Today is a special episode to celebrate Couragemakers' 4th birthday! 🎉
Today we're diving into creating the things you wish to see in the world, and how to keep your dreamshitters at bay with the brand new short, snappy and sassy podcast, The Daily Pep!
About Meg & That Hummingbird Life.
I’m Meg and I’m the host of Couragemakers and founder of That Hummingbird Life. I’m a coach for creative and multipassionate women, a writer and INFJ creative and multi-passionate who has a bit of a notebook and post-it note obsession, loves foot-stomping country music and likes her hot chocolate with way too much chocolate.
I started Couragemakers 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, writing bullshit-free Sunday Pep Talks to my wonderful Couragemakers community or working 1:1 with coaching clients, I'm usually covered in paint or walking my wonderfully weird cockapoo Merlin.
Hello Couragemakers and welcome to another episode of The Couragemaker’s Podcast!
Before we dive into today’s show, I have a very exciting announcement! On 29th February, I’m launching a brand new podcast, called The Daily Pep! (Don’t worry, Couragemakers isn’t going anywhere!)
I’ve spent the past six years building a creative life and I’ve got to spend it in the company with the wisest and most creative and wonderful women. And even though we’ve been on different paths, there’s been one thing in common: it takes a shitload of courage, a shitload of perseverance and a fuck load of energy to keep going every day.
I got to thinking about how we all need frequent encouragement and rebel-rousing to keep going, and going, and going. And reminders not to sacrifice yourself (or your values) along the way. And you know what they say about being the change you want to see, or building the thing you want to exist?! Well, The Daily Pep! Podcast was born.
Every weekday, I’ll be sharing short and snappy insights, reminders and stories to help you build a wholehearted creative life that feels good, is sustainable and joyful AND leaves the world a brighter place.
Each episode will be purposefully short and snappy, designed to fit in with your life and your routines. Listen with your morning coffee, while you walk the dog, on your commute, or while you’re trying to resist the snooze button.
So if you’re exhausted by the need to be all the things, want regular reminders that you’re on the right path and you matter, or you’re sick of being your very own personal dreamshitter, this is the podcast for you! It’s launching on 29th February I’ll going to be sharing more about it later this week. Ahhh!
Now, onto today’s show!
This week I’m seriously excited to share my conversation with Ash Ambirge. I have been a fan of Ash’s for YEARS, after stumbling across her blog The Middle Finger Project when I was just getting started in 2014. Since then I’ve really enjoyed watching her journey
Ash is an internet entrepreneur, creative writer, speaker, and advocate for women being brave and doing disobedient things with their careers and their lives. Her voice has been called, “the most memorable on the Internet,” “not safe for work at all,” and also, “really kinda sweary,” which is definitely her favorite description. She is the founder of The Middle Finger Project®, which is both the name of her hallmark lifestyle blog as well the title of her first book. It’s a call to action for “women who disobey” with the tools and mind-set to reject the world’s expectations of success and get on their own path to happiness, wealth, independence, and adventure. Ash splits her time between Philadelphia, PA, and traveling the world.
We dive into SO many good things in this episode. We talk about the importance of failing and getting up again, why Ash doesn’t believe in the myth of the starving artists, the things hardship and loss show us, self promotion as women and a great reframe on how to see money.
Ash shares her experience of writing her first book, how she felt pressing publish on her first ever blog post and the journey along the way. Ash has some fabulous advice about how to put yourself out there and becoming what she’s terms, unfuckwithable and I know you’re going to get SO much out of today’s show!
I know so many of you are already familiar with Ash’s work and The Middle Finger Project and I’m so delighted to share today’s episode with you! If you’re working on or need to work on putting yourself out there, your mindset around money - especially around being a starving artist - or you’re looking to do your own thing, this is the perfect episode for you!
Enjoy the show!
About Ash
Ash is an internet entrepreneur, creative writer, speaker, and advocate for women being brave and doing disobedient things with their careers and their lives. Her voice has been called, “the most memorable on the Internet,” “not safe for work at all,” and also, “really kinda sweary,” which is definitely her favorite description. She is the founder of The Middle Finger Project®, which is both the name of her hallmark lifestyle blog as well the title of her first book. It’s a call to action for “women who disobey” with the tools and mind-set to reject the world’s expectations of success and get on their own path to happiness, wealth, independence, and adventure. Ash splits her time between Philadelphia, PA, and traveling the world.
The Middle Finger Project | The book! | Instagram | Twitter
Things we talked about
About Meg & That Hummingbird Life
I’m Meg and I’m the host of Couragemakers and founder of That Hummingbird Life. I’m a coach for creative and multipassionate women, a writer and INFJ creative and multi-passionate who has a bit of a notebook and post-it note obsession, loves foot-stomping country music and likes her hot chocolate with way too much chocolate.
I started Couragemakers 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, writing bullshit-free Sunday Pep Talks to my wonderful Couragemakers community or working 1:1 with coaching clients, I'm usually covered in paint or walking my wonderfully weird cockapoo Merlin.
Hello Couragemaker and welcome to a fabulous episode of The Couragemakers Podcast! This week I’m delighted to be chatting to the wonderful Caroline Jestaz.
Caroline is a fiction writer, language teacher and writing mentor. She was born and raised in Paris and has been living in the UK since 2003. She first went to England at the age of seven and fell in love with the language, the culture and the country. By the time she was thirteen, she spoke fluent English and went on to study Russian and Italian, then English Literature at university. She has twenty years of teaching experience at university, in language schools and giving private tuition face-to-face and online. Her love of books has led her to run an independent publishing company and to work for two high-profile educational publishers.
Writing is her vocation. Caroline has four novels under her belt. She likes to weave in different narratives and viewpoints and explore themes such as grief, loss, projection, manipulation and deceit. She’s also created an online writing course, runs creative writing workshops in Cambridge and mentors aspiring writers.
Caroline has just launched The Creativity for All Podcast, a bi-monthly show which explores and celebrates the many unseen and unrecognised forms of day-to-day creativity, with the hope of inspiring listeners to tap into their creative potential. She’s passionate about all things creative and endlessly curious about the creative process.
During this episode, we dive into Caroline’s love of languages and linguistics, how her creativity was nurtured as a child and how this plays out in her life today.
Caroline shares her philosophy on writing which doubles up as beautiful advice on life, her life as a self-taught woman and her journey to writing.
We dive into dealing with the critic inside your head, protecting your creativity and putting boundaries around it and the importance of space and freedom in your creative work. We also chat about the myth of the muse and the idea of being too early for something as opposed to not being able to do it.
If you love deep conversations about creativity, if you struggle with your inner critic or you need some creative inspiration, this is the perfect episode for you! Enjoy today’s show!
About Caroline
Caroline is a fiction writer, language teacher and writing mentor. She’s passionate about all things creative and endlessly curious about the creative process.
Caroline was born and raised in Paris and has been living in the UK since 2003. She first went to England at the age of seven and fell in love with the language, the culture and the country. By the time she was thirteen, she spoke fluent English and went on to study Russian and Italian, then English Literature at university in France, Scotland and Ireland. She has twenty years of teaching experience at university, in language schools and giving private tuition face-to-face and online. Her love of books has led her to run an independent publishing company and to work for two high-profile educational publishers.
Writing is her vocation. Caroline has four novels under her belt. Her stories are character-based and always include an element of mystery. She likes to weave in different narratives and viewpoints and explore themes such as grief, loss, projection, manipulation and deceit. She’s also created an online writing course, runs creative writing workshops in Cambridge and mentors aspiring writers. Caroline is passionate about her writing and teaching: ‘The reason I'm a teacher and writing mentor is that I love empowering my students with words and languages and give them the confidence they need to find their own voice.’
On January 27th 2020, she launched The Creativity for All Podcast, a bi-monthly show which explores and celebrates the many unseen and unrecognised forms of day-to-day creativity, with the hope of inspiring listeners to tap into their creative potential.
Website | Creativity For All Podcast | Facebook Page | Novel Writing Course Facebook Page | Instagram
Things We Talked About
I’m Meg and I’m the host of Couragemakers and founder of That Hummingbird Life. I’m a coach for creative and multipassionate women, a writer and INFJ creative and multi-passionate who has a bit of a notebook and post-it note obsession, loves foot-stomping country music and likes her hot chocolate with way too much chocolate.
I started Couragemakers 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, writing bullshit-free Sunday Pep Talks to my wonderful Couragemakers community or working 1:1 with coaching clients, I'm usually covered in paint or walking my wonderfully weird cockapoo Merlin.
Hello Couragemakers!
This week I’m so excited to share my conversation with Audrey Holst!
Audrey Holst helps really smart people not fall apart by helping them heal and transform their burnout. She combines over a decade of experience teaching yoga and mindfulness with extensive training and work as a Certified Professional Coach. She is the author of an upcoming book that teaches readers that there is nothing wrong with them, that what they experience as burnout and disconnection makes sense, and that reconnecting to their body and healing their nervous system is the pathway to tap into their innate brilliance and their sense of self. Each month she leads the Standing Still Collective, a virtual gathering for people that want to achieve their goals in a body-centered and intuitive way with the backing of a community that nurtures their positive actions and changes. Audrey believes that everyone is deserving of a life that nourishes them and small and doable changes over time will eventually change the world.Audrey loves spending spending time with her husband and their adorable kitty Sweatpea as well as hiking, hiking, dancing, yoga and movement in general. I also love curling up under a warm blanket with a book and a cup of tea, which is my personal idea of bliss
In this week’s episode, we’re diving into everything burnout, connection and flow!
Audrey shares about her passion for teaching people how to connect with themselves and shares SO much fabulous wisdom!
She gives us a lesson in nervous system 101, shares her favourite practices to connect with yourselves as well as practices to help with chronic stress.
We have great discussions about perfectionism as a survival tactic, building a relationship with discomfort and keeping our sanity as ambitious women. We also talk how you can’t use the same tools to get out of burnout that got you there, and the problem with this idea of always living outside of your comfort zone
If you’ve ever burnt out, if you struggle with perfectionism or you want to connect with your body more, this is the perfect episode for you!
I loved learning more about our nervous systems and the things we can do to take back control and connect with ourselves today!
I know you’re absolutely going to love Audrey - she has a contagious energy and we cover SO much ground in this episode!
Enjoy today’s show!
About Audrey
Audrey Holst helps really smart people not fall apart by helping them heal and transform their burnout. She combines over a decade of experience teaching yoga and mindfulness with extensive training and work as a Certified Professional Coach. She is the author of an upcoming book that teaches readers that there is nothing wrong with them, that what they experience as burnout and disconnection makes sense, and that reconnecting to their body and healing their nervous system is the pathway to tap into their innate brilliance and their sense of self. Each month she leads the Standing Still Collective, a virtual gathering for people that want to achieve their goals in a body-centered and intuitive way with the backing of a community that nurtures their positive actions and changes. Audrey believes that everyone is deserving of a life that nourishes them and small and doable changes over time will eventually change the world.Audrey loves spending spending time with her husband and their adorable kitty Sweatpea as well as hiking, dancing, yoga and movement in general. She also love curling up under a warm blanket with a book and a cup of tea.
Website | Instagram | Facebook
Things we talked about
Resources
About Meg & The Couragemakers Podcast
I’m Meg and I’m the host of Couragemakers and founder of That Hummingbird Life. I’m a coach for creative and multipassionate women, a writer and INFJ creative and multi-passionate who has a bit of a notebook and post-it note obsession, loves foot-stomping country music and likes her hot chocolate with way too much chocolate.
I started Couragemakers 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, writing bullshit-free Sunday Pep Talks to my wonderful Couragemakers community or working 1:1 with coaching clients, I'm usually covered in paint or walking my wonderfully weird cockapoo Merlin.
Hello Couragemakers! For this week’s episode, I had the real pleasure of chatting to Joanna Rawbone.
Jo is a Flourishing Introvert with an international training & coaching business based in the UK.Joanna has spent more than 24 years working with 000’s of international clients through her own training & coaching consultancy, Scintillo Ltd. During this time, and through her own earlier experiences, she has seen just how problematic the Extraversion bias in organisations is. Recognising that it was time for action, Joanna founded Flourishing Introverts to
in 2019, Joanna delivered a TEDx talk on the subject called ‘Tackling Extraversion Bias to unlock the potential of Introverts’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD7GXMeH4yI
Joanna has a real passion for helping her clients make the small but sustainable changes that really make a difference. Her weeks are spent working with clients, travelling, writing and just 'being'.The things that make her happy include her work with individuals and groups, spending time on her own; necessary in order to replenish sufficiently and music, crafts and reading; all pastimes in which she can 'lose' myself
During our conversation, Jo shares her journey of learning she was an introvert and the fabulous work she now does to advocate for fellow introverts.
We have so many great discussions during this episode, from our shared value of integrity, how how exhausting it is pretending to be an extravert because we think we should be and expanding your comfort zone while staying true to who you are.
We talk about the concept of heart-song work and how Jo found hers, and her brilliant advice for anyone searching for work that makes their heart sing.
We dive into how flourishing is a choice, Jo’s experiences of being an introvert and the six different types of introverts. I learned SO much during this interview and I can’t wait for her podcast which is launching at the end of February.
This is such a practical episode, I got so much out of it and I am just so excited to share it with you!
Enjoy today’s show!
About Jo
own training & coaching consultancy, Scintillo Ltd. During this time, and through her own earlier experiences, she has seen just how problematic the Extraversion bias in organisations is. It negatively impacts employee engagement, retention and productivity. It also impairs the physical and mental health & well-being of employees with the obvious consequences.
Recognising that it was time for action, Joanna founded Flourishing Introverts to
in 2019, Joanna delivered a TEDx talk on the subject called ‘Tackling Extraversion Bias to unlock the potential of Introverts’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD7GXMeH4yI
Joanna has a real passion for helping her clients make the small but sustainable changes that really make a difference. Being a functioning introvert, her clients value her ability to listen to more than the words, understand things from their perspective and co-create robust, pragmatic solutions.
Things We Talked About
Resources
About Meg & The Couragemakers Podcast
I’m Meg and I’m the host of Couragemakers and founder of That Hummingbird Life. I’m a coach for creative and multipassionate women, a writer and INFJ creative and multi-passionate who has a bit of a notebook and post-it note obsession, loves foot-stomping country music and likes her hot chocolate with way too much chocolate.
I started Couragemakers 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, writing bullshit-free Sunday Pep Talks to my wonderful Couragemakers community or working 1:1 with coaching clients, I'm usually covered in paint or walking my wonderfully weird cockapoo Merlin.
As we dive into a new decade, we're taking the pressure off and I'm sharing with you five pieces of advice to remember when it comes to starting new projects, habits and routines!
I'm currently taking on new coaching clients! If you want to create a life you love and do your own thing with more sanity, flow and a shit-tonne of compassionate, book your free 30 minute discovery call here to see if we're a good fit!
About Meg & That Hummingbird Life
I’m Meg and I’m the host of Couragemakers and founder of That Hummingbird Life. I’m a coach for creative and multipassionate women, a writer and INFJ creative and multi-passionate who has a bit of a notebook and post-it note obsession, loves foot-stomping country music and likes her hot chocolate with way too much chocolate.
I started Couragemakers 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, writing bullshit-free Sunday Pep Talks to my wonderful Couragemakers community or working 1:1 with coaching clients, I'm usually covered in paint or walking my wonderfully weird cockapoo Merlin.
Hello Couragemakers and welcome to another episode of The Couragemakers Podcast!
Today I’m chatting with Jolene Wolfe. Joelene - apart from having the world’s best name - is the founder of Happiness Depends. After years of working in the corporate world and following someone else's dream, she took the big leap to finally follow her own. Since Joelene was three her big dream was to be an actor, and at age 40, she took the big leap to start pursuing that dream. Joelene believes Happiness depends on so many things, but it always starts with an idea, a feeling, and a first step. She now enjoys helping others conquer their inner obstacles to take the first step toward their dreams through her writing, coaching and online courses.
In today’s episode, we’re diving into Joelene’s story, from working in corporate America to being laid off and pursuing her lifelong dream of actor.
We’re talking all about facing your fears, taking back your life and the importance of finding your own definition of happiness that is unique to you!
We dive into how fear is just a feeling, how to deal with the vulnerability of telling others about your big dreams, maintaining your momentum on the dream-chasing journey and the importance of giving yourself space to explore dreams.
There are so many nuggets of wisdom in here and if you need a boost of inspiration and a sign to keep chasing your own dreams, this is it!
So, Enjoy the show!
About Joelene
Jolene Wolfe. Joelene is the founder of Happiness Depends. After years of working in the corporate world and following someone else's dream, she took the big leap to finally follow her own. Joelene believes Happiness depends on so many things, but it always starts with an idea, a feeling, and a first step. She now enjoys helping others conquer their inner obstacles to take the first step toward their dreams through her writing, coaching and online courses.
Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook
Things We Talked About:
About Meg & That Hummingbird Life
I’m Meg and I’m the host of Couragemakers and founder of That Hummingbird Life. I’m a coach for creative and multipassionate women, a writer and INFJ creative and multi-passionate who has a bit of a notebook and post-it note obsession, loves foot-stomping country music and likes her hot chocolate with way too much chocolate.
I started Couragemakers 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, writing bullshit-free Sunday Pep Talks to my wonderful Couragemakers community or working 1:1 with coaching clients, I'm usually covered in paint or walking my wonderfully weird cockapoo Merlin.
Hello Couragemakers and welcome to another fabulous episode! This week I’m chatting with the amazing storyteller who is Divya Kohli.
Divya is a London-based, Indian-born senior Yoga and Meditation teacher. She embraces both the scientific and spiritual aspects of yoga and meditation, and the eastern and western parts of her heritage.
After studying Literature at Cambridge University, Divya won a place on The Guardian’s news trainee scheme. While working as a freelance journalist she discovered yoga, more than 20 years’ ago, seemingly by accident, when she stumbled into a class in a room above her local pub. Since that pivotal day in her life she committed to the practice and began investigating the theory of how it worked. This has led her to spend periods of time with teachers in India, while also learning from western schools of psychology, philosophy and neuroscience. She is a professionally trained Mindfulness Facilitator through the mental health charity MIND.
She has grown a community through her teaching, connecting with people across the city of London, the UK and beyond. Her aim is to share accessible ways the practices she has found to be life-changing and can help all of us who are susceptible to the stresses of modern times.
Alongside yoga and meditation, Divya is also passionate about writing, creativity and trance music!
In this week’s episode we’re really diving into the importance of nuance and owning the ups and downs of our own stories.
Divya shares her journey so far, from growing up feeling like an outsider, the many different career paths she has taken and how following her curiosity is what has led her to what she’s doing today.
We dive into how Divya gives herself permission to follow her curiosities, her practical advice for dealing with fear and uncertainty and her great motto of ‘do your time but make your time.’
If you wonder whether you’re on the right path, this is absolutely the episode for you!
I love how refreshing it was to hear all about the twists and the turns on Divya’s path and I know you’re going to get lost in her storytelling!
Enjoy the show!
About Divya:
Divya is a London-based, Indian-born senior Yoga and Meditation teacher. She embraces both the scientific and spiritual aspects of yoga and meditation, and the eastern and western parts of her heritage.
After studying Literature at Cambridge University, Divya won a place on The Guardian’s news trainee scheme. While working as a freelance journalist she discovered yoga, more than 20 years’ ago, seemingly by accident, when she stumbled into a class in a room above her local pub. Since that pivotal day in her life she committed to the practice and began investigating the theory of how it worked. This has led her to spend periods of time with teachers in India, while also learning from western schools of psychology, philosophy and neuroscience. She is a professionally trained Mindfulness Facilitator through the mental health charity MIND.
She has grown a community through her teaching, connecting with people across the city of London, the UK and beyond. Her aim is to share accessible ways the practices she has found to be life-changing and can help all of us who are susceptible to the stresses of modern times.
Website | Facebook | Instagram
Things We Talked About:
Resources Mentioned:
About Meg & That Hummingbird Life
I’m Meg and I’m the host of Couragemakers and founder of That Hummingbird Life. I’m a coach for creative and multipassionate women, a writer and INFJ creative and multi-passionate who has a bit of a notebook and post-it note obsession, loves foot-stomping country music and likes her hot chocolate with way too much chocolate.
I started Couragemakers 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, writing bullshit-free Sunday Pep Talks to my wonderful Couragemakers community or working 1:1 with coaching clients, I'm usually covered in paint or walking my wonderfully weird cockapoo Merlin.
Hello Couragemakers and welcome back to The Couragemakers Podcast!
Couragemakers is back after an unexpected break - I have missed you all! Behind the scenes I’m working on a very exciting podcast project to coincide with Couragemakers’ 4th birthday next year, diving deep into how to build a wholehearted life with coaching clients and most recently, attempting to stop Merlin from eating our Christmas tree!
How is life with you? Go message me over on Instagram - I’d love to hear how your 2019 has been and how you’re doing!
Now, onto today’s show!
For today’s episode, I am absolutely over the moon to introduce you Hope Alexander. It is a real joy and a privilege when I get to have my favourite people on the show and I can’t wait for you to meet my brilliant friend, Hope.
Hope is the founder of Solace & Company, a gift service and empowerment platform for bereaved people. She's also a freelancer in the design industry, campaign and events manager for two children's charities, soon-to-be-podcaster, prolific volunteer and devoted mum to her cats and two pygmy goats.
She's currently working hard on the latest edition of Solace Boxes which will be released in January, and planning the first of what will hopefully be many non-profit summer camps for young bereaved people in September of next year - for more details on that, sign up to the mailing list on the Solace & Company website. A grief-inspired podcast about life and death and everything in between is also in the works, so make sure to give her a follow on something social if you like what she has to say!
In this episode, Hope shares her journey of building a multi-passionate career and how she has worked to find her purpose and a way to contribute and add meaning to the world.
During our conversation we dive into everything from managing multiple projects, Hope’s motto to live by: this too shall pass, imposter syndrome and looking after yourself while making the world a brighter place.
We have a really deep conversation about bereavement, the need to start having real conversations about dying and the work Hope is doing to make that happen. We discuss how taboo talking about death is, how much having those conversations would change the world, and Hope has so much brilliant advice on what to say and do to really help people who are grieving.
If you need a reminder that you can change the world, proof that you can build a multi-passionate career or need to hear a really healing conversation about death and bereavement, this is the perfect episode for you
Needless to say, I adore Hope and I’m in absolute awe of all the things she does, how big her heart is, and how much hope she inspires. She is quite literally Hope by name, Hope by nature.
I know you’re going to love Hope, love this episode and enjoy watching her story unfold.
Enjoy the show!
About Hope
Hope is the founder of Solace & Company, a gift service and empowerment platform for bereaved people. She's also a freelancer in the design industry, campaign and events manager for two children's charities, soon-to-be-podcaster, prolific volunteer and devoted mum to her cats and two pygmy goats.
She's currently working hard on the latest edition of Solace Boxes which will be released in January, and planning the first of what will hopefully be many non-profit summer camps for young bereaved people in September of next year - for more details on that, sign up to the mailing list on the Solace & Company website. A grief-inspired podcast about life and death and everything in between is also in the works, so make sure to give her a follow on something social if you like what she has to say!
Things We Talked About
Hope is the founder of Solace & Company, a gift service and empowerment platform for bereaved people. She's also a freelancer in the design industry, campaign and events manager for two children's charities, soon-to-be-podcaster, prolific volunteer and devoted mum to her cats and two pygmy goats.
She's currently working hard on the latest edition of Solace Boxes which will be released in January, and planning the first of what will hopefully be many non-profit summer camps for young bereaved people in September of next year - for more details on that, sign up to the mailing list on the Solace & Company website. A grief-inspired podcast about life and death and everything in between is also in the works, so make sure to give her a follow on something social if you like what she has to say!
Resources
About Meg & That Hummingbird Life
I’m Meg and I’m the host of Couragemakers and founder of That Hummingbird Life. I’m a coach for creative and multipassionate women, a writer and INFJ creative and multi-passionate who has a bit of a notebook and post-it note obsession, loves foot-stomping country music and likes her hot chocolate with way too much chocolate.
I started Couragemakers 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, writing bullshit-free Sunday Pep Talks to my wonderful Couragemakers community or working 1:1 with coaching clients, I'm usually covered in paint or walking my wonderfully weird cockapoo Merlin.
Hello Couragemakers and welcome to another episode of The Couragemakers Podcast!
This week I had the absolute delight of talking with Indrani Goradia!
Indrani is a philanthropist and advocate for women’s health and empowerment. She is the founder of Indrani’s Light Foundation, a nonprofit foundation dedicated to improving the level of care for domestic violence survivors by training and supporting front-line domestic violence caregivers in reducing compassion fatigue and burnout.
An author, speaker and certified life coach, Indrani has delivered keynote addresses at conferences and leads workshops around the world, including World Women’s Health and Development Forum at the United Nations, the Nexus Conference in Jamaica, the UBS’s “It’s a Girl” conference in Switzerland, Global India Fund’s Girl Rising Screening and panel in D.C, Women Moving Millions, at the 2016 Women Deliver Conference in Copenhagen. She did a Tedx Talk titled “Love Expressed as Violence is a Lie” at TEDx Port of Spain 2015 .
Indrani completed her formal education in New York City, attending Queens College and Kent State University. She is currently preparing to begin a certification in Social Impact Strategy at UPenn and an executive leadership program at THNK in Amsterdam for 2019. She is also tri-athlete and marathoner in her spare time.
During our conversation, Indrani shares how she realised her life mission, what inspired her mission and how she sustains herself along the way.
We dive into SO many great things during this episode including a very practical way of saying no, dealing with toxic people, why recovery time is so important and how Indrani reparents herself.
This episode is a great reminder of how what people say says more about them, that we need to put ourselves on the top of our list and why selfish is such a fantastic word!
Indiani’s spirit is absolutely contagious. If you need some courage to deal with toxic people in your life, a permission slip to look after yourself as well as the people around you, and some extra sass in your life, this is the episode for you!
Enjoy the show!
This week I’m speaking to Heather Adams. Heather the founder and CEO of Choice Media & Communications, a boutique media and communications business. A self-proclaimed pop-culture junkie, Heather leads Choice’s impressive team of women as they serve preeminent voices in publishing, government, lifestyle, entertainment, business, and faith-based arenas. Heather has played an instrumental role in helping more than 100 authors land spots on The New York Times Best Sellers list. A passionate mentor to women in the communications field and beyond, Heather is tearing down old barriers with the ever-present hope that in the future, women professionals and entrepreneurs will face far fewer obstacles. Heather is a big believer in nurturing the next generation of women. She walks that women-lifting-up-other-women-walk through developing the all-women Choice team she’s built, the college women she mentors, the clients and projects she selects, and so much more.Heather lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband, Matthew, and their two young sons, Dixon and Thackston.
In this episode we’re really diving into mentorship and women lifting other women up. Heather shares so much practical advice on how to find a mentor - even when it feels scary, how to get the most out of a mentor relationship as well as being a good mentee and mentor.
Heather shares her love and passion for books from an early age and her journey from working in the book publishing industry to starting her own boutique communications organisation.
And we also dive into keeping your work and life sustainable, from how Heather sees self-care as critical for being the best version of her she can be, prioritising for the season of life you’re in, and Heather shares what keeps the fire in her belly burning.
I can’t tell you how excited to share this episode with you! Heather is the antithesis of the old saying that women should be seen and not heard. Heather’s passion for stories and the desire to make people feel heard, seen and known shines through everything she says and I love how she is working to create a culture that lifts women up.
About Heather
Heather Adams is the founder and CEO of Choice Media &Communications, a boutique media and
communications business. A self-proclaimed pop-culture junkie, Heather leads Choice’s impressive team of women as they serve preeminent voices in publishing, government, lifestyle, entertainment, business, and faith-based arenas. Heather has played an instrumental role in helping more than 100 authors land spots on The New York Times Best
Sellers list. A passionate mentor to women in the communications field and beyond, Heather is tearing down old barriers with the ever-present hope that in the future, women professionals and entrepreneurs will face far fewer obstacles. Heather is a big believer in nurturing the next generation of women. She walks that women-lifting-up-other-women-walk through developing the all-women Choice team she’s built, the college women she mentors, the clients and projects she selects, and so much more.Heather lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband, Matthew, and their two young sons, Dixon and Thackston.
Website | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn
Things We Talked About:
About Meg & That Hummingbird Life
I’m Meg and I’m the host of Couragemakers and founder of That Hummingbird Life. I’m a coach for creative and multipassionate women, a writer and INFJ creative and multi-passionate who has a bit of a notebook and post-it note obsession, loves foot-stomping country music and likes her hot chocolate with way too much chocolate.
I started Couragemakers 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, writing bullshit-free Sunday Pep Talks to my wonderful Couragemakers community or working 1:1 with coaching clients, I'm usually covered in paint or walking my wonderfully weird cockapoo Merlin.
This week I’m talking to the fabulous and my now-friend Katie Vaz. Katie is an illustrator, author, and graphic designer living in Upstate New York with her husband, Joby, a puppy named Tater, and a cat named KittenFace. She is the author of the adult coloring book Don’t Worry, Eat Cake (which was featured on Canada's Biggest Bestseller List at Chapters Indigo), the book Make Yourself Cozy: A Guide for Practicing Self-Care, and more recently The Escape Manual For Introverts, which was just published on August 6, 2019 (all three by Andrews McMeel Publishing). She also designs her own line of greeting cards, prints and other stationery products, which are sold both online on Etsy and in brick and mortar shops across North America. She also works as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer with a variety of clients on branding, packaging design, and illustration projects. Katie’s work has been featured on sites like BuzzFeed, Woman’s Day, POPSUGAR, Real Simple, and HuffPost. When she’s not working, Katie likes to spend her time cooking and baking, tending to her plants, reading fiction - Harry Potter is her favourite), learning embroidery, and walking her puppy Tater.
Today’s episode is just a really refreshingly honest conversation about the struggles that so often accompany being a creative woman, from self doubt and comparison to owning the things that make you different and dealing with expectations and disappointments.
We have great discussions about making space for the unexpected, focusing on your own work and not comparing your work to others, external versus internal motivation and the power of recognising and exploring your fears.
We also dive deep into owning your experience as an introvert and highly sensitive person and finding like minded people.
If you ever wanted to be a fly on the wall of a really intimate and vulnerable conversation between two creative women who are just laying it all out there, this is the perfect episode for you!
And if you struggle with people pleasing, anxiety and imposter syndrome, let this episode serve as a reminder that you are never alone.
I am sure that you will, as I have, fall in love with Katie and really enjoy this episode!
So enjoy the show!
About Katie
Katie is an illustrator, author, and graphic designer living in Upstate New York with her husband, Joby, a puppy named Tater, and a cat named KittenFace. She is the author of the adult coloring book Don’t Worry, Eat Cake (which was featured on Canada's Biggest Bestseller List at Chapters Indigo), the book Make Yourself Cozy: A Guide for Practicing Self-Care, and more recently The Escape Manual For Introverts, which was just published on August 6, 2019 (all three by Andrews McMeel Publishing). She also designs her own line of greeting cards, prints and other stationery products, which are sold both online on Etsy and in brick and mortar shops across North America. She also works as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer with a variety of clients on branding, packaging design, and illustration projects. Katie’s work has been featured on sites like BuzzFeed, Woman’s Day, POPSUGAR, Real Simple, and HuffPost.
Website | Etsy Shop | Instagram | Facebook
Things We Talked About:
About Meg & That Hummingbird Life
I’m Meg and I’m the host of Couragemakers and founder of That Hummingbird Life. I’m an INFJ creative and multipassionate who has a bit of a notebook and post-it note obsession, loves foot-stomping country music and likes her hot chocolate with way too much chocolate.
I started Couragemakers 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, writing bullshit-free, very vulnerable and encouraging Sunday emails to fellow couragemakers (join the party here!) or making new friends with the wonderful guests, you can find me working on all manners of magic over at That Hummingbird Life. THL is the online home for unconventional creatives and multipassionates who want to show up unapologetically and intentionally as who they are, and really own, live and share their many stories. It’s made for couragemakers who have so much great shit to give the world and want to leave their mark but have too much self doubt standing in the way!
Hello Couragemakers!
This week I’m chatting to Lucy Elliott - THE most colourful and fun chocolate bars I have ever seen.
Lucy is the creative director and founder of Creighton's Chocolaterie. She is a product designer, chocolatier and lover of all things colourful (especially if food is involved!). From a young age, Lucy's dream was to have a career doing something she loved. At school, she came up various fun and colourful ‘products’ that she'd sell to friends and family, including a self-published cake cookbook, a range of greetings cards, band merch, jewellery… the list was endless but had one thing in common: everything was created & designed by her. Lucy lives in Leighton Buzzard with her husband, daughter and dog
In today’s episode, Lucy is diving into her story, from how she has been running creative endeavour of one kind of another since being a child to how she founded Creighton’s Chocolaterie.
We have so many great discussions about creativity in this episode. We dive into the power of creating the things you want to see in the world and creating with blinkers on, the need to have other and completely separate creative outlets when you put a lot of your work out there, the surprising relationship between impatience and perfectionism and how Lucy keeps her creative fires burning.
This is a perfect episode for you if yo’ve ever struggled with the idea of creativity and business coinciding together, if you struggle with self doubt and you need a massive shot of inspiration.
There are so many wisdoms of nuggets in here and I know you’re going to take so much from this episode!
Enjoy the show!
About Lucy
Lucy is the creative director and founder of Creighton's Chocolaterie. She is a product designer, chocolatier and lover of all things colourful (especially if food is involved!). From a young age, Lucy's dream was to have a career doing something she loved. At school, she came up various fun and colourful ‘products’ that she'd sell to friends and family, including a self-published cake cookbook, a range of greetings cards, band merch, jewellery… the list was endless but had one thing in common: everything was created & designed by her. Lucy lives in Leighton Buzzard with her husband, daughter and dog
Website | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest
Things We Talked About:
Resources Mentioned:
About Meg & That Hummingbird Life
I’m Meg and I’m the host of Couragemakers and founder of That Hummingbird Life. I’m a coach for creative and multipassionate women, a writer and INFJ creative and multi-passionate who has a bit of a notebook and post-it note obsession, loves foot-stomping country music and likes her hot chocolate with way too much chocolate.
I started Couragemakers 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, writing bullshit-free Sunday Pep Talks to my wonderful Couragemakers community or working 1:1 with coaching clients, I'm usually covered in paint or walking my wonderfully weird cockapoo Merlin.
Hello Couragemakers!
I couldn’t be happier to be sharing the conversation I had with today’s guest. This week I’m talking with wonderful human who is Eli Trier.
Eli is a community builder for Quiet Revolutionaries. She helps introverts with big dreams to get connected and build thriving, engaged communities around their businesses, so that they can make a massive impact, find their dream clients, and make their corner of the world a better place. She specialises in creating powerful, strategic online community projects and loves every minute of her work (even the boring bits). Eli lives in the wonderful city of Copenhagen, Denmark and when she's not working you can find her curled up with a book, painting, or hanging out with her husband Lars. Eli’s runs the group program love>numbers group programme which is all about getting connected and building a network of your right people. Applications are currently open - you can find out more by visiting https://elitriercommunities.com/lovenumbers
In this week’s episode, we’re talking all about Eli’s journey to showing up fully in all her, what she calls Wibbly-Wobbly, Wonky Glory.
Eli shares her journey from struggling with crippling anxiety to helping people build authentic communities, her story of being diagnosed wth autism in her thirties, and her decision she made two years ago to only talk to herself with compassion and like her own best friend.
We have a great conversation about boundaries and how having such firm boundaries around her time and energy are what allows her to show up fully, how self compassion and self-kindness are Eli’s superpowers and how to find your people.
I’ve been thinking a lot over the past couple of years, about the sustainability piece when it comes to creating a life you love and Eli’s wisdom and practical examples around her own boundaries is seriously inspiring and helpful.
If you’re someone who wants to show up more as your imperfect self, wants to find your people and wants to find a way to show yourself more compassion and kindness instead of being your own biggest dreamshitter, this is the episode for you!
Eli is an absolute powerhouse, I love her enthusiasm, her values and her energy. She is simply contagious.
Here’s to showing up in full in all our wibbly-wobbly, wonky glory and making the world a brighter place!
Enjoy the show!
About Eli
Eli Trier lives in the wonderful city of Copenhagen, Denmark and is a community builder for Quiet Revolutionaries. She helps introverts with big dreams to get connected and build thriving, engaged communities around their businesses, so that they can make a massive impact, find their dream clients, and make their corner of the world a better place. A long-time business owner, Eli knows first-hand the power of human connection to build a business, and her unique approach got her featured in The FT Guide to Business Networking. She specialises in creating powerful, strategic online community projects and loves every minute of her work (even the boring bits). When she's not working you can find her curled up with a book, painting, or hanging out with her husband Lars.
Details of her love>numbers group programme (which is currently open for applications) all about getting connected and building a network of your right people can be found here.
Website | Instagram | Love over numbers
Things We Talked About:
Resources Mentioned:
About Meg & That Hummingbird Life
I’m Meg and I’m the host of Couragemakers and founder of That Hummingbird Life. I’m a coach for creative and multipassionate women, a writer and INFJ creative and multi-passionate who has a bit of a notebook and post-it note obsession, loves foot-stomping country music and likes her hot chocolate with way too much chocolate.
I started Couragemakers 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, writing bullshit-free Sunday Pep Talks to my wonderful Couragemakers community or working 1:1 with coaching clients, I'm usually covered in paint or walking my wonderfully weird cockapoo Merlin.
Hello Couragemakers and welcome to another episode and a Couragemakers first, because today I’m interviewing two wonderful women! And we’re diving into everything related to money, and if you’re anything like me, it might surprise you to find that you can have a hell of a lot of fun talking about money!
This week I’m chatting with Martha Lawton and Alex Lemon, hosts of the podcast Squanderlust: part self-help, part comedy, part confessional, Squanderlust is a very different kind of personal finance podcast and talks about the emotional side of money, why our actions aren’t always as good as our intentions and what we can do about it.
Martha Lawton is a former financial advisor is turned freelancer who helps organisations improve support for vulnerable people with money issues. She has facilitated hundreds of workshops about budgeting, borrowing and saving and helped thousands of people think more clearly about their finances. Martha loves learning recipes from around the world, spending time with her husband, her friends and her sister and crocheting.
Alex Lemon is a former chartered accountant turned freelance editor. She works in content and communications for charity campaigns, marketing, web services, data visualization, digital policy and, lately, books. which makes sense when you know she was a journalist before she was ever an accountant. Alex enjoys swing dancing, learning Korean, reading and thinking about Life, and how to get better at it.
We chat about so many juicy things in this episode, from why money is such a complicated topic for women, the history of women having their own money and the shame we often feel, to the joy of money and how to get really playful with it.
We have so many great conversations about the rarely spoken about emotional and psychological sides of money, and Martha and Alex have so much great advice on what to do if you find talking about money simply plain scary.
It is so refreshing to talk about money in a playful and joyful way, especially as I think it’s fair to say we have a somewhat complicated relationship with money as creative and multi-passionate women. As someone who tends to find talking about money pretty scary, it was amazing to find that there are ways of talking about it that actually feel good!
Martha and Alex are so generous with their experiences, so brilliant at uncovering the shame that comes with money and I guarantee that this episode is going to make you curious about how you can reframe your relationship with money!
I know you’re going to love this one, so enjoy the show!
About Martha, Alex & The Squanderlust Podcast
Martha Lawton is a former financial advisor is turned freelancer who helps organisations improve support for vulnerable people with money issues. She has facilitated hundreds of workshops about budgeting, borrowing and saving and helped thousands of people think more clearly about their finances. Martha loves learning recipes from around the world, spending time with her husband, her friends and her sister and crocheting.
Alex Lemon is a former chartered accountant turned freelance editor. She works in content and communications for charity campaigns, marketing, web services, data visualization, digital policy and, lately, books. which makes sense when you know she was a journalist before she was ever an accountant. Alex enjoys swing dancing, learning Korean, reading and thinking about Life, and how to get better at it.
Martha and Alex are hosts of the podcast Squanderlust: a podcast about the emotional side of money, why our actions aren’t always as good as our intentions and what we can do about it. Part self-help, part comedy, part confessional, Squanderlust is a very different kind of personal finance podcast!
Things We Talked About
Resources
Martha and Alex have been really kind and put together a Resources page for Couragemaker listeners! You can check it out here!
About your host, Meg Kissack + That Hummingbird Life
I’m Meg and I’m the host of Couragemakers and founder of That Hummingbird Life. I’m a coach for creative and multipassionate women, a writer and INFJ creative and multi-passionate who has a bit of a notebook and post-it note obsession, loves foot-stomping country music and likes her hot chocolate with way too much chocolate.
I started Couragemakers 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, writing bullshit-free Sunday pep Talks to my wonderful Couragemakers community or working 1:1 with coaching clients, I'm usually covered in paint or walking my wonderfully weird cockapoo Merlin.
Hello Couragemakers and welcome to another fabulous episode of The Couragemakers Podcast! The week I’m so excited to chat with Mai-kee Tsang. Mai-kee is a Launch Strategist, Copywriter, Podcast Host & Coach who helps purpose-driven entrepreneurs to build their authority in business, and discover their Brand DNA so that they can thrive when they launch their signature courses. Outside of her 1-1 client work, she hosts The Quiet Rebels Podcast which is a dedicated space to help her listeners to create the courage to own their voice, message, and worth in both life and business - without having to be the loudest person in the room.
And when she’s not in work, you can find her trying to solve the Rubik's cube and resisting the call of her freezer to dig into Salted Caramel Ice cream.
In this week’s episode we’re really diving into the world of people-pleasing, shrugging off what other people expect of us and finding your intuition.
Mai-kee shares her the journey of from struggling with what she wanted to be when she grew up to starting her own business, how she learned to listen to her intuition, and how she became friends with fear.
We have a great conversation about the difference between internal and external validation and how imagination can be wielded as a source of good and how Mai-kee’s life changed when she stopped people pleasing.
This is such a practical episode and I love how Mai-kee shares a wonderful exercise on how to use your intuition to make decisions and the advice she has to give if you’ve ever been rejected by your community.
Before we begin, I want to let you know that this episode contains a very brief reference to sexual assault, so look after you and do what you need to do.
If you struggle with people pleasing, putting boundaries in place, letting go of other people’s expectations of you or you struggle to connect with intuition, this is the perfect episode for you!
Enjoy today’s show!
About Mai Kee
Mai-kee Tsang is a Launch Strategist, Copywriter, Podcast Host & Coach who helps purpose-driven entrepreneurs to build their authority in business, and discover their Brand DNA so that they can thrive when they launch their signature courses.
As a Launch Strategist, she’s at the front lines during course launches from start to finish. And with 5 years of coaching under her belt, she’s able to dig deep to understand their true desires and fears of her clients’ customers - to turn it into empowering copy.
Outside of her 1-1 client work, she hosts The Quiet Rebels Podcast which is a dedicated space to help her listeners to create the courage to own their voice, message, and worth in both life and business - without having to be the loudest person in the room.
When Mai-kee is off work you can find her trying to solve the Rubik's cube and resisting the siren call of my freezer to dig into the Salted Caramel Ice cream. Happiness for Mai-kee is working towards a life free of regrets in my relationships with family, friends, partner, work and health.
Website | Instagram | LinkedIn | YouTube | Free Launch Guide
Things We Talked About
About your host, Meg Kissack + That Hummingbird Life
I’m Meg and I’m the host of Couragemakers and founder of That Hummingbird Life. I’m a coach for creative and multipassionate women, a writer and INFJ creative and multi-passionate who has a bit of a notebook and post-it note obsession, loves foot-stomping country music and likes her hot chocolate with way too much chocolate.
I started Couragemakers 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, writing bullshit-free Sunday pep Talks to my wonderful Couragemakers community or working 1:1 with coaching clients, I'm usually covered in paint or walking my wonderfully weird cockapoo Merlin.
Hello Couragemakers!
This week I’m speaking with the delightful Nikki Newbauer and this week is all about hope: a topic that I think is more important than ever in a world that sometimes feels like it’s falling apart.
Nikki is a hopeful humanitarian and founder of Little Hope Notes: an initiative that is spreading kindness, one note at a time. Nikki is passionate about loving others and spreading hope to strangers through her writing. She lives with her husband and uniquely wonderful five year old daughter in Virginia and can be often found hiking in Shenandoah National Park, coffee shop hopping, and looking for nearby creeks to play in, and are always on the lookout for tacos!
In today’s episode, Nikki is sharing the story behind little hope notes, her mental health journey and how writing has made a profound difference in her life.
We dive into how Nikki keeps her hope alive, how random acts of kindness have made a huge difference in Nikki’s life, perfectionism and how social media can be used for good.
We have a great conversation about the power of comforting yourself, hitting rock bottom and Nikki shares the four things she does to look after herself and a hope note for everyone listening.
This episode is a great reminder that we already have all the tools we need inside ourselves and that courage doesn’t always feel like courage and the power of comforting yourself.
Just a head’s up before we begin that this episode does mention suicide, so look after you.
This is such a hopeful episode and my hope is that it fills your heart and fans your flame of hope as much as it has mine! Nikki is building such a wonderful community and I’m so inspired by how she is creating, to borrow Nikki’s words, a tidal wave of kindness.
Enjoy the show!
About Nikki
Nikki is a hopeful humanitarian and founder of Little Hope Notes: an initiative that is spreading kindness, one note at a time. Nikki is passionate about loving others and spreading hope to strangers through her writing. She lives with her husband and uniquely wonderful five year old daughter in Virginia and can be often found hiking in Shenandoah National Park, coffee shop hopping, and looking for nearby creeks to play in, and are always on the lookout for tacos!
Website | Instagram | Pinterest
Things We Talked About
About your host, Meg Kissack + That Hummingbird Life
I’m Meg and I’m the host of Couragemakers and founder of That Hummingbird Life. I’m a coach for creative and multipassionate women, a writer and INFJ creative and multi-passionate who has a bit of a notebook and post-it note obsession, loves foot-stomping country music and likes her hot chocolate with way too much chocolate.
I started Couragemakers 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, writing bullshit-free Sunday pep Talks to my wonderful Couragemakers community or working 1:1 with coaching clients, I'm usually covered in paint or walking my wonderfully weird cockapoo Merlin.
Hello hello my Courgemaker family!
I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am to share with you today’s episode - it seriously gives me LIFE!
This week I’m talking with Wellbotics founder Dr. Pam Davis. Wellbotics delivers pop up makerspaces to cancer care communities and other safe spaces, using instructional robots to leverage Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math, and Mindfulness to increase problem-solving skills, communication, and cooperation amongst children facing family trauma. Since her first seizure at ten years old Pam has spent a lifetime thinking “with and about [her] brain.” That interest expanded to include interests in Mindfulness, Neuroscience, and Artificial Intelligence. With a passion for academic research Pam earned her doctorate degree in Instructional Media and Technology from Columbia University and in 2016 Pam combined her interests, passion and profound gratitude to those who helped her in her own battle with breast cancer by developing and offering Wellbotics to children and families dealing with the troubling times that often accompany a family cancer diagnosis. Pam loves kids and building robot so her time is spent using one to help another. Pam resides in New York City area as a workshop leader, public speaker and a STEM Educator.
In this week’s episode, Pam shares her experiences of growing up as a child with epilepsy, being diagnosed with cancer at 47 and the story behind Wellbotics. She shares how Wellbotics was a response to Pam’s battle with breast cancer and how it changed her life and the lives of others in some unexpectedly positive ways.
There are so many wonderful moments in this episode that I don’t even know where to begin! We have a great conversation about reframing bitterness and Pam’s passion for sustainable positivity, confidence, the parallels between robotics and life - which is fascinating - and Pam’s notion which I love, of ‘once-upon-a-time strangers’.
Pam’s passion is utterly contagious and my heart felt so full after this conversation and I am couldn’t be more excited to be sharing it with you today.
If you need a boost, if you’re wondering if it’s possible to combine your interests into a fulfilling career or if you simply want to spend time in the company of one hell of an inspiring woman, you are going to love this conversation.
Enjoy the show, and as Pam says, Be Well.
About Dr. Pam Davis
Dr. Pam Davis is the Founder of Wellbotics. Wellbotics delivers pop up makerspaces to cancer care communities and other safe spaces, using instructional robots to leverage Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math, and Mindfulness to increase problem-solving skills, communication, and cooperation amongst children facing family trauma. Since her first seizure at ten years old Dr. Pam has spent a lifetime thinking “with and about [her] brain.” That interest expanded to include interests in Mindfulness, Neuroscience, and Artificial Intelligence. With a passion for academic research Pam earned her doctorate degree in Instructional Media and Technology from Columbia University and in 2016 Pam combined her interests, passion and profound gratitude to those who helped her in her own battle with breast cancer by developing and offering Wellbotics to children and families dealing with the troubling times that often accompany a family cancer diagnosis. Pam resides in New York City area as a workshop leader, public speaker and a STEM Educator.
Website | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn
Things We Talked About
About your host, Meg Kissack + That Hummingbird Life
I’m Meg and I’m the host of Couragemakers and founder of That Hummingbird Life. I’m a coach for creative and multipassionate women, a writer and INFJ creative and multi-passionate who has a bit of a notebook and post-it note obsession, loves foot-stomping country music and likes her hot chocolate with way too much chocolate.
I started Couragemakers 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, writing bullshit-free Sunday pep Talks to my wonderful Couragemakers community or working 1:1 with coaching clients, I'm usually covered in paint or walking my wonderfully weird cockapoo Merlin.
Hello Couragemakers and welcome to another episode of The Couragemakers Podcast!
This week I’m absolutely delighted to be chatting with Elise. Elise Rorick is the creative magic behind Lusicovi Creative. Elise is an Enchantment Artist, Book Designer + Photographer (including underwater photography) Writer, Philosopher, and Creator of The Starlight Journal, and the upcoming Starlight Collective and Create Journal. Capturing wonder and creating enchantment are her specialties and she is a giant nerd, fascinated by stories, the sea, the stars, and exploring questions like “why are we here?” and “where did we come from?”
Elise’s artwork is always literary inspired with a bohemian feel, and is usually a combination of painting, photography, and historical research. She believes that both fantasy art and fantasy writing are incredibly important, because they allow us to explore very real problems in a safe space. Above all, she believes in the value of art to inspire and challenge us, children and adults alike. She hopes that her art, by exploring these big ideas about who we are as humans, and what amazing magical things we are capable of, will inspire others to re-examine what they think and know about the world and about themselves. She believes in spreading magic, beauty, love, and light, so that together we can inspire and empower the world. Books, art, nature, and connections with other creative and soulful humans are what makes her happy. Elise is also a huge supporter of Couragemakers and is a wonderful member of the Couragemakers Patreon community!
In today’s episode, Elise is sharing her journey, from being a photographer since the age of 12 to running her own business and bringing loves of art, creativity, nature and wellbeing under one roof.
Elise really shares the behind the scenes of her business and it’s fascinating to hear the behind the scenes development of her Starlight Journal and the organic evolution of her business. Elise shares how she resisted picking a niche and also how she came to find out what holds everything in her business together.
We also dive into how fear and creativity walk hand in hand, the power of everyday magic and synronicity, how courage is a form of rebellion and also the story behind Elise’s Harry Potter tattoo.
If you’re struggling to see how all the bits of your life fit together, you’re curious about the creative process, if you find it hard to ask for help and ask for feedback or if you ever wonder what will become of your unfinished creative projects, this episode is for you!
This episode is so inspiring and I’m so excited to share it with you! Enjoy the show!
About Elise
Elise Rorick is the creative magic behind Lusicovi Creative. Enchantment Artist, Book Designer + Photographer, Writer, Philosopher, and Creator of The Starlight Journal, and the upcoming Starlight Collective and Create Journal, capturing wonder and creating enchantment are her specialties. She is a giant nerd and is fascinated by stories, the sea, the stars, and exploring questions like “why are we here?” and “where did we come from?”
Her artwork is always literary inspired with a bohemian feel, and is usually a combination of painting, photography, and historical research. She believes that both fantasy art and fantasy writing are incredibly important, because they allow us to explore very real problems in a safe space.
Above all, she believes in the value of art to inspire and challenge us, children and adults alike. She hopes that her art, by exploring these big ideas about who we are as humans, and what amazing magical things we are capable of, will inspire others to re-examine what they think and know about the world and about themselves. She believes in spreading magic, beauty, love, and light, so that together we can inspire and empower the world. Lusicovi Creative comes from Elise’s Armenian heritage. “Lus” means “light” in Armenian, and “covi” means “sea.”
In addition to fine art prints and products in her shop, she offers custom book cover design, unique fantasy portraits, and styled product and book photography to other storytellers and creatives around the world. The Starlight Journal is her first major publication. In the fall of 2020 she is releasing the Create Journal, launching the Starlight Collective, and re-publishing her senior thesis work on the myth of Pandora.
Website | Patreon | Shop | Starlight Journal | Starlight Collective | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook
Things We Talked About
Resources
About your host, Meg Kissack + That Hummingbird Life
I’m Meg and I’m the host of Couragemakers and founder of That Hummingbird Life. I’m a coach for creative and multipassionate women, a writer and INFJ creative and multi-passionate who has a bit of a notebook and post-it note obsession, loves foot-stomping country music and likes her hot chocolate with way too much chocolate.
I started Couragemakers 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, writing bullshit-free Sunday pep Talks to my wonderful Couragemakers community or working 1:1 with coaching clients, I'm usually covered in paint or walking my wonderfully weird cockapoo Merlin.
Hello Couragemakers! I am officially back, every single Monday, and I couldn't be happier with the conversation I’m returning with!
This week I’m chatting to the warm, the lovely, the fabulous storyteller and the woman I wish lived across the street from me, Deborah Fingerlow.
Deborah is a writer/weaver/artist, smitten with conversation and connections. At heart a beagle-whisperer, she works with soul-centered folks to help share their stories in a unique partnership built on mutual respect.
You can catch up with her on the street, beagle at her side, strolling through farmers’ markets, constantly on the lookout for new adventures and conversations. You can perhaps find her more easily at deborahfingerlow.com, or stop by and say hello on Instagram @deborahfingerlow.
In this week’s episode, Deborah shares her journey from being a quiet and shy person to a person who loves going out and being in the world and connecting with strangers.
She shares how the experience of having a son with life threatening allergies forced her to come out of her shell and her journey of connecting with people and finding her people.
During our conversation, Deborah shares some life lessons I won’t be forgetting anytime soon, from giving people the opportunity to rise to expectations rather than assume they’re going to disappoint us, how everyone wants to help and everyone wants to be a hero and how you can’t be everything to everybody.
There is so much practical wisdom in this episode, and if you want to go out into the world and find more in-person connections, Deborah shares a treasure trove of ideas and ways you can start doing that today.
If you feel the pressure to do all the things and be all the things (like we all do!) this episode is a huge dollop of permission to slow down, to remember to enjoy your life and to build a sweeter life. And if you worry what other people think of you, this episode is the perfect antidote! I know my life is so much sweeter for Deborah being in it, and I know you’re going to feel the same way too!
Enjoy today’s show!
About Deborah
Deborah Fingerlow is a writer/weaver/artist, smitten with conversation and connections. At heart a beagle-whisperer, she works with soul-centered folks to help share their stories in a unique partnership built on mutual respect.
You can catch up with her on the street, beagle at her side, strolling through farmers’ markets, constantly on the lookout for new adventures and conversations. You can perhaps find her more easily at deborahfingerlow.com, or stop by and say hello on Instagram @deborahfingerlow.
Website | Instagram | LinkedIn | Riding The Dime | Dog Lovers On Vespas
Things We Talked About
About your host, Meg Kissack + That Hummingbird Life
I’m Meg and I’m the host of Couragemakers and founder of That Hummingbird Life. I’m a coach for creative and multipassionate women, a writer and INFJ creative and multi-passionate who has a bit of a notebook and post-it note obsession, loves foot-stomping country music and likes her hot chocolate with way too much chocolate.
I started Couragemakers 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, writing bullshit-free Sunday pep Talks to my wonderful Couragemakers community or working 1:1 with coaching clients, I'm usually covered in paint or walking my wonderfully weird cockapoo Merlin.
Hello Couragemakers and welcome to episode 121 of The Couragemakers Podcast!
This week I’m so excited to share with you my conversation with Allison Colin-Thome. Allison heads up Career Off Script, where she helps young professionals find their ideal work, so they can stop waking up for just a paycheck and instead have a career that means something to them. She cuts through their confusion by helping them figure out their strengths, motivators and true needs so they can find careers they love and finally take their next steps with confidence. After a bumpy journey of her own, Allison left her career in Corporate Recruitment to pursue the work she loved. She started her business while spending time in Colombia learning Spanish and can either be found sipping Earl Grey in a midtown Toronto cafe or online at www.careeroffscript.com.
In this episode we’re really diving into what it means to live a life off script and building a meaningful life. Allison shares her journey of why she started Career Off Script and really takes us behind the scenes.
We cover so much ground in this episode, from going against what is expected of you and being transparent about your circumstances to being real on social media and finding your why.
The main theme of this episode is what it takes to build a life you love, and I love how Allison says you need to start off by believing it is possible. She shares so much fantastic practical advice on building a business alongside a 9-5 and the lessons she’s been learning along the way.
Whether you’re someone who’s trying to build a business on the side, you’re trying to add more meaning to your life or you’re curious about what path to take, this is the perfect episode for you.
Enjoy the show!
About Allison
Allison Colin-Thome heads up Career Off Script, where she helps young professionals find their ideal work, so they can stop waking up for just a paycheck and instead have a career that means something to them. She cuts through their confusion by helping them figure out their strengths, motivators and true needs so they can find careers they love and finally take their next steps with confidence. After a bumpy journey of her own, Allison left her career in Corporate Recruitment to pursue the work she loved. She started her business while spending time in Colombia learning Spanish and can either be found sipping Earl Grey in a midtown Toronto cafe or online at www.careeroffscript.com.
Website | Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram
Things We Talked About
What meaningful life means to Allison
Going against what is expected of you
Being transparent about your circumstances
Being real on social media
Building a business on the side
The most helpful things Allison has learned about building a business on the side
Finding business role models
Resources
About your host, Meg Kissack + That Hummingbird Life
I’m Meg and I’m the host of Couragemakers and founder of That Hummingbird Life. I’m an INFJ creative and multi-passionate who has a bit of a notebook and post-it note obsession, loves foot-stomping country music and likes her hot chocolate with way too much chocolate.
I started Couragemakers 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, writing bullshit-free Sunday pep Talks to my wonderful Couragemakers community or working 1:1 with clients, I'm usually covered in paint or walking my wonderfully weird cockapoo Merlin.
Hello wonderful Couragemakers and welcome to episode 120 of The Couragemakers Podcast!
This week it’s just me and you as I have a solo mid year review special for you today.
For today’s episode I thought it would be a great opportunity to just stop, pause and reflect for a minute. We’re approaching the halfway through the year mark, and I thought this would be a great opportunity to take stock, see what’s working for you, what could be improved and imagine what you would like the rest of the year to be like.
So grab a notepad and pen, get ready to get honest and compassionate with yourself and let’s reflect on the year so far and put some plans into place to make the next six months really work for you!
About your host, Meg Kissack + That Hummingbird Life
I’m Meg and I’m the host of Couragemakers and founder of That Hummingbird Life. I’m an INFJ creative and multi-passionate who has a bit of a notebook and post-it note obsession, loves foot-stomping country music and likes her hot chocolate with way too much chocolate.
I started Couragemakers 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, writing bullshit-free Sunday pep Talks to my wonderful Couragemakers community or working 1:1 with clients, I'm usually covered in paint or walking my wonderfully weird cockapoo Merlin.
Hello Couragemakers and welcome to another fabulous episode of The Couragemakers episode!
This week I am talking to multi-passionate extraordinaire Anna Packer. Anna is as a prodigal musician, accidental psychotherapist and red-headed speed talker from a Midwestern farm town. She describes herself as endlessly curious, a professional psychology nerd by day, bootstrapping garage band tinkerer by night and kind of a scientist: living life mostly by experiment and regular infusions of hair dye and b vitamins. Alongside her day job as a psychotherapist, Anna is co-host of The Doing Scary Things Podcast and half of singer-songwriter duo Jasper + Jade with past guest Katie Snyder and runs an Ebay empire from her garage, alongside many other very cool projects, like writing a musical with her sister.
In this episode Anna shares her journey of accepting herself as a multi-passionate and how to get stuff done as creative and multi-passionate person.
We talk about how to give yourself permission to pursue creative projects, sustaining creative projects, how Anna manages her time and schedule to make time for her many creative pursuits.
We also talk about how you can’t hack your way to self compassion, Anna’s motto of treating yourself AS well as you treat others and how Anna gave herself permission to go back to her dream of making music.
I can’t begin to tell you how inspired I am by Anna’s story and the way she puts self-expression at the heart of her life. If you’re looking for a huge dollop of enthusiasm, encouragement and permission to go chase your dreams and creative pursuits, this episode is everything. And if you’re looking for even more permission and encouragement to do scary things, check out the Doing Scary Things podcast, hosted by Anna and past guest Katie Snyder, who are wonderful patrons of The Couragemakers podcast!
This episode makes me want to go and start all of the creative things I’ve been putting off for years and I know it’s going to do the same for you! Enjoy today’s episode and all the inspiration it brings!
About Anna
Anna is as a prodigal musician, accidental psychotherapist and red-headed speed talker from a Midwestern farm town. She describes herself as endlessly curious, a professional psychology nerd by day, bootstrapping garage band tinkerer by night and kind of a scientist: living life mostly by experiment and regular infusions of hair dye and b vitamins. Alongside her day job as a psychotherapist, Anna is co-host of The Doing Scary Things Podcast and half of singer-songwriter duo Jasper + Jade with past guest Katie Snyder and runs an Ebay empire from her garage, alongside many other very cool projects, like writing a musical with her sister.
Instagram | The Doing Scary Things Podcast | Jasper + Jade |
About your host, Meg Kissack + That Hummingbird Life
I’m Meg and I’m the host of Couragemakers and founder of That Hummingbird Life. I’m an INFJ creative and multi-passionate who has a bit of a notebook and post-it note obsession, loves foot-stomping country music and likes her hot chocolate with way too much chocolate.
I started Couragemakers 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, writing bullshit-free Sunday pep Talks to my wonderful Couragemakers community or working 1:1 with clients, I'm usually covered in paint or walking my wonderfully weird cockapoo Merlin.
Hello Couragemakers and welcome to another episode of The Couragemakers Podcast! This week’s episode is a solo show, so it’s just me and you. I thoroughly enjoy solo shows, so much so that I’ve toyed with the idea of having a separate mini daily rebel-rousing/pep talk podcast, so we’ll see!
For today’s solo show, I thought we’d do things a bit differently!
If you’ve been around That Hummingbird Life a while, you’ll know that for the past four and a half years, I send a pep talk to the wonderful Couragemakers email community every Sunday. So for this week, I was feeling a good old fashioned pep talk for the podcast!
And the topic? It’s something that comes up time and time again. In my life, in the lives of every one of my coaching clients, in my friend’s lives and it’s an epidemic that really does shit on the lives of all of us creative and multi-passionate women.
And that’s our own internal dreamshitter.
Resources
About Couragemakers & Your host
I’m Meg and I’m the host of Couragemakers and founder of That Hummingbird Life. I’m an INFJ creative and multi-passionate who has a bit of a notebook and post-it note obsession, loves foot-stomping country music and likes her hot chocolate with way too much chocolate.
I started Couragemakers 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, writing bullshit-free Sunday pep Talks to my wonderful Couragemakers community or working 1:1 with clients, I'm usually covered in paint or walking my wonderfully weird cockapoo Merlin.
Hello Couragemakers and welcome to episode 117 of The Couragemakers Podcast!
This week I’m chatting with Sarah Brassard.
In a nutshell, Sarah helps people re-establish peace inside. For the last twenty-five years, Sarah has been guiding women from a place of struggle in life to one of grace, peace, and ease through sacred self-care. She is the author of Inside: A Guide to the Resources Within published in 2018: a book that details the self-care practices that sparked Sarah’s healing journey and inspired her work in helping women move from trauma to transformation..
Sarah lives in New Hampshire and loves helping people heal through trauma with spiritual practices. What makes her most happy is being around people that have said YES to living authentically and finding the peaceful path.
In this week’s episode we’re really diving into everything self care and living a life in tune with who we are deep down.
Sarah shares her journey and takes us behind the scenes of her own healing journey. We talk about being a highly sensitive person and how important safety is, building a self care practice, how Sarah learned to take her mask off and how self care is non negotiable.
We have a great conversation about the ripple effect of being compassionate on ourselves, the emotional, mental and spiritual sides of self care and Sarah shares her wonderful definition of audacious self care.
Sarah has so many reframes and ideas that I love, including the idea of having a spiritual bank account that you deposit and withdraw from.
This episode is a great reminder of how veering off the path can lead to some of the most important lessons we can learn, and why self care is never selfish. If you’re interested in building a self care practice and starting or continuing your own healing journey, this episode is for you!
Enjoy today’s show!
About Sarah
Sarah Brassard helps people re-establish peace inside. Once a safe inner environment has been secured people return to themselves with a willingness to observe the experiences that have kept them stuck. Before long, with this new viewpoint – that of loving kindness, their awareness begins to change.
She is the author of r">Inside: A Guide to the Resources Within published in 2018. The book details the self-care practices that sparked Sarah’s healing journey and inspired her work in helping women move from trauma to transformation..
Sarah lives in New Hampshire and loves helping people heal through trauma with spiritual practices. What makes her most happy is being around people that have said YES to living authentically and finding the peaceful path.
Website | Book | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube |
Things We Talked About
Feelings of safety as highly sensitive people
Taking ownership of your life
Building a self care practice
The ripple effect of being compassionate to ourselves
Why self care is non negotiable
Sarah’s definition of audacious self care
How veering off the path can lead to some of the most important lessons we learn
The idea of a spiritual savings account
Resources
About Couragemakers and your host
I’m Meg and I’m the host of Couragemakers and founder of That Hummingbird Life. I’m an INFJ creative and multi-passionate who has a bit of a notebook and post-it note obsession, loves foot-stomping country music and likes her hot chocolate with way too much chocolate.
I started Couragemakers 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, writing bullshit-free Sunday pep Talks to my wonderful Couragemakers community or working 1:1 with clients, I'm usually covered in paint or walking my wonderfully weird cockapoo Merlin.