Podcasts about Writing

The Stoics knew that wanting less increases gratitude, just as wanting more obliterates it. "Freedom isn't secured by filling up on your heart's desire but by removing your desire." - Epictetus

Dragon has an epic idea to hold a game event for Ahway Island! How will it come together? Narrator: Female Story Begins: 3:33 Dragon's Epic Idea Excerpt: Dragon nodded.  It sounded like a fun thing to watch and possibly to participate in. But these Olympic Games weren't being held on Ahway Island, and they probably were for humans only, so there would be no way for the creatures on Ahway Island to watch or participate. Unless…. Dragon had a thought. It was more than a thought, really. It was an idea… an epic idea, in fact. They could have their own games competition on Ahway Island, and creatures from all over the island could compete in events that reflect the skills they have practiced for a very long time. Anyone who did not want to compete could be a spectator and enjoy watching the action. Today's Meditation: Relax your whole body from head to toe in this meditation. Creating the original bedtime stories and art for Be Calm on Ahway Island takes a lot of time and care. As a listener-supported podcast, we truly appreciate our members on Patreon. If you’re not already a member, please consider joining! Writing, recording, editing, and publishing episodes and managing digital platforms is an enormous endeavor. Our Patreon program will help continue to grow Ahway Island and we hope you will support us! You can choose from 2 different Membership Levels, all of which include access to our Archives and extra episodes every other month! Are you and your children enjoying our stories and self-soothing meditations? Looking for a podcast to help settle your child in for nap time, bedtime or a break?  You’ll find it on Ahway Island®. Be Calm on Ahway Island® Podcast offers original bedtime stories, like “Nap Time,” paired with meditations for kids. We help them drift off to sleep with a guided relaxation and a calming story. Gently nestled within each podcast episode are mindfulness techniques and positive learning moments.  To learn more about our mission at Ahway Island and our team, please visit our website. In the press: Read about how and why we created Ahway Island in this feature from Global Comment! Zzz! The Boston Globe recommends “Be Calm on Ahway Island” as as one of “Eight Podcasts That Could Help You Get Some Sleep.” SheKnows recommends us as as a podcast you and your kids will love! Digital Trends warns listeners that “you may not make it through an entire episode fully conscious.” Yay! Thanks for listening…we'll see you soon on Ahway Island!

"My dad was one of the only people who could get through to me." "The strongest thing I ever did was ask for help." — Alex Parkview "You can't pour from an empty cup." "Even a shattered reflection can still show the way forward." "Love people, no matter how difficult it may seem to you." On today's reflective Better Call Daddy episode we reconnect with the thoughtful Alex Parkview, a veteran turned author who shares his journey of healing, resilience, and self-discovery. Alex Parkview opens up about the profound impact of his military service on his life and writing, sharing how his experiences shaped his identity and fueled his passion for storytelling. Veteran Reflections Alex reflects on the complexities of being a veteran, discussing the challenges of PTSD and the echoes of war that linger long after service. He candidly shares how writing became a vital tool for coping, allowing him to process his experiences and connect with others through his books. His journey of healing emphasizes the importance of seeking help and finding purpose in the midst of struggle. Life Lessons Through Writing As a prolific author, Alex Parkview discusses his various works, including his memoirs and sermon compilations that tackle themes of love, loss, and the search for meaning. He highlights the significance of vulnerability in his writing and how sharing his story has fostered connections with readers who resonate with his experiences. His commitment to helping others through his words is both inspiring and impactful. Fatherhood and Legacy Throughout the episode, Alex shares heartwarming anecdotes about his daughters, emphasizing the importance of open communication and honesty in their relationship. He reflects on how his struggles have shaped his parenting style, allowing him to be a source of support and guidance for his children as they navigate their own paths. Key Themes - The journey of healing and resilience as a veteran - The transformative power of writing and storytelling - Navigating the complexities of fatherhood - The importance of vulnerability and seeking help - Creating meaningful connections through shared experiences Episode Highlights (00:00) Welcome to the Better Call Daddy Show (01:20) Alex Parkview: A Veteran's Perspective (10:30) The Impact of PTSD and Healing Through Writing (20:00) Navigating Fatherhood and Open Communication (30:15) Sharing Stories: The Power of Vulnerability (40:45) Wisdom from Wayne: The Strength in Asking for Help Episode Keywords Better Call Daddy, Podcast, Veterans, PTSD, Healing, Writing, Fatherhood, Resilience, Personal Growth, Storytelling, Emotional Connection, Life Lessons, Mental Health, Trauma Connect with Alex Parkview Author Website Alex Parkview's GoFundMe  gofund.me/a12ed1285     Connect with Reena Friedman Watts Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube Thank you for tuning in to Better Call Daddy where stories of resilience, love, and connection come together!  Me and my dad would love to hear from ya!  

Welcome, Late Boomers! We're Cathy Worthington and Merry Elkins, and this week, we set sail on a truly transformational journey with Alison Gieschen—author, former horse farm owner, educator, and intrepid world sailor.Have you ever wondered what it would be like to leave everything behind and follow a lifelong dream? In this inspiring episode, Alison shares how she dared to reinvent her life, selling her horse farm and embarking on an adventure with her husband to sail around the world. From the lush hills of upstate New York to the remote islands of French Polynesia, Alison opens up about her life's boldest moves, the storms she's weathered—physically and emotionally—and how it all fuels her work as a writer.We dive deep into Alison's bestselling books, The Seven and A Mermaid's Tale, the profound lessons she's learned traveling to over 49 countries, and the universal themes of courage, culture, and resilience that weave through her stories. You'll also hear incredible anecdotes, like surviving life-threatening storms at sea, encounters with solo sailors, and how her lifelong love of horses continues to inspire her writing—even while anchored in paradise.Key TakeawaysReinvention Is Possible at Any Age: Alison's journey from horse farmer to global sailor proves it's never too late to answer the call of adventure.Facing and Managing Fear: Learn how Alison turned fear into fuel, surviving tumultuous ocean storms and emerging with a deeper understanding of her own resilience.The Transformative Power of Travel: Discover how experiencing different cultures shaped Alison's worldview and the authentic characters in her novels.Writing from Life: Hear how personal stories, hardships (like her son's bullying), and the solace of animals are woven into her fiction and children's books.Simplicity Breeds Joy: Alison discusses the happiness she's witnessed in communities with few material possessions, offering a powerful message for all of us in the West.Finding Community on the Water: Even in the vastness of the ocean, Alison found deep connection and camaraderie with fellow sailors from around the world.Actionable Inspiration for Listeners: Alison encourages everyone to carve out distraction-free time to pursue creativity—and to be brave enough to make the leap toward that “someday” dream.Ready to be inspired for your own third act—or maybe just to ignite your curiosity about life's possibilities? We invite you to:Subscribe to Late Boomers wherever you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify, etc.) so you never miss these empowering conversations.Check out Alison Gieschen's books, especially The Seven, A Mermaid's Tale, Sienna, Riding the Waves of Reality, Blue Ridge, and The Legend of Altor—perfect whether you're a horse lover, adventurer, or in need of a dose of hope.Visit our website at lateboomers.us for more inspiring content and to get in touch.

We are inspired by Andrew Cutler’s Writing for AI to consider the value of writing for LLMs LINKS Andrew Cutler’s Writing for AI Gwern’s Writing for LLMs Tracing Woodgrain’s Reliable Sources Shambaugh’s An AI Agent Published a Hit Piece on Me Eneasz’s Stone Age Billionaire Can’t Word Good InkHaven LessOnline The main purpose of the AFFINE Seminar is to give promising newcomers to AI alignment an opportunity to acquire a deep understanding of some large pieces of the problem, making them better equipped for work on the mitigation of AI existential risk. AFFINE Alignment Seminar Paid Bonus content for the week – Preshow chatter, Full Show Video 00:00:49 – Announcements & Feedback 00:42:15 – Writing for AI 01:23:15 – AFFINE Alignment Seminar 01:31:11 – Guild of the Rose 01:33:37 – Thank the Supporter! Our Patreon, or if you prefer Our SubStack Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong? We now partner with The Guild of the Rose, check them out. LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode: on hiatus, returning soon

Soul Writing, higher self communication, past-life insight, Edgar Cayce teachings, and conscious spiritual attunement — Joanne DiMaggio joins Dave Schrader to explore a disciplined, protected method of inspired writing designed for healing, clarity, and soul growth.Learn how Soul Writing differs from automatic writing, how it can access past-life memories, deepen psychic awareness, and provide guidance in relationships, career, finances, and forgiveness. A thoughtful conversation on higher consciousness, spiritual development, and accessing inner wisdom safely and intentionally.If you've ever wondered whether guidance comes from beyond — or from within — this episode explores both.Joanne has a Soul Writing Training Intensive at A.R.E. on Feb 27, in-person/online: https://edgarcayce.org/events-and-programs/soul-writing-certificate-training-intensive/Get her book here: https://amzn.to/4rUELQySoul Writing - The Paranormal 60PLEASE SUPPORT THE ADVERTISERS THAT SUPPORT OUR SHOWLove & Lotus Tarot with Winnie Schrader - ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://lovelotustarot.com/Visit Minnesota's premiere haunted hotel, The Palmer House -https://www.thepalmerhousehotel.com/ OR Call Now and Book a Room -320-351-9100⁠⁠⁠⁠#SoulWriting #HigherSelf #EdgarCayce #PastLifeRegression #SpiritualAwakening #InspiredWriting #Consciousness #PsychicDevelopment #SpiritualHealing #Metaphysical #ParanormalPodcast #SpiritualGrowth #AutomaticWriting #Intuition #SelfDiscovery Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'm so excited for this week's guest, Chris Boleman, the President and CEO of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. We're just weeks away from the gates opening to one of the most iconic events in the country. Chris shares what it's like to lead an organization of this magnitude, how it's grown into a year-round economic powerhouse, and why their mission of supporting agriculture, education, and Western heritage remains stronger than ever. We talk about what goes into planning a month-long live event that draws 2.7 million visitors, the power of 36,000 volunteers, and the $600 million that's been invested back into youth, scholarships, and workforce development. You'll also hear how the Houston Rodeo is pushing innovation while honoring tradition, from drone shows to vocational programs, and what leadership looks like when it's rooted in collaboration and community. Resources & Links: Episode 136. Girl Talk: Lessons from Leading 36,000 Volunteers with Melinda Underhill Lonesome Dove: A Novel by Larry McMurtry Join The Directory Of The West Get our FREE resource for Writing a Strong Job Description  Get our FREE resource for Making the Most of Your Internship Get our FREE resource: 10 Resume Mistakes (and how to fix them) Get our FREE resource: How to Avoid the 7 Biggest Hiring Mistakes Employers Make Email us at hello@ofthewest.co Subscribe to Of The West's ⁠Newsletters List your jobs on ⁠Of The West Connect with Chris: Follow on Instagram @rodeohouston Visit the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Connect with Jessie: Follow on Instagram @ofthewest.co and @mrsjjarv Follow on Facebook @jobsofthewest Check out the Of The West website Be sure to subscribe/follow the show so you never miss an episode!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stacey Abrams has published more than a dozen books over the last 25 years. Those include thrillers, romance novels, children’s books and political memoirs and manifestos. That would be a full career for most people, but Stacey Abrams seems to have more energy than most people.   While she has always been a writer, she has also been a tax attorney, a Georgia state lawmaker, the minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives and the first Black woman in U.S. history to become the gubernatorial nominee of a major political party.   Abrams has launched multiple nonprofit organizations and for-profit companies, with a longstanding focus on voter registration and voter’s rights. Her new book is “Coded Justice.” She spoke with “Think Out Loud” host Dave Miller in front of an audience at the 2025 Portland Book Festival.  

Pain has a way of demanding your attention, but it doesn't get to decide who you become. Lyndsay Soprano's life has been shaped by layers of trauma, abuse, chronic illness, and a diagnosis of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, one of the most painful conditions known. Yet instead of letting pain define her, Lyndsay made a conscious decision to give it purpose. This episode explores what it means to reclaim your power when your body hurts, your past weighs heavy, and healing feels overwhelming. Through honesty, humor, and radical gratitude, Lyndsay shares how facing trauma head-on, questioning broken systems, and choosing presence over despair changed everything. Her story is not about fixing pain,  it's about learning how to live fully in spite of it. Guest Bio Lyndsay Soprano is the founder and host of The Pain Game Podcast and a bold advocate in the chronic pain and trauma recovery space. Diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) in 2017, Lyndsay is also a survivor of sexual, emotional, and physical abuse, infertility, depression, anxiety, and divorce. After years of misdiagnosis and failed treatments, she chose a trauma-informed, integrative approach to healing and turned her lived experience into a platform that helps others feel seen, understood, and less alone. Her guiding belief is simple but uncompromising: the only way out is through.   You'll hear About How early trauma quietly shaped Lyndsay's coping mechanisms Living with CRPS and navigating life in constant physical pain The moment she chose gratitude over despair Why Western medicine alone failed her — and what she did differently Turning pain into purpose through conversation, advocacy, and voice   Chapters 00:00 Welcome and Episode Introduction 02:00 Lyndsay's Early Trauma and Childhood Coping 05:00 Uncovering Repressed Memories and Their Impact 08:00 Living With CRPS and Daily Pain Decisions 12:00 Gratitude as a Survival Skill 15:30 The Night Everything Had to Change 18:30 Reclaiming Power From Medication and Misdiagnosis 22:30 Functional and Integrative Healing Approaches 26:30 Advocacy, Self-Trust, and Taking Control of Care 30:00 Why Pain Does Not Get to Define Identity 33:30 Creating The Pain Game Podcast 37:30 Writing, Forgiveness, and Letting Go 41:00 Lyndsay's Message to Anyone Feeling Hopeless 45:00 Chuck's Closing Reflections Chuck's Challenge This week, notice where pain or frustration is trying to take your power. Pause before reacting. Ask yourself how you can meet that moment with curiosity, compassion, or gratitude instead. Even small shifts can change the entire direction of a day. Connect with Lyndsay Soprano Website: thepaingamepodcast.com Email: talktoher@thepaingamepodcast.com Connect with Chuck Check out the website: https://www.thecompassionateconnection.com/ Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuck-thuss-a9aa044/ Follow on Instagram: @warriorsunmasked Join the Warriors Unmasked community by subscribing to the show. Together, we're breaking stigmas and shining a light on mental health, one story at a time

Growing up, John Marsden found school incredibly difficult and, as a teenager, spent time in hospital after a breakdown. This difficult early life profoundly shaped his work as a writer and educator of young people.With the help of a therapist, he began to recover, but it took him many years to find his place in the world.Eventually he studied teaching, then in his mid-thirties John began to write.John wrote over 40 best-selling novels for young adults and used his profits to buy bushland on the edge of Melbourne and open a primary school.At Candlebark, students call teachers by their first names, and are encouraged to take risks, John also founded a high school called Alice Miller.In 2024, John Marsden died at the age of 74, this interview was recorded in 2018.This episode of Conversations was produced by Nicola Harrison, the Executive Producer was Pam O'Brien.it explores education, strict parenting, teaching, all boys private school education, emotional breakdown, psychiatric care, therapy, counselling, studying teaching, writing, writing for young adults, running an independent school, risk taking, being an author, legacy.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you'll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

If you're a physician with at least 5 years of experience looking for a flexible, non-clinical, part-time medical-legal consulting role… ...Dr. Armin Feldman's Medical Legal Coaching program will guarantee to add $100K in additional income within 12 months without doing any expert witness work. Any doctor in any specialty can do this work. And if you don't reach that number, he'll work with you for free until you do, guaranteed. How can he make such a bold claim? It's simple, he gets results…  Dr. David exceeded his clinical income without sacrificing time in his full-time position. Dr. Anke retired from her practice while generating the same monthly consulting income.  And Dr. Elliott added meaningful consulting work without lowering his clinical income or job satisfaction. So, if you're a physician with 5+ years of experience and you want to find out exactly how to add $100K in additional consulting income in just 12 months, go to arminfeldman.com.                                                          =============== Get the FREE GUIDE to 10 Nonclinical Careers at nonclinicalphysicians.com/freeguide. Get a list of 70 nontraditional jobs at nonclinicalphysicians.com/70jobs.                                                                                                 =============== Regulatory medical writer Dr. Keagen Hadley explains how a pre-med background, clinical research work at a small CRO, and graduate training in occupational therapy led him into a fully remote, high-earning career writing core documents for pharma and biotech. He describes how he first discovered regulatory writing, why it felt like the right balance of science, impact, and flexibility, and how that path allowed him to work, study, and eventually step away from traditional clinical roles. He then outlines what regulatory writers actually do: drafting protocols, investigator brochures, and clinical study reports. And why the work is a strong fit for clinicians who enjoy clear, technical writing and are willing to learn the drug-development process. Along the way, he talks about salary expectations, personality traits that help (discipline, proactivity, comfort with timelines), and the practical steps clinicians can take to move into the field and eventually build their own regulatory writing business. You'll find links mentioned in the episode at nonclinicalphysicians.com/regulatory-medical-writing/

Send Jackie A Message!You've been posting consistently. You've got the aesthetic. You're showing up on Instagram. So why aren't new students finding you?Here's the deal: if your marketing could describe any studio in your city, it's not marketing — it's filler. And in 2026, filler is costing you real students.In this episode of the Studio CEO Podcast, Jackie Murphy breaks down exactly why generic messaging has become the biggest invisible barrier between yoga and Pilates studio owners and the clients they're trying to attract. Jackie shares the 2026 messaging rule she's using with studio owners inside the Studio CEO Program — and what needs to change in your content right now.You'll walk away knowing how to audit your own messaging in under five minutes, why specificity attracts instead of excludes, and how to rewrite your next Instagram reel hook to stop the scroll and get potential students thinking "this is exactly for me."If you've ever wondered why a competitor with a less beautiful feed keeps filling classes while yours sit half-empty, this episode has your answer.Timestamped Outline:[00:00] Introduction & why messaging matters more than ever in 2026[02:15] The "can you swap the name?" test for your current marketing[04:00] Why generic messaging happened — and why it's not your fault[05:30] How AI tools like ChatGPT are making the problem worse[06:45] Why specificity attracts instead of excludes[07:59] The 3-part messaging audit: who, expertise, one person at a time[10:00] Why Gen Z and Millennials respond to human, values-driven content[11:00] Live example #1: Rewriting "benefits of yoga for moms"[13:30] Live example #2: Rewriting "prenatal yoga flow" into a scroll-stopper[16:00] Old messaging vs. new messaging — what the pattern looks like[17:30] How Jackie writes 4 reels every week inside the Studio CEO Program[19:00] Your next step: audit your messaging todayKey Takeaways:If any studio could post it, delete it. Vague messaging makes you invisible — and in 2026, invisible means empty classes.The name-swap test is your messaging audit in five seconds: swap your studio name for a competitor's. If it still makes sense, your copy needs work.AI-generated content is making everyone's marketing sound the same. Writing your own human, specific, story-driven content is your competitive advantage.Old messaging lists features and benefits. New messaging tells a specific story with a specific emotion that makes someone say "that's me."Your organic marketing should generate at least 30% of your leads — but only if the messaging is doing its job.Pull Quotes:"Vague messaging is expensive, and it will end up costing you new students and members.""If you swapped your studio name with a competitor's name, would anyone notice? If it still makes sense, that's your sign.""You are not writing content to check a box. You are writing content to make people who don't know you stop their scroll and think: this is for me. I need to work with them.""If any business could write it, it is not messaging — it is filler words.""Gen Z deeply cares about Work with Jackie Murphy Say Hi on Instagram @studioceoofficial 3 Marketing Mistakes Yoga & Pilates Business Owners Make: https://www.jackiegmurphy.com/3-marketing-mistakes Join The Studio CEO Program: https://www.jackiegmurphy.com/studioceo

Hey friends,Have you ever felt like you're trying to pass on faith to your kids while quietly wrestling with your own? If so, this episode is for you.This week I'm joined by Kristin LaValley, writer, retreat host, and mom of five, who brings so much vulnerability and hope to the table. Kristin's story is one many of us can relate to: growing up in the church, facing seasons of doubt and deconstruction, and learning how to build a gentler, deeper faith in the aftermath. Her wisdom is rooted in real experience, and she reminds us that asking questions doesn't disqualify us, it invites us to know God more fully.Here are just a few of the things we unpack in today's conversation:Why fear-based faith doesn't last, and how to replace it with something more rooted in loveThe difference between shame and conviction, especially when helping our kids process emotionsHow to give our children spiritual agency without disengaging from their discipleshipWhat it means to be a non-anxious presence in the midst of theological tensionThis one is tender, thoughtful, and full of grace. I hope it reminds you that God can hold both your faith and your questions.Kristin LaValley is a writer, retreat leader, and mother of five living in New England. She helps women process faith, trauma, and spiritual transformation with honesty and hope. Her latest book, Growing Up Saved, is a heartfelt reflection on evangelical culture, mental health, and rebuilding faith after deconstruction.(01:28) Transitioning from Homeschooling to Public School(02:41) The Power of Writing in Healing(05:19) Navigating Church Hurt and Parenting(10:36) Giving Kids Agency in Their Faith(20:38) Understanding Shame and Its Impact on Faith(28:38) Kristen's Book and Closing ThoughtsConnect with KristenWebsiteInstagramFacebookGrowing Up Saved bookResources MentionedChristian Parenting resourcesSign up for Morning MinuteI Can Only Imagine 2 movieOpen a LearningRX centerDisciplines of Devotion seriesPrefer video? Find this and other episodes on YouTube!The Christian Parenting Podcast is a part of the Christian Parenting Podcast Network. For more information visit www.ChristianParenting.orgPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

A return guest on Fraudish who is a LAWYER? Shock & awe. Rob Gardner is back, and technically he just went to law school (we'll let it slide). This time we're tackling something every investigator is bumping up against: the limitations of AI in research and the paywalls that keep getting in the way.We dig into how public records access varies wildly from state to state—and why that matters more than ever when you're trying to piece together an investigation. Rob brings the practical, boots-on-the-ground perspective on what AI can actually do for investigators versus what it promises, and where good old-fashioned legwork still wins.If you've ever hit a wall mid-investigation—literally or digitally—this conversation is for you.Connect with Rob:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-gardner-94b5831/Rob's Writing:"The Worst": https://www.managerisks.net/new-blog/2026/2/3/the-worst"Two Memos": https://www.managerisks.net/new-blog/2026/2/13/two-memosShows & Resources Mentioned:The Prosecutor (2025): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32499731/Dept. Q Series: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dept._QThe Lincoln Lawyer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lincoln_Lawyer_(TV_series)YouTube clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT7pB72jwn4

Adriene Caldwell joins Something For Everybody this week. Adriene is the author of Unbroken: Life Outside the Lines.  In this conversation, Adriene shares her harrowing journey from a traumatic childhood filled with abuse and addiction to a life of recovery and empowerment. She discusses the pivotal moments that led her to sobriety, the importance of education as a refuge, and her motivation to write her book, 'Unbroken: Life Outside the Lines.' Through her story, she aims to inspire others facing similar struggles and emphasizes the significance of sharing personal narratives for healing and understanding. -

The Doctrine of Predestination explores Samuel Blair's 1742 defense of God's sovereign grace — a work praised by Archibald Alexander as the hand of a master. Writing during the era of the Log College and the Great Awakening, Blair answered objections to election not with speculation, but with Scripture — grounding the doctrine in Romans 9, Ephesians 1, and the justice and mercy of God.In this episode, we examine Blair's life, his pastoral purpose, and his argument that absolute election humbles the sinner, excludes boasting, and gives all the glory to Christ alone.

The One Stars, Episode Three: Please Hold (This episode was originally released on July 31, 2020) Negative Nancy is on hold. This episode includes reviews of: Ethan's Erasers. Can of Mace. Can of Beans. A Special Collection. NO A.I. WAS USED IN THE PRODUCTION OF THIS PODCAST CAST: Autumn Hardwood (as Emma Elizabeth) as Negative Nancy. Blythe Renay as Chatbot. Garan Fitzgerald as the Announcer, Review of Mace. Jess Kuczynski performs Review of Ethan's Erasers. Nina Nikolic performs Review of a Can of Beans. Ashley Kay performs Review of a Special Collection. CREW: Writing by Jeremy Ellett and Shamus Burns. Writing, Sound Design, and Musical Arrangement by Jeremy Ellett. The One Stars was created by Jeremy Ellett. MUSIC: Power Up by Razihel. Shimmer by Audioscribe. Cold by Prod Riddiman. Ice Cream by Prod Riddiman. Dandelions by Prod Riddiman. Episode ⁠Transcript. STITCHES PATREON: ⁠Patreon.com/GoodPointe.⁠ FOR BUSINESS INQUIRIES CONTACT: info@goodpointepodcasts.com A Good Pointe Original. Find and support our sponsors at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠fableandfolly.com/partners⁠⁠⁠. Want to potentially appear on a future episode?  Leave Us a Voicemail At: 512-640-9495 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every exam is designed to assess an obvious array of knowledge and skills. However, much more than the obvious is often needed to truly excel. Amy and Mike invited educator Mike Settele to review overlooked test-taking skills. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What are the obvious or well-known test-taking skills?  What are some classic test-taking skills that influence the score? What are some overlooked test-taking skills?  Are any of these skills hard or impossible to improve during the test prep timeline?  What is the most important test-taking skill? MEET OUR GUEST Mike Settele is the founder of Settele Tutoring, an SAT prep company that specializes in creating user-friendly SAT resources. Mike has published thousands of hours of SAT lessons on his YouTube channel, which are watched every day by students around the world. Mike began his SAT career while an undergraduate at Johns Hopkins University, where he studied political science and philosophy. He started as a Writing section tutor for Capital Educators, a test-prep company that offers courses in the Baltimore-Washington metro area. After graduating, Mike became a full-time program director for Capital Educators, but he eventually found his true passion in helping to create their curriculum for the new SAT in 2016.  After the new test was released, Mike moved to Los Angeles and founded Settele Tutoring, shifting his focus to private tutoring so he could create new SAT materials. He has since published the "SAT Packets" study guides for both the Reading and Math sections of the exam, with new editions coming soon for the digital SAT. In fact, when he's not tutoring, Mike can often be found sitting on Santa Monica Beach, writing SAT questions. Mike previously appeared in episode 573 for a Test Prep Profile. Find Mike at https://setteletutoring.com/ or his YouTube SAT channel. LINKS Top 10 Overlooked SAT Skills — it's so much more than Reading and Math! RELATED EPISODES RESOURCES FOR THE DIGITAL SAT ALL ABOUT DIGITAL SAT MATH ALL ABOUT DIGITAL SAT READING & WRITING THE NEW DIGITAL SAT EXPERIENCE: A STUDENT PERSPECTIVE ABOUT THIS PODCAST Tests and the Rest is THE college admissions industry podcast. Explore all of our episodes on the show page. ABOUT YOUR HOSTS Mike Bergin is the president of Chariot Learning and founder of TestBright, Roots2Words, and College Eagle. Amy Seeley is the president of Seeley Test Pros and LEAP. If you're interested in working with Mike and/or Amy for test preparation, training, or consulting, get in touch through our contact page.  

Writing sprints are the best way I make progress on my book and fit writing into my life, and I've had clients and writer friends say they've changed their writing life as well. Learn my tips for setting up a writing sprint and making the most of your writing time.   -----   - Click here for ways to work with me + a free character profile template: www.thekatiewolf.com/info   - The last Tuesday of the month is a Q&A episode! Submit your questions for me HERE and I'll answer them on the podcast.  - TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@katiewolfwrites - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katiewolfwrites

The Mamas show love for their craft by reading informational books on the art of writing. They share the best tips and advice that worked for them, like how to start with action and how to keep the joy going during the long writing and editing process. If you've ever considered putting your heart on paper, this episode is for you.Book Chat:The Magic Words, Writing Great Books for Children and Young Adults by Cheryl B. KleinThe Happy Writer by Marissa Meyerwww.twolitmamas.com

On this episode of Restorative Reading & Writing for Wellness, I'm diving deep into the recent craze of creating a personal curriculum for yourself in the new year and why you should create a book apothecary instead. Come listen as I talk about the science and current popularity behind creating personal curriculums, the alternative wellness, creativity and expansion that a book apothecary provides instead and how to tell which one you need right now.You'll find the show notes for the episode with links to all of the books and resources mentioned right here: https://www.alitlife.com/2026/02/17/why-a-personal-curriculum-isnt-a-book-apothecary-why-that-matters/Love this podcast and want more? Consider this your invitation to join my Get Lit(erate) Substack community! Each month, we take a deep dive into one bookish theme and work to bring it to life in our own lives. You'll get bonus episodes, book calendars, live book club and notebook sessions, special events and much more. Learn more at www.getliterate.co. Get your own Get Lit(erate). notebook to take notes on the books you want to read and notebook ideas you want to try: https://amzn.to/44wELKNIf you'd like to support the podcast, consider purchasing some Get Lit(erate). merchandise from my Zazzle store: https://www.zazzle.com/store/alitlifeAll earnings are funneled right back into the podcast expenses and maintenance fees. Thanks for your support!Follow Stephanie:Website: http://www.alitlife.com/ Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AffinitoLitTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/AffinitoLitInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/AffinitoLit

What does it take to grow a team from just two people to over 120 across 17 locations? According to Brian McQuilkin, it isn't just about technical skill—it's about curiosity, self-awareness, and a "servant-first" mindset.In this episode of the Will Power Project, Brian breaks down his roadmap for building high-performing teams. Whether you are a new hire looking to stand out or a leader trying to scale your culture, Brian's "Grandma's Soup" analogy for business processes and his deep dive into personality testing offers a blueprint for long-term success.Key TakeawaysThe Curiosity Quotient (CQ): Why asking "How would you start this?" is the most powerful question a new team member can ask.Servant Leadership is Redundant: Brian explains why you can't truly lead without serving others first.The Personality Toolkit: How using tests like the Enneagram, Myers-Briggs, and Working Genius prevents "passive-aggressive" office cultures.Avoiding Burnout through AMP: The three pillars of Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose that keep team members engaged and fulfilled.Writing the "Recipe": Why documenting your core values is essential to ensuring your culture doesn't get "diluted" as you grow.Love the insights from our latest episode? We want to hear from you!What topics or guests should we feature next on the Will Power Project? Whether it's a leadership challenge you're facing or a "Rockstar" you think we need to interview, your feedback drives this show.

Send a textRaise your hand if the last couple of weeks have felt… heavy.Not just busy. Not just frustrating.Heavy.As more information comes out about the Epstein files and the physicians connected to them, many of us are noticing something uncomfortable stirring beneath the surface. And today, we're naming it.Vicarious shame.Not guilt. Not embarrassment. Not even anger—though that may be there too.Shame.And here's the important distinction:Guilt says: I did something bad.Shame says: I am bad.Vicarious shame is when we feel shame on behalf of someone else and their actions.You haven't done anything wrong.And yet you may feel the weight of it.Because we are physicians.Because we identify deeply with our profession.Because we carry responsibility seriously.Because we are highly empathic women who have been socialized to hold things together.And medicine? Medicine has trained us in shame.We trained in environments where missteps equaled inadequacy.Where not knowing something meant being exposed.Where performance and worth blurred into one.So when we see male physicians—powerful, wealthy, prominent—implicated in abuses of power, something hits close to home. Not because we are like them. But because we share the title.And if you've noticed:A heaviness in your chestA compulsive urge to scroll and read moreA sense of disgust that somehow turns inwardA quiet questioning of the professionYou are not alone.But here is what we will not do:We will not carry their shame.They deserve to experience shame for their actions. Shame is an appropriate human response to wrongdoing. If they do not feel it, that is their pathology—not your burden.We do not atone for abuses we did not commit.We do not hold shame for the profession.We do not absorb the moral weight of other people's misconduct.What do we do instead?1️⃣ We name it.Naming vicarious shame immediately loosens its grip. When you say, “Oh. That's what this is,” your nervous system settles.2️⃣ We speak it.Shame thrives in silence. When we talk about what we're feeling—with trusted colleagues, friends, or within supportive spaces—we metabolize it.3️⃣ We give it back.There are practices for this. Writing a letter and burning it. Speaking aloud that you are releasing what isn't yours. Sitting in witness with another human and choosing to let it go.You are allowed to release shame that does not belong to you.4️⃣ We practice critical awareness.You may notice how quickly you internalize responsibility. How readily you identify with the profession. How often you hustle to represent medicine “well.”You are not the bad actor.You provide care.You carry responsibility with integrity.You have not abused your privilege.We will not confuse ourselves with them.This is heavy work. But it is human work. And it is especially Support the showTo learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.Want to contact me directly?Email: megan@healthierforgood.comFollow me on Instagram!@MeganMeloMD

Are you exhausted from trying to keep up with trending sounds and dances just to get a few podcast downloads? Many podcasters feel trapped on a social media hamster wheel, believing that if they aren't posting daily, their show simply doesn't exist. But what if the best way to build your audience has nothing to do with social media at all? In this episode of Podcasting Unlocked, Alesia Galati reveals the results of her own break from social media and shares a powerful 4-part framework for podcast audience-building that relies on search and collaboration rather than the whim of an algorithm. This week, episode 264 of Podcasting Unlocked is about how to grow your podcast without posting on Instagram! In this episode of Podcasting Unlocked, I'm sharing the importance of exploring options outside of social media for growing your podcast and actionable steps you can take right now to grow your audience without burning yourself out with daily social media posts. I also chat about the following: Writing clear, descriptive titles for search engines, not yourself.Leveraging the power of podcast guesting on similar, relevant shows.Treating Pinterest as the visual search engine that it is for lont-term traffic to your podcast.Partnering with other creators for email newsletter swaps to get in from of audiences already similar to your own.Social media should be a tool, not a trap. Here is your challenge for the week: Go dark on social media for seven days. Instead of scrolling or posting, spend that time optimizing your back catalog SEO. Update five old titles and descriptions and see what happens to your organic reach.Be sure to tune in to all the episodes to receive tons of practical tips on turning your podcast listeners into leads and to hear even more about the points outlined above. Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, take a screenshot of the episode to post in your stories and tag me! And don't forget to follow, rate and review the podcast and tell me your key takeaways!Learn more about Podcasting Unlocked at https://galatimedia.com/podcasting-unlocked/ CONNECT WITH ALESIA GALATI:InstagramLinkedInWork with Galati Media! Work with Alesia 1:1LINKS MENTIONED:Ep 176: Unlocking the Power of Press Releases for Your Podcast with Mickie KennedyEp 211: Maximizing Podcast Reach Through Repurposing with Deirdre TshienEp 140: Mastering Keyword Research and SEO for your Podcast with Lauren GaggioliEp 196: Overcoming Fear & Using Podcast Guesting for Business Growth with Robin WaiteEp 212: Mastering Pinterest SEO for More Downloads with Ruby RingoProud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective.

Hello, Protagonists!Welcome to another episode of the Creative, Inspired, ALIVE podcast—where we go behind the scenes with the storytellers shaping our culture.Our next guests, Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegmund-Broka, are a married Romance writing team! They met and fell in love in high school. Austin went on to graduate from Harvard, while Emily graduated from Princeton. Together, they are the authors of multiple novels, including The Roughest Draft and Reese's YA Bookclub Pick Heiress Takes All. They are also two-thirds of USA Today bestselling author E.B. Asher. So much teamwork! Seeing Other People is their latest novel.Today, we talk about:* writing in partnership,* trends in the romance genre,* incorporating speculative elements,* and the writing scene in LA.xo,Joanna & Evelyn

In this episode of the B2B Marketing Excellence & AI Podcast, Donna Peterson discusses a growing leadership issue inside companies using AI.Many teams are increasing speed. Fewer are defining direction.AI accelerates output, but without documented guardrails, it can quietly amplify misalignment across departments. When messaging, tone, and strategy drift, trust weakens, especially in long sales cycle B2B environments.Using a practical analogy from Olympic Super-G skiing, Donna explains why leaders must define the boundaries that keep teams aligned and moving efficiently toward the same goal.In This Episode:Why AI increases both speed and riskHow unclear direction creates internal driftThe leadership cost of repeating yourselfWhat true AI guardrails includeWhy monthly AI alignment meetings are essentialThe risk of layering new tools without structureHow shared templates improve consistencyThe connection between alignment and trustKey Leadership Insight:If you are repeating tone, mission, or positioning guidance across departments, it may not be a personnel issue. It may be a documentation issue.AI amplifies whatever structure exists.Without guardrails, inconsistency scales faster.With guardrails, trust compounds.Practical Action Steps. After listening, consider:Writing your company's WHY in one clear paragraph.Defining your tone in five specific words.Reviewing whether current AI outputs reflect that tone.Evaluating whether your team is aligned around shared templates.Scheduling a monthly AI alignment discussion if one does not exist.If this conversation resonates, the full episode provides detailed examples and implementation guidance you can apply immediately. Listen to the complete episode to understand how to build AI guardrails that protect your mission and strengthen long-term growth.If your organization is ready to bring structure and clarity to your AI implementation, we would welcome the opportunity to work with your leadership team. *** Reach out to dpeterson@worldinnovators.comif you'd like help building a marketing strategy that builds relationships and/or AI training for individuals or full teams.*** Visit www.worldinnovators.comfor more resources on building stronger marketing and leadership strategies.*** Subscribe to the B2B Marketing Excellence & AI Podcast for weekly insights into marketing, leadership, and the future of AI.

Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a podcast about book writing and publishing. Make sure you subscribe to the companion Substack: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcomeToday's guest is Courtney Maum—novelist, memoirist, and author of Before and After the Book Deal—and she talks candidly about the reality of a writing career, the myth of the breakout book, and why longevity matters more than literary hype.In this episode, Courtney breaks down what publishing actually looks like across every lane: Big Five launches with national tours, indie presses that nurture your inner “art witch,” and self-publishing born out of necessity. She shares the story behind the book that almost never happened—and how the lowest advance of her career became the one that defined her platform—plus why the industry now expects authors to function as marketers, publicists, event planners, and content creators all at once.We also discuss building an audience in the newsletter era, the limits of social media, and why “a thousand true fans” is a better goal than virality. Courtney explains how writers can protect their mental health in a system built on comparison, what's actually changed since 2020 (AI, proposals, platform pressure), and why readers—not gatekeepers—ultimately determine a book's shelf life. This conversation is essential listening for any writer trying to build a sustainable creative career in today's publishing landscape.Preorder Courtney Maum's latest book Alan Opts Out and preorder Courtney Kocak's debut memoir Girl Gone Wild.Subscribe to Courtney Maum's Substack Before & After The Book Deal. Follow her on Instagram @cbmaum, and buy your copy of Before and After the Book Deal on Bookshop.org, or wherever books are sold!The Bleeders is hosted by Courtney Kocak. Follow her on Instagram @courtneykocak and Bluesky @courtneykocak.bsky.social. For more, check out her website courtneykocak.com.Courtney is teaching some upcoming workshops you might be interested in:Land Big Bylines by Writing for Columns: https://writingworkshops.com/products/land-big-bylines-by-writing-for-columns-zoom-seminarSo You Want to Start a Podcast?: https://writingworkshops.com/products/start-podcast-workshop-courtney-kocakEdit & Elevate: Revision Intensive: https://writingworkshops.com/products/edit-elevate-revision-intensive-zoom-seminar-with-courtney-kocakHow to Build a “Platform” for Writers Who Shudder at the Thought: https://writingworkshops.com/products/how-to-build-a-platform-for-writers-who-shudder-at-the-thought-zoom-seminarStart a Newsletter to Supercharge Your Platform, Network and Business: https://writingworkshops.com/products/start-a-newsletter-to-supercharge-your-platform-network-business-zoom-seminar

Wife Slept With Interviewer For A Job. I Sent The Video To His Wife. Both FIRED InstantlyBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-cheating-wives-and-girlfriends-stories-2026-true-cheating-stories-podcast--5689182/support.

Please join Dr.Safiya and me as we talk about Listening to the Body: Intuitive Writing as a Path to Healing and Conscious Awakening. During this interview, we'll Explore: -The body registers experience before the mind understands it. -Insight alone is not integration. -Intuitive writing regulates the nervous system. -Ancestral memory lives in your cells. -When you create space between stimulus and response, healing becomes possible. -Writing creates pause. Pause creates choice. Choice creates freedom. Dr. Safiya will guide us through an embodied automatic writing experience and, as time allows, offer intuitive mini oracle readings for participants. Safiya's Special Offers: https://awakentohappinessnow.com/s40safiya/ #shefaliburns , #awakentohappinessnow, #healing, #energy, #transformation, #consciousness, #love, #consciousliving, #joy, #empowerment, #wellness, #spirituality, #spiritualawakening, #awareness, #drsafiya

What if the theology you believed as a kid doesn't hold water for you now? What do you do then? Kristen Neighbarger is joining us and sharing her journey to faith and finding a sturdy hope, the kind you can build a life on.Kristen is a recovering fundamentalist who believes that truth, faith, and the sovereignty of God will survive deconstruction and are critical components of healthy reconstruction. She loves literary analysis and reading scripture with an analyst's eye. She lives in rural Ohio with her husband Russ, daughter Kate, faithful dog Lucy, and her grandma's cat Butters. When her parents aren't snowbirds, they join the party in their mother-in-law's suite, affectionately referred to as Cabin B.Writing weekly on her blog and social media channels, Kristen helps survivors of church hurt, religious trauma, and spiritual abuse heal and find peace in their faith again. She balances deep dives into scripture with narratives from her own life and church experiences, always connecting with her reader and making faith, the bible, and her teaching relatable and applicable to today's world. In her book, Breathing Again: Finding Peace While Navigating Faith Reconstruction, Kristen guides her readers through their reconstruction journeys while sharing the details of her own. C A N D A C E  C O F E Rauthor + speaker ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠instagram⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠youtube⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠facebook⁠

Having navigated the shift from a downturn to a booming Western Australian market, Adam Donald of Capita Finance has been scaling his brokerage into one of the state's most decorated businesses. In this episode of Elite Broker, host Annie Kane welcomes back the founder and multi-award-winning broker Donald to discuss how his business has evolved over the years and different economic cycles and how he manages a high-volume brokerage, while maintaining a strict four-day work week. Tune in to find out: How he writes over 380 loans a year, while focusing only on client-facing tasks. Why he moved away from traditional real estate referral partnerships. His "Die with Zero" philosophy on work/life balance and mental health. And much more!

Bug, known online as quietwingsinthesky, is a renowned writer and podficcer with over 1400 works on AO3, deeply rooted in the Supernatural fandom. Fans of Dean Winchester and Sam Winchester will appreciate Bug's nearly 600 creations inspired by the beloved series. A prolific creator of fanfiction and podfics, Bug doesn't shy away from intense themes such as non-consent and major character deaths, making their work powerful and unforgettable. Join Sandra and Kasey as they dive into the world of Supernatural fanfiction with Bug, exploring their unique creative process and experiences in fandom.You can find Bug on tumblr and AO3.~~~We're taking you for a spin in Baby's backseat.Dean's House Rules - Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole, and the ones in the back enjoy the ride... idling in the Impala.~~~~~TL;DR - If you can't be bothered clicking on all the things in this description, just visit our website: idlingintheimpala.comWe'd love to hear your thoughts. Send us an email (idlingintheimpala@gmail.com)!All the Socials and AO3 and Fiction links: https://linktr.ee/idlingintheimpalapodcastOur Discord #backseat Channel.Interested in being a guest on the podcast? Give us some info about you here so we can connect.Feel inclined to leave us a tip for all this AWESOME content? Visit our Ko-fi page. Monthly supporters will get special behind-the-scenes perks!We've got podcast merch for our fellow idlers. Take a look!~~~~~Charities IITI Supports: Check out the Causes, ‘cause page on our website for the whys:World Central Kitchen and Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)~~~~~For Those in the US: Educate and Empower Yourself, Find Ways to Take ActionSupport Basic Human Rights - American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)Prioritize Your Mental Health - National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)Thrive (Not Just Survive) After Abuse - Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN)  ~~~~~LGBTQ+ CharitiesSwitchboard LGBT UKThe Trevor Project - USA and Global~~~~~Our podcast occasionally incorporates brief excerpts from the CW television show "Supernatural" for transformative commentary and analysis. This use falls under the Fair Use doctrine codified in Section 107 of the United States Copyright Act. The included clips are short, constituting only a minuscule portion of the original work, and illustrate specific points within our critical commentary. Our podcast does not compete with the show's market. This use promotes public discourse and understanding of the work, strengthening its cultural significance.~~~Chapter Timestamps00:00:00 - Intro00:02:15 - The first fandom that bit Bug00:05:23 - Ship to Ship journey00:06:46 - The Supernatural of it all00:10:52 - Bug's blorbo00:12:18 - Show thoughts00:14:37 - Lucifer love00:16:00 - Hallucifer00:18:32 - Fave Sam seasons00:20:15 - Archangel spotlight00:23:17 - Mystery Spot00:28:21 - Discovering fanfic00:29:54 - Original writing00:32:05 - Writing style00:34:34 - Exploring themes00:39:32 - Drabble a Day00:41:19 - The start of podficcing00:44:08 - Building up the courage to post a podfic00:45:50 - Choosing a work to podfic00:46:23 - Initial reaction to Bug's narration00:47:45 - Podficcing behind the scenes00:50:33 - Critiquing your own narration00:52:55 - Production process00:54:48 - Podficcers in Bug's ear00:55:36 - Fave creations00:57:19 - Major podfic project00:59:46 - The best color01:01:41 - Questions from a fan01:06:35 - Video game tangent01:17:42 - One more fan question01:20:28 - Kasey's questions01:26:06 - Final thoughts and outro

Mark Greaney is one of the most successful thriller authors working today — a #1 New York Times bestselling writer who built an entire spy fiction universe with his Gray Man series and helped carry forward Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan legacy. His novels have become global hits, translated into dozens of languages, and turned into major motion pictures on Netflix starring high-profile talent. We dive deep into what separates hobbyists from career storytellers, why meticulous research matters, and how Greaney approaches pacing, character, and realism in a crowded genre. In this episode, Greaney walks us through his journey from early drafts to international bestseller, the hustle behind sustaining a long-running series, and how real-world preparation — from travel to tactical training — feeds the kind of action readers devour but seldom see the work behind. The Hard Line: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/786216/the-hard-line-by-mark-greaney/   Today's Sponsors: Black Rifle Coffee: https://www.blackriflecoffee.com Helix: Go to https://www.helixsleep.com/CLEAREDHOT for 27% off sitewide. Better Help: Listeners get 10% off their first month at https://www.BetterHelp.com/clearedhot  

Stand up comedian Ryan Long joins us this week to talk all about the comedy scene! Watch this episode ad-free and uncensored on Pepperbox! https://www.pepperbox.tv/ WATCH THE AFTERSHOW & BTS ON PATREON! https://www.patreon.com/UnsubscribePodcast

Gerry Robin and Bert Bluejay take shelter during a thunderstorm. Narrator: Male Story Begins: 4:05 Storm Safety Excerpt: Gerry nodded and took a bite of a berry herself. With the storm closing in, there was no time for small talk. The two birds sat side by side, eating the delicious berries until a boom of thunder rumbled in the distance. Gerry looked towards the clouds. “The storm is almost here,” she noted. “Yes,” Bert agreed before taking another bite of a berry. Gerry, too, continued to eat. Another crack of thunder exploded in the distance, then a streak of lightning flashed across the sky. Both birds looked up for a moment, then ducked back down to continue to eat. Today's Meditation: Imagine floating on a cloud, and relax into the feeling of lightness. Creating the original bedtime stories and art for Be Calm on Ahway Island takes a lot of time and care. As a listener-supported podcast, we truly appreciate our members on Patreon. If you’re not already a member, please consider joining! Writing, recording, editing, and publishing episodes and managing digital platforms is an enormous endeavor. Our Patreon program will help continue to grow Ahway Island and we hope you will support us! You can choose from 2 different Membership Levels, all of which include access to our Archives and extra episodes every other month! Are you and your children enjoying our stories and self-soothing meditations? Looking for ways to help your child learn emotional regulation and how to self soothe? You’ll find them on Ahway Island®. Be Calm on Ahway Island® Podcast offers original bedtime stories, like “Happy Dragon,” paired with meditations for kids. We help them drift off to sleep with a guided relaxation and a calming story. Gently nestled within each podcast episode are mindfulness techniques and positive learning moments.  To learn more about our mission at Ahway Island and our team, please visit our website. In the press: Read about how and why we created Ahway Island in this feature from Global Comment! Zzz! The Boston Globe recommends “Be Calm on Ahway Island” as as one of “Eight Podcasts That Could Help You Get Some Sleep.” SheKnows recommends us as as a podcast you and your kids will love! Digital Trends warns listeners that “you may not make it through an entire episode fully conscious.” Yay! Thanks for joining our cozy corner of Ahway Island. We’ll be back soon with more calm moments!

Michael Norton reveals the science behind rituals that can help us change the way we feel and perform.— YOU'LL LEARN — 1) What makes rituals more powerful than habits2) How rituals help you get into the zone3) Simple team rituals to build closenessSubscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep1129 for clickable versions of the links below. — ABOUT MICHAEL — Michael I. Norton is a professor at Harvard Business School. Michael's research focuses on behavioral economics and well-being, with particular attention given to happiness and spending, income inequality, the IKEA effect, and, most recently, rituals.Michael Norton's research has been published in popular media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Forbes, and The New York Times, as well as academic journals like Science, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, and the American Economic Review. His “How to Buy Happiness” TED Talk has been viewed over 4 million times, and his work has been parodied by The Onion. In 2013, Norton co-authored Happy Money: The Science of Happier Spending with Elizabeth Dunn. His recent book The Ritual Effect focuses on the surprising and versatile power of rituals.• Book: The Ritual Effect: From Habit to Ritual, Harness the Surprising Power of Everyday Actions• Quiz: "Are you turning mundane moments into meaningful ones?"• Website: MichaelNorton.com— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW — • Study: "Overearning" by Christopher K. Hsee, Jiao Zhang, Fengyan Cai, and Shirley Zhang• Book: The Gift: How the Creative Spirit Transforms the World by Lewis Hyde— THANK YOU SPONSORS! — • Monarch.com. Get 50% off your first year on with the code AWESOME.• Shopify. Sign up for your $1/month trial at Shopify.com/betterSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How do you stay audacious in a world that's noisier and more saturated than ever? How might the idea of creative rhythm change the way you write? Lara Bianca Pilcher gives her tips from a multi-passionate creative career. In the intro, becoming a better writer by being a better reader [The Indy Author]; How indie authors can market literary fiction [Self-Publishing with ALLi]; Viktor Wynd's Museum of Curiosities; Seneca's On the Shortness of Life; All Men are Mortal – Simone de Beauvoir; Surface Detail — Iain M. Banks; Bones of the Deep – J.F. Penn. This episode is sponsored by Publisher Rocket, which will help you get your book in front of more Amazon readers so you can spend less time marketing and more time writing. I use Publisher Rocket for researching book titles, categories, and keywords — for new books and for updating my backlist. Check it out at www.PublisherRocket.com This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Lara Bianca Pilcher is the author of Audacious Artistry: Reclaim Your Creative Identity and Thrive in a Saturated World. She's also a performing artist and actor, life and creativity coach, and the host of the Healthy Wealthy Wise Artist podcast. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. Show Notes Why self-doubt is a normal biological response — and how audacity means showing up anyway The difference between creative rhythm and rigid discipline, and why it matters for writers How to navigate a saturated world with intentional presence on social media Practical strategies for building a platform as a nonfiction author, including batch content creation The concept of a “parallel career” and why designing your life around your art beats waiting for a big break Getting your creative rhythm back after crisis or burnout through small, gentle steps You can find Lara at LaraBiancaPilcher.com. Transcript of the interview with Lara Bianca Pilcher Lara Bianca Pilcher is the author of Audacious Artistry: Reclaim Your Creative Identity and Thrive in a Saturated World. She's also a performing artist and actor, life and creativity coach, and the host of the Healthy Wealthy Wise Artist podcast. Welcome, Lara. Lara: Thank you for having me, Jo. Jo: It's exciting to talk to you today. First up— Tell us a bit more about you and how you got into writing. Lara: I'm going to call myself a greedy creative, because I started as a dancer, singer, and actress in musical theatre, which ultimately led me to London, the West End, and I was pursuing that in highly competitive performance circles. A lot of my future works come from that kind of place. But when I moved to America—which I did after my season in London and a little stint back in Australia, then to Atlanta, Georgia—I had a visa problem where I couldn't work legally, and it went on for about six months. Because I feel this urge to create, as so many of your listeners probably relate to, I was not okay with that. So that's actually where I started writing, in the quietness, with the limits and the restrictions. I've got two children and a husband, and they would go off to school and work and I'd be home thinking, ha. In that quietness, I just began to write. I love thinking of creativity as a mansion with many rooms, and you get to pick your rooms. I decided, okay, well the dance, acting, singing door is shut right now—I'm going to go into the writing room. So I did. Jo: I have had a few physical creatives on the show. Obviously one of your big rooms in your mansion is a physical room where you are actually performing and moving your body. I feel like this is something that those of us whose biggest area of creativity is writing really struggle with—the physical side. How do you think that physical practice of creativity has helped you in writing, which can be quite constrictive in that way? Lara: It's so good that you asked this because I feel what it trained me to do is ignore noise and show up. I don't like the word discipline—most of us get a bit uncomfortable with it, it's not a nice word. What being a dancer did was teach me the practice of what I like to call a rhythm, a creative rhythm, rather than a discipline, because rhythm ebbs and flows and works more with who we are as creatives, with the way creativity works in our body. That taught me: go to the barre over and over again—at the ballet barre, I'm talking about, not the pub. Go there over and over again. Warm up, do the work, show up when you don't feel like it. thaT naturally pivoted over to writing, so they're incredibly linked in the way that creativity works in our body. Jo: Do you find that you need to do physical practice still in order to get your creativity moving? I'm not a dancer. I do like to shake it around a bit, I guess. But I mainly walk. If I need to get my creativity going, I will walk. If people are stuck, do you think doing something physical is a good idea? Lara: It is, because the way that our body and our nervous system works—without going into too much boring science, although some people probably find it fascinating—is that when we shake off that lethargic feeling and we get blood flowing in our body, we naturally feel more awake. Often when you're walking or you're doing something like dance, your brain is not thinking about all of the big problems. You might be listening to music, taking in inspiration, taking in sunshine, taking in nature, getting those endorphins going, and that naturally leads to the brain being able to psychologically show up more as a creative. However, there are days, if I'm honest, where I wake up and the last thing I want to do is move. I want to be in a little blanket in the corner of the room with a hot cocoa or a coffee and just keep to myself. Those aren't always the most creative days, but sometimes I need that in my creative rhythm, and that's okay too. Jo: I agree. I don't like the word discipline, but as a dancer you certainly would've had to do that. I can't imagine how competitive it must be. I guess this is another thing about a career in dance or the physical arts. Does it age out? Is it really an ageist industry? Whereas I feel like with writing, it isn't so much about what your body can do anymore. Lara: That is true. There is a very real marketplace, a very real industry, and I'm careful because there's two sides to this coin. There is the fact that as we get older, our body has trouble keeping up at that level. There's more injuries, that sort of thing. There are some fit women performing in their sixties and seventies on Broadway that have been doing it for years, and they are fine. They'll probably say it's harder for some of them. Also, absolutely, I think there does feel in the professional sense like there can be a cap. A lot of casting in acting and in that world feels like there's fewer and fewer roles, particularly for women as we get older, but people are in that space all the time. There's a Broadway dancer I know who is 57, who's still trying to make it on Broadway and really open about that, and I think that's beautiful. So I'm careful with putting limits, because I think there are always outliers that step outside and go, “Hey, I'm not listening to that.” I think there's an audience for every age if you want there to be and you make the effort. But at the same time, yes, there is a reality in the industry. Totally. Jo: Obviously this show is not for dancers. I think it was more framing it as we are lucky in the writing industry, especially in the independent author community, because you can be any age. You can be writing on your deathbed. Most people don't have a clue what authors look like. Lara: I love that, actually. It's probably one of the reasons I maybe subconsciously went into writing, because I'm like, I want to still create and I'm getting older. It's fun. Jo: That's freeing. Lara: So freeing. It's a wonderful room in the mansion to stay in until the day I die, if I must put it that way. Jo: I also loved you mentioning that Broadway dancer. A lot of listeners write fiction—I write fiction as well as nonfiction—and it immediately makes me want to write her story. The story of a 57-year-old still trying to make it on Broadway. There's just so much in that story, and I feel like that's the other thing we can do: writing about the communities we come from, especially at different ages. Let's get into your book, Audacious Artistry. I want to start on this word audacity. You say audacity is the courage to take bold, intentional risks, even in the face of uncertainty. I read it and I was like, I love the sentiment, but I also know most authors are just full of self-doubt. Bold and audacious. These are difficult words. So what can you say to authors around those big words? Lara: Well, first of all, that self-doubt—a lot of us don't even know what it is in our body. We just feel it and go, ugh, and we read it as a lack of confidence. It's not that. It's actually natural. We all get it. What it is, is our body's natural ability to perceive threat and keep us safe. So we're like, oh, I don't know the outcome. Oh, I don't know if I'm going to get signed. Oh, I don't know if my work's going to matter. And we read that as self-doubt—”I don't have what it takes” and those sorts of things. That's where I say no. The reframe, as a coach, I would say, is that it's normal. Self-doubt is normal. Everyone has it. But audacity is saying, I have it, but I'm going to show up in the world anyway. There is this thing of believing, even in the doubt, that I have something to say. I like to think of it as a metaphor of a massive feasting table at Christmas, and there's heaps of different dishes. We get to bring a dish to the table rather than think we're going to bring the whole table. The audacity to say, “Hey, I have something to say and I'm going to put my dish on the table.” Jo: I feel like the “I have something to say” can also be really difficult for people, because, for example, you mentioned you have kids. Many people are like, I want to share this thing that happened to me with my kids, or a secret I learned, or a tip I think will help people. But there's so many people who've already done that before. When we feel like we have something to say but other people have said it before, how do you address that? Lara: I think everything I say, someone has already said, and I'm okay with that. But they haven't said it like me. They haven't said it in my exact way. They haven't written the sentence exactly the way—that's probably too narrow a point of view in terms of the sentence—maybe the story or the chapter. They haven't written it exactly like me, with my perspective, my point of view, my life experience, my lived experience. It matters. People have very short memories. You think of the last thing you watched on Netflix and most of us can't remember what happened. We'll watch the season again. So I think it's okay to be saying the same things as others, but recognise that the way you say it, your point of view, your stories, your metaphors, your incredible way of putting a sentence togethes, it still matters in that noise. Jo: I think you also talk in the book about rediscovering the joy of creation, as in you are doing it for you. One of the themes that I emphasise is the transformation that happens within you when you write a book. Forget all the people who might read it or not read it. Even just what transforms in you when you write is important enough to make it worthwhile. Lara: It really, really is. For me, talking about rediscovering the joy of creation is important because I've lost it at times in my career, both as a performing artist and as an author, in a different kind of way. When we get so caught up in the industry and the noise and the trends, it's easy to just feel overwhelmed. Overwhelm is made up of a lot of emotions like fear and sadness and grief and all sorts of things. A lot of us don't realise that that's what overwhelm is. When we start to go, “Hey, I'm losing my voice in all this noise because comparison is taking over and I'm feeling all that self-doubt,” it can feel just crazy. So for me, rediscovering the joy of creation is vital to survival as an author, as an artist. A classic example, if you don't mind me sharing my author story really quickly, is that when I first wrote the first version of my book, I was writing very much for me, not realising it. This is hindsight. My first version was a little more self-indulgent. I like to think of it like an arrowhead. I was trying to say too much. The concept was good enough that I got picked up by a literary agent and worked with an editor through that for an entire year. At the end of that time, they dropped me. I felt like, through that time, I learned a lot. It was wonderful. Their reason for dropping me was saying, “I don't think we have enough of a unique point of view to really sell this.” That was hard. I lay on my bed, stared at the ceiling, felt grief. The reality is it's so competitive. What happened for me in that year is that I was trying to please. If you're a new author, this is really important. You are so desperately trying to please the editor, trying to do all the right things, that you can easily lose your joy and your unique point of view because you are trying to show up for what you think they all need and want. What cut through the noise for me is I got off that bed after my three hours of grief—it was probably longer, to be fair—but I booked myself a writing coach. I went back to the drawing board. I threw a lot of the book away. I took some good concepts out that I already knew were good from the editor, then I rewrote the entire thing. It's completely different to the first version. That's the book that got a traditional publishing deal. That book was my unique point of view. That book was my belief, from that grief, that I still have something to say. Instead of trusting what the literary agent and the editor were giving me in those red marks all over that first version, I was like, this is what I want to say. That became the arrowhead that's cut into the industry, rather than the semi-trailer truck that I was trying to bulldoze in with no clear point of view. So rediscovering the joy of creation is very much about coming back to you. Why do I write? What do I want to say? That unique point of view will cut through the noise a lot of the time. I don't want to speak in absolutes, but a lot of the time it will cut through the noise better than you trying to please the industry. Jo: I can't remember who said it, but somebody talked about how you've got your stone, and your stone is rough and it has random colours and all this. Then you start polishing the stone, which you have to do to a point. But if you keep polishing the stone, it looks like every other stone. What's the point? That fits with what you were saying about trying to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one. I also think the reality of what you just said about the book is a lot of people's experience with writing in general. Certainly for me, I don't write in order. I chuck out a lot. I'm a discovery writer. People think you sit down and start A and finish Z, and that's it. It's kind of messy, isn't it? Was that the same in your physical creative life? Lara: Yes. Everything's a mess. In the book I actually talk about learning to embrace the cringe, because we all want to show up perfect. Just as you shared, we think, because we read perfect and look at perfect or near-perfect work—that's debatable all the time—we want to arrive there, and I guess that's natural. But what we don't often see on social media or other places is the mess. I love the behind the scenes of films. I want to see the messy creative process. The reality is we have to learn to embrace the messy cringe because that's completely normal. My first version was so messy, and it's about being able to refine it and recognise that that is normal. So yes, embrace it. That's my quote for the day. Embrace the cringe, show up messy. It's all right. Jo: You mentioned the social media, and the subtitle of the book mentions a “saturated world.” The other problem is there are millions of books out there now. AI is generating more content than humans do, and it is extremely hard to break through. How are we to deal with this saturated world? When do we join in and when do we step away? Lara: I think it's really important not to have black and white thinking about it, because trust me, every day I meet an artist that will say, “I hate that I have to show up online.” To be honest with you, there's a big part of me that does also. But the saturation of the world is something that I recognise, and for me, it's like I'm in the world but not of it. That saturation can cause so much overwhelm and nervous system threat and comparison. What I've personally decided to do is have intentional showing up. That looks like checking in intentionally with a design, not a randomness, and then checking out. When push comes to shove, at the end of the day, I really believe that what sells books is people's trust in us as a person. They might go through an airport and not know us at all and pick up the book because it's a bestseller and they just trust the reputation, but so much of what I'm finding as an artist is that personal relationship, that personal trust. Whether that's through people knowing you via your podcast or people meeting you in a room. Especially in nonfiction, I think that's really big. Intentional presence from a place where we've regulated ourselves, being aware that it's saturated, but my job's not to be focused on the saturation. My job is to find my unique voice and say I have something to bring. Be intentional with that. Shoot your arrow, and then step out of the noise, because it's just overwhelming if you choose to live there and scroll without any intentionality at all. Jo: So how do people do that intentionality in a practical way around, first of all, choosing a platform, and then secondly, how they create content and share content and engage? What are some actual practical tips for intentionality? Lara: I can only speak from my experience, but I'm going to be honest, every single application I sent asked for my platform stats. Every single one. Platform stats as in how many followers, how many people listening to your podcast, how many people are reading your blog. That came up in every single literary agent application. So I would be a fool today to say you've got to ignore that, because that's just the brass tacks, unless you're already like a famous footballer or something. Raising and building a platform of my own audience has been a part of why I was able to get a publishing deal. In doing that, I've learned a lot of hard lessons. Embrace the cringe with marketing and social media as well, because it's its own beast. Algorithms are not what I worry about. They're not going to do the creativity for you. What social media's great at is saying, “Hey, I'm here”—it's awareness. It's not where I sell stuff. It's where I say, I'm here, this is what I'm doing, and people become aware of me and I can build that relationship. People do sell through social media, but it's more about awareness statistically. I am on a lot of platforms, but not all of them work for every author or every style of book. I've done a lot of training. I've really had to upskill in this space and get good at it. I've put myself through courses because I feel like, yes, we can ignore it if we want to, but for me it's an intentional opting in because the data shows that it's been a big part of being able to get published. That's overwhelming to hear for some people. They don't want to hear that. But that's kind of the world that we are in, isn't it? Jo: I think the main point is that you can't do everything and you shouldn't even try to do everything. The best thing to do is pick a couple of things, or pick one thing, and focus on that. For example, I barely ever do video, so I definitely don't do TikTok. I don't do any kind of video stuff. But I have this podcast. Audio is my happy place, and as you said, long-form audio builds trust. That is one way you can sell, but it's also very slow—very, very slow to build an audio platform. Then I guess my main social media would be Instagram, but I don't engage a lot there. So do you have one or two main things that you do, and any thoughts on using those for book marketing? Lara: I do a lot of cross-posting. I am on Instagram and I do a lot of creation there, and I'm super intentional about this. I actually do 30 days at a time, and then it's like my intentional opt-in. I'll create over about two days, edit and plan. It's really, really planned—shoot everything, edit everything, put it all together, and then upload everything. That will be 30 days' worth. Then I back myself right out of there, because I don't want to stay in that space. I want to be in the creative space, but I do put those two days a month aside to do that on Instagram. Then I tweak things for YouTube and what works on LinkedIn, which is completely different to Instagram. As I'm designing my content, I have in mind that this one will go over here and this one can go on here, because different platforms push different things. I am on Threads, but Threads is not statistically where you sell books, it's just awareness. Pinterest I don't think has been very good for my type of work, to be honest. For others it might. It's a search engine, it's where people go to get a recipe. I don't necessarily feel like that's the best place, this is just my point of view. For someone else it might be brilliant if you're doing a cookbook or something like that. I am on a lot of platforms. My podcast, however, I feel is where I'm having the most success, and also my blog. Those things as a writer are very fulfilling. I've pushed growing a platform really hard, and I am on probably almost every platform except for TikTok, but I'm very intentional with each one. Jo: I guess the other thing is the business model. The fiction business model is very, very different to nonfiction. You've got a book, but your higher-cost and higher-value offerings are things that a certain number of people come through to you and pay you more money than the price of a book. Could talk about how the book leads into different parts of your business? Because some people are like, “Am I going to make a living wage from book sales of a nonfiction book?” And usually people have multiple streams of income. Lara: I think it's smart to have multiple streams of income. A lot of people, as you would know, would say that a book is a funnel. For those who haven't heard of it, a way that people come into your bigger offerings. They don't have to be, but very much I do see it that way. It's also credibility. When you have a published book, there's a sense of credibility. I do have other things. I have courses, I have coaching, I have a lot of things that I call my parallel career that chug alongside my artist work and actually help stabilise that freelance income. Having a book is brilliant for that. I think it's a wonderful way to get out there in the world. No matter what's happening in all the online stuff, when you're on an aeroplane, so often someone still wants to read a book. When you're on the beach, they don't want to be there with a laptop. If you're on the sand, you want to be reading a beautiful paper book. The smell of it, the visceral experience of it. Books aren't going anywhere, to me. I still feel like there are always going to be people that want to pick it up and dig in and learn so much of your entire life experience quickly. Jo: We all love books here. I think it's important, as you do talk about career design and you mentioned there the parallel career—I get a lot of questions from people. They may just be writing their first book and they want to get to the point of making money so they could leave their day job or whatever. But it takes time, doesn't it? So how can we be more strategic about this sort of career design? Lara: For me, this has been a big one because lived experience here is that I know artists in many different areas, whether they're Broadway performers or music artists. Some of them are on almost everything I watch on TV. I'm like, oh, they're that guy again. I know that actor is on almost everything. I'll apply this over to writers. The reality is that these high-end performers that I see all the time showing up, even on Broadway in lead roles, all have another thing that they do, because they can still have, even at the highest level, six months between a contract. Applying that over to writing is the same thing, in that books and the money from them will ebb and flow. What so often artists are taught—and authors fit into this—is that we ultimately want art to make us money. So often that becomes “may my art rescue me from this horrible life that I'm living,” and we don't design the life around the art. We hope, hope, hope that our art will provide. I think it's a beautiful hope and a valid one. Some people do get that. I'm all for hoping our art will be our main source of income. But the reality is for the majority of people, they have something else. What I see over and over again is these audacious dreams, which are wonderful, and everything pointing towards them in terms of work. But then I'll see the actor in Hollywood that has a café job and I'm like, how long are you going to just work at that café job? They're like, “Well, I'm goint to get a big break and then everything's going to change.” I think we can think the same way. My big break will come, I'll get the publishing deal, and then everything will change. The reframe in our thinking is: what if we looked at this differently? Instead of side hustle, fallback career, instead of “my day job,” we say parallel career. How do I design a life that supports my art? And if I get to live off my art, wonderful. For me, that's looked like teaching and directing musical theatre. It's looked like being able to coach other artists. It's looked like writing and being able to pivot my creativity in the seasons where I've needed to. All of that is still creativity and energising, and all of it feeds the great big passion I have to show up in the world as an artist. None of it is actually pulling me away or draining me. I mean, you have bad days, of course, but it's not draining my art. When we are in this way of thinking—one day, one day, one day—we are not designing intentionally. What does it look like to maybe upskill and train in something that would be more energising for my parallel career that will chug alongside us as an artist? We all hope our art can totally 100% provide for us, which is the dream and a wonderful dream, and one that I still have. Jo: It's hard, isn't it? Because I also think that, personally, I need a lot of input in order to create. I call myself more of a binge writer. I just finished the edits on my next novel and I worked really hard on that. Now I won't be writing fiction for, I don't know, maybe six months or something, because now I need to input for the next one. I have friends who will write 10,000 words a day because they don't need that. They have something internal, or they're just writing a different kind of book that doesn't need that. Your book is a result of years of experience, and you can't write another book like that every year. You just can't, because you don't have enough new stuff to put in a book like that every single year. I feel like that's the other thing. People don't anticipate the input time and the time it takes for the ideas to come together. It is not just the production of the book. Lara: That's completely true. It goes back to this metaphor that creativity in the body is not a machine, it's a rhythm. I like to say rhythm over consistency, which allows us to say, “Hey, I'm going to be all in.” I was all in on writing. I went into a vortex for days on end, weeks on end, months and probably years on end. But even within that, there were ebbs and flows of input versus “I can't go near it today.” Recognising that that's actually normal is fine. There are those people that are outliers, and they will be out of that box. A lot of people will push that as the only way. “I am going to write every morning at 10am regardless.” That can work for some people, and that's wonderful. For those of us who don't like that—and I'm one of those people, that's not me as an artist—I accept the rhythm of creativity and that sometimes I need to do something completely different to feed my soul. I'm a big believer that a lot of creative block is because we need an adventure. We need to go out and see some art. To do good art, you've got to see good art, read good art, get outside, do something else for the input so that we have the inspiration to get out of the block. I know a screenwriter who was writing a really hard scene of a daughter's death—her mum's death. It's not easy to just write that in your living room when you've never gone through it. So she took herself out—I mean, it sounds morbid, but as a writer you'll understand the visceral nature of this—and sat at somebody's tombstone that day and just let that inform her mind and her heart. She was able to write a really powerful scene because she got out of the house and allowed herself to do something different. All that to say that creativity, the natural process, is an in-and-out thing. It ebbs and flows as a rhythm. People are different, and that's fine. But it is a rhythm in the way it works scientifically in the body. Jo: On graveyards—we love graveyards around here. Lara: I was like, sorry everyone, this isn't very nice. Jo: Oh, no. People are well used to it on this show. Let's come back to rhythm. When you are in a good rhythm, or when your body's warmed up and you are in the flow and everything's great, that feels good. But what if some people listening have found their rhythm is broken in some way, or it's come to a stop? That can be a real problem, getting moving again if you stop for too long. What are some ways we can get that rhythm back into something that feels right again? Lara: First of all, for people going through that, it's because our body actually will prioritise survival when we're going through crisis or too much stress. Creativity in the brain will go, well, that's not in that survival nature. When we are going through change—like me moving countries—it would disconnect us a lot from not only ourselves and our sense of identity, but creativity ultimately reconnects you back into life. I feel like to be at our optimum creative self, once we get through the crisis and the stress, is to gently nudge ourselves back in by little micro things. Whether it's “I'm just going to have the rhythm of writing one sentence a day.” As we do that, those little baby steps build momentum and allow us to come back in. Creativity is a life force. It's not about production, it's actually how we get to any unique contribution we're going to bring to the world. As we start to nudge ourselves back in, there's healing in that and there's joy in that. Then momentum comes. I know momentum comes from those little steps, rather than the overwhelming “I've got to write a novel this week” mindset. It's not going to happen, most of the time, when we are nudging our way back in. Little baby steps, kindness with ourselves. Staying connected to yourself through change or through crisis is one of the kindest things we can offer ourselves, and allowing ourselves to come into that rhythm—like that musical song of coming back in with maybe one line of the song instead of the entire masterpiece, which hopefully it will be one day. Jo: I was also thinking of the dancing world again, and one thing that is very different with writers is that so much of what we do is alone. In a lot of the performance art space, there's a lot more collaboration and groups of people creating things together. Is that something you've kept hold of, this kind of collaborative energy? How do you think we can bring that collaborative energy more into writing? Lara: Writing is very much alone. Obviously some people, depending on the project, will write in groups, but generally speaking, it's alone. For me, what that looks like is going out. I do this, and I know for some writers this is like, I don't want to go and talk to people. There are a lot of introverts in writing, as you are aware. I do go to creative mixers. I do get out there. I'm planning right now my book launch with a local bookstore, one in Australia and one here in America. Those things are scary, but I know that it matters to say I'm not in this alone. I want to bring my friends in. I want to have others part of this journey. I want to say, hey, I did this. And of course, I want to sell books. That's important too. It's so easy to hide, because it's scary to get out there and be with others. Yet I know that after a creative mixer or a meetup with all different artists, no matter their discipline, I feel very energised by that. Writers will come, dancers will come, filmmakers will come. It's that creative force that really energises my work. Of course, you can always meet with other writers. There's one person I know that runs this thing where all they do is they all get on Zoom together and they all write. Their audio's off, but they're just writing. It's just the feeling of, we're all writing but we're doing it together. It's a discipline for them, but because there's a room of creatives all on Zoom, they're like, I'm here, I've showed up, there's others. There's a sense of accountability. I think that's beautiful. I personally don't want to work that way, but some people do, and I think that's gorgeous too. Jo: Whatever sustains you. I think one of the important things is to realise you are not alone. I get really confused when people say this now. They're like, “Writing's such a lonely life, how do you manage?” I'm like, it is so not lonely. Lara: Yes. Jo: I'm sure you do too. Especially as a podcaster, a lot of people want to have conversations. We are having a conversation today, so that fulfils my conversation quota for the day. Lara: Exactly. Real human connection. It matters. Jo: Exactly. So maybe there's a tip for people. I'm an introvert, so this actually does fulfil it. It's still one-on-one, it's still you and me one-on-one, which is good for introverts. But it's going out to a lot more people at some point who will listen in to our conversation. There are some ways to do this. It's really interesting hearing your thoughts. Tell people where they can find you and your books and your podcast online. Lara: The book is called Audacious Artistry: Reclaim Your Creative Identity and Thrive in a Saturated World, and it's everywhere. The easiest thing to do would be to visit my website, LaraBiancaPilcher.com/book, and you'll find all the links there. My podcast is called Healthy Wealthy Wise Artist, and it's on all the podcast platforms. I do short coaching for artists on a lot of the things we've been talking about today. Jo: Brilliant. Well, thanks so much for your time, Lara. That was great. Lara: Thank you.The post Audacious Artistry: Reclaiming Your Creative Identity And Thriving In A Saturated World With Lara Bianca Pilcher first appeared on The Creative Penn.

Anthony Milbourne traveled all the way from Australia to sit down with Ian Bick and share his journey into becoming a correctional officer inside an Australian youth prison. In this episode, Anthony breaks down how his life experiences led him to the job, what daily life was really like inside the facility, and the key differences between the Australian and American prison systems — from food, routine, and commissary to discipline and inmate culture. He also opens up about the violent attack he suffered at the hands of inmates, an incident that ultimately pushed him to walk away from the career. _____________________________________________ #YouthPrison #PrisonOfficer #AustralianPrison #PrisonLife #BehindBars #TrueCrimePodcast #InmateStories #lockedinwithianbick _____________________________________________ Connect with Anthony Milbourne: LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-milbourne-806b66333 Buy his book: https://www.amazon.com/Psych-Warden-Officers-psychological-account/dp/B0B2TTDCKL _____________________________________________ Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick: https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en https://ianbick.com/ _____________________________________________ Shop Locked In Merch: http://www.ianbick.com/shop _____________________________________________ Timestamps: 00:00 Violent Prison Attack That Changed Everything 00:25 Meet Anthony Milbourne & What This Episode Covers 00:53 Childhood, Family Life & Early Trauma 03:54 Growing Up in Australia: School & Early Struggles 11:10 Dreams, Ambitions & Early Career Goals 17:40 Art School, Adulthood & Finding Direction 24:42 Career Shift: Entering Law Enforcement 29:04 The Incident That Changed My Life Forever 33:31 Trauma, Recovery & Moving Into Juvenile Corrections 39:42 First Days Working Inside a Youth Prison 45:01 Inside an Australian Youth Detention Center 54:43 Daily Life in Youth Prison: Routine & Structure 01:01:36 Commissary, Prison Food & Inmate Ingenuity 01:07:12 Rehabilitation Programs & Mental Health Inside 01:10:01 Violence, Staff Safety & Gang Attacks 01:21:37 After the Assault: Media, Court & Fallout 01:32:46 Recovery, Career Changes & Personal Loss 01:36:13 Life as a Youth Prison Officer: Daily Realities 01:41:00 Officer Culture, Burnout & Brotherhood 01:44:01 System Failures, Reflections & Writing a Book 01:45:20 Final Thoughts & Lessons Learned Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The episode opens with Diana and Nicole catching up on their latest work, focusing on testing AI models for accuracy in handwritten-text transcription tasks. The hosts then discuss the novel TransAtlantic by Irish author Colum McCann and what family historians can learn from its structure to write better family narratives. Diana explains that the novel views the immigration story from the Irish perspective, following the fictional character Lily Duggan and three subsequent generations, with the prose connecting each fictional character to a true story and an actual historical figure. Nicole shares the first historical snapshot, covering Lily Duggan's 1845 meeting with the formerly enslaved abolitionist Frederick Douglass in Ireland. She then details the 1919 Atlantic crossing of Lily's daughter Emily and granddaughter Lottie, where they witness the first non-stop transatlantic flight by aviators Alcock and Brown. Diana picks up the thread by discussing Lottie's later meeting with US Senator George Mitchell during his 1998 peace brokering visit to Northern Ireland, and the final chapter, where Lily's great-granddaughter, Hannah, possesses the unopened letter that connects all the women. Listeners learn three key ideas for writing their own family stories: use a focal object passed down through generations, consider historical characters an ancestor may have encountered, and research important historical events in the time and place their ancestors lived to understand how those events may have impacted them. This summary was generated by Google Gemini. Links What Genealogists Can Learn from Colum McCann's "TransAtlantic": Writing Family History - https://familylocket.com/what-genealogists-can-learn-from-colum-mccanns-transatlantic-writing-family-history/ TransAtlantic: A Novel, by Colum McCann - https://amzn.to/3Z0KBDI (affiliate link) Sponsor – Newspapers.com For listeners of this podcast, Newspapers.com is offering new subscribers 20% off a Publisher Extra subscription so you can start exploring today. Just use the code "FamilyLocket" at checkout.  Research Like a Pro Resources Airtable Universe - Nicole's Airtable Templates - https://www.airtable.com/universe/creator/usrsBSDhwHyLNnP4O/nicole-dyer Airtable Research Logs Quick Reference - by Nicole Dyer - https://familylocket.com/product-tag/airtable/ Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist's Guide book by Diana Elder with Nicole Dyer on Amazon.com - https://amzn.to/2x0ku3d 14-Day Research Like a Pro Challenge Workbook - digital - https://familylocket.com/product/14-day-research-like-a-pro-challenge-workbook-digital-only/ and spiral bound - https://familylocket.com/product/14-day-research-like-a-pro-challenge-workbook-spiral-bound/ Research Like a Pro Webinar Series - monthly case study webinars including documentary evidence and many with DNA evidence - https://familylocket.com/product-category/webinars/ Research Like a Pro eCourse - independent study course -  https://familylocket.com/product/research-like-a-pro-e-course/ RLP Study Group - upcoming group and email notification list - https://familylocket.com/services/research-like-a-pro-study-group/ Research Like a Pro Institute Courses - https://familylocket.com/product-category/institute-course/ Research Like a Pro with DNA Resources Research Like a Pro with DNA: A Genealogist's Guide to Finding and Confirming Ancestors with DNA Evidence book by Diana Elder, Nicole Dyer, and Robin Wirthlin - https://amzn.to/3gn0hKx Research Like a Pro with DNA eCourse - independent study course -  https://familylocket.com/product/research-like-a-pro-with-dna-ecourse/ RLP with DNA Study Group - upcoming group and email notification list - https://familylocket.com/services/research-like-a-pro-with-dna-study-group/ Thank you Thanks for listening! We hope that you will share your thoughts about our podcast and help us out by doing the following: Write a review on iTunes or Apple Podcasts. If you leave a review, we will read it on the podcast and answer any questions that you bring up in your review. Thank you! Leave a comment in the comment or question in the comment section below. Share the episode on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest. Subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcast app. Sign up for our newsletter to receive notifications of new episodes - https://familylocket.com/sign-up/ Check out this list of genealogy podcasts from Feedspot: Best Genealogy Podcasts - https://blog.feedspot.com/genealogy_podcasts/

This week, Brent Leuthold joins me to review the new Gore Verbinski film, Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die in a feature review, then we review Sam Raimi's Send Help in this week's secondary review. We also discuss Super Bowl advertising, Catherine O'Hara, James Van Der Beek, and Bud Cort's passing, and more. Watch the Video Version of the Episode Here Timestamps Show Start - 00:28 Introducing Brent - 01:56 Screening in Indy - 18:11 News Before the Reviews - 21:55 Feature Review Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die (2026) - 38:39 Spoiler - 1:09:24 Secondary Review Send Help (2026) - 01:29:20 Spoiler - 02:00:00   Closing the Ep - 02:20:50 Patreon Clip - 02:23:01 Related Links Catherine O'Hara, 'Schitt's Creek' and 'Home Alone' Star, Dies at 71 James Van Der Beek, 'Dawson's Creek' Star, Dies at 48 Bud Cort, 'Harold and Maude' Star, Dies at 77  Follow the IFJA on Letterboxd Brent's Letterboxd Brent's Writing on Awake in the Dark  My 2026 Podcast and Writing Archive The Long Walk Book Reactions on Patreon The Gotham Project on Patreon Patreon Special - Mike Flanagan Remaking The Mist for Warner Bros. - Feb 10, 2026 Immediate Reaction - Mercy (2026) - Feb 10, 2026 Patreon Companion Episodes Collection  Indianapolis Theaters Alamo Drafthouse Indy Kan-Kan  Living Room Theaters Keystone Art  Flix Brewhouse  Ways to Support Us Support Us on Patreon for Exclusive Content Official OV Merch Buy Me A Coffee Obsessive Viewer Obsessive Viewer Presents: Anthology Obsessive Viewer Presents: Tower Junkies As Good As It Gets - Linktree Start Your Podcast with Libsyn Using Promo Code OBSESS  Follow Us on Social Media My Letterboxd | YouTube | Facebook | Twitter Instagram | Threads | Bluesky | TikTok | Tiny's Letterboxd  Mic Info Matt: ElectroVoice RE20 into RØDEcaster Pro II (Firmware: 1.6.8) Brent: Earthworks ICON Pro in Riverside FM  Episode Homepage: ObsessiveViewer.com/OV502  Next Week on the Podcast OV503 - Wuthering Heights (2026) & The Strangers: Chapter 3 (2026)

Mark Haddon might be best known for his 2003 breakout novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. But it's only the tip of a body of work that stretches across genres and artforms. He's the author of three other adult novels, including The Porpoise and two collections of short stories. Dogs and Monsters came out last year. He's also written poetry and plays. Before The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark wrote over a dozen children's books. He's also an illustrator and visual artist. Out this month is Leaving Home: A Memoir in Full Colour, which gives us access to his amazing mind and provides one roadmap into the creative process (recognizing there are an infinite number of roads). He joins Marrie Stone to talk about his insights into the craft including using constraints to enhance creativity, why he no longer uses flowcharts to map his work, how the flow state in writing differs from visual art, how writers' childhoods are different, and how he leaned into his writing weaknesses to produce The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. He also talks about mental illness and creativity, points of view he won't touch, and so much more. For more information on Writers on Writing and to become a supporter, visit our Patreon page. For a one-time donation, visit Ko-fi. You can find hundreds of past interviews on our website. You can help out the show and indie bookstores by buying books at our bookstore on bookshop.org. It's stocked with titles by our guest authors, as well as our personal favorites. And on Spotify, you'll find an album's worth of typewriter music like what you hear on the show. It's perfect for writing. Look for the artist, Just My Type. Email the show at writersonwritingpodcast@gmail.com. We love to hear from our listeners! (Recorded February 2, 2026) Host: Barbara DeMarco-Barrett Host: Marrie Stone Music: Travis Barrett (Stream his music on Spotify, Apple Music, Etc.)

Reena Shah is a writer, editor, and teacher. Her work has been featured in the Masters Review, Electric Literature, Joyland, BBC, the American Prospect, National Geographic and the Guardian, among other publications. She has been awarded fellowships and residencies from the Millay Arts, Tin House, and the Fulbright Foundation. She received an MFA in fiction from the Michener Center for Writers, where she won the Keene Prize for Literature. For many years, she was a kathak dancer in New York and India. She now lives on Roosevelt Island, NY, with her family and teaches in a public school. Her debut novel is Every Happiness, the focus of our discussion. Reena joins Barbara DeMarco-Barrett and they talk about being a writer in training, a short story that led to the novel, complicated friend relationships, the time it takes to finish a novel, having faith in a project while also doubting, the book's title and cover, reader reviews, and more.  For more information on Writers on Writing and to become a supporter, visit our Patreon page. For a one-time donation, visit Ko-fi. You can help out the show and indie bookstores by buying books at our bookstore on bookshop.org. It's stocked with titles by our guest authors, as well as our personal favorites. And on Spotify, you'll find an album's worth of typewriter music like what you hear on the show. It's perfect for writing. Look for the artist, Just My Type. You can find hundreds of past interviews on our website. (Recorded February 6, 2026) Host: Barbara DeMarco-Barrett Host: Marrie StoneMusic: Travis Barrett (Stream his music on Spotify, Apple Music, Etc.)

Writing, as an activity, is an extremely productive human activity.  AI tools that enhance output, encourage effort, or eliminate the labor of the writing process are changing the educational landscape.  We should be clear about what we gain from writing before off-loading this activity to an external agency or tool.  So, what is writing all about, and why is developing the ability to write well such a core component of education?  Listen in to hear Russ, Peter and Justin discuss the perils and pitfalls of prose production.

How micro power plants on residential rooftops are reducing electricity costs and removing power utility bottlenecks.

The cosy crime genre has exploded in recent years, with older protagonists featuring heavily (they tend to have more time on their hands for solving mysteries, you see). But what happens when your older protagonist has a murderous past? That’s the hilarious set up for British actor, comedian and author Fergus Craig’s new ‘cracked cosy’ whodunnit I’m Not the Only Murderer in my Retirement Home. In this episode, Fergus talks about how he started writing crime books, the joys and challenges of bringing his latest novel to life, its international bidding war, and why he decided to walk from the UK to New Zealand. 00:00 Welcome03:59 Writing tip: Keep track of your stories07:29 WIN!: On the Edge by Kate Horan09:47 Word of the week: ‘Infuscate’12:05 Writer in residence: Fergus Craig13:00 Fergus explains I’m Not the Only Murderer in my Retirement Home15:30 The attraction of cosy crime16:55 Getting a book deal via social media17:54 The appeal of a whodunnit plot22:42 The writing process: Planning vs. improvisation24:27 Challenges and joys of writing the book26:04 Differences between writing for TV and books28:02 Fergus’s daily writing routine29:49 Publishing journey and success32:59 Advice on writing comedy35:32 Promoting the book and social media success39:20 Extra tips about writing40:46 Final thoughts Read the show notes Connect with Valerie and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | ValerieKhoo.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Authority isn't just about consistency. It's about intentional leadership and leveraging your platform in new ways.   In this episode, Erik K. Johnson welcomes Tina Dietz, founder and CEO of Twin Flames Studios, a pioneer in voice-powered publishing. Together, they explore how you can transform your podcast episodes into a book and multiply your authority in your niche.   00:00 "Repurpose Content into Authority Book" 06:19 "Drink from the Well" 08:05 "From Audiobooks to Corporate Value" 11:47 Author Community and Resource Hub 15:16 "Efficient CEO Team Engagement" 18:47 Advanced Voiceprint and Content Analysis 23:04 "From Podcasts to Published" 26:40 "Building Trust Through Marketing" 28:00 "Monetizing Connections Through Podcasts" 32:23 "Writing, Motivations, and Podcasts" 35:14 "Guide for First Responder Mental Health" 37:12 "Reflecting Work to Find Purpose" 42:54 "Purpose Behind Writing a Book" 44:52 "Organizing Content for Impact" 48:57 Comprehensive Book Development & Launch 52:25 Transform Podcast into Authority Engine 53:22 Podcast Authority & Growth Strategy     Key Takeaways: - Why Turn Your Podcast Into a Book? People don't buy your book just because of new content. They buy it because you make it easier. A book curates and condenses your "best of the best," saving your audience from sifting through dozens of free episodes.   - Repurposing Content for Maximum Impact: Tina and Erik dig deep on creative ways to repurpose content, from video, audio, and written word, and how this strategy boosts authority and visibility.   - Body of Work vs. Content: Stop viewing your podcast as scattered content; start seeing it as a body of work. Use recurring themes, values, and stories to build your brand and attract premium clients.   - The Process & Path to Your Book: Twin Flames Studios offers a guided process: analyzing your podcast, crafting a manuscript (not just copy-pasting transcripts), and publishing a book that aligns with your goals, audience, and message.   - Authority That Opens Doors: A book amplifies your recognition, whether you're a speaker, podcaster, or coach. Tina shares moving stories, from award-winning audiobooks to connecting industry experts, increasing authority and creating new opportunities.   - When Are You Ready? Signs you might be ready: you have at least 50 quality podcast episodes or pieces of content, clarity on your audience and goals, and you're coachable and ready to invest time and resources.   Episode Highlights: - The value of experimenting with formats and content as your business evolves - How Twin Flames Studios pioneered remote audiobook recording for podcasters - Examples of podcasts turned into books, including The Loud Quiet, a memoir for empty nesters - The importance of strategic vision before you publish, making sure your book is relevant, consumable, and truly builds your authority   Ready to turn your podcast into a book? Take the free assessment from Twin Flames Studios to see if your podcast is a fit: https://twinflamestudios.com/bookvision     Connect with Tina Dietz: Website URL(s) https://twinflamesstudios.com Personal FB: https://www.facebook.com/thisistinadietz Company FB: https://www.facebook.com/TwinFlamesStudiosLeadership/ Personal LI: http://www.linkedin.com/in/tinadietz Company LI: https://www.linkedin.com/company/twin-flames-studios Personal IG: https://www.instagram.com/thetinadietz/ Company IG: https://www.instagram.com/twinflamesstudios/ Company YT: https://www.youtube.com/@TwinFlamesStudios     Want to level up your authority positioning? Apply for a coaching chat and podcast audit with Erik at https://podcasttalentcoach.com/coaching   Next Week: Join Erik as he talks with Dr. Catrice Austin about growing your authority through media—and discover her surprising Jeopardy connection!      

This episode is the full replay of my live masterclass “This Is the Year We've Been Waiting For.” We move with the Fire Horse frequency - the energy that refuses delay, exposes where you outsource your authority, and demands that you live who you have already become. Inside this transmission, I share: Why the Fire Horse calls you out (and how agitation becomes direction) The difference between faith and passivity dressed as spirituality The balance of feminine receiving with masculine commitment and action My four leadership phases: Awakening → Integration → Execution → Stewardship Why Phase 3 (Execution) requires you to hold pressure without collapsing Why Phase 4 (Stewardship) is about carrying the flame and building environments where others evolve Writing prompts and live sharing that reveal what your own year is asking of you (and some shares have been removed to honour the person's deep vulnerability) If you've been preparing for years… if you've been devoted… if you've been becoming… this is the moment the Fire Horse points to: Stop incubating. Start delivering. Here are details for Beautiful Madness which commences in March.  Pre-sale fee available up until 18 February. https://www.giselegambi.com.au/beautiful-madness Timestamps 00:00 The Fire Horse will call you out (opening transmission) 00:14 Welcome + intention for the masterclass (fun + potency) 01:06 “My relationship with the Fire Horse is my relationship” + clear channel/downloads 02:23 Fire Horse as movement: delivery, materialisation, owning voice across new territory 03:10 Feminine leads, masculine commits — the new balance this year 04:20 Why this year doesn't choose inner vs outer worlds: it requires both 05:13 “This is the year you've been waiting for” + moving without knowing outcomes 05:36 Fire Horse = plot twists & pivots (including the tech/registration plot twist) 07:01 Years of devotion & preparation → now it's about living who you are 09:59 Personal plot twist: “I realised I'm a cancer coach” 10:52 Frequencies of the masterclass: self-honesty, authority, courage, humility, movement 13:06 Notes to Self practice + why it became communal (My Best Year Yet origin) 15:20 Mapping the 4 phases of leadership from Notes to Self 17:27 Phase 1 & 2 overview: Awakening + Integration 18:55 Phase 3 (Execution): results lag by design, “move,” hold fear + vision together 22:24 Phase 4 (Stewardship): “carry the flame,” build structures that stabilise transformation 25:01 It's a spiral, not linear — returning isn't regression (you can't unbecome) 27:13 Group reflection: where are you orientating in 2026? 28:10 Leslie share: “holy wholeness” + integration that makes stewardship possible 32:42 Notes to Self #1: “The Fire Horse Calls You Out” (self-honesty transmission) 34:51 Writing prompt: “In my self-honesty…” 35:30 Full reading: outsourcing power, divine assignments, gifts as responsibility 46:58 Sharing begins (Leslie) — crossing over into fuller expression of gifts 48:27 Tess share: self-honesty, nervous system care, unsubscribing from outsourcing power 56:06 Notes to Self #2: fear catalyst → “Big Mind With a Spine” 57:52 Question: “Are you willing to keep your ego vulnerable so your heart can thrive?” 60:24 Holding pressure, regulating self, staying true in vision (beautiful madness requires village) 71:53 Brian share: letting go of ego's need for evidence, agitation as catalyst 73:09 Big Yes / Big No as decision-making (closing what isn't aligned creates space) 75:17 Notes to Self #3: “Multiple Lanes & Where the Throne Now Belongs” 76:36 “We're sourced from the feminine — but the throne belongs in the world” 85:39 Guy share (Bali): “I'm the driver” — manifesting community, fear dissolving into momentum 93:05 Invitation to return + replay will be sent 94:17 Beautiful Madness invite: year container + breathwork (Tweed Heads) + village support 96:15 Leslie addendum: being held in community beyond calls (recordings + sharing space) 97:37 Final Qs + timing for Perth + close #IntuitivePullPodcast #ThisIsTheYear #FireHorseYear #NothingLeftOnTheTable #BeautifulMadness #Leadership #RadicalResponsibility #SelfHonesty #Authority #Courage #Stewardship #Execution #Integration #Awakening #Presence #Intuition #BigYesEnergy #IdentityShift #Torchbearer #MissionDriven #DevotionToDelivery #LoveIsTheMastermind #NotesToSelf #Village #MoveNow  

What happens when an Army veteran discovers her superpower is storytelling? In this episode, Cam and Otis sit down with Cher Terais, a two-time #1 bestselling Wanderlust Romance author who's redefining the romance genre by centering bold, accomplished Black women in stunning destinations around the world.Cher explains shares her journey from military service to becoming a full-time author and founder of The Booked Club travel community. From discussing the therapy found in writing to revealing how her storytelling skills translate into helping other entrepreneurs connect the dots in their marketing, this conversation offers a unique perspective on creativity, reinvention, and building a life that feels as good as it looks.What makes this episode particularly valuable is Cher's emphasis on authenticity and representation. Whether you're an aspiring author, an entrepreneur looking to sharpen your storytelling, or simply someone interested in how diverse experiences shape creative vision, Cher's insights provide a roadmap for choosing courage over comfort and building something uniquely yours.Chapter Times and Titles:Introduction: Meet Cher Terais [00:00 - 02:51]Welcome, and the "less than the F word" joke about romanceCher's background as an Army veteran turned authorSetting the stage for wanderlust romanceThe Storytelling Superpower [02:51 - 21:03]How storytelling became Cher's entrepreneurial edgeConnecting dots for other business ownersThe week at College Station and working with entrepreneursWriting as Personal Communication [21:03 - 31:00]"Music for me was a way to talk to people in secret."Writing from personal experience and emotionThe therapy in storytelling vs. being a storytellerRepresentation and Authenticity in Romance [31:00 - 42:24]Centering bold, accomplished Black women in romanceWhy representation in travel and romance mattersStaying authentic in your creative workBuilding The Booked Club Community [42:24 - 48:16]From books to retreats and travel experiencesCreating spaces where adventure and softness coexistThe reality of becoming a travel curatorLessons on Reinvention and Creativity [48:16 - 51:15]Camden's takeaway: Not wanting to be arrogant, but owning your giftsOtis's reflection on storytelling and connectionThe power of choosing a life that feels as good as it looksConnect with Cher [51:15 - End]Website: cherterais.com Social media: "One of one" on all platforms - TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, PinterestBooks available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and local bookstoresSigned copies exclusively at cherterais.comFinal thoughts on supporting small businesses and authentic storytellingConnect with Cher Terais here:https://cherterais.com/https://www.facebook.com/cherterais/

i also played the ol' wait-it-out game at the Gross Out and won!