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The Couragemakers Podcast | Encouragement, Inspiration & Rebel Rousing for Mission Driven Doers, Makers & Shakers |

Couragemakers is the weekly podcast for creative and multi-passionate women. Because building the life you want and putting stuff in the world takes a boatload of courage, but you don’t have to do it alone. Couragemakers is designed to encourage and rebel-rouse mission-driven doers, makers and world-shakers to spark a movement of women who are choosing themselves. Meg chats to unconventional couragemakers all over the world who share their stories, their advice and their dreams as we have honest conversations about everyday courage, living a wholehearted life and dream chasing. We’ve figured out what we don’t want in life, now we’re figuring out what we do want. And we talk about the things that make us feel on fire as well as the monsters that hide under our beds. Couragemakers is brought to you by Meg Kissack of The Rebel Rousers. Because everything changes when you believe you matter. Let’s shake things up together. Warning: This podcast contains courage, vulnerability and a desire to leave the world a brighter place than how we found it.
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The Couragemakers Podcast | Encouragement, Inspiration & Rebel Rousing for Mission Driven Doers, Makers & Shakers |
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Now displaying: January, 2017
Jan 30, 2017

 

Hello Couragemakers, and welcome to episode 47 of The Couragemakers Podcast!

Before we begin this week, I just wanted to let you know that the podcast is going to be taking a 3 week hiatus, while I completely revamp That Hummingbird Life and get 2017’s episodes up and running! I am so excited for the guests that I have already booked for this year and we have some real corkers coming up! If you fancy yourself as a guest, you can apply online by visiting thathummingbirdlife.com/apply.

Couragemakers will be back on the 27th February with a special first year anniversary episode which I’m still slightly shitting myself about! Roles are going to be reversed as Mr. Meg is going to be interviewing me for my own Couragemakers episode. I have absolutely no idea what he has planned but if you have any questions you’d like me to answer, please send an email to meg@thathummingbirdlife.com (and if you put Mr. Meg in the subject line, i promise not to look!)

I might be putting some solo episodes out between now and then, but if not, now is a great opportunity to look through the past episodes and uncover some real gems and rediscover some old favourites!

Whew.

Now onto today’s show.

This week I’m speaking to Heather Jabornik. Heather is an East Coast writer, hope-raiser, and dream chaser based in Southern California. Heather is the founder of Hiya Tootsie!, and fragrance line Candy Ass. Heather is a lover of spoken word  poetry, rock and roll, glitter, and gunmetal and a self confessed fangirl of Tom Waits.

In this episode, Heather shares her journey, from working as a missionary in the porn industry to founding a website and perfume that inspires women to go after their dreams. She shares her journey from reaching complete burnout, to finding work that sustains her own wellbeing as well as other people’s.

We dive into the vulnerability of putting yourself in the public eye, how we can sometimes hide behind our need to help others and how stepping into fear changes everything.

This is a great episode if you’re looking to find work that breathes life into yourself, not just other people and if you have or are experiencing burnout and want to start building a different life to yourself. It’s also a great episode if you’re scared of putting yourself out there as a work in progress but want to do it anyway.

Heather is really open about her own experiences of burnout and the boundaries she had to create to live a life that felt good to her. I loved hearing about the power of going back to our own creativity and how Heather is working to help other women follow their dreams too!


Enjoy the show!

About Heather

 

Heather Jabornik is an East Coast writer, hope-raiser, and dream chaser based in SoCal. She is the founder of Hiya Tootsie!, a platform for badass dream chasing broads, and Candy Ass, a fragrance line that reminds those badass dream chasers to GO KICK SOME ASS!

 

You can connect with Heather here: Website | Candy Ass | Facebook | Instagram |  Twitter |

 

Things we talked about during today's show

 

  • Heather’s journey from working as a missionary to founding Hiya Tootsie and creating Candy Ass

 

  • How we tend to keep our dreams smaller as women
  • The fear of putting yourself into the world

 

  • Vulnerability and sharing your process in public view

 

  • Heather’s burnout journey

 

Books/Resources etc mentioned during today’s show

 

 



Find out more and download the Couragemakers Manifesto here

 

If you have any question about today's episode, any comments or would like to be a guest on Couragemakers, get in touch: meg@thathummingbirdlife.com

 

About Meg & That Hummingbird Life

 

I'm Meg and I'm the host of Couragemakers and founder of That Hummingbird Life. I started this podcast because I wanted to create a platform for passionate and unconventional women to have honest conversations and to share their stories, struggles and dreams. The intention behind this podcast is to inspire and encourage creative and mission-driven women to live a wholehearted life and follow the beat of their drum.

 

When I'm not recording episodes and making new friends with the wonderful guests, you can find me working on all manners of magic over at That Hummingbird Life, sending free bullshit free reminders to hundreds of women every Sunday and helping my clients build brands they love as a graphic designer.

 

That Hummingbird Life | Twitter | Pinterest |





Jan 23, 2017

 

Hello Couragemakers, and welcome to episode 46 of The Couragemakers Podcast!

I can’t tell you how excited I am to share this episode! This week, I’m speaking to The Gratefulist founder, Wendy de Jong. Wendy is a recovering perfectionist from the Netherlands, and she’s on a mission to help fellow soul-connected yet stressed-out creatives embrace their perfectly imperfect selves. She’s a book-oholic, a homemade pizza aficionado, and driving around in her bright red convertible car is her latest guilty pleasure.

In this episode, we’re diving really deep into the topic of perfectionism. Wendy shares her experiences, growing up a straight A student, struggling with being a people pleaser and how it led to her becoming stressed out and reaching rock bottom. And how learning to practice gratitude helped a whole new world open up and let Wendy take control of her life.  

We talk about the stories we tell ourselves and how they often work to keep us small, the dangers of relying on outside validation and how your world really does start to change when you make the daily choice to start showing up in the world.

Wendy has fantastic advice for anyone struggling with perfectionism, gives us a behind the scenes look at her own practices and is a real shero for anyone looking to work on their own perfectionism - no matter how comfortable or addictive it feels.

I love the work Wendy is doing over on her website The Gratefulist and I loved hearing more about what inspired her to start it and how her own relationship with perfectionism has changed.

If you struggle with people pleasing, being a perfectionist and if the negative voice in your head feels like it’s stuck on repeat, you’re going to get so much out of this episode.

I love how open and vulnerably Wendy shares her journey so to help other people with their own journey, and this episode is a real act of courage.

Enjoy the show!

About Wendy

 

Wendy de Jong is a recovering perfectionist on a mission to help fellow soul-connected yet stressed-out creatives embrace their perfectly imperfect selves. She’s a book-oholic, a homemade pizza aficionado, and driving around in her bright red convertible car is her latest guilty pleasure.

You can connect with Wendy here: Website | Online Community | Twitter | Instagram | The #perfectionismproblems series |

 

Things we talked about during today's show

 

  • Debunking myths that surround perfectionism and how perfectionism isn’t real

 

  • How practicing gratitude has changed Wendy’s life
  • What inspired Wendy to start The Gratefulist

 

  • The dangers of relying on outside validation

 

  • Wendy’s advice for anyone struggling with perfectionism




Books/Resources etc mentioned during today’s show

 

 




Find out more and download the Couragemakers Manifesto here

 

If you have any question about today's episode, any comments or would like to be a guest on Couragemakers, get in touch: meg@thathummingbirdlife.com

 

About Meg & That Hummingbird Life

 

I'm Meg and I'm the host of Couragemakers and founder of That Hummingbird Life. I started this podcast because I wanted to create a platform for passionate and unconventional women to have honest conversations and to share their stories, struggles and dreams. The intention behind this podcast is to inspire and encourage creative and mission-driven women to live a wholehearted life and follow the beat of their drum.

 

When I'm not recording episodes and making new friends with the wonderful guests, you can find me working on all manners of magic over at That Hummingbird Life, sending free bullshit free reminders to hundreds of women every Sunday and helping my clients build brands they love as a graphic designer.

 

That Hummingbird Life | Twitter | Pinterest |





Jan 16, 2017

Hello Couragemakers and welcome to episode 45 of Couragemakers!

This week I’m talking to the wonderfully honest Meaghan Gallant. Meaghan is a holistic health coach, freelance writer, and virtual assistant. She is the creator behind Invoking Joy, an anti-thesis to the diet industry because she believes feeling GREAT doesn't have to be hard and it certainly doesn't have anything to do with the number on the scale. When she's not in front of a screen you can find her on a yoga mat, scribbling in her planner or with her nose stuck in a book.

In this episode, we’re talking really openly, honestly and vulnerably about depression and struggling with your mental health.

Meaghan shares her journey of training to be a health coach while struggling with depression, how she manages her depression and the blame we put on ourselves when we try something new and it doesn’t work.

We talk about how the online world is great at showing the good things, and the glittery part of self improving, but not so great at showing failure that doesn’t come with a happy ending, or the messy and complicated parts of working through your shit.

We dive into how euphoric happiness isn't sustainable, how trusting her intuition has led Meaghan to a life with more possibilities that works for her and Meaghan shares fantastic advice for anyone listening to struggles with their mental health and finding their light.

This episode is a great reminder that it’s not your obligation to shrink or fit into other people’s boxes, and that there really is hope even if you don’t feel it right now.

I’ve been excited to put this episode out for a while now because it’s one of the most honest and hopeful discussions about depression that I have seen online. Meaghan’s honesty is really refreshing, and I don’t think there will be a dry eye in the house by the end of the episode. As someone who struggles with depression, I find this episode so hopeful, so healing and it’s a great reminder that you’re not alone and you can find your own light.

ABOUT MEAGHAN

Meaghan is a holistic health coach, freelance writer, and virtual assistant. She created Invoking Joy to be an anti-thesis to the diet industry because feeling GREAT doesn't have to be hard and it certainly doesn't have anything to do with the number on the scale. When she's not in front of a screen you can find her on a yoga mat, scribbling in her planner or with her nose stuck in a book.

You can connect with Meaghan here: Invoking Joy | Website | Instagram | Twitter

THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT DURING TODAY'S SHOW

  • Meaghan's journey to becoming a health coach, and how she does things differently
  • Meaghan's experience of struggling with depression 
  • How we blame ourselves when easy solutions don’t work instead of looking at the cause 
  • Meaghan’s advice for people listening who struggle with their mental health and finding the light

BOOKS/RESOURCES MENTIONED ON TODAY'S SHOW

Sarah Wilson - I Quit Sugar

FIND OUT MORE AND DOWNLOAD THE COURAGEMAKERS MANIFESTO HERE

If you have any question about today's episode, any comments or would like to be a guest on Couragemakers, get in touch: meg@thathummingbirdlife.com

ABOUT MEG & THAT HUMMINGBIRD LIFE

I'm Meg and I'm the host of Couragemakers and founder of That Hummingbird Life. I started this podcast because I wanted to create a platform for passionate and unconventional women to have honest conversations and to share their stories, struggles and dreams. The intention behind this podcast is to inspire and encourage creative and mission-driven women to live a wholehearted life and follow the beat of their drum.

When I'm not recording episodes and making new friends with the wonderful guests, you can find me working on all manners of magic over at That Hummingbird Life, sending free self care checks ins to hundreds of women every Sunday and helping my clients build brands they love as a graphic designer. I've just come back from a 3 month road trip of the US with Mr. Meg and the future looks exciting!

Jan 9, 2017

Hello Couragemakers and welcome to episode 44 of Couragemakers!

This week I’m talking all things feminism, mental health and body acceptance with Rose Marie Gold. Rose is the the founder of Body Image Guru and is an activist for Fat Acceptance, Health At Every Size and Intersectional Body Image Education. She lives in Seattle, Washington and graduated with a bachelors in Marriage and Family Counselling, Psychology and Gender Studies from Central Washington.

In this episode, Rose shares her journey from being told by people she loved and teachers that she would never pass high school, to graduating with a bachelors, and how she came to embrace her experiences and founded Body Image Guru.

We get vulnerable about what it is to experience life as fat people, how we’re not always taken seriously as women, and what you can do to develop your own confidence and have a better relationship with your body.

We dive into the topic of spoon theory and chronic pain, how Rose practices self care, and how her own relationship with her body has changed since starting Body Image Guru.

Also, a quick heads up that this episode briefly mentions sexual assault and self harm.

I really love the work Rose is doing, and it’s so necessary in the world. This episode really reminds me of the quote: In a society that profits from your self doubt, liking yourself is a rebellious act’ and I think this episode and  Rose’s work   go a long way in starting that rebellion and reminding you that you’re not alone.




About Rose

 

Rose Marie Gold, aka "The Body Image Guru", is the founder and creator of BodyImageGuru.com. She is an activist for Fat Acceptance, Health At Every Size & Intersectional Body Image Education. She graduated with her Bachelors in Marriage and Family Counseling, Psychology and Gender Studies from Central Washington and lives in Seattle, WA. Rose runs a ground breaking website dedicated to body image resources and articles she has been encouraging radical changes in body image for over half a decade.​

She has most recently been interviewed by Choose Life Warrior on her youtube series, Amrie Defrates of Defrates Nutrition and as a plus size model on reality show The Fashion Hero.

You can connect with Rose here: Website | Twitter | Instagram |

Things we talked about during today's show

 

  • How Rose came to start Body Image Guru and what she has learned working with women on their bodies

 

  • The reality of life as a fat woman

 

  • How communities can be instrumental in realising that we’re not alone and no matter what we’re experiencing, someone else has too.

 

Books/Resources etc mentioned during today’s show



Find out more and download the Couragemakers Manifesto here

 

If you have any question about today's episode, any comments or would like to be a guest on Couragemakers, get in touch: meg@thathummingbirdlife.com

 

About Meg & That Hummingbird Life

 

I'm Meg and I'm the host of Couragemakers and founder of That Hummingbird Life. I started this podcast because I wanted to create a platform for passionate and unconventional women to have honest conversations and to share their stories, struggles and dreams. The intention behind this podcast is to inspire and encourage creative and mission-driven women to live a wholehearted life and follow the beat of their drum.

 

When I'm not recording episodes and making new friends with the wonderful guests, you can find me working on all manners of magic over at That Hummingbird Life, sending free self care checks ins to hundreds of women every Sunday and helping my clients build brands they love as a graphic designer..

 

That Hummingbird Life | Twitter | Pinterest |





Jan 2, 2017

Hello Couragemakers and welcome to the first episode of 2017!

So, I have a huge love hate relationship with the start of the new year. I love getting out new notebooks and writing down my dreams but I hate the bullshit around feeling like we have to change everything about who we are.

And that s why I’m so excited to share my episode with Elin Lööw. Elin is a writer and artist who set out to face her creative fears in 2016 with her Fear Year project. A project I absolutely adore, and I know you’ll be inspired to do by the end of this episode. Elin now helps fellow creatives find the courage to go after their dreams too.  Elin is a self confessed twenty-something creative weirdo living and she lives Sweden with her boyfriend Petrus and our two cats Pysen and Alice.

In this episode, we really dive into Elin’s creative journey - from being a freely creative child to losing track of her creativity when she felt she had to be the best and how she came to embrace her creativity again. We have a really honest conversation about many of the struggles creatives face, from self doubt and fear to joy and trust.

Elin shares the inspiration behind her Fear Year project - a project to identify, challenge and work on her fears in 2016. She shares what her project looked like in practice and fantastic advice for anyone wanting to start their own Fear Year.

We really explore how Elin’s way of measuring her creative successes has changed, how her creative process has evolved and how Elin’s Fear Year really explored the connection between creativity and bravery.

We talk about how important identity is to our creativity, how important it is to bring what we want to the world, not just what other people want and just how lethal combination of pressure and perfectionism is to our creativity.

This episode is perfect if you’re a creative and you’re looking to get more brave with your creativity in 2017, if you feel creatively blocked and are desperately in need of some inspiration, and if you’re intrigued about the idea of the Fear Year and want to start your own!

Elin has so much practical advice for fellow creatives who feel scared to start or continue and really helpful and compassionate advice for anyone looking to get back to their creativity! Elin’s episode is the perfect start to 2017 and I hope you get as much out of our conversation as I did!

Be sure to listen all the way to the end to hear an update on Elin’s Fear Year! You can read Elin's update on her blog here.

Enjoy the show!

About Elin

Elin Lööw is a writer and artist who set out to face her creative fears in 2016. Now she helps fellow creatives find the courage to go after their dreams too! She is a  self confessed twenty-something creative weirdo living in Sweden with her boyfriend Petrus and our two cats Pysen and Alice.

You can connect with Elin here: Website | Fear Year Project | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

Things we talked about during today's show

 

  • How perfectionism and pressure stopped Elin creating and how she learned to re-discover her creativity
  • The good things that hide behind your fears
  • Elin’s Fear Year - a year long project to tackle her creative fears
  • Advice for if you want to get back to your own creativity and start your own Fear Yer,

 

Books/Resources etc mentioned during today’s show



Find out more and download the Couragemakers Manifesto here

 

If you have any question about today's episode, any comments or would like to be a guest on Couragemakers, get in touch: meg@thathummingbirdlife.com

 

About Meg & That Hummingbird Life

 

I'm Meg and I'm the host of Couragemakers and founder of That Hummingbird Life. I started this podcast because I wanted to create a platform for passionate and unconventional women to have honest conversations and to share their stories, struggles and dreams. The intention behind this podcast is to inspire and encourage creative and mission-driven women to live a wholehearted life and follow the beat of their drum.

 

When I'm not recording episodes and making new friends with the wonderful guests, you can find me working on all manners of magic over at That Hummingbird Life, sending free self care checks ins to hundreds of women every Sunday and helping my clients build brands they love as a graphic designer. I'm currently on a 3 month road trip of the US with Mr. Meg but normally based in the UK.

 

That Hummingbird Life | Twitter | Pinterest |





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