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We've got some stories to discuss cult babes! This week we've got one gal asking if she's the a-hole for not wanting to contact her no-contact mother and one email about the strange disappearance of a young woman named Lois Hanna. If you have a story you'd like to share with the cult send it to Spencer@cultliter.com! Watch this episode on YouTube: youtube.com/@cultliter Call the Hotline: 747-322-0273 Buy my book: prh.com/obitchuary Come see me on tour: obitchuarypodcast.com Write me: spencer@cultliter.com Follow along online: instagram.com/cultliterpodcastinstagram.com/spencerhenry Join our patreon: Patreon.com/cultliter Check out my other show OBITCHUARY wherever you're listening now! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Have you ever wanted to be a fly on the wall during a MFM threeway? Listen in as the F tells the tale. How did she set it up? What was it like when they first met and shook hands? Who did who and where? Which one had a food sensitivity? You'll have to listen to find out. Do you have a ribald, salacious story of sexual experimentation? Or maybe you found yourself in an awkward, unpleasant UNsexy situation. Tell us anyway! Write it up and send it in to Q@Savage.Love. This episode is brought to you by VB Health, Doctor-formulated supplements that work . To learn more about Load Boost, Drive Boost and Soaking Wet and to get 10% off, visit VB.Health when you use the code Savage.
This week, we start by talking about the new wave of tech layoffs at Atlassian and Block, as well as reports that Meta plans to cut up to 20 percent of its work force. This raises the question of whether A.I. job loss has truly begun, or if there are other factors at play. Then, we're joined by the writer Jasmine Sun to talk about why chatbots are still so bad at creative writing. And finally, it's tokenmaxxing time! Kevin takes us behind the scenes of his latest reporting about why tech companies are building leaderboards to measure who is using the most A.I. Guest: Jasmine Sun, journalist and writer at jasmi.news Additional Reading: I Worked for Block. Its A.I. Job Cuts Aren't What They Seem. Meta Planning Sweeping Layoffs as A.I. Costs Mount Meta Delays Rollout of New A.I. Model After Performance Concerns The A.I.-Washing of Job Cuts Is Corrosive and Confusing The Human Skill That Eludes A.I. We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
adrienne and Autumn are joined by Kate McCabe (Founder and Executive Director of Bog & Thunder), Max Sussman (Culinary Director of Bog & Thunder) and Dwight Dunston (facilitator, hip-hop artist, educator, and activist) to chronicle and celebrate their majestic time on a private island in the wilds of West Cork for a writing workshop unlike any other. Writing the Next World is a space to ideate, experiment with genre, and find a writing voice that creates more possibilities for our collective future, all while exploring the beautiful Connemara countryside and eating outstanding food. The event is rooted in the lineages of visionary and speculative fiction and Black Feminist Praxis. The next one is coming up JULY 5TH - JULY 10TH. APPLY HERE!---Listen to WRITING THE NEXT WORLD: the album by duns---Max's Egg Salad Recipe!6 eggs40 gm celery, diced20 gm pickles, diced60 gm mayo30 gm red onion, diced2 Tbsp parsley, finely chopped2 scallions, slicedPinch MSGplenty of salt and pepper1. Bring pot of water to a boil. Add eggs and start a 10 minute timer, keep eggs at a low boil the entire time. 2. After 10 minute timer goes off, place eggs in ice bath until cool.3. Chop eggs or break up with gloved hands. 4. Mix with remaining ingredients, adjust seasoning to taste.---TRANSCRIPT---SUPPORT OUR SHOWhttps://www.patreon.com/Endoftheworldshow---HTS ESSENTIALSSUPPORT Our Show on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/EndoftheworldshowPEEP us on IGhttps://www.instagram.com/endoftheworldpc/
Winners don't guess their way to success—they execute with intention. In Part 2 of Winning Ways: How to Win, Coach Trent brings it back to fundamentals: Win the day Stack the days into weeks Stack the weeks into months And build a life—and business—that wins consistently Execution isn't occasional. It's daily.
JD sits down with Eric, Brittany, and Pam from Skid Row Offroad for a conversation that feels like hanging out with the kind of off-road family that's been doing this long enough to know what actually matters. Together, they share the story of how Skid Row Offroad has stayed relevant over the years as a small American-made company focused on real protection, real experience, and gear built by people who actually use it. The conversation moves through the company's roots, Brittany's path into both wheeling and the business, Pam's role in helping hold everything together, and the way each of them has helped shape Skid Row into more than just a parts brand.Along the way, the crew trades stories about Colorado trails, trail damage, flopped rigs, learning lessons the hard way, and why armor should come before bigger tires and bigger ambitions. What comes through most is the personality behind the company—funny, seasoned, practical, and clearly built around people who love this lifestyle. More than a product conversation, this one ends up being about experience, trust, and the kind of teamwork that makes a small off-road brand feel personal in all the right ways.Skid Row OffroadSkid Row Offroad on Instagram
Greetings, morons! Today, we're diving into cancel culture- what it actually means, who deserves defending, and what happens when the internet turns on you overnight. We break down the latest discourse around Timothée Chalamet, Kylie Jenner, and Hollywood's obsession with building people up just to tear them down. Plus, a full Oscars recap (including standout moments, snubs, and everything in between). We also get into friendship loyalty- do you publicly defend your friends when they're being dragged, or stay quiet and text behind the scenes? Plus: In-N-Out celebrations, internet outrage, and the things people absolutely need to stop doing in public. What are ya nuts?! Love ya! Write us at goodguyspodcast1@gmail.com! Write us! Send your messages to goodguyspodcast1@gmail.com Follow us on Instagram and TikTok! Sponsors: If meetings are eating up your day, Granola is a no-brainer. You can try it totally free for three months - just head to granola.ai/goodguys To get simple, online access to personalized, affordable care for ED, Hair Loss, Weight Loss, and more, visit Hims.com/GOODGUYS Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode. Produced by Dear Media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Ring Post Radio returns after a two-week hiatus to discuss AEW, STARDOM, and CMLL. Don't miss it!Write the next episode's Intro! Post it online with #RingPostIntro, and we'll read it and shout you out on the next episode!Get some merch!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Monica, of legendary R&B group Monica and Brandy, joins the show to set the record straight: How she handled imagined and real controversy between herself and Brandy, why it's important to play nice with exes, and what she and Michelle both believe is most important to understand before becoming a mom. Have a question you want answered? Write to us at imopod.com.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Something's Burning and it's Bert's bus! But that's not all, it all goes downhill after the sheep explode. These stories are a little too wild to spell out here so you'll have to watch and see what we can keep in. Then we wrap it up with the age old question, is hypnotism real and can it pew pew people? Write in to the show @ JoshPotterShow@gmail.com Topics on today's show ★ Unpatriotic Hockey Players ★ Nascar Twinks ★ Bert's Bus Burning ★ Spiked Coffee ★ And Much More! ★★★ Home Chef - 50% off and Free Shipping for your first box, plus FREE DESSERT FOR LIFE https://www.homechef.com/potter ★★★ This week's Intro Music: “Gelato For Two” by https://www.youtube.com/@oddtracknumbers Outro Music: “Live From The Roach Motel (feat. Hendawg)” by Brothers @HendawgMusic ★★★ See Josh Live! ALL STAND UP LINKS CAN BE FOUND HERE: https://thejoshpotter.com ★★★ Josh Potter:
The US-Israeli war against Iran may have been initiated without any coherently stated goals or popular support, but we can already see that it's a horrific quagmire. It also doesn't look like Trump and Israel will get the swift Iranian regime change they hoped for. On the latest episode of Confronting Capitalism, Vivek Chibber is joined by Jason Brownlee, a professor of government at the University of Texas Austin, to discuss the history of regime change wars, the geopolitical interests in the Middle East, and Trump's further descent into the neoconservative blob. Read Jason's most recent Catalyst essay here: https://catalyst-journal.com/2021/03/shadow-wars-and-corporate-welfare Interested in attending our live show? Sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jacobin-who-speaks-for-the-working-class-majority-tickets-1984301239423 TICKETS: $10 solidarity rate. $20 standard entry. Seats are first come, first served. The latest issue of Catalyst is out and you can subscribe for just $20 using the code CONFRONTINGCAPITALISM: https://catalyst-journal.com/subscribe/?code=CONFRONTINGCAPITALISM Have a question for us? Write to us by email: confronting.capitalism@jacobin.com Confronting Capitalism with Vivek Chibber is produced by Catalyst: A Journal of Theory and Strategy and published by Jacobin. Music by Zonkey.
Do you ever walk away from a conversation feeling like you weren't totally present with the person, or honest in the way that you engaged with them? Have you ever felt like there's a mismatch between the love you wish you had for others and what's actually in your heart? In this episode of Ask Away, Vince and Jo share a talk they recently gave on how to be more intentional with our conversations, and what to do when we get frustrated by our own unloving limitations. ------ We're so glad you joined us for Ask Away. If you have a question that needs answering, we'd love to hear it. Send us an email at askawayquestion@gmail.com or call and leave a voicemail at (321) 213-9670. Ask Away is hosted by Vince and Jo Vitale, and produced by Studio D Podcast Production. New episodes come out regularly, so make sure to subscribe. The best way you can support Ask Away is to leave a review. All you have to do is open up the Podcast App on your phone, look for Ask Away, scroll down until you see ‘Write a Review' and tell us what you think. If you'd like to see videos from Vince and me, invite us to speak, or make a financial gift so that more people's questions can be heard on Ask Away, visit Kardiaquestions.com See you next time, and remember, if you have a question, it's worth asking.
In this episode we'll talk about:Why so many people feel unclear about what they wantThe difference between external expectations and internal truthHow stillness and reflection create clarityTen powerful questions to help you uncover what truly matters to youWhy discovering what you want often starts with letting go of what you think you should wantAnd more… CONNECT WITH ME…→ Instagram — @mattgottesman→ My Substack — mattgottesman.substack.com → Apparel — thenicheisyou.comRESOURCES…→ Recommended Book List — CLICK HERE→ Masterclass — CLICK HEREWORKSHOPS + MASTERCLASS:→ Need MORE clarity? - Here's the FREE… 6 Days to Clarity Workshop - clarity for your time, energy, money, creativity, work & play→ Write, Design, Build: Content Creator Studio & OS - Growing the niche of you, your audience, reach, voice, passion & incomeOTHER RELATED EPISODES:Faith Isn't Knowing the Whole Path… It's Taking the Next Honest StepApple: https://apple.co/3MB62IuSpotify: https://bit.ly/4rZw3RN
What if the breakthrough you're waiting for isn't in a perfectly mapped-out plan… but in your next step of obedience? In this episode, we're diving into how obedience, not overthinking or overplanning, has the power to create real momentum in your business, income, and leadership. So many women feel stuck because they're waiting for clarity on the entire roadmap, but the truth is, growth often begins with simply saying yes to what's in front of you. ✅ Business audit: https://forms.gle/dWKUCJcaJMFP5jHe8✅ AI Branding Shoot: https://bit.ly/AI-Branding-Shoot✅ Join The Vault & get instant access to 125+ courses, monthly LIVE Q&A sessions, monthly accountability calls, thousands of Canva Templates, new courses added throughout the year, and so much more! https://bit.ly/TheOfficialVault✅Grab your FREE copy of my book, ‘Boss It Up Babe!'https://bit.ly/BOSSItUpBabeBookHost Bio:Kimberly Olson is a self-made multi-millionaire and the creator of The Goal Digger Girl, where she serves female entrepreneurs by teaching them simple systems and online strategies in sales and marketing. Through the power of social media, they are equipped to explode their online presence and get real results in their business, genuinely and authentically. She has two PhDs in Natural Health and Holistic Nutrition, has recently been recognized as the #2 recruiter in her current network marketing company globally, is the author of four books including best-sellers, The Goal Digger and Balance is B.S., has a top 25 rated podcast in marketing and travels nationally public speaking. She is a mom of two and teaches others how to follow their dreams, crush their goals and create the life they've always wanted.Website: www.thegoaldiggergirl.comInstagram: www.instagram.com/thegoaldiggergirlFacebook: www.facebook.com/thegoaldiggergirlYoutube: www.youtube.com/c/thegoaldiggergirlCheck out my Facebook groups for those that want to build their business online through social media, in a genuine and authentic way:Goal Digging Boss Babes: https://www.facebook.com/groups/goaldiggingbossbabesLeave a review here: Write a review for The Goal Digger Girl PodcastSubscribing to The Podcast:If you would like to get updates of new episodes, you can give me a follow on your favorite podcast app.
Jon and Jeff talk with LinkedIn expert Brenda Meller, who shares how she turned a personal career pivot into a thriving business helping others maximize their presence on the platform. She breaks down practical strategies for cutting through the noise on LinkedIn, creating engaging content, and connecting meaningfully with your ideal audience—all without needing to spend hours a day online. Key Takeaways: Engagement matters: Write posts like you're speaking to one person and respond to every comment to keep conversations going. Profile strategy is key: Your LinkedIn profile should focus on how you help others, not your life story. Consistency beats frequency: Even one post a week can be effective if it's relevant and targeted. Video and connection tactics: Use vertical video to boost visibility, and send personalized invites and voice messages to strengthen new connections. Brenda Meller is a self-proclaimed "ambassador" of LinkedIn, national speaker, and the Chief Engagement Officer at Meller Marketing, which helps the self-employed, executives, and corporate teams enjoy a bigger slice of the LinkedIn pie. She's a former corporate marketer who "GETS" LinkedIn. Brenda is the author of the book, ""Social Media Pie: How to Enjoy a Bigger Slice of LinkedIn"" and producer of the podcast, ""Enthusiastically Self-Employed."" Connect with Brenda on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/brendameller by clicking on MORE and including a note. Connect with Jon Dwoskin: Twitter: @jdwoskin Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.dwoskin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejondwoskinexperience Website: https://jondwoskin.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jondwoskin Email: jon@jondwoskin.com Get Jon's Book: The Think Big Movement: Grow your business big. Very Big! Connect with Jeff Gunsberg:Website: https://title-connect.com Connect with Brenda Meller:Website: https://www.mellermarketing.com/ LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/brendameller Company Pages: Meller Marketing: linkedin.com/company/meller-marketing-llc Podcast: linkedin.com/company/enthusiastically-self-employed Podcast: linkedin.com/company/experience-rich Book: linkedin.com/company/social-media-pie Instagram: instagram.com/mellermarketing Facebook: facebook.com/MellerMarketing/ YouTube: youtube.com/c/BrendaMellerMarketing TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@brendameller *E – explicit language may be used in this podcast.
Overwhelm, perfectionism, doing it all — Kendra Adachi of The Lazy Genius Collective is here to help us stop all of that! Her framework is simple: be a genius about the things that matter, lazy about the things that don't. In this conversation, we explore why one-size-fits-all productivity advice fails most of us, how to identify what truly matters in this season of life, and a step-by-step process for calming the everyday frustrations that quietly drain us. Practical, permission-giving, and genuinely fun. This episode originally aired in 2022, and all that Kendra shares is timeless! Since this conversatoin, Kendra's gone onto double down on her work in the field of productivity and time management, coming out with the book The Plan, which I will link to below! LET'S TALK THE WALK! Join here for support, motivation and fun! Wellness While Walking Facebook page Walking to Wellness Together Facebook GROUP Wellness While Walking on Instagram Wellness While Walking on Threads Wellness While Walking on Twitter Wellness While Walking website for show notes and other information wellnesswhilewalking@gmail.com RESOURCES AND SOURCES (some links may be affiliate links) KENDRA ADACHI – THE LAZY GENIUS COLLECTIVE The Lazy Genius Kitchen, Kendra Adachi Check out The Lazy Genius Kitchen companion series on YouTube – so fun! The Lazy Genius Way, Kendra Adachi The Plan, Kendra Adachi The Lazy Genius Website (includes among many other things links to The Lazy Genius Podcast, which you can find anywhere you listen to podcasts) The Lazy Genius on Instagram The Lazy Genius on Facebook OTHER Laura Vanderkam, whom Kendra mentioned, can be found here, and co-hosts her podcast, Best of Both Worlds, with former Wellness While Walking guest, Sarah Hart-Unger! HOW TO RATE AND REVIEW WELLNESS WHILE WALKING How to Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts on Your iOS Device 1. Open Apple Podcast App (purple app icon that says Podcasts). 2. Go to the icons at the bottom of the screen and choose "search" 3. Search for "Wellness While Walking" 4. Click on the SHOW, not the episode. 5. Scroll all the way down to "Ratings and Reviews" section 6. Click on "Write a Review" (if you don't see that option, click on "See All" first) 7. Then you will be able to rate the show on a five-star scale (5 is highest rating) and write a review! 8. Thank you! I so appreciate this! How to Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts on a Computer 1. Visit Wellness While Walking page on Apple Podcasts in your web browser (search for Apple Podcasts or click here) https://www.apple.com/apple-podcasts/ 2. Click on "Listen on Apple Podcasts" or "Open the App" 3. This will open Apple Podcasts and put in search bar at top left "Wellness While Walking" 4. This should bring you to the show, not a particular episode – click on the show's artwork 5. Scroll down until you see "Rating and Reviews" 6. Click on "See All" all the way to the right, near the Ratings and Review Section and its bar chart 7. To leave a written review, please click on "Write a Review" 8. You'll be able to leave a review, along with a title for it, plus you'll be able to rate the show on the 5-star scale (with 5 being the highest rating) 9. Thank you so very much!! OTHER APPS WHERE RATINGS OR REVIEWS ARE POSSIBLE Spotify Goodpods Overcast (if you star certain episodes, or every one, that will help others find the show) Castbox Podcast Addict Podchaser Podbean HOW TO SHARE WELLNESS WHILE WALKING Tell a friend or family member about Wellness While Walking, maybe while you're walking together or lamenting not feeling 100% Follow up with a quick text with more info, as noted below! (My favorite is pod.link/walking because it works with all the apps!) Screenshot a favorite episode playing on your phone and share to social media or to a friend via text or email! Wellness While Walking on Apple – click the up arrow to share with a friend via text or email, or share to social media Wellness While Walking on Spotify -- click the up arrow to share with a friend via text or email, or share to social media Use this universal link for any podcast app: pod.link/walking – give it to friends or share on social media Tell your pal about the Wellness While Walking website Thanks for listening and now for sharing! : ) DISCLAIMER Neither I nor many of my podcast guests are doctors or healthcare professionals of any kind, and nothing on this podcast or associated content should be considered medical advice. The information provided by Wellness While Walking Podcast and associated material, by Whole Life Workshop and by Bermuda Road Wellness LLC is for informational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment, and before undertaking a new health care regimen, including walking. Thanks for listening to Wellness While Walking, a walking podcast and a "best podcast for walking"!
309 / Lona McCombie, social media marketer for authors, unpacks essential strategies for authors looking to promote their work, especially on platforms like TikTok and Instagram.✨ This week's sponsor is: Reedsy https://reedsy.com/studio and https://reedsy.com/studio/templatesStarting out in social media marketingPromo strategies for book releasesBest practices for TikTok marketingCross-posting content on social platformsResults of paid promo vs. organic reachTrends in book promo content
Hey everyone, welcome to another filthy episode of Nikky After Dark. Tonight we're going green in the best way possible. Here are three quick tastes of what's coming…A girl shows up to a party dressed as the full Irish flag — green bikini top, bright orange G-string, sheer cover-up. She wins the costume contest by grinding on her boyfriend and slapping her bare ass in front of a bunch of rowdy rugby players… then immediately gets railed hard against a wall outside while his cum runs down her thighs.A married bi guy spots a hot firefighter still wearing his kilt from the marching band. They end up back at his place where he drops to his knees, lifts that heavy tartan, and sucks the guy's thick cock while he's still fully dressed in full Irish glory.A very drunk couple barely makes it home from the bar. She gets pinned against the bedroom wall, panties ripped to the side, and he fucks her so deep she squirts everywhere while he fills her up… followed by soapy, teasing shower play.Those are just the appetizers.Join us over on Discord. https://discord.gg/uqqxsCSDfw Content Warning: This episode contains explicit sexual content, including graphic descriptions of nudity, public sex, infidelity, and boundary-pushing consensual fantasies. Stories are fictional and depict enthusiastic consent. Listener discretion advised; 18+ only. Submissions involving bestiality, incest, underage role-play, rape, non-consensual content, or racial slurs are not aired. Get Involved:Submit Your Story: Got a secret fantasy or steamy confession? Write to Nikky at Nikky@dearnikky.com or submit anonymously at DearNikky.com/confessions. By submitting, you certify:You're the sole creator of the submission.You're 18+ and legally able to submit erotic material.No prohibited themes (bestiality, incest, underage, rape, non-consensual content, racial slurs).Names/identifiable info may be changed.You release all rights to the submission.Say Hello: Have a burning fantasy or just want to chat? Email Nikky@dearnikky.com or connect on Twitter (@DNikky162), Instagram (@DNikky162) , or Facebook (@DearNikky). Nikky wants to hear your naughtiest thoughts!Support the Show: Love these private peeks into filthy lives? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker or your favorite platform to help new listeners discover the heat. Your support keeps the conversation sizzling!Support Nikky:Patreon: Unlock exclusive confessions, bonus thoughts, and steamy Q&As at Patreon.com/DearNikky. Join the inner circle for extra spice!Nectar.ai: Explore your wildest fantasies with immersive AI experiences at Nectar.ai. Perfect for Frisky Friday fans craving more.Featured Release: Dear Nikky: Sex Confessions From People Just Like You is out now! Dive deeper into the raw, unfiltered stories you love. Contact:Email: Nikky@dearnikky.comWebsite: DearNikky.com/confessionsSocials: Twitter (@DNikky162), Instagram (@DNikky162), Facebook (@DearNikky)Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/dear-nikky-hidden-desires--6316414/support.
In this episode Ben and Isaac talk about getting to the end of the book and some of the interesting things they've found out. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/five-games-for-doomsday--5631121/support.Support the show here
Ever feel like you're doing all the "right" things – working hard, providing well, pushing forward – yet something still feels off? You're not lazy. You're not broken. And you're not losing your edge. In this episode of Coming Up Clutch with J.R.™, J.R. sits down with Dr. Camille Preston, psychologist, executive coach, and founder of AIM Leadership, to unpack the hidden cost of stress-driven performance (and why hustle alone can quietly drain your joy, clarity, and long-term impact). This conversation challenges the belief that pressure-fueled performance is the price of success and reframes what it really takes to perform at a high level and feel fully alive. In this episode, you'll hear: Why stress-driven, hustle-fueled performance feels productive but quietly drains your joy, clarity, and long-term impact The powerful distinction between being activated by pressure and being truly alive through purpose and connection How avoiding hard emotions doesn't protect you – it actually shrinks your capacity for joy, fulfillment, and purpose Why so many high performers struggle to access purpose when they've numbed or buried what's happening beneath the surface Why you can't think your way out of burnout, anxiety, or dark seasons and what it means to stabilize your nervous system first Simple, science-backed actions that help you regain clarity when life feels overwhelming KEY QUOTES "Reach out to three people you love. Call them. Add value. Connect." - Dr. Camille Preston "Your knowledge is not just in your head – it's in your body." - Dr. Camille Preston "What makes for a really good life is the quality of your relationships." - Dr. Camille Preston "You're not alone." - Dr. Camille Preston CONNECT WITH DR. CAMILLE PRESTON Book: Living Real: Redefining Success, Presence, and Happiness LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camillepreston Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/camillepreston17/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/camille.preston.54 NEXT STEPS Listen to the full episode: https://jamesreid.com/preston-cuc Want to bring your best home more consistently? Take the Invisible Four™ Assessment and uncover what's quietly blocking you: https://jamesreid.com/assessment Ready for elite strategy and mentorship? Learn more about The Clutch Club™ (for men only): https://theclutchclub.com Follow J.R. on Social (@jamesJRreid): Facebook | Instagram | Linkedin | X Visit J.R.'s website: https://jamesreid.com RATE & REVIEW this episode on Apple: https://jamesreid.com/review. We'd love it if you could drop a review or 5-star rating! Simply select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. SHARE this episode with someone who wants to be challenged, pushed, and positioned to come up clutch more often. SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss out on any new episodes and Special Guests! Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. LISTEN to previous episodes on Apple, Spotify, or whatever podcast platform you prefer!
The reality inside BigLaw is that the majority of associates stay for some time but eventually leave, and the lawyers who navigate that transition well are usually the ones who began thinking about it long before they need to do so. In this episode of Big Law Life, I explain why exit planning should start early in an associate's career and why planning for an exit is not the same as planning to leave. Instead, it is about protecting your options before stress, burnout, or unexpected changes narrow them. I walk through how exit planning looks at different stages of an associate's career, from the early years of building transferable skills to the mid-level years when recruiters begin evaluating judgment and independence. I also explain how prestige alone does not translate into marketability, why specialization by default can quietly limit opportunities, and why waiting until you are burned out often leads to weaker exits. If you want to maintain control over your career and keep your options open, this episode outlines how thoughtful exit planning helps you move strategically rather than reactively. At a Glance 01:20 Why most BigLaw associates leave and why exit planning should start early 02:58 The career risk of relying on one partner or narrow assignments 04:14 Early warning signs your work is limiting transferable skills 05:06 How recruiters evaluate associates in their third and fourth years 05:44 What changes when associates reach the fifth and sixth years 06:36 How timing affects the strength of your exit narrative 07:07 Why BigLaw prestige does not equal marketability 08:02 How to explain the value you bring beyond your firm name 09:21 Why being essential to one partner does not make you marketable 10:34 Why burnout-driven exits weaken interviews and opportunities 11:29 How generic phrases in your resume can signal a weak description of experience 13:43 How early exit planning preserves career leverage Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Do you enjoy listening to Big Law Life? Please consider rating and reviewing the show! This helps support and reach more people like you who want to grow a career in Big Law. For Apple Podcasts, click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select "Write a Review." Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode! Also, if you haven't done so already, follow the podcast here! For Spotify, tap here on your mobile phone, follow the podcast, listen to the show, then find the rating icon below the description, and tap to rate with five stars. Interested in doing 1-2-1 coaching with Laura Terrell? Or learning more about her work coaching and consulting? Here are ways to reach out to her: www.lauraterrell.com laura@lauraterrell.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauralterrell/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraterrellcoaching/ Show notes: https://www.lauraterrell.com/podcast
Your time, energy and capital are all scarce resources. Each has an opportunity cost. And yet many founders make decisions about their ventures based on excitement rather than evidence — committing all three without ever asking the question a smart investor would ask first: is this actually worth it? In this episode, Sophia Matveeva shares the investor framework she uses with her founder clients — one that reframes every build, hire, and fundraise decision as a capital allocation choice. You'll learn: Why you are the largest investor in your own venture — and what that means for how you make decisions The four questions every smart investor asks before committing capital, and how to apply them to your own idea How to speak to external investors with genuine conviction rather than desperation Why the founders who succeed aren't the most talented — they're the most rigorous Whether you're sitting on an idea you're excited about or one you're quietly starting to question, this episode will change how you think. Timestamps 00:00 - Introduction: You are your venture's biggest investor 02:36 - Typical fundraising journey and runway planning 04:43 - Four key questions for capital allocation 07:05 - Risk assessment: Business, emotional, and personal risks 09:17 - Approaching investors with conviction 11:36 - Action steps and closing Free AI Mini-Workshop for Non-Technical Founders Learn how to go from idea to a tested product using AI — in under 30 minutes. Get free access here: techfornontechies.co/aiclass Follow and Review: We'd love for you to follow us if you haven't yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Listen to Tech for Non-Techies on: Apple Spotify YouTube Audible Pandora Full transcript: https://www.techfornontechies.co/blog/you-are-your-biggest-investor-think-like-one
OUR PATREON PAGEhttps://www.patreon.com/NakedNudistsAndNaturistsWelcome to "Naked, Nudists, and Naturists", the show that celebrates clothes free living, body acceptance, and removing all barriers to living your best life!Join host Frank Stone and correspondent Lisa Monroe, as they celebrate clothes free living with naturist stories; interviews; nude recreation; accepting your body; developing a positive self body image; and enjoying social naturism for all of the right reasons!(Please note that we are NOT about swinging, sexual activity, streaking, aggressive behavior, or anything else that deviates from the joy of appropriately living without your clothes).From our naturist studio - yes, all employees work each day in the nude (is there any other way?) - to your ears, we are all about bringing the "Naked. Nudists, and Naturists" clothes free lifestyle to all. A new show is all yours every Saturday morning at 6:00 am ET. Join us and enjoy clothes free living! Our show is on all podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio; and Amazon Music. Find us on Twitter and Bluesky, too! ON TODAY'S SHOW:- PLAYA SONRISA - Blaney and Steve - Time to Expand - FRANK/LISA - Listener Letter- RICK DORCIAK - NEW Song! - "Skinny Dippin'"Write to us early and often - Website, Email, Spotify, or on Twitter and Bluesky, and let us know how your clothes free life is going!PLAYA SONRISAhttps://playasonrisamexico.comPLAYA SONRISA EXPANSION PLANSsonrisavillas.vipOUR WEBSITENakedNudistsAndNaturists.com OUR MERCHANDISEhttps://nakednudistsandnaturists.com/shop/TWITTERhttps://x.com/NakedForev69351BLUESKYhttps://bsky.app/profile/nakedforev69351.bsky.socialEMAIL - We want to hear from YOU, so please EMAIL us at: NakedForeverMore@gmail.comAMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR NUDE RECREATIONhttps://www.aanr.comLISTEN ON:APPLE PODCASTShttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/naked-nudists-and-naturists/id1695296974SPOTIFYhttps://open.spotify.com/show/66iqJxLBmseAZ6DkFlUdI5
Episode 126 — Designing for Transfer in Reading InstructionGoal: The goal of this episode is to understand what you can do to help support student transfer of information through the application of knowledge in your upper elementary literacy classroom.We talk about: 1.How to get students to apply what they've learned in your classroom. 2. Recap of chapter 8 of Smart Teaching Stronger Learning 3. Strategies that you can implement in your classroom today. Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:Episodes 97, 98, 100, 101 and 102Grab my free guide for keeping your mini lesson mini Book a discovery call for one on one coaching or school professional developmentLink to the book (affiliate link)Next Steps: If this episode resonated with you, take a screenshot of the episode and tag me on instagram @msevamireles. This helps my show remain active in order to continue to help other upper elementary teachers get ideas they can use in their class today.The Reading Teacher's Playbook Search for my show on iTunes or Stitcher.Click on ‘Ratings and Reviews.'Under ‘Customer Reviews,' click on “Write a Review.”Sign in with your iTunes or Stitcher log-in infoLeave a Rating: Tap the greyed out stars (5 being the best)Leave a Review: Type in a Title and Description of your thoughts on my podcastClick ‘Send'Leave a Rating and Review:
This week's episode begs the question: Can an 11-year-old child get away with murder? Watch this episode on YouTube: youtube.com/@cultliter Call the Hotline: 747-322-0273 Buy my book: prh.com/obitchuary Come see me on tour: obitchuarypodcast.com Write me: spencer@cultliter.com Follow along online: instagram.com/cultliterpodcastinstagram.com/spencerhenry Join our patreon: Patreon.com/cultliter Check out my other show OBITCHUARY wherever you're listening now! Sources: https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/jury-decision-jordan-brown-civil-trial-11-year-old-charged-murder/ https://abcnews.com/US/life-today-man-arrested-age-11-convicted-14/story?id=58584334 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_Brown_case https://abcnews.com/US/happened-11-year-boy-accused-murdering-pregnant-stepmom/story?id=58613764 20/20 Episode Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Jakub from The Straight Pipes is selling everything! He's in need of a Car Debate, so the guys interview him and discuss possible choices. For Car Conclusions, they reveal what listeners bought - some unexpected cars! Then, social media questions ask for the best way to introduce toddlers to cars, what is the best-looking hatchback of all time, and what are the most underrated and inexpensive ‘back-road-driving' car choices? Audio-only MP3 is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and 10 other platforms. Look for us on Tuesdays if you'd like to watch us debate, disagree and then go drive again! 00:00 - Intro 00:42 - News: Mercedes-Benz Introduces…A Van! 4:32 - News: Porsche's EV Cayman/Boxster Still Alive? 8:44 - Topic Tuesday: It's Really Jakub! A Live Car Debate 44:38 - EDD & HOD Events: March 2026 47:21 - Car Conclusion #1: An Engine Wearing A Truck 51:00 - Car Conclusion #2: Buying More Cars Than You Thought 54:14 - Audience Questions On Social Media Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe to our two YouTube channels. Write to us your Topic Tuesdays, Car Conclusions and those great Car Debates at everydaydrivertv@gmail.com or everydaydriver.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What if the secret to better writing isn't more technique—but more truth? Tami Simon speaks with beloved author Anne Lamott and her husband Neal Allen—writer, spiritual coach, and author of Good Writing: 36 Ways to Improve Your Sentences—about the craft of finding your voice, writing toward compassion and truth, and why the most powerful sentences come not from the polished mind but from the really real.This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Naeem Murr is the author of the novel Every Exit Brings You Home, available from Murr is the author of three novels, including The Boy (a New York Times Notable Book) and The Perfect Man (longlisted for the Man Booker Prize). A former Stegner Fellow at Stanford, he's been awarded a regional Commonwealth Writers Prize, a PEN Beyond Margins Award, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He lives in Chicago. *** Otherppl with Brad Listi is a weekly podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today's leading writers. Available where podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, etc. Get How to Write a Novel, the debut audio course from DeepDive. 50+ hours of never-before-heard insight, inspiration, and instruction from dozens of today's most celebrated contemporary authors. Subscribe to Brad's email newsletter. Support the show on Patreon Merch Instagram TikTok Bluesky Email the show: letters [at] otherppl [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode we'll talk about:The difference between loving the craft and loving the spectacle around itWhy many creators feel pressured to chase visibility at any costHealing the need to be seen before the work maturesTrusting your natural pace instead of forcing expansionProtecting your values, joy, and life while creatingLetting God magnify the work instead of chasing recognitionAnd more… CONNECT WITH ME…→ Instagram — @mattgottesman→ My Substack — mattgottesman.substack.com → Apparel — thenicheisyou.comRESOURCES…→ Recommended Book List — CLICK HERE→ Masterclass — CLICK HEREWORKSHOPS + MASTERCLASS:→ Need MORE clarity? - Here's the FREE… 6 Days to Clarity Workshop - clarity for your time, energy, money, creativity, work & play→ Write, Design, Build: Content Creator Studio & OS - Growing the niche of you, your audience, reach, voice, passion & incomeOTHER RELATED EPISODES:Faith Isn't Knowing the Whole Path… It's Taking the Next Honest StepApple: https://apple.co/3MB62IuSpotify: https://bit.ly/4rZw3RN
Wondering what the difference is between a store owner who feels confident and sees steady growth — and one who's working hard but spinning their wheels? It's usually not a great product or a beautiful website. It's a few simple habits that anyone can learn. Susan shares them all in this episode. In this episode you'll learn: The 3-step framework that turns scattered effort into real, visible results How to narrow your focus so your time actually moves the needle The one metric worth tracking — and why you really don't need anything else RELATED LINKS Hiring Help—Get Set Up for Success. https://www.thesocialsalesgirls.com/blog/hiring-help-get-set-up-for-success-episode-280 Jen's Framework for Hiring and Training the Right People https://www.thesocialsalesgirls.com/blog/jens-framework-for-hiring-and-training-the-right-people-episode-275 Stop ignoring your Mindset. It's a powerful tool. https://www.thesocialsalesgirls.com/blog/stop-ignoring-your-mindset-its-a-powerful-tool-episode-289 The $500/hr Job You Should Be Doing https://www.thesocialsalesgirls.com/blog/the-500-hour-job-you-should-be-doing-episode-226 Stop wondering if you're "doing it right" and learn how to grow your sales in a consistent, predictable way. Spend 40 minutes with me in this eye opening workshop, and you'll leave with a few simple steps that will grow your sales next month. Find a time that works for you, and register here: https://watch.thesocialsalesgirls.com/s/77wKvQ "Insightful, actionable and engaging! I learn so much every single time I listen. I can't believe this information is free" - If you feel like this too, I'd love it if you would leave us a review. Reviewing the show will help us reach even more store owners, so we can help the grow their sales. Click here, scroll down, tap to rate with 5 stars and select "Write a review". Let us know what you find most helpful about the podcast!
The coaching industry loves to tell you to stop doing one-on-one work. Scale up. Build leverage. Get out of trading time for money. And they're right. Sort of. But here's what they're not telling you: dismissing high-ticket one-on-one completely is leaving $300K-$400K on the table while simultaneously losing your edge in understanding what your market actually needs. In this solo episode of The Expert Edge, I break down why I've had one-on-one clients for 17 straight years - and why I made $400,000 last year working with just three people at a time. Not three hundred. Not thirty. Three. This isn't about abandoning scalable offers or building your entire business on one-on-one coaching. It's about understanding that in a world where AI is making information feel commoditized, your personhood is becoming more valuable, not less. Companies are already creating tiered customer service where you pay extra just to talk to a real human instead of a bot. I walk through the five key principles of selling high-ticket one-on-one: Why one-on-one keeps you sharp and makes everything else you create better (courses, content, group offers) How AI is making human interaction, accountability, and community premium-priced services Why you must charge for the result, not the hour (and how to position transformation over time) The "fruit salad vs. apple" packaging strategy that lets you charge $5K-$10K+ instead of pricing per session How to create scarcity, authority, and resistance so clients audition to work with you (not the other way around) This episode isn't about going back to only doing one-on-one. It's about adding a high-value engine to your business that keeps you connected to your market, generates significant revenue, and requires almost no infrastructure. If you've been told one-on-one isn't scalable or isn't worth your time, this conversation will show you what you've been missing. Learn more: Interested in learning how to package and sell high-ticket one-on-one offers? Go to colinboyd.co/highticket to join the wait list for a small group experience Colin is considering creating. Interested in working with me directly to scale your Expert business? That's exactly what we do inside ELITE. If you're interested in finding out more information and applying. https://colinboyd.co/elite Discover how to authentically connect with your audience & fill your programs with a Conversion Story - Version 2.0 (AI Edition) is now available. https://www.conversionstoryformula.com Hit the "Follow" button so you don't miss an episode! Love this podcast? Write a review and give it a 5-star rating! For all the show notes and links: https://www.expertedgepodcast.com/blog/episode312 Connect with Colin on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colinboyd/
Dive into the charming yet morally complex world of Waking Ned Devine, where a small Irish village's lottery win sparks a humorous yet thought-provoking scheme. This episode explores the film's cultural portrayals, moral dilemmas, and theological reflections on greed, charity, and community. Join us as we unravel the deeper questions about honesty and the true meaning of justice amidst the film's delightful charm. Watch the episode here. Chapters: 0:24 - Welcome & Summary 5:00 - Popcorn Ratings 10:09 - Theology Ratings 12:12 - Subscribe, Share, Support 14:08 - Ads 15:37 - SPOILER WARNING 16:32 - The lottery as a symbol of greed and vice 21:37 - The government, taxes, and wealth transfer 26:42 - Character analysis: Maggie and Maggie's motives 31:47 - Friendship, loyalty, and moral choices 56:16 - Lightning Round 57:37 - Until Next Time… Slainte Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE and click the notification bell. Follow & connect: https://linktr.ee/popcorntheology Support: https://www.patreon.com/popcorntheology Rate and review to get 2 FREE Popcorn Theology Stickers! Write a 5-star review and send a screenshot, along with your mailing address, to feedback@popcorntheology.com, and you'll receive 2 FREE stickers! iTunes link here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/popcorn-theology/id990110281 #irish #wakingneddevine #guiness #FaithAndFilm #MoviePodcast #FilmReview #ChristianPodcast #MediaLiteracy #ReformedTheology #christianmoviereview Intro Music by Ross Bugden: https://youtu.be/Bln0BEv5AJ0?si=vZx_YiHK3hNxaETA
Do you worry about your kids a lot? Do you find yourself up at night, thinking of your sister and all that she is going through? Do you find yourself micromanaging your partner and worrying that they can't handle their load? If so, this podcast will help you and your relationship with them. Buy your copy of It Just Takes One on Amazon here. Write a review here. Sign up for weekly inspiration here.
Welcome back to Nikky After Dark, the podcast where we dive into your steamiest confessions, no judgment, all thrill. I'm your host, Nikky, coming to you from the shadows of Jefferson City, Missouri, where the nights are long and the secrets are even longer. Tonight's episode is all about those forbidden classroom crushes that turn into full-blown fantasies years later. We've got tales of bus-stop bargains, club reunions, and Bumble matches that rewrite the lesson plan. Buckle up, darlings—it's getting hot in here. First, let's tease what's coming up with three short previews from tonight's confessions:A college senior seals a grade-boosting deal in the dead of night at a bus stop, ending with a face full of proof and a straight-A glow-up.A former student spots his old math teacher in a club, invites him home, and turns the night into an anal adventure that'll have you rethinking parent-teacher nights.Years after graduation, a guy matches with his 7th-grade teacher on Bumble, leading to a breeding-kink-fueled fling that blurs every line in the book.Join us over on Discord. https://discord.gg/uqqxsCSDfwContent Warning: This episode contains explicit sexual content, including graphic descriptions of nudity, public sex, infidelity, and boundary-pushing consensual fantasies. Stories are fictional and depict enthusiastic consent. Listener discretion advised; 18+ only. Submissions involving bestiality, incest, underage role-play, rape, non-consensual content, or racial slurs are not aired. Get Involved:Submit Your Story: Got a secret fantasy or steamy confession? Write to Nikky at Nikky@dearnikky.com or submit anonymously at DearNikky.com/confessions. By submitting, you certify:You're the sole creator of the submission.You're 18+ and legally able to submit erotic material.No prohibited themes (bestiality, incest, underage, rape, non-consensual content, racial slurs).Names/identifiable info may be changed.You release all rights to the submission.Say Hello: Have a burning fantasy or just want to chat? Email Nikky@dearnikky.com or connect on Twitter (@DNikky162), Instagram (@DNikky162) , or Facebook (@DearNikky). Nikky wants to hear your naughtiest thoughts!Support the Show: Love these private peeks into filthy lives? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker or your favorite platform to help new listeners discover the heat. Your support keeps the conversation sizzling!Support Nikky:Patreon: Unlock exclusive confessions, bonus thoughts, and steamy Q&As at Patreon.com/DearNikky. Join the inner circle for extra spice!Nectar.ai: Explore your wildest fantasies with immersive AI experiences at Nectar.ai. Perfect for Frisky Friday fans craving more.Featured Release: Dear Nikky: Sex Confessions From People Just Like You is out now! Dive deeper into the raw, unfiltered stories you love. Contact:Email: Nikky@dearnikky.comWebsite: DearNikky.com/confessionsSocials: Twitter (@DNikky162), Instagram (@DNikky162), Facebook (@DearNikky)Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/dear-nikky-hidden-desires--6316414/support.
In this episode we're digging into body dysmorphia, body image, and how the stories that your brain tells you about your body are making it impossible for you to trust your body. When your perception of your body becomes distorted, those thoughts can feel completely logical. And before you realize it, you're stuck in a cycle of distrusting your hunger, tracking and measuring your food, and relying on the scale to tell you if you're "doing okay." If you constantly feel like something is wrong with your body…this episode might change the way you see everything. Hit play and let's go! Episode Highlights -What body dysmorphia actually does to the way you perceive your body -How body image distortion turns into the beliefs that keep you dieting or controlling food -Why the scale becomes a "reality check" when you stop trusting your own perception -How this cycle erodes your ability to trust your body with food -The 1st ESSENTIAL step toward rebuilding trust with your body again Today's Wellness Woo is Prolon. Resources Mentioned - Grab My Free Body Image Journal Guide: nondietacademy.com/bodyimage Read the full episode show notes here: katyharvey.net/podcast228 Resources for Your Intuitive Eating Journey Join My Intuitive Eating Made Easy Facebook Group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/intuitiveeatingmadeeasy Work with Katy: https://katyharvey.net/services Explore the self-paced mini-course Stepping Off The Dieting Rollercoaster: https://nondietacademy.com/rollercoaster Connect with Katy Harvey Website: https://katyharvey.net Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katyharvey.rd/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KatyHarveyRD Subscribe and Review Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts I would be thrilled if you could rate and review my podcast! Your support helps me reach and encourage more people on their intuitive eating journeys. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select "Write a Review." Don't forget to share what you loved most about the episode! Also, make sure to follow the podcast if you haven't already done so. Follow now!
Parenting. Just that one word is enough to make your shoulders tighten, isn't it? In this episode, I sit down with Randi Crawford — certified life coach, speaker, author, and mom — to talk honestly about what it actually takes to raise kids who can handle life when you're not there to fix it for them. Randi spent years coaching young women before she realized the real work needed to happen one generation up — with the moms. What she found, over and over, was that the struggle these girls were experiencing traced directly back to one thing: parents who loved their kids so much they were accidentally getting in the way. We talk about why confidence can't be handed to a child through compliments, how social media has quietly eroded the trust moms have in their own instincts, and why the line between love and control is thinner than most of us want to admit. My own kids are 16 and 19 at the time of this recording. More than once during this conversation, I had to pause and sit with some honest self-reflection. I think you will too. If you're a mom and a woman entrepreneur, this one will speak to you in more ways than one. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN Why confidence is built through action — not compliments — and what that means for how we show up for our kids How social media has gaslit an entire generation of moms out of trusting their own gut The difference between helping your child and robbing them of something essential Why independence is the actual goal of parenting — and what stepping back actually looks like in practice How the lessons Randi teaches about raising resilient kids mirror what we work through every day in business CONNECT WITH RANDI CRAWFORD Website: https://www.randicrawfordcoaching.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/randicrawfordcoaching TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@randicrawfordcoaching ABOUT RANDI CRAWFORD Meet Randi Crawford, a life coach, speaker, and mom redefining resilience for the next generation. A certified life coach, author, and former co-founder of Women First HealthCare, a pioneering public company that reached over 10 million women, Randi brings candor, humor, and hard truths to modern parenting and life in general. Known for her no-BS, zero-victim approach, she helps parents stop over-helping, start connecting, and raise capable—not coddled—kids. Her mission: less fixing, more resilience. Less fear, more confidence. Because fear raises fragile kids. Connection raises resilient ones. READY TO BUILD YOUR CONFIDENCE? Book a free 15-min call with Sarah to talk about where you are in your business and see if working together feels right. Schedule here: https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=13047670&appointmentType=34706781 FREE GIFT FROM SARAH Get Sarah's Freedom Calculator and discover how much your business needs to make to finally be free. Download at https://sarahwalton.com/freedom LEARN FROM SARAH Explore Sarah's online courses and free resources to start building your business with confidence. Online Courses: https://sarahwalton.com/online-courses Free Resources: https://sarahwalton.com/free-resources CONNECT WITH SARAH Website: https://sarahwalton.com/podcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheSarahWalton Instagram: https://instagram.com/thesarahwalton ABOUT SARAH WALTON Sarah Walton is a business coach, podcast host, and mentor who helps women entrepreneurs build businesses they love. She's the creator of the Abundance Academy, The Art of Receiving, and the Game On Girlfriend® podcast. Sarah's mission is to put more money in the hands of more women while teaching authentic, heart-centered business strategies. RELATED GAME ON GIRLFRIEND® EPISODES YOU'LL LOVE Episode 320: The Confidence Habit: Small Wins That Change Everything with Jen Mueller — https://sarahwalton.com/building-confidence-small-wins-jen-mueller/ Episode 50: The Power of Grit — and YES, You Can Learn It — https://sarahwalton.com/grit/ Episode 300: 300 Episodes — What I've Learned About Consistency, Confidence, and Refusing to Quit — https://sarahwalton.com/dreams-in-progress-300-episodes/ LOVE THE SHOW? LEAVE US A REVIEW! Thank you so much for listening. I'm honored that you're here and would be grateful if you could leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts by clicking here, scrolling to the bottom, and clicking "Write a review." Your reviews help other women entrepreneurs find the show and get the support they need to build businesses they love. Thank you for being part of the Game On Girlfriend® community! (If you're not sure how to leave a review, you can watch this quick tutorial.)
If you have twins and are struggling to get any consolidated sleep, you're not alone and you're certainly not doing anything wrong. In this episode, Allison dives into the unique challenges of twin sleep and shares practical strategies to help you build rhythms that work for both babies and for you. From syncing overnight feeds to navigating naps when your twins have completely different sleep temperaments, this episode walks you through the simple adjustments that can make twin sleep far more manageable. Because while sleep advice for single babies often focuses on following each baby's cues, parenting twins requires a different strategy, one that prioritizes synchronizing schedules so parents can actually get rest, too. You'll learn how to: Sync nighttime feedings so you aren't awake all night Keep feeding schedules aligned in the early months Navigate naps when twins have different sleep abilities Build a simple bedtime routine that works for both babies Begin practicing drowsy but awake sleep skills Use white noise effectively when twins share a room If you're expecting twins or currently parenting newborn twins, this episode offers reassurance, realistic expectations, and practical tools to help you find your rhythm. Mentioned in this episode: Episode 197. Drowsy But Awake: Your Key to Avoiding the 4-Month Sleep Regression Episode 224. Your Child's Sleep Puzzle: Why Some Kids Sleep Easily (and Others Don't) Yogasleep Dohm white noise machine (Allison's favorite white noise machine) Click here to listen to the episode on YouTube Give your child the gift of better sleep. Allison's free, age-specific guides show you exactly how many hours of rest kids need to grow, learn, and thrive—no matter their age. Get your free copy now: 0-2 Years Old or 3 to 10 years old From baby sleep to toddler sleep, daycare naps to sleep training—How Long 'Til Bedtime? is the podcast for parents who want practical, guilt-free sleep tips they can actually use. Hosted by pediatric sleep coach Allison Egidi, each episode delivers real solutions for every stage—from navigating newborn sleep struggles and weaning night feedings to helping your 3-year-old fall asleep independently (and stay asleep!). Whether you're trying to make sense of daycare sleep patterns, craving your evenings back, or simply need a working mom podcast to keep you grounded, you're in the right place. Want more from Allison? Sign up here to get her weekly email with podcast updates and other helpful parenting topics. Enjoying How Long 'Til Bedtime? Your rating and review help Allison reach and support more parents. On Apple Podcasts: Click here, scroll to the bottom, rate the show, and tap "Write a Review." On Spotify: Click here to leave a rating or review. Don't miss an episode—subscribe so you're always up to date! Connect with Allison: Instagram | Facebook | Website | YouTube
In this episode, we're diving into one of the most powerful (and often overlooked) tools in a wellness journey: live community. Tune in as we talk through the benefits of Rise & Thrive Group Coaching and why showing up in real time with other women can completely shift your motivation, consistency, and mindset. If you've ever felt stuck, isolated, or like you're trying to do this wellness thing on your own, this conversation is for you. Sometimes the missing piece isn't another plan — it's people. Tune in and see why live community might be the thing that takes your progress to the next level. Join our priority list to be the first to know when Burn Fat and Feast membership opens. https://pages.burnfatandfeast.com/hormone-reset-priority-list/ GRAB ONE OF OUR FREEBIES: Week of Meals (with grocery list and recipes) Ultimate Guide to Intermittent Fasting For Women Fat Burning Guide Metabolism and Hormone Checklist Fast Food Guide Free LIVE workout Alcohol & Macros Guide Protein & Portions Guide Connect with us on your favorite social media platform: Instagram: www.instagram.com/burnfatandfeast Facebook: www.facebook.com/burnfatandfeast TikTok: @burnfatandfeast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/burn-fat-and-feast/ Join our FREE Facebook community to be surrounded by other women on a mission to live their best lives. Rate, Review and Follow on Apple Podcasts If you love this show, please consider rating and reviewing the show! This helps us support more people just like you, move toward the life they desire and deserve. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars and select "Write a Review". Then be sure to let us know what you loved most about the episode. If you haven't already, be sure to follow the podcast! We drop new episodes every other week, and following ensures you never miss out on fresh inspiration, expert interviews, and real talk to support your journey. Hit follow now so you're always in the loop!
I could never bring myself to fully commit...until now. People are more invested in who is at the helm of businesses they buy from than ever before. This means that, as a leader, building a personal brand has never been more important. I've been building businesses for over two decades, but deep down, I always knew my next level would require a new version of me. In this episode, I'm sharing what I'm doing to embrace my visibility through consistent content creation. It means finally leaning into discomfort, building the right systems, and bringing the right people on board. In this episode, you will learn about: What you need to know about creating content that no one really talks about. Who I hired to help me tell my story so that I can build out loud. How admitting I couldn't do this alone helped me move away from playing small. Why you need a system (and the right people) to consistently share great content. The mindset that your content needs to be "perfect" and why it's not true. Why you might be scared to show up fully and how to shift your perspective. What the hardest part about creating content actually is. Check out The Pink Skirt Project, happening July 9-10, 2026 in Kelowna, BC, Canada. Want to get unstuck, feel more confident and surround yourself with women ready to help you climb? Join The Pink Skirt Society. Got a minute? I would love a review! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap, and give me five stars. Then select "Write a Review." Make sure to highlight your favorite bits. Subscribe here. Connect with Renée: @renee_warren www.reneewarren.com
In this week's Fit Mother Project Podcast, Episode 190, Dr. Anthony Balduzzi explores how to calm your mind and reduce anxiety naturally by understanding anxiety as a nervous system state rather than a personal weakness. He explains why so many women today feel overstimulated, mentally exhausted, and emotionally on edge, and how the body and mind work together to either reinforce stress or create calm.In this episode, Dr. Anthony shares practical ways to support a calmer, safer internal state through better breathing, daily movement, balanced nutrition, hydration, less screen overload, more time in nature, and intentional practices like gratitude, forgiveness, and meditation. He breaks these ideas down in a grounded, encouraging way that makes them feel doable in real life.If you have been carrying a lot mentally, feeling overstimulated, or struggling to fully relax, this conversation offers a powerful reminder that peace is something you can begin to build with simple daily practices.Rate & Review - If this episode encouraged you, please take a moment to rate and review the Fit Mother Project Podcast. Your review helps more women discover the show and supports us in sharing more practical, uplifting conversations each week.Join the Fit Mother Community for support, encouragement, and practical tools to help you feel stronger, calmer, and healthier in every area of life. www.fitmotherproject.com Key TakeawaysAnxiety as a lack-of-safety signalBody and mind work togetherBreathing patterns shape stressNasal breathing supports calmGentle movement reduces anxietyExercise boosts resilienceStimulants can worsen stressStable blood sugar supports calmGlycine, magnesium, omega-3sHydration helps the body feel safeScreen overload drives anxietyNature regulates the nervous systemGratitude changes brain patternsForgiveness frees mental bandwidthMeditation builds inner stillnessPeace can be practiced dailyAlan Watts - Guided Meditation (Awakening the Mind) As mentioned in the podcast, here is the link to the YouTube video to assist you with a guided meditation. Give it a try! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPpUNAFHgxM Fit Father / Fit Mother LIVE 2026! Come experience the energy of Fit Father / Fit Mother Live in person this August 7–9 in Phoenix. You'll enjoy transformational teaching, nourishing meals, and the kind of real community that leaves you feeling recharged, inspired, and deeply connected. Reserve your spot now and join us for an unforgettable weekend. We look forward to meeting you!BEAM Minerals—See What a Difference They MakeSupport your health from the inside out with BEAM Minerals. Visit beamminerals.com/fitfamily to learn more, and use code FITFAMILY to get 20% off your first order.Take an Adventure with FFP in 2026!Belize Service Trip — June 6-12, 2026. For information: www.fitfatherproject.com/belizeFit Father / Fit Mother LIVE 2026 — August 7–9, 2026 Click here to join us in Phoenix!Run the Bourbon Chase Ragnar in Kentucky! Write to support@fitfatherproject.com for more information. October 2-3, 2026.Want To Change Your Life? Check Out Foundations!Foundations is a simple, sustainable, and specific weight loss program designed especially for busy men over 40. With short metabolic training workouts, an easy-to-follow meal plan, and an accountability team there for you every step of the way, Foundations can help you lose weight, regain energy and vitality, and live life to the fullest. Click here to see everything you get when you join Foundations, subscribe to our YouTube Channel, check out our blog, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Threads.*Please know that weight loss results and health changes/improvements vary individually; you may not achieve similar results. Always consult with your doctor before making health decisions. This is not medical advice - simply very well-researched information on anxiety, meditation, and calming the nervous system naturally.
Scammers know their scams are not believable. They know most of us we know that the Prince of Nigeria has not emailed us to help with his fortune. They don't want to scam everyone. They're looking for the most credulous people they can find and the Prince of Nigeria is a filter. They don't want anyone who's going to ask too many questions. They make these things hard to believe on purpose. They want only the extremely credulous.To keep reading The Credulous and the Scammed visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog. Episode 490Song: Scam SongImage by Yuliya Strizhkina via UnsplashGive this podcast 5 stars. Write a nice review!Rate it at: https://ratethispodcast.com/strugglingartistMailing list: www.emilyrainbowdavis.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SongsfortheStrugglingArtist/Support me on Patreon: www.patreon.com/emilyrdavisKofi: http://ko-fi.com/emilyrainbowdavisPayPal: https://www.paypal.me/strugglingartistSubstack: https://emilyrainbowdavis.substack.com/Twitter @erainbowdMastodon - @erainbowd@podvibes.coBlueSky - @erainbowd.bsky.socialInstagram & PinterestListen to The Dragoning here and The Defense here. *Explicit due to Sweary Song
Injuries and mental blocks can feel scary and isolating for gymnasts and parents. In this episode of the PerformHappy Podcast I sit down with PerformHappy coach Stephanie Gommer to talk about confidence, fear, perfectionism, and what it really takes to come back when the sport suddenly feels harder than it used to.One of the biggest challenges gymnasts face is the mental side of the sport. Even athletes who look confident on the outside can struggle with fear, overthinking, and self doubt. Stephanie shares how she would sometimes go into practice and suddenly feel unsure of skills she had done for years. After a major ankle injury in high school, she also had to work through fear of reinjury and the frustration of not being where she used to be.Instead of letting those challenges stop her, Stephanie leaned into mindset and support. Staying connected to her team during recovery helped her push through the isolation that injuries can bring. She also worked with a sports psychologist who helped her focus on what she could control and build the mental tools she needed to come back stronger.We also talk about perfectionism and comparison, which are common struggles in gymnastics. When athletes feel like they have to be perfect, the sport can stop feeling fun and start feeling stressful. Stephanie helps athletes shift their mindset, focus on small wins, and find ways to relax in high pressure moments so they can perform with more confidence.Stephanie and I also talk about what athletes really need from their parents during tough times. Most athletes are not looking for advice or corrections. They want support, encouragement, and a safe space to share how they feel. When parents focus on connection instead of performance, it helps athletes feel more confident and less alone.In this episode you will hearWhy even high level gymnasts struggle with confidence and fear How injuries can impact athletes mentally and emotionally The role of mindset in coming back from setbacks Why perfectionism and comparison can hold athletes back What athletes actually need from their parents Simple ways to bring fun back into the sportIn this episode of the PerformHappy Podcast Stephanie Gommer and I share how gymnasts can navigate fear, rebuild confidence, and feel supported so they can keep growing and enjoying the sport.Learn exactly what to say and do to guide your athlete through a mental block with my new book "Parenting Through Mental Blocks" Order your copy today: https://a.co/d/g990BurFollow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/complete_performance/ Join my FaceBook page: https://www.facebook.com/completeperformancecoaching/ Check out my website: https://completeperformancecoaching.com/Write to me! Email: rebecca@completeperformancecoaching.comReady to help your athlete overcome fears and mental blocks while gaining unstoppable confidence? Discover the transformative power of PerformHappy now. If your athlete is struggling or feeling left behind, it's time for a change. Are you ready? For more info and to sign up: PerformHappy.com
In this week's episode we're talking about the highs and lows working from home and how we balance our career dreams with raising young children. We've got several great listener questions to cover and we'll share an extra hot Hot Take Debate. Thank you to this week's sponsor: Go to brooklynbedding.com and use my promo code MESS at checkout to get 30% off sitewide Just use code [MESS] for 15% off the Premium Starter Kit at BranchBasics.com Our home work spaces: Elsie - Uses her sunroom as her art studio and moves around to different spaces in her house with her laptop Emma - Extra bedroom is office, sometimes works from coffee shop or library Pros and cons of working from home: Pros - Good way to keep life balanced Cons - Lots of distractions How you deal with distractions: Set timer to get tasks done Time boxing Use a reward system Book Reports: Elsie: The Prestige by Christopher Priest Emma: Twisted Love by Anna Huang HOT TAKE DEBATE Anne: Here's my hot take: we don't need any more movies based on books. They're different mediums! Let books be books and movies be movies. I want to see more movies that were written to be MOVIES and tailored to that medium, written to take advantage of all the cool things you can do onscreen. Same for books: I want more authors to take advantage of the cool things you can do in a book that you CAN'T do onscreen. I've read books that felt like they secretly wanted to be screenplays. Play to the strengths of your medium! No more crossing the streams! A Joke & A fact with Nova. You can support us by leaving us a couple of 5 star recipe reviews this week at abeautifulmess.com Have a topic idea for the podcast? Write in to us at podcast@abeautifulmess.com or leave us a voicemail at 417-893-0011.
What does it really mean to write dark stories responsibly—and how can you make sure hope feels resonant? In this episode, we explore the craft principles behind balancing darkness and meaning in fiction. Some stories venture into shadow and leave us better for it. Others leave us depleted. The difference is rarely in how much suffering appears on the page. It's whether that suffering is tethered to consequences, transformation, and movement within the character arc. We'll talk about: Why darkness must be used to interrogate something specific in your story How to track psychological cause and effect in character arcs Why unearned hope feels naïve—and how to avoid it How to keep your story from collapsing into nihilism A simple litmus test to ensure your ending honors the story arc If you desire to write fiction that confronts reality without surrendering meaning, this episode offers nine practical principles you can apply immediately to your own work. Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Read the full article: https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/how-to-write-dark-stories-responsibly Story School Class: Ego-Driven vs. Soul-Driven Character Arcs: https://kmweilandstore.com/b/ego-vs-soul-arc-class Learn why some character arcs aren't about resisting change—but about embracing it.
When Emily's twin, Amelia, ended up in the hospital twice, she knew that stress wasn't something to be dismissed as “all in your head”. First of all, the head is connected to the body (by the neck), so stress is a physical issue that you can feel and be hurt by in all sorts of ways. Too much stress, at work, at home, in life, and you can run up against a real burnout situation. And it can wreak havoc on you mental health and physical health. The Nagoski twins are the authors of Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle and Emily joins us to talk about how our stress response instincts aren't that different than a zebra's when faced with a lion. The difference? A zebra knows how to complete a stress cycle and return to normal, whereas we're likely to hold on to work worries, relationship concerns, or other stresses around the clock, pursued by the lion constantly. Emily has advice on how to complete those cycles, get to a better place, and fight burnout. A big part of that is what she calls “bubbles of love”. Not a sex thing. Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun. Check out our I'm Glad You're Here and Depresh Mode merchandise at the brand new merch website MaxFunStore.com! Hey, remember, you're part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at depreshmode@maximumfun.org. Depresh Mode is on BlueSky, Instagram, Substack, and you can join our Preshies Facebook group. Help is available right away. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALK Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741. International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines
What makes a character so compelling that readers will forgive almost anything about the plot? How do you move beyond vague flaws and generic descriptions to create people who feel pulled from real life? In this solo episode, I share 15 actionable tips for writing deep characters, curated from past interviews on the podcast. In the intro, thoughts from London Book Fair [Instagram reel @jfpennauthor; Publishing Perspectives; Audible; Spotify]; Insights from a 7-figure author business [BookBub]. This show is supported by my Patrons. Join my Community and get articles, discounts, and extra audio and video tutorials on writing craft, author business, and AI tools, at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn This episode has been created from previous episodes of The Creative Penn Podcast, curated by Joanna Penn, as well as chapters from How to Write a Novel: From Idea to Book. Links to the individual episodes are included in the transcript below. In this episode: Master the ‘Believe, Care, Invest' trifecta, how to hook readers on the very first page Define the Dramatic Question: Who is your character when the chips are down? Absolute specificity. Why “she's controlling” isn't good enough Understand the Heroine's Journey, strength through connection, not solo action Use ‘Metaphor Families' to anchor dialogue and give every character a distinctive voice Find the Diagnostic Detail, the moments that prove a character is real Writing pain onto the page without writing memoir Write diverse characters as real people, not stereotypes or plot devices Give your protagonist a morally neutral ‘hero' status. Compelling beats likeable. Build vibrant side characters for series longevity and spin-off potential Use voice as a rhythmic tool Link character and plot until they're inseparable Why discovery writers can write out of order and still build deep character Find the sensory details that make characters live and breathe More help with how to write fiction here, or in my book, How to Write a Novel. Writing Characters: 15 Tips for Writing Deep Character in Your Fiction In today's episode, I'm sharing fifteen tips for writing deep characters, synthesised from some of the most insightful interviews on The Creative Penn Podcast over the past few years, combined with what I've learned across more than forty books of my own. I'll be referencing episodes with Matt Bird, Will Storr, Gail Carriger, Barbara Nickless, and Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer. I'll also draw on my own book, How to Write a Novel, which covers these fundamentals in detail. Whether you're writing your first novel or your fiftieth, whether you're a plotter or a discovery writer like me, these tips will help you create characters that readers believe in, care about, and invest in—and keep coming back for more. Let's get into it. 1. Master the ‘Believe, Care, Invest' Trifecta When I spoke with Matt Bird on episode 624, he laid out the three things you need to achieve on the very first page of your book or in the first ten minutes of a film. He calls it “Believe, Care, and Invest.” First, the reader must believe the character is a real person, somehow proving they are not a cardboard imitation of a human being, not just a generic type walking through a generic plot. Second, the reader must care about the character's circumstances. And third, the reader must invest in the character's ability to solve the story's central problem. Matt used The Hunger Games as his primary example, and it's brilliant. On the very first page, we believe Katniss's voice. Suzanne Collins writes in first person with a staccato rhythm—lots of periods, short declarative sentences—that immediately grounds us in a survivalist mentality. We care because Katniss is starving. She's protecting her little sister. And we invest because she is out there bow hunting, which Matt pointed out is one of the most badass things a character can do. She even kills a lynx two pages in and sells the pelt. We invest in her resourcefulness and grit before the plot has even begun. Matt was very clear that this has nothing to do with the character being “likable.” He said his subtitle, Writing a Hero Anyone Will Love, doesn't mean the character has to be a good person. He described “hero” as both gender-neutral and morally neutral. A hero can be totally evil or totally good. What matters is that we believe, care, and invest. He demonstrated this beautifully by breaking down the first ten minutes of WeCrashed, where the characters of Adam and Rebekah Neumann are absolutely not likable, but we are completely hooked. Adam steals his neighbour's Chinese food through a carefully orchestrated con involving an imaginary beer. It's not admirable behaviour, but the tradecraft involved, as Matt put it—using a term from spy movies—makes us invest in him. We see a character trying to solve the big problem of his life, which is that he's poor and wants to be rich, and we want to see if he can pull it off. Actionable step: Go to the first page of your current work in progress. Does it achieve all three? Does the reader believe this is a real person with a distinctive voice? Do they care about the character's circumstances? And do they invest in the character's ability to handle what's coming? If even one of those three is missing, that's your revision priority. 2. Define the Dramatic Question: Who Are They Really? Will Storr, author of The Science of Storytelling, came on episode 490 and gave one of the most powerful frameworks I've ever heard for character-driven fiction. He explained that the human brain evolved language primarily to swap social information—in other words, to gossip. We are wired to monitor other people, to ask the question: who is this person when the chips are down? That's what Will calls the Dramatic Question, and it's what he believes lies at the heart of all compelling storytelling. It's not a question about plot. It's a question about the character's soul. And every scene in your novel should force the character to answer it. His example of Lawrence of Arabia is unforgettable. The Dramatic Question for the entire film is: who are you, Lawrence? Are you ordinary or are you extraordinary? At the beginning, Lawrence is a cocky, rebellious young soldier who believes his rebelliousness makes him superior. Every iconic scene in that three-hour film tests that belief. Sometimes Lawrence acts as though he truly is extraordinary—leading the Arabs into battle, being hailed as a god—and sometimes the world strips him bare and he sees himself as ordinary. Because it's a tragedy, he never overcomes his flaw. He doubles down on his belief that he's extraordinary until he becomes monstrous, culminating in that iconic scene where he lifts a bloody dagger and sees his own reflection with horror. Will also used Jaws to demonstrate how this works in a pure action thriller. Brody's dramatic question is simple: are you going to be old Brody who is terrified of the water, or new Brody who can overcome that fear? Every scene where the shark appears is really asking that question. And the last moment of the film isn't the shark blowing up. It's Brody swimming back through the water, saying he used to be scared of the water and he can't imagine why. Actionable step: Write down the Dramatic Question for your protagonist in a single sentence. Is it “Are you ordinary or extraordinary?” or “Are you brave enough to love again?” or “Will you sacrifice your principles for survival?” If you can't answer this with specificity, your character might still be a sketch rather than a person. 3. Get rid of Vague Flaws, and use Absolute Specificity This was one of Will Storr's most important points. He said that vague thinking about characters is really the enemy. When he teaches workshops and asks writers to describe their character's flaw, most of them say something like “they're very controlling.” And Will's response is: that's not good enough. Everyone is controlling. How are they controlling? What's the specific mechanism? He gave the example of a profile he read of Theresa May during the UK's Brexit chaos. Someone who knew her said that Theresa May's problem was that she always thinks she's the only adult in every room she goes into. Will said that stopped him in his tracks because it's so precise. If you define a character with that level of specificity, you can take them and put them in any genre, any situation—a spaceship, a Victorian drawing room, a school playground—and you will know exactly how they're going to behave. The same applies to Arthur Miller's Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, as Will described it: a man who believes absolutely in capitalistic success and the idea that when you die, you're going to be weighed on a scale, just as God weighs you for sin, but now you're weighed for success. That's not a vague flaw. That's a worldview you can drop into any story and watch it combust. Will made another counterintuitive point that I found really valuable: writers often think that piling on multiple traits will create a complex character, but the opposite is true. Starting with one highly specific flaw and running it through the demands of a relentless plot is what generates complexity. You end up with a far more nuanced, original character than if you'd started with a laundry list of vague attributes. Actionable step: Take your protagonist's flaw and pressure-test it. Is it specific enough that you could place this character in any situation and predict their behaviour? If you're stuck at “she's stubborn” or “he's insecure,” keep pushing. What kind of stubborn? What kind of insecure? Find the diagnostic sentence—the Theresa May level of precision. 4. Understand the Heroine's Journey: Strength Through Connection Gail Carriger came on episode 550 to discuss her nonfiction book, The Heroine's Journey, and it completely reframed how I think about some of my own fiction. Gail explained that the core difference between the Hero's Journey and the Heroine's Journey comes down to how strength and victory are defined. The Hero's Journey is about strength through solo action. The hero must be continually isolated to get stronger. He goes out of civilisation, faces strife alone, and achieves victory through physical prowess and self-actualisation. The Heroine's Journey is the opposite. The heroine achieves her goals by activating a network. She's a delegator, a general. She identifies where she can't do something alone, finds the people who can help, and portions out the work for mutual gain. Gail put it simply: the heroine is very good at asking for help, which our culture tends to devalue but which is actually a powerful form of strength. Crucially, Gail stressed that gender is irrelevant to which journey you're writing. Her go-to examples are striking: the recent Wonder Woman film is practically a beat-for-beat hero's journey—Gilgamesh on screen, as Gail described it. Meanwhile, Harry Potter, both the first book and the series as a whole, is a classic heroine's journey. Harry's power comes from his network—Dumbledore's Army, the Order of the Phoenix, his friendships with Ron and Hermione. He doesn't defeat Voldemort alone. He defeats Voldemort because of love and connection. This distinction has real practical consequences for writers. If you're writing a hero's journey and you hit writer's block, Gail said, the solution is usually to isolate your hero further and pile on more strife. But if you're writing a heroine's journey, the solution is probably to throw a new character into the scene—someone who has advice to offer or a skill the heroine lacks. The actual solutions to writer's block are different depending on which narrative you're writing. As I reflected on my own work, I realised that my ARKANE thriller protagonist, Morgan Sierra, follows a hero's journey—she's a solo operative, a lone wolf like Jack Reacher or James Bond. But my Mapwalker fantasy series follows a heroine's journey, with Sienna and her group of friends working together. I hadn't consciously chosen those paths; the stories led me there. But understanding the framework helps me write more intentionally now. Actionable step: Identify which journey your protagonist is on. Does your character gain strength by being alone (hero) or by building connections (heroine)? This will inform every plot decision you make, from how they face obstacles to how your story ends. 5. Use ‘Metaphor Families' to Anchor Dialogue and Voice One of the most practical techniques Matt Bird shared on episode 624 is the idea of assigning each character a “metaphor family”—a specific well of language that they draw from. This gives each character a distinctive voice that goes beyond accent or dialect. Matt explained how in The Wire, one of the most beloved TV shows of all time, every character has a different metaphor family. What struck him was that Omar, this iconic character, never utters a single curse word in the entire series. His metaphor family is pirate. He talks about parlays, uses language that feels like it belongs in Pirates of the Caribbean, and it creates this incredible ironic counterpoint against his urban setting. It tells us immediately that this is a character who sees himself in a tradition of people that doesn't match his immediate surroundings. Matt also referenced the UK version of The Office, where Gareth works at a paper company but aspires to the military. So all of his language is drawn from a military metaphor family. He doesn't talk about filing and photocopying; he talks about tactics and discipline and being on the front line. This tells us that the character has a life and dreams beyond the immediate scene—and it's the gap between aspiration and reality that makes him both funny and believable. He pointed out that a metaphor family sometimes comes from a character's background, but it's often more interesting when it comes from their aspirations. What does your character want to be? What world do they fantasise about inhabiting? That's where their language should come from. In Star Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi is a spiritual hermit, but his metaphor family is military. He uses the language of generals and commanders, and that ironic counterpoint is part of what makes him feel so rich. Actionable step: Assign each of your main characters a metaphor family. It could be based on their job, their background, or—more interestingly—their secret aspirations. Then go through your dialogue and make sure each character is consistently drawing from that well of language. If two characters sound the same when you strip away the dialogue tags, this is the fix. 6. Find the Diagnostic Detail: The Diagonal Toast Avoid clichéd character tags—the random scar, the eye patch, the mysterious limp—unless they serve a deep narrative purpose. Matt Bird on episode 624 was very funny about this: he pointed out that Nick Fury, Odin, and eventually Thor all have eye patches in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Eye patches are done, he said. You cannot do eye patches anymore. Instead, look for what I'm calling the “diagonal toast” detail, after a scene Matt described from Captain Marvel. In the film, Captain Marvel is trying to determine whether Nick Fury is who he says he is. She asks him to prove he isn't a shapeshifting alien. Fury shares biographical details—his history, his mother—but then she pushes further and says, name one more thing you couldn't possibly have made up about yourself. And Fury says: if toast is cut diagonally, I can't eat it. Matt said that detail is gold for a writer because it feels pulled from a real life. You can pull it from your own life and gift it to your characters, and the reader can tell it's not manufactured. He gave another example from The Sopranos: Tony Soprano's mother won't answer the phone after dark. The show's creator, David Chase, confirmed on the DVD commentary that this came from his own mother, who genuinely would not answer the phone after dark and couldn't explain why. Matt's practical advice was to keep a journal. Write down the strange, specific things that people do or say. Mine your own life for those hyper-specific details. You just need one per book. In my own writing, I've used this approach. In my ARKANE thrillers, my character Morgan Sierra has always been Angelina Jolie in my mind—specifically Jolie in Lara Croft or Mr and Mrs Smith. And Blake Daniel in my crime thriller series was based on Jesse Williams from Grey's Anatomy. I paste pictures of actors into my Scrivener projects. It helps with visuals, but also with the sense of the character, their energy and physicality. But visual details only take you so far. It's the behavioural quirks—the diagonal toast moments—that make a character feel genuinely alive. That said, physical character tags can work brilliantly when they serve the story. As I discuss in How to Write a Novel, Robert Galbraith's Cormoran Strike is an amputee, and his pain and the physical challenges of his prosthesis are a key part of every story—it's not a cosmetic detail, it's woven into the action and the character's psychology. My character Blake Daniel always wears gloves to cover the scars on his hands, which provides an angle into his wounded past as well as a visual cue for the reader. And of course, Harry Potter's lightning-shaped scar isn't just a mark—it's a direct connection to his nemesis and the mythology of the entire series. The rule of thumb is: if the tag tells us something about the character's interior life or connects to the plot, it's earning its place. If it's just there to make the character visually distinctive, it's probably a crutch. Game of Thrones takes character tags further with the family houses, each with their own mottos and sigils. The Starks say “Winter is coming” and their sigil is a dire wolf. Those aren't just labels—they're worldview made visible. Actionable step: Start a “diagonal toast” notebook. Every time you notice something strange and specific about someone's behaviour—something that feels too real to be made up—write it down. Then gift it to a character who needs more texture. 7. Displace Your Own Trauma into the Work Barbara Nickless shared something deeply personal on episode 732 that fundamentally changed how I think about putting pain onto the page. While starting At First Light, the first book in her Dr. Evan Wilding series, she lost her son to epilepsy—something called SUDEP, Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy. One day he was there, and the next day he was gone. Barbara said that writing helped her cope with the trauma, that doing a deep dive into Old English literature and the Viking Age for the book's research became a lifeline. But here's what's important: she didn't give Dr. Evan Wilding her exact trauma. Evan Wilding is four feet five inches, and Barbara described how he has to walk through a world that won't adjust to him. That's its own form of learning to cope when circumstances are beyond your control. She displaced her genuine grief into the character's different but parallel struggle. When I asked her about the difference between writing for therapy and writing for an audience, she drew on her experience teaching creative writing to veterans through a collaboration between the US Department of Defense and the National Endowment for the Arts. She said she's found that she can pour her heartache into her characters and process it through them, even when writing professionally, and that the genuine emotion is what touches readers. We've all been through our own losses and griefs, so seeing how a character copes can be deeply meaningful. I've always found that putting my own pain onto the page is the most direct way to connect with a reader's soul. My character Morgan Sierra's musings on religion and the supernatural are often my own. Her restlessness, her fascination with the darker edges of faith—those come from me. But her Krav Maga fighting skills and her ability to kill the bad guys are definitely her own. That gap between what's mine and what's hers is where the fiction lives. Barbara also said something on that episode that I wrote down and stuck on my wall. She said the act of producing itself is a balm to the soul. I've been thinking about that ever since. On my own wall, I have “Measure your life by what you create.” Different words, same truth. Actionable step: If you're carrying something heavy—grief, anger, fear, regret—consider how you might displace it into a character's different but emotionally parallel struggle. Don't copy your exact situation; transform it. The emotion will be genuine, and the reader will feel it. 8. Write Diverse Characters as Real People When I spoke with Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer on episode 673—Sarah is Choctaw and a historical fiction author honoured by the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian—she offered a perspective that every fiction writer needs to hear. The key message was to move away from stereotypes. Don't write your American Indian character as the “Wise Guide” who exists solely to dispense mystic wisdom to the white protagonist. Don't limit diverse characters to historical settings, as though they only exist in the past. Place them in normal, contemporary roles. Your spaceship captain, your forensic scientist, your small-town baker—any of them can be American Indian, or Nigerian, or Japanese, and their heritage should be a lived-in part of their identity, not the sole reason they exist in the story. I write international thrillers and dark fantasy, and my fiction is populated with characters from all over the world. I have a multi-cultural family and I've lived in many places and travelled widely, so I've met, worked with, and had relationships with people from different cultures. I find story ideas through travel, and if I set my books in a certain place, then the story is naturally populated with the people who live there. As I discuss in my book, How to Write a Novel, the world is a diverse place, so your fiction needs to be populated with all kinds of people. If I only populated my fiction with characters like me, they would be boring novels. There are many dimensions of difference—race, nationality, sex, age, body type, ability, religion, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, class, culture, education level—and even then, don't assume that similar types of people think the same way. Some authors worry they will make mistakes. We live in a time of outrage, and some authors have been criticised for writing outside their own experience. So is it too dangerous to try? Of course not. The media amplifies outliers, and most authors include diverse characters in every book without causing offence because they work hard to get it right. It's about awareness, research, and intent. Actionable step: Audit the cast of your current work in progress. Have you written a mono-cultural perspective for all of them? If so, consider who could bring a different background, perspective, or set of cultural specifics to the story. Not as a token addition, but as a real person with a real life. 9. Respect Tribal and Cultural Specificity Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer on episode 673 was emphatic about one thing: never treat diverse groups as monolithic. If you're writing a Native American character, you must research the specific nation. Choctaw is not Navajo, just as British is not French. Sarah described the distinct cultural markers of the Choctaw people—the diamond pattern you'll see on traditional shirts and dresses, which represents the diamondback rattlesnake. They have distinct dances and songs. She said that if she saw someone in traditional dress at a distance, she would know whether they were Choctaw based on what they were wearing. She encouraged writers who want to write specifically about a nation to get to know those people. Go to events, go to a powwow, learn about the individual culture. She noted that a big misconception is that American Indians exist only in the past—she stressed that they are still here, still living their cultures, and fiction should reflect that present reality. I took a similar approach when writing Destroyer of Worlds, which is set mostly in India. I read books about Hindu myth, watched documentaries about the sadhus, and had one of my Indian readers from Mumbai check my cultural references. For Risen Gods, set in New Zealand with a young Maori protagonist, I studied books about Maori mythology and fiction by Maori authors, and had a male Maori reader check for cultural issues. Research is simply an act of empathy. The practical takeaway is this: if you're going to include a character from a specific cultural background, do the work. Use specific cultural details rather than generic signifiers. Sarah talked about how even she fell into stereotypes when she was first writing, until her mother pointed them out. If someone from within a culture can fall into those traps, the rest of us certainly can. Do the research, try your best, ask for help, and apologise if you need to. Actionable step: If you're writing a character from a specific culture, identify three to five sensory or behavioural details that are particular to that culture—not the generic version, but the real, researched, lived-in version. Consider hiring a sensitivity reader from that community to check your work. 10. Give Your Protagonist a Morally Neutral ‘Hero' Status Matt Bird was clear about this on episode 624: the word “hero” simply means the protagonist, the person we follow through the story. It's a functional role, not a moral label. We don't have to like them. We don't even have to root for their goals in a moral sense. We just have to find them compelling enough to invest our attention in their problem-solving. Think of Succession, where every member of the Roy family is varying degrees of awful, and yet the show was utterly compelling. Or WeCrashed, where Adam Neumann is a narcissistic con artist, but we can't look away because he's trying to solve the enormous problem of building an empire from nothing, and the tradecraft he employs is fascinating. As I wrote in How to Write a Novel, readers must want to spend time with your characters. They don't have to be lovable or even likable—that will depend on your genre and story choices—but they have to be captivating enough that we want to spend time with them. A character who is trying to solve a massive problem will naturally draw investment from the audience, even if we wouldn't want to have tea with them. Will Storr extended this idea by pointing out that the audience will actually root for a character to solve their problem even if the audience doesn't actually want the character's goal to be achieved in the real world. We don't really want more billionaires, but we invested in Adam Neumann's rise because that was the problem the story posed, and our brains are wired to invest in problem-solving. This connects to something deeper: what does your character want, and why? As I explore in How to Write a Novel, desire operates on multiple levels. Take a character like Phil, who joins the military during wartime. On the surface, she wants to serve her country. But she also wants to escape her dead-end town and learn new skills. Deeper still, her father and grandfather served, and by joining up, she hopes to finally earn their respect. And perhaps deepest of all, her father died on a mission under mysterious circumstances, and she wants to find out what happened from the inside. That layering of motivation is what turns a flat character into a three-dimensional one. The audience doesn't need to be told all of this explicitly. It can emerge through action, dialogue, and the choices the character makes under pressure. But you, the writer, need to know it. You need to know what your character really wants deep down, because that desire—more than any external plot device—is what drives the story forward. And your antagonist needs the same depth. They also want something, often diametrically opposed to your protagonist, and they need a reason that makes sense to them. In my ARKANE thriller Tree of Life, my antagonist is the heiress of a Brazilian mining empire who wants to restore the Earth to its original state to atone for the destruction caused by her father's company. She's part of a radical ecological group who believe the only way to restore Nature is to end all human life. It's extreme, but in an era of climate change, it's a motivation readers can understand—even if they disagree with the solution. Actionable step: If you're struggling to make a morally grey character work, make sure their problem is big enough and their methods are specific and interesting enough that we invest in the how, even if we're ambivalent about the what. 11. Build Vibrant Side Characters Gail Carriger made a point on episode 550 that was equal parts craft advice and business strategy. In a Heroine's Journey model, side characters aren't just fodder to be killed off to motivate the hero. They form a network. And because you don't have to kill them—unlike in a hero's journey, where allies are often betrayed or removed so the hero can be further isolated—you can pick up those side characters and give them their own books. Gail said this creates a really voracious reader base. You write one series with vivid side characters, and then readers fall in love with those side characters and want their stories. So you write spin-offs. The romance genre does this brilliantly—think of the Bridgerton books, where each sibling gets their own novel. The side character in one book becomes the protagonist in the next. Barbara Nickless experienced this firsthand with her Dr. Evan Wilding series. She has River Wilding, Evan's adventurous brother, and Diana, the axe-throwing research assistant, and her editor has already expressed interest in a spin-off series with those characters. Barbara described creating characters she wants to spend time with, or characters who give her nightmares but also intrigue her. That's the dual test: are they interesting enough for you to write, and interesting enough for readers to demand more? As I wrote in How to Write a Novel, characters that span series can deepen the reader's relationship with them as you expand their backstory into new plots. Readers will remember the character more than the plot or the book title, and look forward to the next instalment because they want more time with those people. British crime author Angela Marsons described it as readers feeling like returning to her characters is like putting on a pair of old slippers. Actionable step: Look at your supporting cast. Is there a side character who is vivid enough to carry their own story? If not, what could you add—a specific hobby, a distinct voice, a compelling backstory—that would make readers want more of them? 12. Use Voice as a Rhythmic Tool Voice is one of the most important elements of novel writing, and Matt Bird helped me think about it in a technical, mechanical way that I found really useful. He pointed out that the ratio of periods to commas defines a character's internal reality. A staccato rhythm—lots of periods, short sentences—suggests a character who is certain, grounded, or perhaps survivalist and traumatised. Katniss in The Hunger Games has a period-heavy voice. She's in survival mode. She doesn't have time for complexity or qualification. A flowing, comma-heavy style suggests someone more academic, more nuanced, or possibly more scattered and manipulative. The character who qualifies everything, who adds sub-clauses and digressions, is a different kind of person from the character who speaks in declarations. This is something you can actually measure. Pull up a passage of your character's dialogue or internal monologue and count the periods versus the commas. If the rhythm doesn't match who the character is supposed to be, you've found a mismatch you can fix. Sentence length is the heartbeat of your character's persona. And voice extends beyond rhythm to the words themselves. As I discussed in the metaphor families tip, each character should draw from a distinctive well of language. But voice also encompasses their relationship to silence. Some characters talk around the thing they mean; others say it straight. Some are self-deprecating; others are blunt to the point of rudeness. All of these choices are character choices, not just style choices. I find it useful to read my dialogue aloud—and not just to check for naturalness, but to hear whether each character sounds distinct. If you could swap dialogue lines between two characters and nobody would notice, you have a voice problem. One practical test: cover the dialogue tags and see if you can tell who's speaking from the words alone. Actionable step: Choose a key passage from your protagonist's point of view and read it aloud. Does the rhythm match the character? A soldier under fire should not sound like a philosophy professor at a wine tasting. Adjust the ratio of periods to commas until the voice feels right. 13. Link Character and Plot Until They're Inseparable Will Storr made the case on episode 490 that the number one problem he sees in the writing he encounters—in workshops, in submissions, even in published books—is that the characters and the plots are unconnected. There's a story happening, and there are people in it, but the story isn't a product of who those people are. He said a story should be like life. In our lives, the plots are intimately connected to who we are as characters. The goals we pursue, the obstacles we face, the same problems that keep recurring—these are products of our personalities, our flaws, our specific ways of being in the world. His framework is that your plot should be designed specifically to plot against your character. You've got a character with a particular flaw; the plot exists to test that flaw over and over until the character either transforms or doubles down and explodes. Jaws is the perfect example. Brody is afraid of water. A shark shows up in the coastal town he's responsible for protecting. The entire plot is engineered to force him to confront the one thing he cannot face. Will pointed out that the whole plot of Jaws is structured around Brody's flaw. It begins with the shark arriving, the midpoint is when Brody finally gets the courage to go into the water, and the very final scene isn't the shark blowing up—it's Brody swimming back through the water. Even a film that's ninety-eight percent action is, at its core, structured around a character with a character flaw. This is the standard I aspire to in my own work, even in my action-heavy thrillers. The external plot should be a mirror of the internal struggle. When those two are aligned, the story becomes irresistible. Will also made an important point about series fiction, which is where most commercial authors live. I asked him how this works when your character can't be transformed at the end of every book because there has to be a next book. His answer was elegant: you don't cure them. Episodic TV characters like Fleabag or David Brent or Basil Fawlty never truly change—and the fact that they don't change is actually the source of the comedy. But every episode throws a new story event at them that tests and exposes their flaw. You just keep throwing story events at them again and again. That's a soap opera, a sitcom, and a book series. As I wrote in How to Write a Novel, character flaws are aspects of personality that affect the person so much that facing and overcoming them becomes central to the plot. In Jaws, the protagonist Brody is afraid of the water, but he has to overcome that flaw to destroy the killer shark and save the town. But remember, your characters should feel like real people, so never define them purely by their flaws. The character addicted to painkillers might also be a brilliant and successful female lawyer who gets up at four in the morning to work out at the gym, likes eighties music, and volunteers at the local dog shelter at weekends. Character wounds are different from flaws. They're formed from life experience and are part of your character's backstory—traumatic events that happened before the events of your novel but shape the character's reactions in the present. In my ARKANE thrillers, Morgan Sierra's husband Elian died in her arms during a military operation. This happened before the series begins, but her memories of it recur when she faces a firefight, and she struggles to find happiness again for fear of losing someone she loves once more. And then there's the perennial advice: show, don't tell. Most writers have heard this so many times that it's easy to nod and then promptly write scenes that tell rather than show. Basically, you need to reveal your character through action and dialogue, rather than explanation. In my thriller Day of the Vikings, Morgan Sierra fights a Neo-Viking in the halls of the British Museum and brings him down with Krav Maga. That fight scene isn't just about showing action. It opens up questions about her backstory, demonstrates character, and moves the plot forward. Telling would be something like: “Morgan was an expert in Krav Maga.” Showing is the reader discovering it through the scene itself. Actionable step: Look at the main plot events of your novel. For each major turning point, ask: does this scene specifically test my protagonist's flaw? If not, can you redesign the scene so that it does? The tighter the connection between character and plot, the more powerful the story. 14. The ‘Maestra' Approach: Write Out of Order If you're a discovery writer like me, you may feel like the deep character work I've been describing sounds more suited to plotters. But Barbara Nickless gave me a beautiful metaphor on episode 732 that reframes it entirely. Barbara described her evolving writing process as being like a maestra standing in front of an orchestra. Sometimes you bring in the horns—a certain theme—and sometimes you bring in the strings—a certain character—and sometimes you turn to the soloist. It's a more organic and jumping-around process than linear writing, and Barbara said she's only recently given herself permission to work this way. When I told her that I use Scrivener to write in scenes out of order and then drag and drop them into a structure later, she was genuinely intrigued. And this is how I've always worked. I'll see the story in my mind like a movie trailer—flashes of the big emotional scenes, the pivotal confrontations, the moments of revelation—and I write those first. I don't know how they hang together until quite late in the process. Then I'll move scenes around, print the whole thing out, and figure out the connective tissue. The point is that discovery writers can absolutely build deep characters. Sometimes writing the big emotional scenes first is how you discover who the character is before you fill in the rest. You don't need a twenty-page character worksheet or a 200-page outline like Jeffery Deaver. You need to be willing to follow the character into the unknown and trust that the structure will emerge. As Barbara said, she writes to know what she's thinking. That's the discovery writer's credo. And I would add: I write to know who my characters are. Actionable step: If you're stuck on your current chapter, skip it. Write the scene that's burning in your imagination, even if it's from the middle or the end. That scene might be the key to unlocking who your character really is. 15. Use Research to Help with Empathy Research shouldn't just be about factual accuracy—it's a tool for finding the sensory details that create empathy. Barbara Nickless described research as almost an excuse to explore things that fascinate her, and I feel exactly the same way. I would go so far as to say that writing is an excuse for me to explore the things that interest me. Barbara and I both travel for our stories. For her Dr. Evan Wilding books, she did deep research into Old English literature and the Viking Age. For my thriller End of Days, I transcribed hours of video from Appalachian snake-handling churches on YouTube to understand the worldview of the worshippers, because my antagonist was brought up in that tradition. I couldn't just make that up. I had to hear their language, feel their conviction, understand why they would hold venomous serpents as an act of faith. Barbara also mentioned getting to Israel and the West Bank for research, and I've been to both places too. Finding that one specific sensory detail—the smell of a particular location, the specific way an expert handles a tool, the sound of a particular kind of music—makes the character's life feel lived-in. It's the difference between a character who is described as living in a place and a character who inhabits it. As I wrote in How to Write a Novel, don't write what you know. Write what you want to learn about. I love research. It's part of why I'm an author in the first place. I take any excuse to dive into a world different from my own. Research using books, films, podcasts, and travel, and focus particularly on sources produced by people from the worldview you want to understand. Actionable step: For your next piece of character research, go beyond reading. Watch a documentary, visit a location, talk to someone who lives the experience. Find one sensory detail—a smell, a sound, a texture—that you couldn't have invented. That detail will make your character feel real. Bonus: Measure Your Life by What You Create In an age of AI and a tsunami of content, your ultimate brand protection is the quality of your human creation. Barbara Nickless said that the act of producing itself is a balm to the soul, and I believe that with every fibre of my being. Don't be afraid to take that step back, like I did with my deadlifting. Take the time to master these deeper craft skills. It might feel like you're slowing down or going backwards by not chasing the latest marketing trend, but it's the only way to step forward into a sustainable, high-quality career. Your characters are your signature. No AI can replicate the specificity of your lived experience, the emotional truth of your displaced trauma, or the sensory details you've gathered from a life of curiosity and travel. Those are yours. Pour them into your characters, and they will resonate for years to come. Actionable Takeaway: Identify the Dramatic Question for your current protagonist. Can you state it in a single sentence with the kind of specificity Will Storr described? Is it as clear as “Are you ordinary or extraordinary?” or “Are you the only adult in the room?” If you can't answer it with that kind of precision, your character might still be a sketch. Give them a diagonal toast moment today. Find the one hyper-specific detail that proves they are not an imitation of life. And then ask yourself: does your plot test your character's flaw in every major scene? If you can align those two things—a precisely defined character and a plot that exists to test them—you will have a story that readers cannot put down. References and Deep Dives The episodes I've referenced today are all available with full transcripts at TheCreativePenn.com: Episode 732 — Facing Fears, and Writing Unique Characters with Barbara Nickless Episode 673 — Writing Choctaw Characters and Diversity in Fiction with Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer Episode 624 — Writing Characters with Matt Bird Episode 550 — The Heroine's Journey with Gail Carriger Episode 490 — How Character Flaws Shape Story with Will Storr Books mentioned: The Secrets of Character: Writing a Hero Anyone Will Love by Matt Bird The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr The Heroine's Journey by Gail Carriger How to Write a Novel: From Idea to Book by Joanna Penn You can find all my books for authors at CreativePennBooks.com and my fiction and memoir at JFPennBooks.com Happy writing! How was this episode created? This episode was initiated created by NotebookLM based on YouTube videos of the episodes linked above from YouTube/TheCreativePenn, plus my text chapters on character from How to Write a Novel. NotebookLM created a blog post from the material and then I expanded it and fact checked it with Claude.ai 4.6 Opus, and then I used my voice clone at ElevenLabs to narrate it. The post Writing Characters: 15 Actionable Tips For Writing Deep Character first appeared on The Creative Penn.
Dr. Swift brings decades of experience across public education, higher education, and educational organizations to a conversation centered on one powerful idea: learning isn't meant to be still. Dr. Swift shares why engaging the whole body in the learning process can transform literacy development, increase student engagement, and support deeper understanding—especially for young learners. From movement-based strategies to rethinking traditional classroom expectations, this episode challenges the idea that effective learning only happens when students sit quietly at a desk. If you've ever wondered how movement, multisensory strategies, and intentional instruction can unlock learning potential, this conversation will leave you inspired and ready to try something new in your classroom. Quotables All quotes are from the interviewee "Success breeds success.""Who wants to show up to something boring?""The idea that writing starts with being still is not quite where we need to go." About Dr. Lundy Smith Dr. Cheryl Lundy Swift is the Professional Learner Director at Learning Without Tears and the Host of the Literacy Matters Podcast. She has worked in leadership and executive roles for various educational organizations including public schools, post-secondary institutions and education companies including several leading tutoring and supplemental education service companies. Dr. Swift is also the founder and CEO of EduPower, an education consulting firm that empowers school and business leaders, teachers, parents and students to reach their fullest potential through professional development, coaching and curriculum. Connect with Dr. Lundy Smith https://www.lwtears.com/,https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheryl-lundy-swift/ Resources from this episode: Hidden Potential- The Science of Achieving Greater Things Join the Always A Lesson Newsletter Join here and grab a freebie! Connect with Gretchen Email: gretchen@alwaysalesson.comBlog: Always A LessonFacebook: Always A LessonTwitter: @gschultekInstagram: Always.A.LessonLinkedin: Gretchen Schultek BridgersBook: Elementary EDUC 101: What They Didn't Teach You in College Gretchen's latest book, Always a Lesson: Teacher Essentials for Classroom and Career Success, is now available on Amazon. Leave a Rating and Review: This helps my show remain active in order to continue to help other educators remain empowered in a career that has a long-lasting effect on our future. https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/always-lessons-empowering/id1006433135?mt=2 Search for my show on iTunes or Stitcher.Click on ‘Ratings and Reviews.'Under ‘Customer Reviews,' click on “Write a Review.”Sign in with your iTunes or Stitcher log-in infoLeave a Rating: Tap the greyed out stars (5 being the best)Leave a Review: Type in a Title and Description of your thoughts on my podcastClick ‘Send' Music from #Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/mark-july/your-way License code: QD3TG5UIS0LHILEL
Advances in predictive medicine are starting to raise a fascinating question: what if we could estimate our longevity with much greater accuracy? New blood tests and biomarkers are being developed that may help identify risks for diseases years—or even decades—before symptoms appear. Some researchers believe these tools could eventually provide meaningful clues about how long we might live. If that happens, it could have major implications for retirement planning. Should information about your potential lifespan influence when you retire, how much you spend, or how you invest? In this episode, we explore how predictive medicine is evolving, what scientists are learning from advanced blood testing, and whether this kind of information could one day reshape how people plan for retirement. Although this show does not provide specific tax, legal, or financial advice, you can engage Devin or John through their individual firms.
In this episode we'll talk about:Why choosing God often begins a process of refinementThe difference between abandonment and trainingLessons from Joseph's journey before the palaceWhy surrendering control can feel uncomfortable at firstWhen God removes things that were good, not just badHow alignment transforms hardship into purposeAnd more… CONNECT WITH ME…→ Instagram — @mattgottesman→ My Substack — mattgottesman.substack.com → Apparel — thenicheisyou.comRESOURCES…→ Recommended Book List — CLICK HERE→ Masterclass — CLICK HEREWORKSHOPS + MASTERCLASS:→ Need MORE clarity? - Here's the FREE… 6 Days to Clarity Workshop - clarity for your time, energy, money, creativity, work & play→ Write, Design, Build: Content Creator Studio & OS - Growing the niche of you, your audience, reach, voice, passion & incomeOTHER RELATED EPISODES:Faith Isn't Knowing the Whole Path… It's Taking the Next Honest StepApple: https://apple.co/3MB62IuSpotify: https://bit.ly/4rZw3RN
Leverage Your Incredible Factor Business Podcast with Darnyelle Jervey Harmon, MBA
“Visibility only feels dangerous when your identity hasn't fully integrated your success.” — Dr. Darnyelle Jervey Harmon This episode is powered by The Ascension Archetype Quiz. If you've ever wondered why your confidence suddenly feels different now that your business is growing, this episode will help you understand what's actually happening beneath the surface. As visibility increases, many six- and seven-figure entrepreneurs begin to feel something they don't expect: hesitation. Not because they've lost confidence, but because success creates something new to protect. In this conversation, Dr. Darnyelle unpacks the leadership psychology of visibility, the nervous system response to exposure, and why scaling your impact often introduces an internal negotiation around safety, identity, and being fully seen. If you've noticed yourself editing your voice, hesitating before posting, or questioning whether it's still safe to show up boldly, this episode will help you understand why. Here's the truth: There's something important that most business conversations never address: visibility isn't just a branding strategy. It's an identity experience. As your influence expands, your nervous system doesn't measure applause. It measures exposure. Exposure to criticism. Exposure to misinterpretation. Exposure to public scrutiny. That's why many successful entrepreneurs suddenly feel more careful about how they show up. It's not weakness. It's biology.. You'll walk away with a completely different lens for understanding visibility as a leader. Instead of interpreting hesitation as fear or imposter syndrome, you'll begin to recognize it as a signal that your internal identity is catching up with your external success. This episode will help you understand the role of integration, nervous system safety, and divine wiring in determining how comfortably you hold influence and visibility as your business grows. Grab your Move to Millions Podcast Notebook, a pen and your favorite beverage and listen in to discover: ✔ How to recognize when hesitation around visibility is actually an identity integration process ✔ How to understand the nervous system response that happens when influence and exposure increase ✔ How to navigate visibility without shrinking, over-editing yourself, or abandoning your leadership voice ✔And so much more This episode is a call to rethink the way we interpret hesitation as leaders. Many entrepreneurs assume that when visibility begins to feel risky, something must be wrong with their confidence. But what's actually happening is far more sophisticated. As your platform grows, your words carry more weight, your influence expands, and your nervous system begins recalibrating to the consequences of being seen. This episode reframes that experience not as fear, but as the natural integration process of leadership evolution. This is your invitation to listen in if you have ever reached a new level of success and quietly wondered why being seen now feels heavier than it once did. If opportunities for visibility are growing but part of you feels cautious about stepping forward, this conversation will help you understand the deeper dynamics of exposure, leadership identity, and personal safety. Resources Mentioned: Take the Move to Millions Ascension Archetype Quiz Join the Waitlist for Sanctuary Apply for a Soul + Strategy Conversation Move to Millions: The Proven Framework To Become a Million Dollar CEO With Grace & Ease Instead of Hustle & Grind by Dr. Darnyelle Jervey Harmon – Get Your Copy Join the Move to Millions Facebook Group for ongoing support and community engagement – Join Now Move to Millions 90-Day Business Growth Planner – Get Your Planner Powerful Quotes from the Episode: “Visibility only feels dangerous when your identity hasn't fully integrated your success.” “Your nervous system doesn't measure applause. It measures exposure.” “Early visibility asks: can I be seen? Higher visibility asks: can I be seen and remain safe?” “You're not afraid of being seen. You're negotiating what being seen costs.” “Sometimes leaders don't want more visibility. They want more protection.” Questions to Ask Yourself While Listening: When I imagine increasing my visibility, does my body feel expansion or contraction? Am I editing myself to avoid misunderstanding or rejection? If I were fully seen at my current level of success, what am I afraid people might discover? Do I trust myself to stay grounded even if people disagree with me publicly? Am I seeking protection from criticism or expansion into my next leadership identity? Want more of Darnyelle? Personal Brand Website: https://www.drdarnyelle.com Company Website: https://www.incredibleoneenterprises.com All Things Move to Millions Website: https://www.movetomillions.com Social Media Links: Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/darnyellejerveyharmon Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/darnyellejerveyharmon Twitter/X: https://www.x.com/darnyellejervey LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/darnyellejerveyharmon Links Mentioned in the Episode: Movetomillions.com MovetoMillionsGroup.com Move to Millions Quiz Learn More About Sanctuary Take the Ascension Archetype Quiz There's a hidden pattern shaping your leadership, sabotaging your peace, and influencing how you make money. Find out what it is in just 5 minutes with the Move to Millions Ascension Archetype Quiz. It's fast, it's free, and it will change how you see yourself, and your business, forever. Discover your divine wiring and uncover what's REALLY keeping YOU from millions. Take the quiz at www.movetomillionsquiz.com. Subscribe to the Move to Millions Podcast: Listen on iTunes Listen on Google Play Listen on Stitcher Listen on iHeartRadio Listen on Pandora Leave us a review Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you're not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don't want you to miss an episode. I'm adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you're not subscribed there's a good chance you'll miss out on those. Now if you're feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they're also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!
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