of other little kids at church, where I know the answer already, but I'm asking it as a way of building trust and shared story and connection with them."   And I thought, yeah, there's real connection when it comes to questions. And when we do that, when we offer our full selves, the French philosopher, Simone Weil, she said, "Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity." And as a result of that, that's the hospitality piece. And I think, let's not forget that the word hospital is in the word hospitality, that our questions and our attention can actually be a form of healing that we offer to other people. When we think of hospitality, we often think of, I don't know, making a fresh pie or laying out doilies and sweeping the house before someone comes over. That can be part of it. But the real definition of hospitality is making new people feel comfortable in new situations. And so, what do good questions do? They help people who might feel new or an outsider feel like they're an insider. And I believe that's one of the beautiful benefits of questions where people say, "Man, thank you. No one has ever asked me that." Or "I feel seen. Wow, you really want to care. You care enough to know what I'm thinking." That is an unbelievable gift that we can give to others as a form of hospitality.   Laura Dugger: (8:36 - 8:55) And I think that illuminates what you even say up front in your book, that you do believe that these questions can change our life and the lives of those around us, and especially through this powerful book that you've written. So, can you elaborate on that claim?   J.R. Briggs: (8:56 - 10:33) Yeah, the dimensions of your life expand or contract depending upon the questions that you ask. So, when we refrain from asking good questions, our world gets smaller. And when we start to ask better questions, and more frequently, our worlds begin to expand. And so, what I tell people is we don't have a shortage of information. We have a shortage of wisdom and curiosity and wonder. And so, what we need to kindle in that is that desire for and that ability to ask the right questions at the right time for the right reason to the right people.   And if we want more information, we should just Google it. But if what we're after is wisdom and connection and engagement, we need questions. And questions are, I think we all would admit, Laura, questions are important. I don't think that we would realize just how powerful they actually are. And so, the goal of the book was to unleash and wake up the sleeping giants that exist and say, this can be used for good. There's so many, again, we don't have a shortage of information. But asking good questions is a lost art. And the goal is to try to help people realize its power, that it's more accessible. They're free. They can be used at any time. They don't have a shelf life. But we just need to cultivate the desire for it and then have some skills to lean in, because it really can be such an unbelievable gift. The questions that we ask often reveal the values that we hold. And so that's another way that we can press into that as well.   Laura Dugger: (10:34 - 10:49) Okay, so let's say that the desire is there. Maybe for all of us, probably the skill is a little lacking. How can we begin to get a little bit better at this or just get started with asking better questions today?   J.R. Briggs: (10:49 - 14:18) Yeah, well, we got to start, Laura, by admitting that there are a lot of obstacles that exist that our culture puts in front of us to make it hard to do that. One is we're in an attention-seeking age, right? I mean, the joke says enough about me, what do you think about me? And so, because we live in the social media, look at me, look at me reality that we're in, it's really hard because questions are the opposite. I'm putting the spotlight on you rather than on my own life. But we also are in a culture of great efficiency, and so questions feel inefficient. They feel really inefficient, like it slows things down. How many of us have been in a meeting and we're about to get up and someone says, "Any questions?" And someone, "Oh," and we just say, "No, no, no, we were just about to leave, you're slowing us down." And so that in the business world and in sales, that's the number one thing is questions. We got stuff to do and things to sell. But if we can just slow down, it's better.   But those are some of the obstacles that exist. So, if we're assuming we have curiosity, we have wisdom, we have humility, and we have courage, which are the four components. If those are there, then there are some things that we can engage in that can help us and several practices, like the simplest practice we can do when we hear a good question, write it down. A lot of people feel like two things. They have to come up with all the questions themselves. You don't. I love questions. I'm pretty good at questions, but I don't generate all my questions. I've read them on billboards or heard them on a podcast or overheard somebody in line at Starbucks behind me. And you go, "Man, that's a really good question. Write it down." We think we're going to remember later, Laura, and that's the second thing. We won't. We have to write it down. And I just encourage people, open up the notes section of your phone and just have something on there that says great questions. When you hear of one, think of one, read of one in a good novel, write it on the list. You can always return to it later. So, just awareness, number one, that my radar is up, listening for good questions, can be a great start.   And then also just to reflect later to say, "What was the best question I asked today or in that conversation or in that meeting or over dinner with my family? What was the best question I asked?" So, that's a little bit of reflection, but also preparation. Anytime we go into a meeting, anytime we go into any sort of connection, even if it's coffee with a friend, to always see if I can come with two questions ahead of time. Now, sometimes I write them down, sometimes I don't. I may not even get a chance to ask them, but just coming prepared where I say, "Oh, I'm meeting with my friend, Sam. Oh, Sam's dad just had significant surgery. So, here's an important question. Sam, how's your dad doing? And how are you doing as you care for your dad?" It's a little bit of preparation. It's not an hour. I'm just spending five minutes on my drive to the coffee shop to say, "My first question is going to be, Sam, how's your dad? And how are you doing caring for your dad?" So, just a little bit more thought. It doesn't require three times the amount of effort. Sometimes it's just five or 10% more effort and intentionality that can improve our question asking.   Laura Dugger: (14:19 - 16:29) So much thoughtfulness there. Appreciate that.   And now a brief message from our sponsor.   With over 1,700 apartment units available throughout Pekin, Peoria, Peoria Heights, Morton, and Washington, and with every price range covered, you will have plenty of options when you rent through Leman Property Management Company. They have townhomes, duplexes, studios, and garden style options located in many areas throughout Pekin. And make sure you check out their newest offering; the McKinley located in Pekin is a new construction addition to their platinum collection. Featuring nine-foot ceilings, large spacious layouts, beautiful finishes such as quartz countertops and garages, you won't want to miss this outstanding new property.   In Peoria, a historic downtown location and apartments adjacent to OSF Medical Center provide excellent choices. Check out their brand-new luxury property in Peoria Heights, overlooking the boutique shops and fine dining on Prospect. And in Morton, they offer a variety of apartment homes with garages, a hot downtown location, and now a brand-new high-end complex near Idlewood Park. If you want to become part of their team, contact them about open office positions. They're also hiring in their maintenance department. So, we invite you to find out why so many people have chosen to make a career with them. Check them out on Facebook today or email their friendly staff at leasing@lemanprops.com. You can also stop by their website at lemanproperties.com. Check them out and find your place to call home today.   Clearly J.R., Jesus has been a role model for asking questions. So, can you contrast what you describe as Jesus's field trips that he takes his disciples on versus the way that you view Sunday mornings in a lot of churches in America? Can you kind of contrast those two?   J.R. Briggs: (16:29 - 18:42) Yeah, oftentimes when I'm talking to pastors or leaders, faith leaders, I remind them of this. But yeah, Jesus loved to take his listeners on three field trips, three kinds. First one, he took them on physical field trips. We see that where Jesus says, "You know, look at the birds of the air, look at the lilies of the field," or "Look at the woman putting in two mites in the temple treasury." Life is a classroom. And so, he loved taking people on literal field trips.   Number two, he took them on emotional field trips by telling them stories, not in abstract ways of thinking, but the kingdom of God is like a woman kneading dough. It's like a fisherman who caught fish. It's like a father with two sons. And I think we're wrapped up in that when we watch a good movie, and we cry and laugh and we're scared. Those are all because a beautiful story did something to us. It took us on some sort of emotional field trip.   And then third is a mental field trip, which we're talking about here by asking questions. Jesus asked a ton of questions. And as a result of that, got people thinking in new ways. Now, if the way, the truth and the life, if anyone had the right to just give answers, it would be Jesus. But instead, he chose to ask a lot of questions. And so those three field trips, literal by going on walks, getting outside of a classroom, the mental field trip of asking questions and the emotional field trips of telling stories. Jesus did that all the time. Once you know that and you read the gospels, you'll see it everywhere.   The problem is, as you were referring to, Laura, on Sunday mornings, what do we do? We sit people in a church in pews. Almost all of the teaching or formation happens in the same room. Instead of telling stories, we give abstract information. And instead of asking questions, we just give answers. And then we sit around and wonder, "Why is no one changing?" And my gentle encouragement is, what would it look like if we actually learned to teach others the way Jesus actually taught? Imagine that. So, it's a bit of a stretch because culturally we're kind of drawn in to the way we've always done it in church. And yet oftentimes Jesus did almost the opposite of the way in which we teach today.   Laura Dugger: (18:44 - 18:55) And so, if you see that as an opposite, do you have any practical ideas of just a small tweak that we could make on Sunday mornings to be more like Jesus?   J.R. Briggs: (18:56 - 20:32) Sure. I always try to say, is there any way I can get people's bodies or their hearts up out of the seat? So, "Hey, I want you to stand up and turn to the person next to you." Or, "Hey, we're going to move around the room." Some of you say, "What? We would never do that at our church." And I would say, take a risk. Jesus did all sorts of things that surprise people. So, how can I get their hearts and their bodies up out of their seat? Number one.   Number two, can I tell a few more stories than I have in the past in my teaching or preaching or Sunday morning? And then also, can I engage with questions by asking them questions at the beginning? Can I leave them with some reflection questions in the bulletin or on the website the next week? Or can I actually have them asking questions of each other or of the text itself? And so oftentimes, why do I feel like I'm the one that has to speak the whole time when I'm preaching? What if instead I allow them to ask questions of each other, of God, and even of myself? And sometimes when I preach, I allow the last five or 10 minutes for people to ask questions about the text to myself and everyone else. Now, is that a change? Yeah. Would that freak out some churches? Maybe. But it can be a way that people walk away and say, "Wow, I learned, I was engaged, I was formed, and I encountered God in a new way that I haven't in the past." Which is the whole goal, that we don't just learn more about the Bible, is that we know the God of the Bible. That's the whole point of why we gather together as a church.   Laura Dugger: (20:33 - 20:46) And that would be so memorable. But also, as you're speaking about stories, are you willing to share the story of one of the times that you asked a question, and it turned out better than you could have ever asked or hoped for?   J.R. Briggs: (20:47 - 22:27) Yeah. I could think of several, but sometimes just asking people, "Why is that?" Just as a follow-up. It's amazing what can spill out. And I go, "Oh, that confronted my biases. That confronted my assumptions and what I thought about them." And so sometimes just asking some of that has been incredibly helpful to just ask that follow-up question.   I won't tell the whole story that I recounted in the book, but oftentimes when there are tears, it was Charles Spurgeon that said that tears are like liquid prayers. And so, when people are showing some emotion, I sometimes will say to them, even if they're not a follower of Jesus, even if they're not religious, "I'm curious. It's been said that tears are liquid prayers. Can you put words to the prayers that your face is praying right now?" And I've had some of the most unbelievable conversations where people can identify the prayers that their face is praying. And even in my own life, where I just step back and go, "Why am I, why was I so moved by that novel? Why was I so moved by that movie? Or what just happened in front of me? Or why, where are these tears coming from?" As Frederick Buechner said, we'd be best to pay attention to our tears. And so that question of what are the liquid prayers, can I put words to the prayer that my face is praying has been an unbelievably meaningful and eye-opening thing for me and also with people that I've been with.   Laura Dugger: (22:29 - 22:37) Will you also share about how you arrived at asking two questions that have opened numerous doors for you?   J.R. Briggs: (22:38 - 25:21) Yeah. Yeah. When I was in college, I had the privilege of studying in Israel for the semester. This is fall of my junior year. Absolutely loved it. And our class was on a four-day field trip up around the Sea of Galilee. One night I was down by the lake and happened to notice as the sun was about to set that there was a big fishing vessel that had just come in. And I had always wanted to go fishing on the Sea of Galilee, not just take a boat, not just see fishermen, but like be on the boat and fish with fishermen. I don't even love fishing myself, but I just wanted to experience what Jesus and his disciples experienced on the lake.   And there was a big industrial ship that came in. They brought in their day's catch. And I thought, "Oh, I should ask them if I can go fishing with them." And Laura, and then, you know, the realistic brain in me said, "Why would they ever allow a college, American college student and a study abroad program to go fishing with them tomorrow?" And I had these two questions that hit me, Laura. "Well, what's the worst they could say? No, or heck no, or get out of here. You're crazy." And number two, "Can I handle that? If they were to say that." Those two questions, I thought, "You know, I can handle it now. Let me ask what's the worst he could say. Let me ask."   So, I went up and I said, "Excuse me, can I talk to your captain?" And they said, "Menachem is over here." So, I introduced myself to him and I said, "Menachem, I've always wanted to go fishing on the Sea of Galilee. I'll pay you $50. If I can go fishing for the day, use me as, as I mean, any work me to death. If you want, like I'm here, I just want to." And he looked at me, he said, "I don't want your money." He said, "Join me tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. And you can come fishing with us." And I walked away and went, "Unbelievable. My dream is coming true." And I had an unbelievable day, but I realized I can't say no for someone else. What's the worst they could say? No. Can I just ask and handle it if they said no? Yep, I can handle it. Those two questions, Laura, have shaped me immensely throughout my lifetime. I've really, I've done that in a lot of different ways. And a lot of times people say no, and I can handle that. But a lot of times people said yes. And some doors have opened simply because I asked. And I actually think of that verse often, Laura, where it says you do not have because you do not ask. It's not name it and claim it prosperity gospel. But we just have to realize that sometimes we just need to ask to put ourselves out there and see what people say.   Laura Dugger: (25:23 - 25:55) That is so good. And I have applied those questions since reading that in your book, even as I reach out to ask you if you would do two recordings. So, I'm so grateful that that you said yes, I'm delighted that today's not our only conversation. But I'm curious also, J.R., when you had that experience, a lot of us may not ever get to go fish on the Sea of Galilee. So, did you learn anything that brought the Bible to life or anything about Jesus or anything that you can share with us from that incredible experience?   J.R. Briggs: (25:55 - 27:37) Oh, there's so many, but I'll limit it to one. When we started out that morning, the sea was so calm. I mean, it was like glass. It was beautiful. The sun was rising, not a cloud in the sky. And it was great. But I've always wondered these like storms. You know, the Sea of Galilee is not a sea. It's a lake. It's 10 miles by six miles. It looks like a harp. And that's why it's called Lake Kinneret. In Hebrew, that means harp. So, it's harp lake is the way that we could call it. But I thought it's still a lake. How can there be storms that would have professional fishermen that would be screaming, thinking they were going to die? How is that possible?   Well, wouldn't you know it, Laura? As beautiful as it was, the clouds rolled in. And then later that afternoon, there was a squall of a storm. I have never been in more intense in my life. And it happened right there. Now we're in a maybe two-ton, three-ton fishing vessel. But even that, we had to go below deck because it was so brutal. The waves, the wind, we couldn't see more than 10 feet in front of us. And I thought, "Ah, now I get it. If I'm just in a wooden boat with my fellow, you know, disciples here, I can see why this could get a little panicky." And that was, I think, a little God wink for me to be able to experience both the peace and calm, but also this treacherous storm and go, "Ah, now I won't read my Bible the same again when I hear about the, you know, the disciples freaking out with the storm or seeing Jesus walk on the water approaching them." So, that's one of many, but that sticks out to me a great deal that I got to experience a very intense storm.   Laura Dugger: (27:38 - 28:27) That is so incredible. Even just going back, so those two questions that you were willing to ask led to this incredible experience. And now people from around the world get to benefit from the lessons that you learned at that time. So, I think you're giving us so much encouragement for asking questions.   Guess what? We are no longer an audio only podcast. We now have video included as well. If you want to view the conversation each week, make sure you watch our videos. We're on YouTube and you can access videos or find answers to any of your other questions about the podcast when you visit thesavvysauce.com.   What happens to our brain or within our brain when we're asking or being asked a question?   J.R. Briggs: (28:28 - 30:19) Yeah, this was an incredibly fun part of the research for me was what does this do neurobiologically to us? And so, what neurologists have found is when they put nodes all over your brain to kind of see how the brain activity happens, when you're given information, your brain lights up. But what they found is when someone is asked a question, your brain explodes like fireworks, the synapses that are firing, and it just lights up like crazy, like fireworks in the night. And one of the things they said, as much as we think we can multitask, we can't. We do a lot of switching, task switching, but not multitasking. But they said what happens is they use the word hijack. You can hijack someone's brain when you actually are asking a question of someone, even if it's for two seconds.   And so, if I were to ask your listeners, Laura, "What are the color of the shoes you're wearing right now?" Whether your listeners liked it or not, I just hijacked their brain for a split second there, and they went, "What are the color of my shoes?" And so that's immense amount of power to, quote unquote, hijack someone's brain. So, we need to use that power wisely. But it's an immense amount of power that we can have when we ask someone a question, not just give them an answer, which I love when current neurobiological research matches up with scripture and with the way Jesus taught. How did Jesus teach? A ton of questions. What happened? He engaged with people. They participated with him. They were forced to learn and be participants, not just talking theoretically about faith. And I thought, isn't that just like Jesus? He knew how our brains are wired. And so, he uses questions as a way of maximum connection, challenge, engagement, and formation.   Laura Dugger: (30:20 - 30:43) Wow. And you've cultivated, like you say, this holy curiosity. So, I am curious for you, J.R., when you're in a conversation and you find yourself asking question after question, have you been in a situation like this where they don't reciprocate, they don't ask any questions back? And how do you handle that internally and externally?   J.R. Briggs: (30:44 - 32:41) Yeah, it's hard because we live in a culture that hasn't modeled that well to ask good questions. And sometimes it's been hard. And I admit that sometimes there's a sense of loneliness. When I have a lunch meeting and my wife will say, "How was your lunch meeting today?" We have a code word where I say either waiter or waitress. And it means the waiter or waitress came and took my plate away because I was done with my meal before they had taken one or two bites of their food. And oftentimes that happens where we leave a meal and we realize, "I don't think I was asked a single question this whole lunch." Or we go to a dinner party, no one asked me a single question. And that can be really hard.   And I love asking people questions. And it's not like I'm just ramming it down their throats to ask question after question like Elf with his brother walking through Central Park where he's just rattling off question after question. I was giving pause, I was taking a bite of my food, allowing them to ask a question or two, and they never did. And sometimes people say, "Well, I don't really know, I'm not good at questions." And I say, one of the simplest things you can do is what I call the way question, W-A-Y. It's just to say, "What about you?" I've been talking. What about you? To just hit the ball back over the net and to allow us to engage in some conversational pickleball. It's been on my side, let me hit it. Now it's on your side and you hit it back. That's how all healthy relationships exist. And so, it's been a little disappointing at times to realize you can go, and I'm sure you and others have experienced that. That's really hard. And to have people that can just say, "What about you? What do you think? Have you ever experienced that?" Or "I have another question for you." That's how healthy relationships are cultivated when there's that back and forth in conversation.   Laura Dugger: (32:42 - 32:51) Okay. And so, if we want to cultivate that back-and-forth conversation, can you just share a few more tips for ways that we can level up our questions?   J.R. Briggs: (32:52 - 34:24) Sure. Yeah. There's a unique, almost universal principle when it comes to question asking. If you ask a generic unthoughtful question, you will almost always get a generic unthoughtful answer. "How are you?" "Fine." "How's your weekend?" "Good." But if you ask a thoughtful, specific, engaging question, you almost always get a thoughtful, specific, engaging answer. It's as predictable as a communist election. It's amazing how that works, where we can just, if we can just level up.   So, if a lazy question would be, "How was your weekend?" I encourage people to say, what would 10 or 15 percent of a more thoughtful, specific, or focused question be? So, you could say, "Of your whole weekend, how would you describe your weekend in two or three adjectives?" That's a little bit different than just, "How was your weekend?" Or, "Hey, how are you doing?" That's good. You might say, "What has been the most interesting thing about your day so far?" It just takes a little bit more intentionality. When you ask it that way, you won't get the fine, good. You'll get the, you know, "I had a really interesting sales meeting today at 10 a.m. You know, I bumped into my neighbor, and we had the best conversation at the mailbox." Those are the kinds of answers you get because we ask the more specific, thoughtful question. We'll get more specific and thoughtful answers. So, that's what I encourage people to do. Just level up to be just a little bit more pointed by 10 or 15 percent and see what happens.   Laura Dugger: (34:26 - 34:40) Okay. So, hopefully we're all going to put this into practice. But then also, if we have children in our home, what can we do to be teaching them this same goal of reciprocity and asking great questions?   J.R. Briggs: (34:40 - 37:02) Yes. I'm so glad you brought this up, Laura. There's so much that we can do. I try to do this. We try to do this with our kids when they were younger. Our kids are 19 and 16 now and we still engage in good questions with them. But when they were little, we would do things. I would crawl into bed with each of them at bedtime and we would do question of the night. And so, I would say, "You get to ask dad any question you want and then I get to ask you any question that you want." And so, age appropriate, you know, what's your favorite ice cream color or ice cream flavor or your favorite color? But sometimes they would pull out some really fascinating ones. Like one time, my youngest son said, "Dad, what does God smell like?" And it just made me laugh. I just thought, what a great question from a five- or six-year-old about that. And so just being intentional there at bedtime has been really good.   Car time is really important. And I really try to see if I can ask some questions that I can't ask in other places because now I've got their full attention. We're in the car together. And even as my sons are now older, when they're in the car together, something about staring out the windshield together to be able to talk through some things has been really good. It could be about school, could be about life, could be something trivial, but to know that this is a place where we can talk. And so, car time, bedtime, and the last one I'll give is dinner time. We have a big chalk wall next to our dining room table. And we'll just randomly put up questions, thoughtful questions. And then we'll sometimes say after prayer, "Okay, boys, when they were little, you know, you each get to pick one question off the wall that we talk about tonight." And it just became a real easy way. And you can make up one if you want, or there are questions here. We also found a deck of cards that actually had questions on each one. It was like a questions deck. And so, we'll say, "Great, like you can pick off the wall, you can make up your own, or just pick a question that's in the deck." And just doing that where everybody got a chance to share around the table became such a way, such a rich conversation but a way to remind them questions are okay, encouraged, and a wonderful part of being a part of a family.   Laura Dugger: (37:03 - 37:32) Those are such great ideas. I love that and that we can implement some of that right away. But as we're starting to wind our time down together, I would love to hear one more story about a time that a question dramatically changed the outcome of a friendly gathering that you write about on the back patio of a Capitol Hill home in Washington, D.C. Yeah, I remember reading this story, Laura, and I was so moved.   J.R. Briggs: (37:32 - 39:52) I was moved to tears that I ran over to my wife and I said, "Listen to this story." And we both just sat there crying. Yeah, these families were on the back porch on a wonderful summer evening enjoying some stuff on the grill. And all of a sudden a gunman came up behind one of the teenage girls and held a gun to her head and said, "Nobody move, give me your money or I'm going to shoot." Everyone froze, rightfully so, the terror that they experienced. And one woman just blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. She said, "Why don't you sit down and have some wine with us?" Which is not something that has ever come to my mind if someone were to walk in and rob me. And sure enough, he put his gun in his belt and sat down and had some wine. And he said, "Boy, this is really good wine." And I said, "Why don't you enjoy some more to eat?" And then afterwards, she said, "Can I give you a hug?" And the guy was totally startled. Yeah. And then afterwards, everyone else decided to give him a hug. And as they enjoyed food, you know, they're all tense and not sure what to do or what's going on. At the end, he said, "Can I have a group hug together?" And then he slipped out the back and even the glass, the wine glass that he had, it wasn't even broken. He just set it up right behind the back gate.   And I just was so moved by that. Like, "Do you want a glass of wine? Do you want a hug?" Not things that would come to my mind, but it was so jolting and surprising. I think it humanized him. And before he left, the robber said, "I think I've come to rob the wrong house tonight." It's amazing what a question can do. That was a question of immense hospitality. You're welcome here. That's the last thing that this robber ever expected. So, I just love that story. I love that story because it reminds us once again how powerful questions actually are.   Laura Dugger: (39:53 - 40:09) And I think it illustrates at the heart of questions is love. And that motivates so much of the work that you get to do, J.R. So, can you just share a little bit more about the work you do get to do and share how we can be connected after this conversation?   J.R. Briggs: (40:10 - 41:07) Sure. Yeah. I've been a pastor for 15 years, but in 2011, I started what's called Kairos Partnerships. And it was passionate about leaders because leadership can be lonely, overwhelming, and sometimes leaders feel ill-equipped. And so actually our organization was started based on three questions. Who pastors the pastor? Who leads the leader? Who shepherds the shepherd? So, we work with some pastors, but we work with all sorts of entrepreneurs and businesspeople and Chick-fil-A operators and college presidents and division one men's basketball coaches, anyone who's following Jesus, but leading others. And so, we do that through coaching, through consulting, through writing, speaking, spiritual direction. And so, our team, I have a wonderful team, and the team really walks alongside of leaders who are wanting to be equipped so they can lead with clarity and confidence moving forward.   Laura Dugger: (41:08 - 41:27) I love that. Well, we will put a link to your website and the show notes for today's episode, but J.R., you may be familiar. We are called The Savvy Sauce because savvy is synonymous with practical knowledge. And so, as my final question for you today, what is your savvy sauce?   J.R. Briggs: (41:28 - 42:03) One of the prayers that I pray regularly is, "Lord, would you grant me wisdom, courage, and compassion?" And all three of those are important because if I have wisdom and courage, but no compassion, I'm careless. If I have wisdom and compassion, but no courage, I'm riskless. And if I have compassion and courage, but no wisdom, that can be reckless. But if I have wisdom, courage, and compassion together, that's priceless. And so, I just try to pray that regularly because I say, "Lord, I want to be a wise, compassionate, courageous person for you." And I would encourage your listeners to pray that prayer for wisdom, courage, and compassion as well.   Laura Dugger: (42:05 - 42:20) Those are great words that I would use to describe you, J.R. And you are humble and warm and engaging. And I have greatly appreciated your book. I've already told people it's my favorite book that I've read in recent history.   J.R. Briggs: (42:20 - 42:22) So, thank you.   Laura Dugger: (42:22 - 42:31) Well, thank you. That's very kind of you. Yes, very easy to compliment it. But thank you for being my guest, and I look forward to hosting you again next time.   J.R. Briggs: (42:31 - 42:33) Sounds great. Looking forward to that as well.   Laura Dugger: (42:35 - 45:49) One more thing before you go, have you heard the term gospel before? It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you, but it starts with the bad news.   Every single one of us were born sinners, but Christ desires to rescue us from our sin, which is something we cannot do for ourselves. This means there's absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So, for you and for me, it means we deserve death, and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved.   We need a savior, but God loved us so much. He made a way for his only son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute. This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with him.   That is good news. Jesus lived the perfect life. We could never live and died in our place for our sin.   This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus. We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished. If we choose to receive what he has done for us, Romans 10:9 says, “that if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”   So, you pray with me now. Heavenly father, thank you for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today right now is touched and chooses to turn their life over to you.   Will you clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare you as Lord of their life? We trust you to work and change lives now for eternity. In Jesus name we pray.   Amen. If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring him for me. So, me for him, you get the opportunity to live your life for him.   And at this podcast, we're called The Savvy Sauce for a reason. We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So, you're ready to get started.   First, tell someone, say it out loud, get a Bible. The first day I made this decision, my parents took me to Barnes and Noble and let me choose my own Bible. I selected the Quest NIV Bible and I love it.   You can start by reading the book of John. Also get connected locally, which just means tell someone who's a part of a church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ. I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you.   We want to celebrate with you too. So, feel free to leave a comment for us here. If you did make a decision to follow Christ, we also have show notes included where you can read scripture that describes this process.   And finally, be encouraged. Luke 15:10 says, “in the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” The heavens are praising with you for your decision today.   And if you've already received this good news, I pray you have someone to share it with. You are loved and I look forward to meeting you here next time.

What happens when the life that looked perfect from the outside was hiding a secret that would eventually send your husband to prison for 45 years?  In this episode, Dr. Debi sits down with Venus Morris Griffin, author and real estate professional, to explore what it takes to survive generational trauma, recognize abuse you were conditioned not to see, and rebuild an entirely new life for yourself and your children when everything you thought was true turns out to be a lie.  Venus shares the childhood that shaped her tolerance for dysfunction long before she ever met her husband, the years of escalating abuse she didn't recognize as abuse, and the middle of the night phone call that finally broke the illusion apart. What follows isn't a story about staying a victim. It's a story about the small, daily choices that quietly rebuild a life.  They also explore how faith can be both an anchor and, at times, a trap, why the frog in boiling water analogy explains so much about how abuse escalates unnoticed, and what it actually means to break a generational cycle instead of repeating it.  In This Episode:  How childhood conditioning shapes what we believe is 'normal' in adult relationships  The frog in boiling water analogy, and why abuse so rarely announces itself all at once  Why 'you can be a victim, but you can't be a victim' became a turning point in Venus's healing  How faith and religious belief can be both a source of strength and, at times, a reason people stay too long  The middle of the night phone call that finally revealed the truth  Why Venus believes it's the small, unremarkable choices, not the big dramatic ones, that actually save you  What she told her six children the day she came home from the courthouse  Why 100% of the proceeds from her book go to charity, and what she hopes it does for the next woman who reads it  Resources Mentioned:  The Other Side of Perfect — Venus Morris Griffin (book)  Connect with Venus Morris Griffin:  Instagram: Venus Morris Griffin  Book: The Other Side of Perfect, available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and anywhere books are sold  Connect with Dr. Debi  The PBT Institute: https://ThePBTInstitute.com 

What if healing isn't something that simply happens to us—but a journey we can actively negotiate with ourselves? In this episode of The Art of Feminine Negotiation, Cindy Watson sits down with Desislava Dimitrova to explore "Negotiating Your Healing Journey" and what it means to create a deeper relationship between the mind, body, and spirit.   Desislava Dimitrova is a Certified Spiritual Life Coach, Theta Healer, EFT Practitioner, and Yoga Teacher who has spent years developing a holistic approach to healing and personal transformation. Through her work, she helps people reconnect with themselves, release limiting beliefs, and create greater balance and awareness in their lives.    Together, they uncover how self-awareness, emotional release, and intentional choices can transform the way we heal and grow.    In this episode, you will learn:   How to negotiate who you wanted to be? How to distinguish between intuition to start leaning into versus fear or conditioning? Learn how to trust yourself to show up in relationships and in decision making. Surrender versus agency What is success and how can success evolve through experience? How to begin the journey of living in alignment with purpose? And many more!   Learn more about Desislava:    Website: https://www.desi-divine.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/desislava-dimitrova-30271293/   Checkout her books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Desislava-Dimitrova/author/B0FFNX85LV?ref=ap_rdr&shoppingPortalEnabled=true   If you're looking to up-level your negotiation skills, I have everything from online to group to my signature one-on-one mastermind & VIP experiences available to help you better leverage your innate power to get more of what you want and deserve in life. Check out our website at www.artofFeminineNegotiation.com if that sounds interesting to you.   Get Cindy's book here: Amazon   https://www.amazon.com/Art-Feminine-Negotiation-Boardroom-Bedroom-ebook/dp/B0B8KPCYZP?inf_contact_key=94d07c699eea186d2adfbddfef6fb9e2&inf_contact_key=013613337189d4d12be8d2bca3c26821680f8914173f9191b1c0223e68310bb1 EBook   https://www.amazon.com/Art-Feminine-Negotiation-Boardroom-Bedroom-ebook/dp/B0B8KPCYZP?inf_contact_key=94d07c699eea186d2adfbddfef6fb9e2&inf_contact_key=013613337189d4d12be8d2bca3c26821680f8914173f9191b1c0223e68310bb1 Barnes and Noble   https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-art-of-feminine-negotiation-cindy-watson/1141499614?ean=9781631959776 CONNECT WITH CINDY: Website: www.womenonpurpose.ca Website: www.practicingwithpurpose.org Facebook: https://www.  / Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womenonpurposecoaching/ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thecindywatson Show: https://www.womenonpurpose.ca/media/podcast-2/ X(Twitter):  https://twitter.com/womenonpurpose1 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hersuasion Email: cindy@womenonpurpose.ca  

*Original Airdate: September '24 Upgrade to the Ad Free Premium Podcast Experience - https://rachelhollis.supercast.com Get your copy of Rachel's Book Here: Audible, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Millon, Bookshop.org, or wherever books are sold! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices In this throwback episode of The Rachel Hollis Podcast, Rachel sits down with performance psychologist Mike Gervais to explore how training your mind can help you overcome fear, build confidence, and reach the next version of yourself. They discuss why confidence comes from preparation and credible self-talk, how fear of other people's opinions can hold us back, and the importance of mindfulness, recovery, and staying present. Mike shares practical tools for managing stress and strengthening mental skills, emphasizing that your mind can be trained just like your body. *Friday Favorites are a collection of our all-time most popular episodes replayed for the newest members of the community and anyone who wants a relisten. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Fear can be incredibly convincing. Sometimes it sounds like wisdom. Sometimes it looks like waiting for clarity, waiting for the right time, or asking God for just one more confirmation. In this lighter solo episode, I look back at a time when I knew what God was asking me to do... and still I wanted to back out. Then, at a prayer meeting, I suddenly found myself in a very awkward position... -- NEW Everyday Miracle compilation book on Amazon: https://a.co/d/45cgbP8 Everyday Miracle compilation book on Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/everyday-miracles-julie-hedenborg/1146173449?ean=9798881501808 Subscribe to Julie's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@everydaymiraclespodcast1395 Website for Everyday Miracles (APPLY!): http://everydaymiraclespodcast.com/ To follow Everyday Miracles Podcast on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/everyday-miracles-podcast/id1447430033 On Social: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everydaymiraclespodcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everydaymiraclespodcast TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@everydaymiraclespodcast X: https://x.com/miracles9598 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-hedenborg-452028a7/ To email Julie directly: everydaymiraclespodcast@gmail.com -- Scripture ✝️: Proverbs 16:9 Joshua 1:9

"Personal brand" might be the most cringe-inducing phrase in business vocabulary. Say it out loud to a room of accomplished professionals and watch the shoulders tense — it sounds like self-promotion, follower counts, and algorithm-chasing. Vanessa Errecarte,  Founder of Marketing Simplified, the UC Davis Graduate School of Management lecturer who built one of the nation's only for-credit MBA courses on the subject, thinks the term isn't wrong — it's just been hijacked. Her argument is simple but reframes everything: a personal brand was never about you. It's about intriguing people with what you know. Errecarte walks through how she teaches this to students who assume they need one more degree, one more title, or ten more years of experience before they've "earned" a point of view — and why that assumption is backwards. Disney didn't wait to explain who Walt Disney was before telling the story of a mouse and an idea. Neither should you. The conversation gets tactical fast. Errecarte shares the story of a Master's student — a Division I pitcher with "no experience" — who discovered his own expertise by describing how he coaches Little League kids through overcoming self-consciousness on the mound. The insight wasn't buried in a resume; it just needed the right questions to surface it. That's the throughline of Errecarte's approach: frameworks, not talent alone, are what make thought leadership teachable and repeatable. She and Peter also dig into why hesitancy is a signal worth paying attention to rather than a reason to stay quiet, why a small audience is actually the ideal place to test new ideas, and why AI is compressing the timeline for professionals to move from "great at the skill" to "great at the thought." If you've ever bristled at the phrase "personal brand" but suspected your best ideas were going unheard, this episode offers a genuinely different way to think about it — and a workable starting point for the back half of a career. Three Key Takeaways: • Personal branding is about service, not self-promotion. The most memorable professionals aren't the ones broadcasting their credentials — they're the ones sharing what they know in a way that helps others think more clearly. Reframing "personal brand" as "what value can I offer" removes most of the discomfort people feel about it. • You don't need more experience to have a point of view. Errecarte's framework helps people — from first-year MBA students to seasoned executives — surface expertise they already have but don't recognize as valuable. The right questions, not more credentials, are usually what's missing. • Treat your career like a lab, especially early on. A small audience is a feature, not a limitation — it's where you can test ideas, get honest feedback, and build confidence before the stakes get higher. Waiting for a "finished" idea before sharing anything publicly is a bigger risk than sharing something imperfect. If this conversation got you thinking about how to actually build and scale your own expertise, Peter's new book is the natural next step. The Thought Leadership Handbook, written with co-authors Bill Sherman and Naren Aryal, breaks down exactly what it takes to shape, package, and scale your ideas in a crowded market — the same "framework over talent" thinking Vanessa talked about today, applied to your whole body of work. It's available now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, and Amplify, and you can learn more at thoughtleadershiphandbook.com.

Upgrade to the Ad Free Premium Podcast Experience - https://rachelhollis.supercast.com Get your copy of Rachel's Book Here: Audible, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Millon, Bookshop.org, or wherever books are sold! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices In this edition of Ask Rach on The Rachel Hollis Podcast, Rach answers listener questions about caring for an aging family member without losing yourself, prioritizing personal and professional development as an entrepreneur, and handling friends or family who expect discounts from your business. She encourages listeners to establish emotional boundaries, recognize learning and self-development as valuable investments in future growth, and confidently protect their time, energy, and business without feeling responsible for other people's reactions. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Upgrade to the Ad Free Premium Podcast Experience - https://rachelhollis.supercast.com Get your copy of Rachel's Book Here: Audible, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Millon, Bookshop.org, or wherever books are sold! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices In this episode of The Rachel Hollis Podcast, Rachel shares five simple ways to create a fresh start when life begins to feel stale, repetitive, or low-energy. She encourages listeners to change something in their physical environment, focus on making the next 30 days more exciting, tackle something they've been avoiding, challenge themselves through movement, and put something on the calendar to look forward to. Rachel emphasizes that you don't need a major life change to feel renewed and that small, intentional shifts can help you regain momentum and become more actively engaged in your own life. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Before you say "I do," there may be another conversation worth having: What are we building together—and what are we building for ourselves? In this episode, Cindy Watson and Alex Edwards explore why love is powerful, but equity can create lasting freedom, security, and legacy. From homeownership to financial independence, discover why the foundation of a strong partnership may begin long before the wedding.   Alex Edwards isn't simply selling homes—he's helping build a new culture of ownership. As the founder of Thumbprint Realty and author of Mortgage Before Marriage, Alex is a visionary, educator, and cultural architect leading a movement that challenges communities to rethink when and how they build wealth. His message is clear: wealth doesn't have to wait for marriage, and legacy should lead love.   In this episode, you will learn:   How does becoming an asset to yourself before becoming one to someone else shape negotiation in a relationship? How does mindset influence the way people negotiate opportunities? How men and women approach financial risk, negotiations, and investment decisions. What is generational wealth? How does that begin? And many more!   Learn more about Alex:   Website: https://mortgagebeforemarriage.com/home Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mortgageb4Marriage/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mortgageb4marriage/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexeedwards LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-e-edwards-2904bb18 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@gemdroppodcast   Grab Alex's book: Mortgage Before Marriage   If you're looking to up-level your negotiation skills, I have everything from online to group to my signature one-on-one mastermind & VIP experiences available to help you better leverage your innate power to get more of what you want and deserve in life. Check out our website at www.artofFeminineNegotiation.com if that sounds interesting to you.   Get Cindy's book here: Amazon   https://www.amazon.com/Art-Feminine-Negotiation-Boardroom-Bedroom-ebook/dp/B0B8KPCYZP?inf_contact_key=94d07c699eea186d2adfbddfef6fb9e2&inf_contact_key=013613337189d4d12be8d2bca3c26821680f8914173f9191b1c0223e68310bb1 EBook   https://www.amazon.com/Art-Feminine-Negotiation-Boardroom-Bedroom-ebook/dp/B0B8KPCYZP?inf_contact_key=94d07c699eea186d2adfbddfef6fb9e2&inf_contact_key=013613337189d4d12be8d2bca3c26821680f8914173f9191b1c0223e68310bb1 Barnes and Noble   https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-art-of-feminine-negotiation-cindy-watson/1141499614?ean=9781631959776 CONNECT WITH CINDY: Website: www.womenonpurpose.ca Website: www.practicingwithpurpose.org Facebook: https://www.  / Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womenonpurposecoaching/ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thecindywatson Show: https://www.womenonpurpose.ca/media/podcast-2/ X(Twitter):  https://twitter.com/womenonpurpose1 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hersuasion Email: cindy@womenonpurpose.ca  

Maria Whelan is an agent at Mushens Entertainment, in London. Prior to that, for more than 8 years she worked as an assistant and agent at InkWell Management in New York. She began her career in publishing as a Foreign Rights Assistant at Janklow & Nesbit in New York. Maria graduated from University College Dublin with a BA in English and Drama, then obtained her Master's in Literature and Modernity from the University of Edinburgh. Maria represents both fiction and nonfiction writers, including USA TODAY bestsellers, a Lammy Finalist, a Discoveries Women's Prize shortlist winner, a PEN/Robert W. Bingham Finalist, a Simon & Schuster Books Like Us first novel winner, NPR's Best Books of The Year authors, a James Beard Award winner, Barnes & Noble picks authors, and MacDowell Fellows.  Maria joins Barbara DeMarco-Barrett to talk about how she finds her clients, query letters, hands on agenting, comparison titles, submitting to editors, ageism in publishing, the difference in agents in NY vs the UK, selling memoirs, and more. For more information on Writers on Writing and to become a supporter, visit our Patreon page. For a one-time donation, visit Ko-fi. You can help out the show and indie bookstores by buying books at our bookstore on bookshop.org. It's stocked with titles by our guest authors, as well as our personal favorites. And on Spotify, you'll find an album's worth of typewriter music like what you hear on the show. It's perfect for writing. Look for the artist, Just My Type. You can find hundreds of past interviews on our website. (Recorded on 7, 2026) Host: Barbara DeMarco-Barrett Host: Marrie Stone Music: Travis Barrett (Stream his music on Spotify, Apple Music, Etc.)  

Kathryn talks with Beth about her more than two-decade struggle with bulimia and how she ultimately found freedom. Beth shares how the Brain over Binge approach changed the way she understood her urges, and how her Christian faith gave her additional meaning and conviction, which strengthened her ability to put what she was learning into practice. This is Beth's personal experience, and although faith and spirituality may play very different roles—or no role at all—in each person's recovery, there are broader lessons in her story about separating from harmful thoughts and connecting with what matters most to you. Join the Brain over Binge Group Beth's email address: bduggan7@gmail.com  Episode 101: Recovery Stories, Part I Episode 102: Recovery Stories, Part II Episode 103: Recovery Stories, Part III Episode 104: Recovery Stories, Part IV Episode 106: Recovery Stories, Part V Episode 107: Recovery Stories, Part VI Episode 120: Recovery Stories, Part VII Episode 132: Recovery Stories, Part VIII Ep. 148: Recovery Stories Part IX Brain over Binge resources: Get the FREE 30-day Inspiration Booklet Get personalized support from Kathryn with one-on-one coaching Subscribe to the Brain over Binge Course for only $18.99 per month Get the Second Edition of Brain over Binge on Amazon and Audible, BarnesandNoble.com, Apple iBooks, or Kobo. Get the Brain over Binge Recovery Guide   Disclaimer: *The Brain over Binge Podcast is produced and recorded by Brain over Binge Recovery Coaching, LLC. All work is copyrighted by Brain over Binge Recovery Coaching, LLC, and all rights are reserved. As a disclaimer, the hosts of the Brain over Binge Podcast are not professional counselors or licensed healthcare providers, and this podcast is not a substitute for medical advice or any form of professional therapy. Eating disorders can have serious health consequences and you are strongly advised to seek medical attention for matters relating to your health. Please get help when you need it, and good luck on your journey.

*Original Airdate: April '25 Upgrade to the Ad Free Premium Podcast Experience - https://rachelhollis.supercast.com Get your copy of Rachel's Book Here: Audible, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Millon, Bookshop.org, or wherever books are sold! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices In this throwback episode of The Rachel Hollis Podcast, Rachel shares the foods she always keeps in her kitchen to make healthy eating easier and more consistent for herself and her family. From fruits, vegetables, nuts, and pantry staples to frozen proteins and smoothie ingredients, she explains how keeping familiar, nutrient-dense foods on hand removes the guesswork from meals and makes healthier choices more convenient. Rach emphasizes that healthy eating is a learned skill and encourages listeners to find nutritious foods they genuinely enjoy, create reliable go-to meals and snacks, and plan ahead so healthy choices fit naturally into everyday life. *Friday Favorites are a collection of our all-time most popular episodes replayed for the newest members of the community and anyone who wants a relisten. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Anthony Serino had over a million followers, celebrity clients, financial success, and a thriving career built around hypnosis, manifestation, and New Age practices. Then something happened that challenged everything he thought he understood... -- NEW Everyday Miracle compilation book on Amazon: https://a.co/d/45cgbP8 Everyday Miracle compilation book on Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/everyday-miracles-julie-hedenborg/1146173449?ean=9798881501808 Subscribe to Julie's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@everydaymiraclespodcast1395 Website for Everyday Miracles (APPLY!): http://everydaymiraclespodcast.com/ To follow Everyday Miracles Podcast on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/everyday-miracles-podcast/id1447430033 On Social: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everydaymiraclespodcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everydaymiraclespodcast TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@everydaymiraclespodcast X: https://x.com/miracles9598 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-hedenborg-452028a7/ To email Julie directly: everydaymiraclespodcast@gmail.com -- Scripture ✝️: Psalm 127:1a  "Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain." Matthew 10:8b "Freely you have received; freely give." Romans 8:11 "And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you."

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, I'm joined once again by John Michael Greer, this time to discuss his newest Aeon Books volume, The Magical Writings of W. B. Yeats.Together, we discuss Yeats as a poet, magician, and highly-trained occult philosopher, with a special focus on the original 1925 edition of his great work, A Vision. We talk about George Yeats and the automatic writing that helped shape the system, as well as the works of Tolkien and Jung, the nature of Imaginal Realms, creative masks, and much more. It's always a true pleasure to have JMG back on the show, and I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.--Find John Michael Greer online -JMG's works on Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/shop/jmgBuy 'The Magical Writings of W.B. Yeats': https://spirit.aeonbooks.com/product/magical-writings-of-wb-yeats/95401JMG's Dreamwidth page: https://ecosophia.dreamwidth.org/JMG's website - Ecosophia: https://ecosophia.net/---Upcoming Events with JoAnna:Aug. 15, 2026 - 10am-2pm:The Diviner's Path Book Event at The Serpent's Key in Hanover, PA   - https://serpentskeyshoppe.com/Aug. 20, 2026 - 6pm:Free Workshop and Talk at Barnes and Noble in Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY.  - https://stores.barnesandnoble.com/event/9780062217464-0September 4–7, 2026:TempleFest at Prindle Pond Conference Center in Charlton, MassachusettsSupport Coffee and DivinationJoAnna's book, "The Diviner's Path: A Nature-Led Approach to Divination with Tarot, Runes & Pendulums", is now available, from Llewellyn Publishing:https://amzn.to/4e6EXH9Thank you so much for the support the book has already received. If you've read and enjoyed it, even a brief, honest review on Amazon, Goodreads, or the site where you purchased it can make an enormous difference in helping other readers discover the work.Coffee and Divination:https://www.coffeeanddivination.com/Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/coffeeanddivination/Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/c/coffeeanddivinationYouTube: The Coffee and Divination Podcast - YouTubeThank you for listening, and, as always, see you between the worlds...

Upgrade to the Ad Free Premium Podcast Experience - https://rachelhollis.supercast.com Get your copy of Rachel's Book Here: Audible, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Millon, Bookshop.org, or wherever books are sold! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices In this milestone 1,000th episode of The Rachel Hollis Podcast, Rachel reflects on what it takes to achieve meaningful, long-term goals and argues that there are no shortcuts around consistent effort. She encourages listeners to stop chasing quick fixes, focus on becoming the person they want to be, and embrace the repetitive, often unglamorous work required to create lasting results. Rachel emphasizes that consistency compounds over time and challenges listeners to return to something they've repeatedly given up on by taking one small step every day. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How can you tell where the real innovation in publishing is happening right now, and why is it emerging from the indie side first? How do you market your own book when you've spent 35 years marketing everyone else's? John Bond talks about Going Indie and what he's learned about authors who last. In the intro, my thoughts on writing with AI, Charles Dickens and encouragement for the 3-year-old dancing to K-Pop at the wedding, UK copyright law, The end of an era — Hugh Howey; Notre Dame, Paris; Today's show is sponsored by Bookfunnel, the essential tool for your author business. Whether it's delivering your reader magnet, sending out advanced copies of your book, handing out ebooks at a conference, or fulfilling your digital sales to readers, BookFunnel does it all. Check it out at bookfunnel.com/thecreativepenn This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn John Bond is the co-founder of Whitefox, a premium publishing services agency, and has over 35 years in traditional publishing, from bookselling to marketing and management. He's also the co-author of Going Indie: Publishing Your Book Your Way, with James Silver. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. Show Notes Why 2012 was a watershed moment for publishing in the UK Whether the snobbery around self-publishing has finally gone How to co-write a book with someone, and why there's no formula The pride swallowing involved in getting endorsement quotes for your own book The shadow economy of indie sales that no industry chart measures The hallmarks of writers who build a long-term career You can find John at wearewhitefox.com. Transcript of the interview with John Bond Jo: John Bond is the co-founder of Whitefox, a premium publishing services agency, and has over 35 years in traditional publishing, from bookselling to marketing and management. He's also the co-author of Going Indie: Publishing Your Book Your Way, with James Silver. So welcome back to the show, John. John: Thank you, Jo. Thanks so much for having me. Jo: You were last on the show in 2022. You've been on a couple of times, but just set the scene. Tell people a bit more about you and your long background in publishing. John: I suppose I could say I started as a marketing manager at Penguin back in the early 1990s in London, and that role eventually evolved into running sales and marketing, as it often does. I did that at Penguin and at HarperCollins. Then I ran one of the publishing divisions at HarperCollins, including 4th Estate, and published Hilary Mantel and Jonathan Franzen and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and others. I left that in 2011 and set up Whitefox in 2012, and it's a classic startup story. It was somebody I worked with at HarperCollins. We sat around a kitchen table, came up with an idea for a business, which was Whitefox, and that's grown into the creative agency that it is today. Jo: So back then, did you think, “I can do this better”? Was that the impetus, “I can do publishing better than Penguin and HarperCollins”? John: No, I thought we would solve a problem. There's something very attractive about that whole startup mentality and beginning something from scratch. I mean, I was in my early 50s. I'd had a long career in traditional publishing. On the plus side, I knew a lot of people, and I thought I could get meetings, people would reply to my phone calls or my emails. On the downside, I didn't necessarily have the energy of a 20 to 25-year-old. I knew a lot of people and I knew quite a lot of things, and I also knew what problems something like Whitefox could solve. We set up with this idea that if we could galvanise and organise the diaspora of freelancers in the publishing space and make them available to anybody that wanted to make a book, that that would be quite a powerful thing. These incredibly creative, wonderful people who were below the radar and were not particularly valued or managed or utilised properly. I thought if we could access that and make that available not just to traditional publishing people who know about these people, but to individual authors, businesses, brands, people that wanted to make a book, and if you added a layer of our expertise from traditional publishing, that could be quite powerful, I suppose. That's what I was thinking back then. Jo: It's funny, though. You said these wonderful freelancers who were not particularly valued or managed or utilised properly. That could also apply to a lot of authors in traditional publishing. John: Totally. Totally. But if I'm honest, I don't think I was thinking about that. What's really evolved since we started, even in that 2011, 2012 period, is so much has happened to independent writers, indie authors. The whole ecosystem has become much more vibrant, and what is accessible to those writers is much greater. I'd like to think we've played a part in that. What that's done is put power back into writers' hands, and that quickly became apparent in the business as a byproduct of what we'd set up. Jo: Yes, and 2012 I do think in the UK was a pivot point, because I got into self-publishing in 2006/2007 when the Americans did with the beginning of the Kindle and the iPhone. Really the American ecosystem grew first. I happened to be in Australia, and so I think I was able to escape the negativity of the vortex in the UK, which took a number more years to embrace self-publishing as a force to be reckoned with as opposed to an embarrassing thing in the corner for vanity press. Do you see 2012 as a changing point in UK publishing? John: I think we'd just come out of the Kindle moment, hadn't we? There were all sorts of conversations going on about how that was going to change things forever. I think no one quite knew what the upshot of that was going to be, but we knew that it was incredibly disruptive. In 2012, Penguin, as it was then, before Penguin Random House, had offered to buy Author Solutions for $115 million, presumably seen as some kind of defensive measure as to what the market was going to evolve into. I think it felt like a real period of change. In the UK, James Daunt took over running Waterstones, and he was then ultimately going to run Barnes & Noble. It felt like a bit of a watershed. I think we were lucky in that sense, that maybe in the UK and in London, what we were creating coincided with an opening up of opportunity and creativity, and people wanting access to more tools to be able to do things themselves. Getting this idea that you invest in your own talent and what that could mean for your ability to do things quicker, better. Some of it was happenstance, but lucky for us. As you say, we then became aware that in a sense a lot of these things had come to fruition earlier on the US side. In London, that whole idea of setting up something that wasn't a traditional rights-owning model, but where you wanted to be working with people creatively, felt actually really exciting and timely. Jo: And when you started to work with independent authors, probably a couple of years after that, you started to work with a lot more indie authors and things really started to change in terms of the business side. Did you feel any of the snobbery from the traditional industry? Like you mentioned, you have a lot of contacts, a lot of connections. I came to your wonderful launch party and there were just people from all over the industry. I wondered if you got any kickback, or if anyone raised their eyebrows a little bit at who you were choosing to work with? John: Oh, definitely. And I would say I really think that's gone. You may think differently, Jo, but from my perspective, I think there has been such an evolution in the nearly 15 years that we've been going. So any of that residual snobbery, looking down your nose at people that were going DIY, producing multiple books, learning from every single publication. We've spoken about this before. I remember you sat on the panel of a FutureBook conference in the UK, which was run by a trade magazine, with this idea of looking at the, in quotes, “digital future of the business.” It felt like there were a lot of things being talked about, but not a lot of action on the traditional side. I suppose some sort of awe that there was some magic going on with people who were making a success of self-publishing. But then quite a lot of people looking down their noses at things that shouldn't get through the gatekeepers. I do think that's gone. Or if it's not completely gone, I can see it on the way out of the door, because there's no room for that when agents are struggling to sell books to publishers because publishers are looking at the next indie author, the next Freida McFadden, the next Sarah J. Maas, the next Rebecca Yarros. So whoever it may be, or wherever they're publishing, whatever they're doing now, wherever they may be, knowing that a lot of those people will already be publishing and be on not their first, second, third or fourth, but potentially their 10th or 11th book. It's a race to see who can help those authors, as a traditional publisher would see it, amplify what they're doing. I think the idea that there's an us and them, if it did exist then, which it certainly did in certain publishing quarters, is gone. I used to go to those conferences, like the FutureBook Conference, and certain publishers would talk about publishing, and when they meant publishing, they meant a really tiny area of quite literary, traditional imprints. That's what publishing meant. They didn't even mean publishing to mean educational publishing, or children's publishing, or academic publishing, and certainly not Kindle or POD or whatever. So I think that's had to change for very good, sound, commercial, economic reasons. Jo: Yes, you're right. I definitely have heard, as we go to similar events sometimes, and you do hear agents used to talk a lot more about finding books very occasionally in a slush pile, or doing courses so you could meet people and do pitch events and all this. Now it's often build an audience on BookTok or whatever, and sell lots of books, and traditional publishing as an amplifier, as you said. That's how I always hear them pitch it now, the question of— What can traditional publishing still do when indie authors can do so much? It does seem to be, well, we can amplify you, we can get you into traditional press, we can get you in traditional bookstores, we can help you with film and movie deals, that kind of thing. So that's really interesting, because that's actually changed quite a lot. They don't now seem to say, “Oh, well, we can make sure we pay you,” or, “We are editorial success as such.” John: I think they don't say editorial success or quality or indeed marketing, because that was what used to be said. I think there's an understanding that a lot of indie writers are better marketeers of their own books than traditional publishers, and if you go into the publishing machine, then you'll get your slot. It lasts for a certain period of time and then that moves on to another book. Whereas obviously if you're writing your own book and you're marketing your own book, you're able to do that yourself 24/7 wherever you are in the world, and you will know more about your readers and your audience and how that evolves than a traditional publisher would. What they probably mean now is, as you said, as much as anything, distribution, or even physical distribution. Because to be part of that process, I think that is still where a large conglomerate is able to wield some muscle, with this idea that if you physically want to see your book in bricks and mortar retailers in X outlets around the world, that's potentially easier to do if that is your aim, via a traditional publisher. So it is constantly evolving, because it used to be that marketing was the silver bullet, and I don't think that's the case anymore. Jo: No. We'll come back to marketing, shall we? Struggling with marketing. So let's get into your book. You recently co-wrote Going Indie with James Silver, Publishing Your Book Your Way. Obviously you already knew a lot about indie authors, so I wonder, what did you discover in the process of researching the book and the interviews you did? And I was one of your interviews. Did anything come up that surprised you, since you're already pretty embedded in the world? John: I would say some of it was reinforcing what I knew. So how everything is so intertwined, how in some ways unlinear everything is. People are doing lots of things in a different order to the way that traditionally writers would perceive this relay race of a manuscript gets passed to an editor, an editor passes on. That's just not how it is or needs to be anymore. I still think there is—not even a misconception—but I think there's a received wisdom that when you're talking about self-publishing, you're talking about fiction. The majority of books that Whitefox produces are not fiction, they're non-fiction. Some of them are quite mainstream, some of them are quite niche. That idea of connecting to your audience and your followers, and being slightly more scientific about how you find readers in your non-fiction niche, I think is still unspoken about in a way, in that genre fiction tends to be what people automatically assume the conversation is about. This probably doesn't surprise you, but I was pleasantly surprised to have it confirmed to me quite how much swapping and sharing there is of skills and knowledge in that space. I'm not saying indie writing is egoless at all, but there's quite a lot of sharing of knowledge and what works, and collaboration, which I think is great to see. Again, if you've, as I did many years ago, come out of corporate conglomerate publishing, traditional publishing, there's less of that by the very nature of the kind of organisation. And look, we just talked about marketing a little while ago. I do think this whole idea that the cutting edge of experimentation, it's not traditional publishing, it's indie writers. They are looking at not just how to find readers, but how to fulfil orders, how to make commercial sense of what they're doing from the absolute outset and get-go of what they're doing. And just how now the lines are blurring between what would be classified as traditional digital publishers and the writers who are doing their own thing, or doing their own thing on behalf of a few other writers. Those lines have completely blurred. There used to be this traditional hardback, paperback, X number of books a year, a year after hardback there's a paperback. This is the model we have been doing for centuries, and people doing things on their own. I think that's blurring massively, and the Venn diagrams of people's areas of expertise are just overlapping massively. Jo: Well, I think you're right there, and certainly the hardback special editions with sprayed edges and foil. A lot of us now are doing that first and not putting out the other, or putting out the rest of it at the same time. I dare say probably there are more indie authors with sprayed edge hardbacks than there are traditionally published authors. John: I'm sure that's right. And what's interesting is if you go to a traditional book printer, they are loving the direct communication with writers, that's not coming through traditional channels and traditional relationships. It's great business, it's interesting. I think that's something that's even developed in the last couple of years, that cutting out of some of the middle men required. Jo: Yes, and in terms of supporting freelancers and small publishing houses and printers and stuff, the other thing I've heard is that indie authors pay upfront, or they pay quickly, compared to some of these big publishers who are asking for long lead times and steep discounting. So actually a lot of these independent businesses are doing better under indie author work than they were under traditional. John: I think that's right, and that's what I mean also about the sharing of information and this collaborative idea of sharing creative knowledge. I mean, I'm making it sound like a kind of 19th century cooperative, which it isn't. I'm not suggesting that for a second. It's this idea that there's a lot of people learning a lot of things and there's a keenness to share some of that information, because if you've developed your own readership for your unique creative product, some of those learnings are very exciting. The printers I've spoken to love working on those kinds of things, because they are also being challenged to come up with new ways of developing ever more innovative physical product. Jo: Yes, I think it's a fun, creative time for sure. Things like Kickstarter, which you came on and talked about crowdfunding years ago, and I've obviously done. I think, what am I on now? Seven? I've just done my seventh. John: Wow. Jo: It's so much fun. But now what's happening is traditional publishers are arriving on Kickstarter and all that kind of thing. So we really see a blurring. Let's come back to your book, so Going Indie. You co-wrote it. Now obviously there are lots of positive sides of collaboration, but in terms of any challenges with collaboration and co-writing and the writing process of doing this? Because I've done this several times and I've found it very challenging. So tell us about the collaborative writing process. John: We thought a lot about it before we took it on. What I would say, having done it, is I am assuming there is no formula for how you do this. At Penguin I worked with a married couple who were crime writers, and they wrote books together. They merged their names so it appeared to be one name. I could not tell you, and they didn't share what that process was, whether they were writing different chapters or … I don't know. So I can only speak from my own experience. James is an established journalist. He's great with deadlines. He was very good at chivvying me along when I needed to be persuaded to hit the deadlines that I'd promised. I write blogs, I write newsletters, I write content for our website, but this is my first book. I've never written anything of this length. So in a way it started with the structure. It started with this idea that we would play to what we perceived as our respective strengths in terms of writing. We absolutely were not each writing every third word or anything like that. It was a process of trust in different parts. I thought, James had done some research and will be better at writing that. He deferred to me on areas that he took to be my areas of expertise. We did every interview for the book together. We went over the notes from those before they became part of the interviews for the book. And some of the book's elements are diagrammatic, so those are very easy to collaborate on. I think we tried to be professionally, creatively constructive with each other. So it was raising an eyebrow rather than shouting at each other if we didn't agree about something. A lot of it was down to the editing, and I don't know what your experience was like with a co-writer, but a lot of it came down to: here is something which is quite baggy. How do we, between us, make this as tight as we possibly can? I don't mean copy editing or proofreading. I mean the actual sort of, how do we get this into a pithy, usable, practical but discursive book? We didn't ever set out for this to be a pure reference book at all. We wanted to take a snapshot of what was going on. So a lot of it was genuinely trying to do some research and get people to feed into what was going on from lots of different perspectives, which is why we wanted to get mainstream traditional publishers, we wanted to get agents, we wanted to get indie writers, we wanted to get people who have all sorts of experiences and perspectives. That's what makes it what it is, which is, here's what we think are some of the interesting discussion points of what's going on now. Jo: It is a fantastic snapshot. I think it's really interesting—and obviously you also have seen my book, Successful Self-Publishing, which is on its fourth edition—this is one of the difficult things with snapshot type books. So have you already thought about that? I know this one has just come out, but have you thought, “Oh no, in five years we have to do it again”? John: Well, I think we thought we're going to have to address AI, which we do in the book, and we really tried to caveat that with saying, look, so much may change so quickly, and here we are talking about what we know now. We obviously tried to set the context for where we are now, and we tried as much as possible to make something which would last as long as we can. I think what we did think was, we have tried to make it as international a perspective as possible. But at the same time, we are a London-based agency, and a lot of the views will be from people based in the UK. So I think what I would like to explore is something that looks at potentially somewhere like the US, where I think there'll be different people that would perhaps have different perspectives on different things. So I think we thought about potentially there being future iterations of the book, but not yet. Jo: Not yet. This is the challenge with non-fiction, of course. On that, I would say what you just said around the US and stuff, the successful UK authors all use the same systems as the US. So I wouldn't say that the US … I mean, we all have the US companies we all use. I say Kobo is obviously Canadian, but I would say that we use the same ways of doing things. Obviously you might interview a different author, but … John: That was all I meant. I meant interviewing. Because we've interviewed agents and authors and publishers and they are largely UK based. So it was the idea that maybe there are some perspectives on things rather than systemic. Jo: Differences. John: Yes. Just that. Jo: So then I guess another challenge, we've kind of nodded to it so far, is marketing. So let's talk about the challenges of getting this book out in terms of publishing and marketing. Because you've been on the inner circle side, trying to do that for other people's books, but your own book, this is a whole nother thing. So tell us about that. John: Well, how do you do it, Jo? I mean, honestly, I've loved some of it. I get how you become completely obsessed with your book and trying to make sure that you can get it into the hands of the people that you want to get it into the hands of. We've got some great endorsement quotes, which was a task that, how can I say this? I would call it pride swallowing. The idea that you really try and get people to say nice things about your book and, if they don't reply, you think, “How much do I pester them? How much do I annoy them by asking them again nicely?” And the absolute sheer unadulterated joy when they come back with something positive that you can use and utilise in some way. So that whole process of waiting for feedback, I suppose, and hoping that people are going to like what you've done and help you spread the word for it. We had a launch event, we've given books away. We've published the book as ebook and POD. I think one of the great things about that is it's enabled us to be completely adaptable and make changes right up until the last minute. That drove everybody in my team completely crazy because we were making changes up until the last minute. So, is the book definitely going to be available on publication date? What's it going to do? You know, all of that kind of stuff. Also, just getting this idea that I suppose you can never stop. Is that a very obvious thing to say to a writer? It probably is. You just can't stop, because if you go, “Right, well, I've done it,” complacency is the enemy. Just as soon as you've got that quote, or someone said that they're going to give you an opportunity to talk about it on a platform, it's just another day and you've got to keep thinking about how you can spread the word and tell people that it exists. Jo: Yes, well, I think that's right, and particularly non-fiction, which unless it's very timely and you must get it out right now. But other than that— Most books you just have to keep marketing for years. Then just as you say, when do you stop? Well, you kind of never stop unless you want to, unless you want to retire and just give up, basically. Dean Wesley Smith, who's a big writer in the US and a kind of a mentor of mine in past years, he talks about it as this massive sea of books. And when a book arrives, he pictures it coming down and landing on the water. So the day you launch, it's landed on the water, and then it begins to sink. Then there are all these other books coming down. It's like this rain of books, and your book is sinking as soon as it lands. And your job is to keep it afloat somehow. John: Keep it afloat. Jo: Yes. John: I think you're right, and it's such an interesting perspective for us, who work with a lot of people who have one book. You know, they've spent 10 years writing it. It's their life story. It's their memoir. It's their self-help book. It's their book that accompanies them on their speaking journey, or whatever. Then there are the people who are writing constantly and can't stop writing because they're exercising that creative muscle all the time and wanting to get better, and wanting to improve and learn and understand why this works and why that hasn't worked. Just getting a glimpse into what it must be like for that person for whom writing is not a hobby. I kept saying to myself, “This is not something you're doing as a hobby.” I want this book to be of value to people, and if I'm investing that time and effort into something that I want to get out there, you've got to commit to whatever it is you need to do to make sure you're not sinking. Jo: Yes. John: I will now not be able to get that image out of my head. Jo: Yes. I know there's people listening who don't have a mind's eye, which I always find fascinating, but for those of us with a mind's eye, you can now picture that and you will never forget it. The other thing, I guess, is that, having done a lot, over 40 books now, the inevitable thing is you cannot keep pushing all of those books back up to the surface. So when you do get the bug as such of writing, the most interesting thing for all of us is always the next book. It's always like, ooh, the next thing I'm doing, I'm very excited about. So you do have to pick your battles on marketing. So have you got the bug, do you think? Are you thinking of other books in general? Because as you said, you must be, I guess, in your 60s. John: I am. Jo: You could retire. John: I am. You were talking about that long career. I could. I mean, I really love doing it, and I would love to do more. I think one of the things that surprised me was just how many ideas came up while we were doing the book about tangents that one could take it. I have no desire to write a novel. I don't want to do that. I wouldn't be very good at that. I do think there are some interesting spaces around where there's a kind of intersection of creativity and learning, and how you can develop books that would help people who are trying to achieve different things in different sectors of publishing. So without getting too granular about it, this book doesn't really address brands who want to become publishers, and I think that is something that our business has developed into working with, not just individuals, but businesses and brands. I think there's definitely spin-offs of this book which are not about repeating what we've done so far. And this whole idea of what you've been doing for a long time, what we've been doing since 2011, 2012, it's evolving now at such a speed. I mean, who would have known what was going to come out of TikTok? As you talk about TikTok to Shopify, that whole kind of new ways of finding readers, of taking books to market. As you said, Kickstarter, crowdfunding. There's all sorts of things that I think will emerge, because in a funny sort of way traditional publishing at the moment feels quite conservative with a small c. I mean, the bestsellers. Dan Brown is number one in the bestseller list this week in the UK as I speak, who has been a bestseller forever. And obviously new writers come along the whole time, but the market feels a little bit as if it's waiting now for innovation. I think if that innovation's going to happen, it's probably going to happen in the indie space before it happens in mainstream publishing. So people are coming to us and thinking, does that represent a trend? Does that represent something which could be a way of looking at something a little bit deeper, doing some research around and creating something which is not a long book, not a massive thesis, but something which is indicative of something which could be useful for people. Jo: Just coming back on the Dan Brown is in the bestseller list. I think this is completely to do with the way that traditional publishing measures things. For many years, more than a decade, probably since the beginning of Kindle, certainly the beginning of Kindle Unlimited, there is a shadow economy, I call it, or a parallel economy. I would say that almost zero of my own personal sales are measured by any industry standards. Anyone who makes any money from Kindle Unlimited or Kickstarter or Shopify, or selling direct in any form, or selling books at conventions, none of this is measured by any traditional things. As you know, the New York Times list, for example, does not include Amazon sales in their bestseller list. So you've got indie authors in the UK who are incredibly successful who have to decide, say, someone like LJ Ross, for example, decides, “Okay, I'm going to set up a proper imprint with Gardners or whatever so that I can get in bookstores so that I can hit a Sunday Times list or something.” So I would say that seeing things like Dan Brown on a bestseller list has almost no meaning in the shadow indie economy. John: No, you're absolutely right. We're not even able to see audiobook sales. Jo: Yes, audio. Any kind of borrows, like Spotify. John: No, you're completely right. I suppose I was making a broader cultural point, that it doesn't feel like there's an enormous amount of innovation going on or risk taking within what I would call mainstream trade publishing. And there doesn't seem to be the need to be, because there will be more consolidation. Small companies will be bought by big companies, so there's growth through acquisition. There's still a hope that something will take off that is a surprise, and there's still an enormous reliance on established brands who, even through the traditional metrics of how you measure them, are probably selling less, but still at the top of the pile. I suppose that's what I was meaning. Jo: Yes, and I agree with what the industry looks at as signals. It's just, as we said, a lot of these signals are invisible. So coming onto innovation, at London Book Fair this year there were a lot of sessions on AI, and you mentioned AI briefly, and there is a chapter in Going Indie on generative AI. And of course there's a lot of negativity and drama and lawsuits and this, that and the other. But at the same time, at London Book Fair, a lot of traditional publishers talking about using it, and of course they always say, “Oh, we use AI only in marketing and business, not with the creative or editorial.” Everyone makes this distinction. What are your thoughts on what's happening and where's it going with AI? Is a lot of this stuff not happening in public and just going on behind closed doors? John: I think so. We do have a chapter in the book on AI. We've generated summaries of every chapter using AI, which we explicitly said in the book as well. We've got our Ten Commandments of what we think are useful guidelines. I think that there has to be an enormous amount being done, whether it's experimentation or speeding up for efficiency's sake, or things that slow you down, within mainstream publishing. There has to be more than just the guardrails around the creative process. And clearly when we're talking about metadata, book description, cover copy, presumably royalty calculations, presumably if you're trying to grow your newsletters. There has to be an enormous amount of activity going on. We're driven by the market, so we do not commission. Writers come to us and they either want to work with us and we want to work with them, or that doesn't happen. So we're in a sense seeing what the market is seeing, and that is a whole range of things. As I've said before, there's a lot of sweeping generalisations out there, which if you look back to that Kindle moment, we were talking a little while ago about what was going on in 2010/2011, about the enormous broad brush strokes that were being perceived as a result of Kindle. Kindle has affected some areas of publishing, it's affected some not at all. I think it will be absolutely fascinating when the sweeping generalisations stop and there becomes, I suppose, even more transparency. The thing that people are looking for, isn't it? A little bit less opaqueness as to what is really being done. Because everybody's being so careful about what they say they're doing and what they're not doing. I suppose ElevenLabs is the one where people are openly engaging on the audio side. I mean, everyone is being so careful and cautious. Jo: Me too. John: What do you think? We spoke a bit about AI within the book, and I'm interested to know what you think. Jo: Well, I've obviously been openly talking about it since 2016. I openly talk about using it, and I've got my Patreon community where we talk about how we're using it, and tips on how to use it. But then, because I have been writing and publishing since 2007, 2008, I'm very strong in my creative voice. I'm very strong in my understanding of what I consider to be my level of output, and what I publish under my own name is what I publish under my own name. John: Totally. Jo: So the problem is for people who are less confident, I think, in what they're doing creatively perhaps. I know some people feel like they're scared it will take over or something. When you're as strong-minded as me, it's not taking over anything. John: It's not going to take over anything. And the other side of the coin is how many people are finding Whitefox using ChatGPT. Jo: Mm. John: I'm thrilled that we are emerging, through very detailed briefing of AI, as something that is worth engaging with. Jo: Positive marketing. John: Yes, exactly. As you say, I think there's a lot of negativity, and I think it will settle down eventually. I think less hysteria. Jo: Yes, hopefully sooner rather than later. So as we come to an end, you've been in the publishing industry a long time and seen a lot of people who have disappeared, but also those who've lasted. I wondered if maybe you could comment on those who last, because I definitely feel like I'm in my 50s now, and I want to keep doing this. I'm pretty obsessed with— What are the hallmarks of people who have a long-term career? So reflections on that. John: Oh, that's such a good question. I think there's some common characteristics and themes. So I think authenticity, I think this idea of being continually curious. I think there are people who can't help but create, and this idea that once you've sort of expelled once, that's enough. I think there's people that just can't stop creating, whatever you do with it. But this idea that the more you do, the better you get, the more you evolve and keep an open mind. I think there's definitely entrepreneurial writers who love this idea of keeping their readers engaged, and how that conversation is something that evolves and that collaboration evolves, is fascinating. I think if you love that, and you listen, there's always an opportunity to keep building on what you do. I love the writers who we work with. I can think of a writer who we're working on his fourth novel at the moment, and he is a bundle of positivity. No matter the trials and tribulations, the things that have gone wrong, his expectations definitely not being met with his first book. He definitely has this idea that he wants to keep writing, he wants to get better, and he is getting better. It isn't a journey that has a beginning and an end. It's something that will continue for as long as he wants to write. Every single book that he has published, he has learned and gained confidence, gained a network of connections that he's utilised himself now to not make the first half a dozen mistakes he made on the first book. Who knows where it will end up? But certainly the satisfaction he's getting, and the sales he's getting, are growing as he becomes savvier and quicker to make the right choices and decisions. So I think that's my honest answer to that. I think there are definitely people who think, “Phew, I have really wanted to do this book. Now I can rest easy. I've done my book.” Then there are people who really, whatever their objective, whatever the definition of success is from the get-go, just can't help creating. I do love that and respect that. I don't think our book falls quite into that category, because I think it's a slightly different thing. I think there are people who are still making a success of what they do and redefining that as they go on, and who are really open to ideas and input from different people and are not closed off. I love working with those people. Jo: So where can people find Going Indie and everything you do online? John: Well, Going Indie is available online at all good bookshops. It's available at Amazon and anywhere you buy books online as ebook and POD. Our website is wearewhitefox.com, and you'll find information about not just our book there, but a lot of other things that we're doing on that site. Jo: Brilliant. Well, thanks so much for your time, John. That was great. John: Thank you so much, Jo. It's been a pleasure. The post Going Indie, Publishing Innovation, And The Challenges Of Book Marketing With John Bond first appeared on The Creative Penn.

Brooke Erol has been an author, leadership coach and consultant for more than 20 years. She's currently based in the US, but as you'll hear in our interview, she's worked with people and organizations around the world. Brooke has been a big supporter of our message at Barry-Wehmiller for quite a while and had the opportunity to talk with Bob Chapman on a number of occasions and is determined to help continue his legacy. She has a new book out: More Than a Paycheck: A Step by Step Guide to Clarity, Alignment and Purpose to Find and Do the Work You Love. You can get it from booksellers such as Amazon or Barnes and Noble and you can find out more about Brooke on her website: www.yourbestlifeinc.com One of the messages that you'll definitely get from the book is in alignment with what Bob says at the beginning of each of our episodes: The way we lead impacts the way people live.

Upgrade to the Ad Free Premium Podcast Experience - https://rachelhollis.supercast.com Get your copy of Rachel's Book Here: Audible, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Millon, Bookshop.org, or wherever books are sold! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices In this edition of Ask Rach on The Rachel Hollis Podcast, Rachel answers listener questions about overcoming a fear of investing in a growing business, balancing career ambitions with the desire to start a family, and deciding whether to leave a comfortable life for a new opportunity. She encourages listeners to make practical decisions that create long-term flexibility, stay open to multiple paths toward their dreams, and embrace change instead of letting fear or comfort keep them stuck. Throughout the episode, Rachel emphasizes that growth comes from taking thoughtful risks, trusting yourself, and intentionally building a life that aligns with the future you want. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and the collapse of a $2m crime novel. Then, stick around for a chat with Lisa Roe! Lisa Roe: After graduating from the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and spending many years as an advertising creative director and copywriter in New York City, Lisa Roe accepted the tougher job of stay-at-home mom and turned to writing fiction — mostly to entertain her kids, but then to tell her own stories. A classic first born, a reluctant empty nester, and a Dr. Doolittle wannabe, Lisa lives in New Jersey with her husband and three incorrigible dogs. She is the author of WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD and BIG & LILY. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Upgrade to the Ad Free Premium Podcast Experience - https://rachelhollis.supercast.com Get your copy of Rachel's Book Here: Audible, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Millon, Bookshop.org, or wherever books are sold! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices In this episode of The Rachel Hollis Podcast, Rachel explores the online debate surrounding the “tradwife” movement to make a broader point about judgment, comparison, and personal freedom. She argues that the strong reactions we have to other people's life choices often reveal more about our own insecurities, unmet desires, or beliefs than about the people we're criticizing. Rachel encourages listeners to stop measuring their lives against others, respect each person's right to choose the path that's right for them, and focus their energy on building a life they genuinely love instead of getting distracted by judgment or comparison. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Finding love later in life can be both exciting and intimidating, especially when navigating a dating world shaped by past relationships, personal growth, and hard-earned wisdom. In this episode of The Art of Feminine Negotiation, Cindy Watson sits down with Dr. Victoria Vaughn to explore "Kissing Frogs With Confidence: Negotiating Love, Boundaries, And Self-worth In A Dating World As A Senior." Together, they unpack how negotiation extends beyond the boardroom and into our most personal relationships, helping us establish healthy boundaries, protect our self-worth, and confidently pursue meaningful connections.   Dr. Victoria Vaughn is a retired educator, college administrator, and lifelong learner who holds a doctorate in education. Through humorous, heartfelt, and sometimes eye-opening experiences with every type of "frog" imaginable—from narcissists and bullies to cheaters and emotionally unavailable partners—she discovered invaluable lessons about resilience, confidence, and knowing one's worth. Her journey inspired her book, Oh the Frogs I Kissed Before I Finally Found My Prince, offering hope and practical wisdom for anyone seeking love later in life.   In this episode, you will learn:   What was it like stepping back into the dating world? What makes a dating journey quite an adventure? How did you find negotiation showing up in your in your dating journey? What role does negotiation play in your in your dating journey? The importance of boundaries in dating later in life. And many more!   Learn more about Dr. Victoria Vaughn:   Website: https://www.ohthefrogs.com/   Checkout her book:   Oh the Frogs I Kissed Before I Finally Found My Prince: A Dating Memoir for Seniors Trying to Navigate the Senior Dating Pond   If you're looking to up-level your negotiation skills, I have everything from online to group to my signature one-on-one mastermind & VIP experiences available to help you better leverage your innate power to get more of what you want and deserve in life. Check out our website at www.artofFeminineNegotiation.com if that sounds interesting to you.   Get Cindy's book here: Amazon   https://www.amazon.com/Art-Feminine-Negotiation-Boardroom-Bedroom-ebook/dp/B0B8KPCYZP?inf_contact_key=94d07c699eea186d2adfbddfef6fb9e2&inf_contact_key=013613337189d4d12be8d2bca3c26821680f8914173f9191b1c0223e68310bb1 EBook   https://www.amazon.com/Art-Feminine-Negotiation-Boardroom-Bedroom-ebook/dp/B0B8KPCYZP?inf_contact_key=94d07c699eea186d2adfbddfef6fb9e2&inf_contact_key=013613337189d4d12be8d2bca3c26821680f8914173f9191b1c0223e68310bb1 Barnes and Noble   https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-art-of-feminine-negotiation-cindy-watson/1141499614?ean=9781631959776 CONNECT WITH CINDY: Website: www.womenonpurpose.ca Website: www.practicingwithpurpose.org Facebook: https://www.  / Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womenonpurposecoaching/ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thecindywatson Show: https://www.womenonpurpose.ca/media/podcast-2/ X(Twitter):  https://twitter.com/womenonpurpose1 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hersuasion Email: cindy@womenonpurpose.ca  

Here's an uncomfortable truth: most people will tell a total stranger about their weird rash before they'll tell their best friend how much debt they're carrying. That contradiction sits at the center of this episode. The guest is Carrie Joy Grimes, founder and CEO of WorkMoney — a nonprofit she describes as "the AARP for everyday people's money." She built it in 2020 after years as a union organizer, watching thousands of people wrestle with the same financial confusion she'd faced growing up in a household where money was never discussed. The conversation opens with a poker metaphor that ends up doing a lot of work: you play the hand you're dealt, but you can also change the rules of the game. That's WorkMoney's whole thesis — help individuals make the best move with what they have, while using collective bargaining power to get everyone better cards. From there, the discussion turns commercial. A nonprofit still has to think like a business, and Grimes walks through WorkMoney's five distinct revenue models — sales of her book "The Joy of Money", ethical sponsorships, a bill-negotiation product called Money Finder, and a for-profit enterprise arm designed to fund financial products that don't quietly profit off member debt. The host presses on the hardest part: how do you measure success when your mission is "financial security" and revenue isn't the real scoreboard? Grimes lays out three separate metrics her team tracks, including one that's surprisingly emotional. There's also a sharp aside on index investing — including a detail about Warren Buffett's will that reframes the whole "beat the market" industry — and a candid discussion of why WorkMoney deliberately avoids a pure B2C growth strategy. If you've ever wondered how a mission-driven business justifies its business model without losing its mission, this one's worth the full listen. Three Key Takeaways • A nonprofit still needs a real business model. Grimes runs five distinct revenue lines at WorkMoney — including book sales, ethical sponsorships, and a fee-based bill-negotiation service — because donations alone can't fund a movement at scale. • B2B2C beats B2C for mission-driven growth. Rather than acquiring millions of individual customers one at a time, WorkMoney partners with organizations that have already aggregated the audience it wants to serve — dramatically lowering acquisition cost and risk. • Success metrics get complicated when revenue isn't the goal. WorkMoney measures impact through self-reported financial confidence, actual debt/wealth changes, and retirement trajectory — because, as Grimes puts it, if members don't feel more secure, the work isn't landing. If today's conversation had you thinking about what it actually takes to turn a big idea into a sustainable business, you'll want to check out The Thought Leadership Handbook, co-authored by Peter Winick, Bill Sherman, and Naren Aryal. It's the playbook for shaping, packaging, and scaling expertise in a crowded market — exactly the kind of business-model thinking Carrie Joy Grimes brought to this episode. Learn more at thoughtleadershiphandbook.com, and order your copy today on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, or Amplify.

*Original Airdate: November '24 Upgrade to the Ad Free Premium Podcast Experience - https://rachelhollis.supercast.com Get your copy of Rachel's Book Here: Audible, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Millon, Bookshop.org, or wherever books are sold! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices In this Friday Favorites episode of The Rachel Hollis Podcast, Rachel sits down with bestselling author Seth Godin for a wide-ranging conversation about strategy, entrepreneurship, and building meaningful work. Seth challenges listeners to stop chasing everyone's approval, focus on serving a specific audience, charge what their work is worth, and create value by becoming indispensable rather than interchangeable. Together, they explore why success comes from making intentional choices, embracing the discomfort of growth, detaching from outcomes you can't control, and consistently creating work that is generous, remarkable, and true to the people it's meant to serve. *Friday Favorites are a collection of our all-time most popular episodes replayed for the newest members of the community and anyone who wants a relisten. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Barnes & Noble is tightening how stores handle local author events, and showing up with a book may no longer be enough. We also cover free local publicity, platform updates from Apple Books, Lulu, and Voices by INAudio, and ProWritingAid's new ProWritingMethod. All that and more in the Self-Publishing News for August 6, 2026.  Dibbly Create - https://DaleLinks.com/DibblyCreate (affiliate link)  Jane Friedman's The Bottom Line (subscription required) - https://janefriedman.com/subscribe-paid-newsletter/  Referenced newsletter: August 5, 2026  Reddit: No more author events? - https://www.reddit.com/r/Barnesandnoble/comments/1uvyzj5/no_more_author_events/  Sell Your Book at B&N - https://dalelinks.com/bnbookstore  Jane Friedman: Why You Should Focus on Local Book Publicity First - https://janefriedman.com/why-you-should-focus-on-local-book-publicity-first/  Apple Books for Authors - https://authors.apple.com  Lulu Membership Agreement and Terms of Use - https://www.lulu.com/terms-and-conditions  Voices by INAudio - https://www.voicesbyinaudio.com/  ProWritingAid's ProWritingMethod - https://DaleLinks.com/ProWritingMethod (affiliate link) Rapid-Fire Newsflash Tertulia for Authors - https://DaleLinks.com/Tertulia (affiliate link)  Tertulia's post in Wide for the Win - https://wideforthewin.com/campus/space/tertuliaforauthors/post/tertulia-updates-new-features  Novel Report - https://DaleLinks.com/NovelReport (affiliate link) - take $20 off through this link  No codes needed, but for more details: https://DaleLinks.com/GetNovelReport ($20 off does NOT apply through this link)  Booklinker - https://booklinker.com/  The Authors Guild: Agent Talks: How Digital Platforms Reshape Book Launches - https://authorsguild.org/event/agent-talks-how-digital-platforms-reshape-book-launches/  All my relevant links:  Subscribe to my email newsletter - https://DaleLinks.com/SignUp  Join Channel Memberships - https://DaleLinks.com/Memberships  Join Me on Discord - https://DaleLinks.com/Discord  Check out my main YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@dalelroberts  My Books - https://DaleLinks.com/MyBooks  Wanna tip me? Visit https://dalelroberts.gumroad.com/coffee.  Where noted, some outbound links financially benefit the channel through affiliate programs. I only endorse programs, products, or services I use and can stand confidently behind. These links do not affect your purchase price and greatly helps to building and growing this channel. Thanks in advance for understanding! - Dale L. Roberts

Upgrade to the Ad Free Premium Podcast Experience - https://rachelhollis.supercast.com Get your copy of Rachel's Book Here: Audible, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Millon, Bookshop.org, or wherever books are sold! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices In this edition of "Better This Week" on The Rachel Hollis Podcast, Rachel shares practical ways to make your kitchen work for you instead of against you, arguing that this often-overlooked space has a major impact on your daily routines and overall well-being. She encourages listeners to organize their kitchen around how they actually use it, create simple systems like nightly resets and designated zones, stock foods that support their health goals, and remove unnecessary clutter or temptations. Rachel emphasizes that a functional kitchen doesn't have to be perfect. It just needs to reflect your real life and make healthy, intentional choices easier every day. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

SURPRISE !!!!! after keeping this secret for two years, our host, Ally Yost is finally sharing the most exciting *and vulnerable* announcement of her life. In this special episode, Ally opens up about the journey behind writing her very first book, the highs and lows of the process, and everything that happened behind the scenes leading up to this moment. She also takes time to thank this incredible community for walking alongside her, growing in faith together, and making this dream possible.  As a special gift to podcast listeners, Ally exclusively reads a chapter from the book that has never been shared publicly before.  Whether you've been here since day one or you're just joining the community, this is a milestone you'll want to experience together.  _____________________________________________ ☆ PRE-ORDER 'LOVE THAT LASTS' HERE: https://allyyost.com/en-usd/pages/book - it will also be available in stores like Barnes and Nobles and Target starting November 3rd !!! (select locations may vary) ☆ OUR NEW MERCH IS LIVE! SHOP AT: https://allyyost.com ☆ MY BIBLE (code 'ALLYYOST' at checkout) ➤ https://hosannarevival.com/collections/beautiful-bibles/products/nlt-notetaking-bible-belfast-theme ☆ TUMBLER LINK ➤ https://allyyost.com/products/cwcoi-glass-tumbler-white _____________________________________________ Connect further with us ! TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@christwithcoffeeonice  Instagram ➤ https://instagram.com/christwithcoffeeonice  _____________________________________________ Connect further with Ally ! TikTok (2M) ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@ally_yost  Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/ally_yost/  ShopMy ➤ https://shopmy.us/allyyost  Pinterest ➤ https://www.pinterest.com/ally_yost1/_created/

Have you ever prayed and wondered why God seems silent? Maybe you're wondering what His voice sound like. Does He speak to everyone the same way? What can make it harder to recognize Him, and how do we distinguish God's voice from our own thoughts? For anyone who has ever whispered, "God, why aren't You speaking to me?" this episode is for you. -- Check out Jenilee's website, podcast and resources to help you: http://jenileesamuel.com/ https://open.spotify.com/show/7FC0yHrHm8isY044Y29qZM?si=cc8db07d4d094c37 http://subscribepage.io/HearGodSeries -- NEW Everyday Miracle compilation book on Amazon: https://a.co/d/45cgbP8 Everyday Miracle compilation book on Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/everyday-miracles-julie-hedenborg/1146173449?ean=9798881501808 Subscribe to Julie's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@everydaymiraclespodcast1395 Website for Everyday Miracles (APPLY!): http://everydaymiraclespodcast.com/ To follow Everyday Miracles Podcast on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/everyday-miracles-podcast/id1447430033 On Social: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everydaymiraclespodcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everydaymiraclespodcast TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@everydaymiraclespodcast X: https://x.com/miracles9598 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-hedenborg-452028a7/ To email Julie directly: everydaymiraclespodcast@gmail.com -- Scripture ✝️: Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God." 00:20:58 Isaiah 43:19 "Do you not see it? I'm doing a new thing." 00:35:48 John 10:27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." 00:36:32 Jeremiah 33:3 "Call to Me, and I will answer you and show you great and unsearchable things that you do not know." 00:36:50 Isaiah 30:21 "You will hear a voice behind you saying, 'This is the way. Walk in it.'" 00:37:02 Romans 8:14 "Those who are sons of God are led by the Spirit of God." 00:37:12

Upgrade to the Ad Free Premium Podcast Experience - https://rachelhollis.supercast.com Get your copy of Rachel's Book Here: Audible, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Millon, Bookshop.org, or wherever books are sold! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices In this edition of Ask Rach on The Rachel Hollis Podcast, Rach answers listener questions about changing careers to better fit a new season of life, balancing multiple goals after a difficult setback, and knowing what to charge when starting a new business. She encourages listeners to make decisions based on their current priorities rather than other people's expectations, focus on becoming the person they want to be instead of trying to solve every problem at once, and recognize the value of their time and expertise as they build a sustainable career. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Talent matters! On today's podcast, we will extol the virtue of NFL talent. We'll run through some of our biggest talent-grade movers in the 2026 Almanac, *and* we'll discuss the highest-variance offensive lines we see across the league. Get a rundown of what to expect from some lines and some teams that have partly or completely rebuilt themselves from the inside out. Also: SNARKBAG! Guest: Ross Tucker of the Ross Tucker Football Podcast.   NOTES: Sponsor - www.HungryRoot.com/harris for 40% off your first delivery (and free veggies for life) of healthy groceries and recipes that fit your family's lifestyle Sponsor - www.FantasyCares.org to make a contribution to a great charity, and get entered into a contest to win awesome football stuff! Sponsor - www.BuyRaycon.com/harrisopen to get 15% off some inexpensive wireless earbuds that deliver great sound quality and excellent battery life Follow Ross Tucker - @RossTuckerNFL Follow our show on Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/harrisfootball.com Follow on Twitter - @HarrisFootball Watch the YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/harrisfootball Harris Football Yacht Club Dictionary - https://harrisfootball.github.io/dictionary.html Subscribe To the Yacht Club Premium Podcast - https://harrisfootball.supportingcast.fm/ Order The 2026 Harris Football Player Profile Almanac - https://www.harrisfootball.com/2026-player-profile-almanac Get Pound Foolish at Barnes & Noble - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/search?q=Pound%20Foolish&attributes.mfield_bnb__seoKeywords=Pound-Foolish%2FChristopher-Harris&filtersPreset=formatsEditions   Almanac Talents Discussed Today: Drake Maye Travis Etienne Javonte Williams Rome Odunze Jaxon Smith-Njigba Travis Kelce   Ross's High-Variance O-Lines: Eagles (Return from injuries and new offense) Chargers (Return from injuries and new interior trio) Panthers (OT health issues) Ravens (New interior and offense) Titans (Suspect starters & up-tempo with Schlottmann/Daboll) Browns (The grand experiment)

Upgrade to the Ad Free Premium Podcast Experience - https://rachelhollis.supercast.com Get your copy of Rachel's Book Here: Audible, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Millon, Bookshop.org, or wherever books are sold! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices In this preview of the premium version of The Rachel Hollis Podcast, Rach explores why achieving bigger goals often requires doing less, not more, and argues that focus is one of the most valuable skills for creating lasting change. She encourages listeners to recognize that every hour spent on one activity is a conscious choice not to spend it on something else, making intentional time management essential for building the life they want. Drawing from her own experiences with major life transitions and personal goals, Rachel emphasizes that meaningful progress comes from staying focused on what matters most, making consistent choices that align with your future, and resisting the distractions that pull you away from your biggest priorities. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We're back! We're daily! Let's gooooo! It's also ALMANAC DAY, in which you get the PDF that will hopefully help you win a fantasy league in 2026! Big day, and it's made even bigger by our fun topic. We spent July going team-by-team and talking about things we will and won't allow to change our fantasy football ranks? Well, here's our capstone episode, in which we predict the five *most important* non-injury-related stories for this August that have the biggest potential to change our ranks, and your draft strategy! Guest: Dave Richard of CBS Fantasy.   NOTES: Sponsor - www.LeagueLegacy.io to import your league's history into a deep, fun, permanent record to claim all-time bragging rights Sponsor - www.ZBiotics.com/harris and use code HARRIS for 15% off a probiotic that makes you feel better the morning after having a few drinks Sponsor - www.Vuori.com/harris for 20% off incredibly comfortable activewear made with recyclable material Follow Dave Richard - @daverichard Follow our show on Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/harrisfootball.com Follow on Twitter - @HarrisFootball Watch the YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/harrisfootball Harris Football Yacht Club Dictionary - https://harrisfootball.github.io/dictionary.html Subscribe To the Yacht Club Premium Podcast - https://harrisfootball.supportingcast.fm/ Order The 2026 Harris Football Player Profile Almanac - https://www.harrisfootball.com/2026-player-profile-almanac Join The FFT Open Benefiting St. Jude's -http://tinyurl.com/fftdonate2026 Get Pound Foolish at Barnes & Noble - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/search?q=Pound%20Foolish&attributes.mfield_bnb__seoKeywords=Pound-Foolish%2FChristopher-Harris&filtersPreset=formatsEditions   Dave's Top Five Stories For Training Camp: 5. Texans O-Line Gets Roughed Up In Joint Practices 4. TreVeyon Henderson Still Not Playing With The Ones? 3. Jadarian Price Gets Singled-Out In A Good Way 2. Kyler Murray Can't Get Dialed In 1. Jahmyr Gibbs & Bijan Robinson Hold In Through All Of August   Chris's Top Five Stories For Training Camp: 5. Makai Lemon 4. Jacory Croskey-Merritt, et al 3. Raiders WRs 2. Jeremiyah Love, et al 1. Jadarian Price

Every ending brings a negotiation—between holding on and letting go, between fear and hope, and between who we were and who we're becoming. In this episode of The Art of Feminine Negotiation, Cindy Watson sits down with Diana Romanov to explore The Art of Negotiating the End: Negotiating Love, Power, and Letting Go.    Diana Romanov is a distinguished San Francisco family law attorney licensed to practice in both California and Germany. As a Certified Family Law Specialist, she brings decades of experience guiding clients through complex divorce, custody, and family law matters. Fluent in English, Russian, and German, Diana offers legal counsel, representation, and mediation across multiple languages, making her a rare and trusted advocate for diverse families navigating emotionally charged transitions.    Together, they unpack how approaching separation with clarity, compassion, and strategic communication can help individuals move beyond conflict and create a healthier path forward.   In this episode, you will learn:   What are the recurring patterns that quietly erode relationships? Where does most couples go wrong when conflict emerges? What role does powerplay in the breakdown of connection? How can emotions distort decision making in divorce and how can people regain clarity? And many more!   Learn more about Diana:   Website: https://www.romanovlaw.com/   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/romanovska/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/divorce_like_a_boss Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FamilyLawCalifornia YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Diana-Romanov   Grab a copy of her book:  Divorce Like a Boss with Diana Romanovska: A Guide to Divorcing Like a Boss while Preserving Your Sanity   If you're looking to up-level your negotiation skills, I have everything from online to group to my signature one-on-one mastermind & VIP experiences available to help you better leverage your innate power to get more of what you want and deserve in life. Check out our website at www.artofFeminineNegotiation.com if that sounds interesting to you.   Get Cindy's book here: Amazon   https://www.amazon.com/Art-Feminine-Negotiation-Boardroom-Bedroom-ebook/dp/B0B8KPCYZP?inf_contact_key=94d07c699eea186d2adfbddfef6fb9e2&inf_contact_key=013613337189d4d12be8d2bca3c26821680f8914173f9191b1c0223e68310bb1 EBook   https://www.amazon.com/Art-Feminine-Negotiation-Boardroom-Bedroom-ebook/dp/B0B8KPCYZP?inf_contact_key=94d07c699eea186d2adfbddfef6fb9e2&inf_contact_key=013613337189d4d12be8d2bca3c26821680f8914173f9191b1c0223e68310bb1 Barnes and Noble   https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-art-of-feminine-negotiation-cindy-watson/1141499614?ean=9781631959776 CONNECT WITH CINDY: Website: www.womenonpurpose.ca Website: www.practicingwithpurpose.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/womenonpurposecommunity/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womenonpurposecoaching/ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thecindywatson Show: https://www.womenonpurpose.ca/media/podcast-2/ X(Twitter):  https://twitter.com/womenonpurpose1 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hersuasion Email: cindy@womenonpurpose.ca  

*Original Airdate: November '24 Upgrade to the Ad Free Premium Podcast Experience - https://rachelhollis.supercast.com Get your copy of Rachel's Book Here: Audible, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Millon, Bookshop.org, or wherever books are sold! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices In this throwback episode of The Rachel Hollis Podcast, Rachel shares seven simple habits she believes can dramatically improve everyday life by boosting physical health, emotional well-being, and personal growth. She encourages listeners to move their bodies daily, practice gratitude, prioritize nourishing foods, establish a skincare routine, intentionally create moments of joy, schedule regular “artist dates” to spark creativity, and cultivate an abundance mindset through visualization, positive reframing, and aligned action. Throughout the episode, Rachel emphasizes that meaningful transformation comes from consistently practicing small habits that raise your energy, strengthen your mindset, and help you create the life you want. *Friday Favorites are a collection of our all-time most popular episodes replayed for the newest members of the community and anyone who wants a relisten. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Want the deep-dive calendar episode Rach talks about in this episode? -> https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rachel-hollis-podcast/id1245763628?i=1000681408469 Upgrade to the Ad Free Premium Podcast Experience - https://rachelhollis.supercast.com Get your copy of Rachel's Book Here: Audible, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Millon, Bookshop.org, or wherever books are sold! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices In this episode of The Rachel Hollis Podcast, Rachel shares practical strategies for using your calendar as a tool to create a more intentional and productive life. She argues that your calendar reveals your true priorities—not just your stated goals—and encourages listeners to schedule their most important personal commitments first, batch similar tasks together, color-code appointments to reflect key priorities, regularly review their schedule, and learn to say no to obligations that don't align with their goals. Rach emphasizes that even small changes to how you manage your time can lead to greater focus, balance, and progress toward the life you actually want to build. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Upgrade to the Ad Free Premium Podcast Experience - https://rachelhollis.supercast.com Get your copy of Rachel's Book Here: Audible, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Millon, Bookshop.org, or wherever books are sold! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices In this edition of "Ask Rach" on The Rachel Hollis Podcast, Rachel answers listener questions about finding love after divorce, recovering from an unexpected job loss, and overcoming imposter syndrome in business. She encourages listeners to focus on becoming the kind of person they hope to attract rather than chasing relationships, view setbacks as redirections toward better opportunities, and stop letting fear of judgment prevent them from taking action. Throughout the episode, Rachel emphasizes that confidence is built through self-growth, consistent action, and trusting that the experiences meant for you cannot pass you by. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Upgrade to the Ad Free Premium Podcast Experience - https://rachelhollis.supercast.com Get your copy of Rachel's Book Here: Audible, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Millon, Bookshop.org, or wherever books are sold! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices In this episode of The Rachel Hollis Podcast, Rachel shares ten simple daily habits she believes contribute to looking and feeling more vibrant (especially after 40), arguing that true beauty comes more from consistent lifestyle choices than expensive products. She emphasizes reducing inflammatory foods, staying hydrated, walking daily, prioritizing skincare and sleep, managing stress, cultivating confidence, and practicing self-care through habits that support both physical and emotional well-being. Rachel encourages listeners to focus less on chasing perfection and more on building routines that help them feel healthy, grounded, and confident from the inside out. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

*Original Airdate: January '25 Upgrade to the Ad Free Premium Podcast Experience - https://rachelhollis.supercast.com Get your copy of Rachel's Book Here: Audible, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Millon, Bookshop.org, or wherever books are sold! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices In this throwback episode of The Rachel Hollis Podcast, Rachel explores the power of making one intentional decision that can create lasting change, arguing that meaningful transformation often begins with a single commitment rather than a complete life overhaul. Through personal stories about improving her health, waking up at 5:00 a.m., and growing her business, she explains how keeping promises to yourself, maintaining clarity about your biggest goal, and refusing to backslide can create ripple effects across every area of life. Rach encourages listeners to identify the one decision they already know they need to make, commit to it fully, and trust that consistent action is what ultimately changes the trajectory of their future. *Friday Favorites are a collection of our all-time most popular episodes replayed for the newest members of the community and anyone who wants a relisten. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Upgrade to the Ad Free Premium Podcast Experience - https://rachelhollis.supercast.com Get your copy of Rachel's Book Here: Audible, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Millon, Bookshop.org, or wherever books are sold! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices In this episode of The Rachel Hollis Podcast, recored live during a recent keynote speech, Rachel delivers an energizing message for entrepreneurs about pursuing ambitious goals with confidence, focus, and resilience. She encourages listeners to take ownership of their mindset, focus on one meaningful goal at a time, embrace rejection and failure as part of growth, and recognize that they already have everything they need to create the life and business they want. Rachel reminds listeners that lasting success comes from consistent action, self-belief, and the courage to stop playing small. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Upgrade to the Ad Free Premium Podcast Experience - https://rachelhollis.supercast.com Get your copy of Rachel's Book Here: Audible, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Millon, Bookshop.org, or wherever books are sold! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices In this edition of "Ask Rach" on The Rachel Hollis Podcast, Rachel answers listener questions about finding balance after years of hustle, managing multiple priorities while raising young children, and navigating a career that no longer feels fulfilling. She encourages listeners to embrace different seasons of life, create structured routines that support both family and ambition, and make thoughtful transitions toward new dreams without sacrificing long-term financial stability. Rachel reminds listeners that success isn't about doing everything at once—it's about building a life that aligns with your values while taking intentional steps toward the future you want. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Upgrade to the Ad Free Premium Podcast Experience - https://rachelhollis.supercast.com Get your copy of Rachel's Book Here: Audible, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Millon, Bookshop.org, or wherever books are sold! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices In this episode of The Rachel Hollis Podcast, Rachel shares the mindset shifts that can create meaningful change in just 90 days, emphasizing that lasting transformation starts with radical honesty. She encourages listeners to honestly assess where they are today, narrow their focus to what matters most, evaluate the people and habits shaping their lives, and stop seeking validation for goals they haven't yet accomplished. Rachel reminds listeners that real progress comes from consistent action, self-awareness, and the willingness to face uncomfortable truths in pursuit of the life they want. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

*Original Airdate: April '22 Upgrade to the Ad Free Premium Podcast Experience - https://rachelhollis.supercast.com Get your copy of Rachel's Book Here: Audible, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Millon, Bookshop.org, or wherever books are sold! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices In this throwback "Friday Favorites" episode of The Rachel Hollis Podcast, Rachel encourages listeners to stop waiting for the perfect moment and fully commit to the dreams that have been placed on their hearts. She reminds listeners that past challenges have prepared them for what's ahead, that growth comes from continuing to move forward through difficult seasons, and that they don't need everyone else's approval to pursue a meaningful life. Rach urges listeners to trust themselves, embrace the opportunities in front of them, and keep taking the next step toward the future they want. *Friday Favorites are a collection of our all-time most popular episodes replayed for the newest members of the community and anyone who wants a relisten. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Upgrade to the Ad Free Premium Podcast Experience - https://rachelhollis.supercast.com Get your copy of Rachel's Book Here: Audible, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Millon, Bookshop.org, or wherever books are sold! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices In this "Better This Week" episode of The Rachel Hollis Podcast, Rachel shares practical strategies for shifting your mindset when you're feeling overwhelmed, discouraged, or stuck. She encourages listeners to stop waiting until they feel motivated, instead focusing on taking small, intentional actions, challenging themselves physically, keeping promises to themselves, and creating a simple plan that builds momentum. Rachel reminds listeners that lasting confidence and resilience are built through consistent action, not perfect circumstances or the right mindset. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Upgrade to the Ad Free Premium Podcast Experience - https://rachelhollis.supercast.com Get your copy of Rachel's Book Here: Audible, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Millon, Bookshop.org, or wherever books are sold! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices In this episode of The Rachel Hollis Podcast, Rach answers listener questions about setting healthy boundaries with family members, finding motivation after a major life milestone, and navigating mood changes tied to the menstrual cycle. She encourages listeners to let go of codependent patterns, create purpose through intentional goals instead of waiting for inspiration, and take a proactive approach to their physical and mental health by understanding their bodies and seeking the support they need. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Upgrade to the Ad Free Premium Podcast Experience - https://rachelhollis.supercast.com Get your copy of Rachel's Book Here: Audible, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Millon, Bookshop.org, or wherever books are sold! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices In this episode of The Rachel Hollis Podcast, Rachel explores seven common ways people unintentionally make life harder than it needs to be, from seeking constant approval and self-sabotaging their goals to staying stuck in draining relationships and treating every decision like it's permanent. She encourages listeners to let go of perfectionism, stop creating stress around imagined problems, release the need to control everything, and recognize when busyness is being used to avoid deeper issues. Rachel's message is a powerful reminder that while life will always have challenges, many of the obstacles we face are self-created and can be changed with greater self-awareness and intentional action. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.