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

Hello Couragemakers and welcome to episode 64 of The Couragemakers Podcast!

I am so excited about this week’s podcast episode and I’m so happy to share with you my conversation with Deb Dane.

Deb is a New York City girl who married an English man and settled in Australia. Along with 14 house moves they have found their way to life with two teen daughters and two female rescue dogs.

After 20 years away from creative pursuits Deb started dipping her toes back in, and had a creative reawakening and reconnected to her creativity.

Deb writes on her blog Inner Compass Designs about following your own path in life, taking care of your own needs and living an authentic life. She is passionate about helping women give themselves permission to follow their heart and intuition, know their own power and self-worth, and know that they are never alone.

Her art, wall hangings and jewelry all bring these ideas to life so you have reminders of your story and your journey to where you want to go and who you want to be.

In this episode, Deb shares her journey of reconnecting to her creativity after twenty years and many sliding door moments that have led her to where she is now.

We dive into so many great topics in this episode. We debunk a lot of creative myths, from doing what gives you pleasure vs what you’re good at, the myth that anything you do has to have a return in financial investment, and this idea that we alone struggle with feeling like a fraud.

Deb shares the really great community art challenges that brought her back to her creativity, why we should take care of ourselves first as opposed to doing it only if we have some extra time, and the psychological elements of owning a creative business.

We have great conversations about future tripping, the links between creativity and expectations and how we probably all need to plan a little less!

I am so happy to be sharing this conversation, because I think it touches on so many of the struggles so many of us face as creative women who want to leave their mark. I absolutely love Deb’s approach to creativity, her honesty in what behind the scenes often looks like for creatives and I love how her passion and compassion shines through all she does.

I know you’re going to love this episode!

Enjoy the show!

About

Deb Dane is a New York City girl who married an English man and settled in Australia. Along with 14 house moves they have found their way to life with two teen daughters and two female rescue dogs.

She writes on her blog Inner Compass Designs about following your own path in life, taking care of your own needs and living an authentic life.

She is passionate about helping women give themselves permission to follow their heart and intuition, know their own power and self-worth, and know that they are never alone.

Her art, wall hangings and jewelry all bring these ideas to life so you have reminders of your story and your journey to where you want to go and who you want to be,

Website | Instagram | Newsletter

Things We Talked About

• Deb’s journey to reawaken her creativity after twenty years
• Creating for the sake of enjoyment and pleasure
• The time it takes to make a creative business profitable and taking the pressure off your art
• Giving yourself permission to walk your own path

Resources Mentioned

• Elizabeth Gilbert
• Jessica Brogan’s International Card Deck Swap
• Index Card a Day Project (ICAD)

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 e...

Hi there and welcome to episode 33 of Couragemakers!

This week, I’m chatting with Christina Blok. Christina is the CEO & Creative Director of Muse Monthly, a subscription box for books and tea. She a 20-something year old lover of everything nerdy, including Doctor Who, Harry Potter, and Marvel. In addition to running Muse Monthly, she is also a freelance social media strategist and writer.

In this episode, Christina shares how she moved from working at a job which made her physically ill, to starting a business based on her passions and her two big loves.

We really dive into how our creativity and passions can lead us down the path less chosen, the effect an environment can have on your creativity when you feel unfulfilled and unappreciated and how important it is to find your people.

Christina shares wonderful advice for anyone who hasn’t yet found their people and for people stuck in a situation which makes them miserable, takes away their creativity and belittles their passions.

I absolutely love this episode and I think it really is essential listening for anyone who’s ever been told their passion is just a hobby, for anyone who doesn’t feel like they fit in anywhere and for anyone looking for proof that you don’t have to be stuck and you have lots of options.

This is a great episode for writers, readers, creatives, multi-passionates and anyone who ever dared to think they could use what they love to create a life they love.

Muse Monthly is a genius idea and I absolutely loved going behind the scenes. I love Christina’s passion and how honestly and openly she shares what she’s learned to help other Couragemakers. I guarantee you’ll be feeling inspired by the end of this episode!

Enjoy the show!

Christina Blok is the CEO & Creative Director of Muse Monthly, a subscription box for books and tea. She a 20-something year old lover of everything nerdy, including Doctor Who, Harry Potter, and Marvel. In addition to running Muse Monthly, she is also a freelance social media strategist and writer.

You can connect with Christina here: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram |

Things we talked about during today's show

• Cristina's journey from being creatively unfulfilled and unvalued in her job to creating a job from things she loved that people told her were ‘just hobbies’
• Christina’s biggest takeaway lesson from her first year of Muse Monthly
• How important it is to find your people and Christina’s advice for people wanting to find their tribe
• How it is possible to create your life exactly the way you want it to be

Resources/Recommendations from today’s show

• Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler

Find out more and download the Couragemakers Manifesto here

If you have any question about today's episode, any comments or would like to be a guest on Couragemakers, get in touch: [email protected]

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

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

That Hummingbird Life | Twitter | Pinterest |

Hello Couragemakers and welcome to another wonderful episode of The Couragemakers Podcast!

This week I’m so happy to share with you my conversation with Rebecca Thering.

Originally from Wisconsin, USA, Rebecca has lived in Spain, South Korea, and most recently France. She’s a fan of snail mailing, writing, taking wander walks, slow travel, creating, unplugging, minimalism, and enjoying everyday moments. Taking life a moment at a time, she’s following her personal compass and the light of Alexandra Franzen and Candace Rose Rardon to see where she ends up next!

In this episode, Rebecca shares her story, from living abroad teaching english to her personal sabbatical and creating a personal compass.

In this episode were really dive into what it means to live by your values, how to leave your mark and the importance of thanking people who have made an impact on you.

We have great conversations about bringing more humanity to the internet, disconnecting and taking time to reflect as well as the power of following your curiosity.

It’s also full of much needed reminders to all of us – to take the time to thank people who have made a difference to our lives, to catch the small moments and to remember that we will never know the full extent of the impact that we make or who we’re inspiring.

I had so much fun chatting to Rebecca and I know you’re going to get so much out of this episode.

Rebecca has so many stories and so much practical advice and I know her real life examples will help you add more intention and courage into your own life.

Be sure to check out Rebecca’s free printable How To Make A Personal Compass zine to make your own personal compass! (Link is in the show notes) We’d love to see what’s on yours!

Here’s to being messy, imperfect and complicated humans!

Enjoy the show!

About Rebecca

Originally from Wisconsin, USA, Rebecca Thering has lived in Spain, South Korea, and most recently France. She’s a fan of snail mailing, writing, taking wander walks, slow travel, creating, unplugging, minimalism, and enjoying everyday moments. Taking life a moment at a time, she’s following her personal compass and the light of Alexandra Franzen and Candace Rose Rardon to see where she ends up next!

Blog | Medium | Twitter

Things We Talked About

• The importance of thanking people, and how being thanked can make a huge difference
• Disconnecting and giving yourself more head space
• Living with intention and capturing the small moments
• Rebecca’s take on changing the world and leaving your mark – it’s all in the small things!

Resources Mentioned

• How To Make A Personal Compass
• Moment Catcher
• Oh No She Madridn’t
• Personal Compass
• Rebecca’s Atheist coming out story
• Alexandra Franzen
• HelpX
• Wwoof International

About Meg & That Hummingbird Life

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 couragema...

Hi there and welcome to episode 31 of The Couragemakers Podcast! Today I'm sharing my interview with Diana Malerba and I've been excited for a long time to share our conversation. Diana is a certified Confidence Coach living in Switzerland. She helps women to go from self doubt to self confidence and fulfilment. She is a magnet for all things self confidence, courage and resilience. When she is not coaching, she is an advocate for women empowerment, gender equality and cupcakes.

In this episode, we dive deep into Diana's journey of experiencing burnout and depression and how reaching rock bottom made Diana realise she wasn't living her life. We talk about how starting to coach people gave Diana joy and energy and helped Diana to heal her own wounds and helped her to feel good enough and have compassion for herself.

We explore how convincing ourselves that we're coping keeps us stuck, how emotion is the birthplace of joy and life so it doesn't make sense to cut emotions from our lives and how if we are pretending to be someone that we're not, we also think who we are is not enough.

This is an episode I wish I could have heard when I was going through burnout a couple of years ago and listening to this episode brings tears to my eyes. If you've ever struggled with depression, this episode is going to really resonate with you, and help you in your own healing.

This is a great episode if you're struggling right now, if you're going through a big change which is causing a huge shift in your identity and if you need some words of truth and comfort.

I have so much admiration and respect for Diana and the work she does. I absolutely love her refreshing take on what confidence actually means and how it can show up for us in our own lives, and I love how much our values align.

You're in for a real treat with this episode.

Enjoy the show!

Diana is a certified Confidence Coach. She helps women to go from self doubt to self confidence and fulfilment. She is a magnet for all things self confidence, courage and resilience. When she is not coaching, she is an advocate for women empowerment, gender equality and cupcakes. You can find her at The Brave Hearted and read her approach to overcome low self-confidence here.

You can connect with Diana here

Things we talked about during today's show

• Diana’s journey from burnout and depression to confidence coach and realising that low self confidence was causing all of the problems in her life
• How we have all the answers inside, it's just about making the space to listen to the answers
• The moment when Diana realised she was asking too much of herself and dealing with unrealistic expectations
• Diana's advice for anyone who wants to start doing their inner work

Find out more and download the Couragemakers Manifesto here

If you have any question about today's episode, any comments or would like to be a guest on Couragemakers, get in touch: [email protected]

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

When I'm not recording episodes and making new friends with the wonderful guests, you can find me working on all manners of magic over at That Hummingbird Life, sending free self care checks ins to hundreds of women every Sunday and helping my clients build brands they love as a graphic designer. I'm currently based in London, and getting ready for my round the world adventure with Mr. Meg starting August 2016. Don't worry the podcast isn't going anywhere!

That Hummingbird Life | Twitter | Pinterest |

Hello Couragemakers!

Today I'm sharing my conversation with April Showers, CEO of Afro UnicornTM. We chat bout April's journey and the inspiration behind Afro UnicornTM, her mission to inspire fellow small business owners and this episode is like a masterclass in confidence!

About April Showers and Afro UnicornTM

April Showers is a multiple business owner, single mother of two, and in May 2019, she started a movement of likeminded, black unicorns through apparel and accessories. She is the founder and CEO of Afro UnicornTM, a brand designed to remind women and children of colour how unique, divine and magical they are.

In May 2022, she launched in Walmart as the first black woman and first black licensed brand in party supplies for a major retailer. Her goal from the beginning was to help normalise black beauty, give black and brown girls a unicorn that represents them and encourages them to love the skin that they're in and embrace the crown on their heads.

Afro UnicornTM Instagram | April's Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter

Resources:

• Who Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals Through Accelerating Teamwork, Dan Sullivan & Dr Benjamin Hardy
• Afro UnicornTM in Walmart!
• April Showers on CBS Mornings with Gayle King

About Meg & The Couragemakers Podcast

Website | Instagram | The Daily Pep! Podcast| Letters of Rebellion | Rebel Creators