The Couragemakers Podcast | Encouragement, Inspiration & Rebel Rousing for Mission Driven Doers, Makers & Shakers |
Meg Kissack | The Rebel Rousers: Creativity, Inspiration & Dreamchasing
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Couragemakers is a weekly podcast for creative and passionate,mission-driven doers, makers and world-shakers designed to inspire and encourage fellow couragemakers, and spark a movement of women who are choosing themselves. Building the life you want and putting stuff in the world takes a boatload of courage, but you don’t have to do it alone. Every Monday, unconventional couragemakers all over the world share their stories, their advice and their dreams as we have honest conversations about everyday courage, living a wholehearted life and dream chasing. We’ve figured out what we don’t want in life, now we’re figuring out what we do want. And we talk about the things that make us feel on fire as well as the monsters that hide under our beds. Couragemakers is brought to you by Meg Kissack of That Hummingbird Life. Because everything changes when you believe you matter. Let’s shake things up together. Warning: contains courage, vulnerability and a desire to leave the world a brighter place than how we found it.
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074: Documenting Your Life & Choosing Your Word of The Year with Amy Parker
The Couragemakers Podcast | Encouragement, Inspiration & Rebel Rousing for Mission Driven Doers, Makers & Shakers |
01/02/18 • 65 min
4.0
We’re back! Happy New Year Couragemakers, I can’t tell you how happy I am to be back!
If you’ve been listening for a while, you might have noticed that Couragemakers has been on hiatus since October. The end of last year was a hard one, I lost one of Grandmothers and had a health scare (luckily everything is okay). Taking a break felt incredibly scary - but it was a great reminder that the world doesn’t end when you need to take time for yourself and there’s no shame in needing time for yourself!
So, as I mentioned, Couragemakers is back to its usual Monday schedule! I have fantastic interviews lined up which I know you’re going to love, and I couldn’t be happier to start the new year off with this wonderful conversation with Amy Parker!
Amy is an in-house copywriter and general creative who loves making a mess, enjoys documenting her life (but not necessarily publishing it!), decorating things with washi and stickers, and generally finding little ways to make the world more joyful. She is the woman behind HappyPostBox and shares memory-keeping and planner-related posts on Instagram and sells printable planner stickers in her Easy shop. For the last year she’s been living by her first ever ‘word of the year’ - ‘joy' - and would absolutely encourage anyone else to give it a try, too.
In this episode, Amy shares all about choosing her word for the year, what she has learned during the year and some really helpful practical tips to set your own intentions for your year
We’re really dive into starting your year without pressure, how to use your creativity to record life without getting lost in the act of recording your life, perfectionism and liberating our inner people pleaser and treating your future self as a different person.
One of the things I love the most about this episode, apart from the fact that both of our cheeks were aching from laughing and smiling during our conversation, is Amy’s flexible approach to using a word to guide your year. I love how she sees it as a lens rather than something which you can use to create a rigid plan. I really admire Amy’s honesty in sharing the bumps in the road of her Year Of Joy are it’s really refreshing to see that her journey wasn’t linear, and that you don’t have to do it right, or in a certain way.
I hope this episode helps take the pressure off and helps you to add more joy to your own life.
Here’s to a Hopeful, Inspired and Creative New Year!
And remember, if you’re listening to this episode further along the year, you can start your own Word of The Year journey any time!
Now, onto the show!
About Amy
Amy is an in-house copywriter and general creative, who enjoys documenting her life (but not necessarily publishing it!), decorating things with washi and stickers, and generally finding little ways to make the world more joyful. She shares memory-keeping and planner-related posts on Instagram at @happypostbox and sells printable planner stickers in an Etsy shop of the same name (which started a couple of years ago when she couldn’t find any stickers for her planner of choice, the Passion Planner). For the last year she’s been living by her first ever ‘word of the year’ - ‘joy' - and would absolutely encourage anyone else to give it a try, too.
Things We Talked About:
- Getting honest with yourself and choosing your word of the year based on what you need instead of what you feel you should be doing
- The little things that bring Amy joy
- Capturing real life versus what makes us look good
- What Amy’s year of joy taught her
- Treating your future self as a different person
Resources Mentioned:
- Oneword365
- The Life Changing Magic Of Tidying Up - Marie Kondo magic of tidying up
- The Miracle Morning - Hal Elrod
- 1 Second Everyday Day App
- Gretchen Rubin Podcast - four tendencies
- The Curse of Lovely - Jacqui Marson
- The Passion Planner
- Planning Instagram Hashtags: #plannercommunity / #plannergirls
A...
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178: Owning Your Weird with Austin Kleon
The Couragemakers Podcast | Encouragement, Inspiration & Rebel Rousing for Mission Driven Doers, Makers & Shakers |
03/21/22 • 23 min
I'm delighted to share with you my conversation with Austin Kleon! We dive into owning your weird, how to show up even when you don't feel like it and how to stay true to yourself no matter what.
Sign up for my weekly Letters of Rebellion here!
About Meg & Couragemakers
I’m Meg and I’m the host of The Daily Pep! and The Couragemakers Podcast and founder of The Rebel Rousers. I’m a coach, writer and all-round rebel-rouser for creative and multi-passionate women to do the things only they can do and build a wholehearted life. When I'm not recording episodes, writing bullshit-free Letters of Rebellion to my wonderful Couragemakers community or hosting workshops/group programmes, I'm usually covered in paint or walking my wonderfully weird cockapoo Merlin.Website | Instagram | The Rebel Rousers Podcast| Letters of Rebellion | Rebel Creators
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140: The Middle Finger Project with Ash Ambirge
The Couragemakers Podcast | Encouragement, Inspiration & Rebel Rousing for Mission Driven Doers, Makers & Shakers |
02/24/20 • 53 min
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
- The things loss and hardship bring
- Putting yo...
138: Building Fortitude and Cultivating Flow with Audrey Holst
The Couragemakers Podcast | Encouragement, Inspiration & Rebel Rousing for Mission Driven Doers, Makers & Shakers |
01/27/20 • 83 min
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
- building a relationship with discomfort
- nervous system 101
- burnout
- Audrey’s favourite practices to connect with yourself
- stress loops
- practices to help with chronic stress
- perfectionism as a survival technique
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 ...
137: Becoming a Flourishing Introvert with Joanna Rawbone
The Couragemakers Podcast | Encouragement, Inspiration & Rebel Rousing for Mission Driven Doers, Makers & Shakers |
01/20/20 • 59 min
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
- support those who want to fulfil their potential without pretending to be something they're not.
- educate and inform organisations about the true cost of overlooking their introverts
- promote positive action and balance the extraversion bias
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
- support those who want to fulfil their potential without pretending to be something they're not.
- educate and inform organisations about the true cost of overlooking their introverts
- promote positive action and balance the extraversion bias
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
- Jo's journey of discovering she is an introvert
- How exhausting it is pretending to be an extravert because we think we should be
- Dealing with inauthenticity
- Tackling the introversion bias
- How flourishing is a choice
- Expanding your comfort zone while staying true to who you are
- The 6 different types of introverts
- How Jo found her 'heart-song' work and how you can find yours
Resources
- Byron Katie - The Work (video containing the quote)
- Myers Briggs
- Ikigai - 4 circles model
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 hones...
136: The compassionate way to start new projects, routines & habits
The Couragemakers Podcast | Encouragement, Inspiration & Rebel Rousing for Mission Driven Doers, Makers & Shakers |
01/08/20 • 13 min
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.
134: Following Your Curiosity with Divya Kohli
The Couragemakers Podcast | Encouragement, Inspiration & Rebel Rousing for Mission Driven Doers, Makers & Shakers |
12/16/19 • 88 min
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:
- The many different career paths she has taken
- Following your curiosity - finding things you could never have predicted
- Leaning into following the things that make you curious
- How Divya gives herself permission to follow her curiosities
- Being in discomfort
- Do your time but make your time
- Dealing with the question is this enough
- Divya’s practical advice for dealing with fear and uncertainty
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.
135: Allowing Yourself To Shine & Creating Your Own Definition of Happiness with Joelene Wolfe
The Couragemakers Podcast | Encouragement, Inspiration & Rebel Rousing for Mission Driven Doers, Makers & Shakers |
12/22/19 • 53 min
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:
- Joelene’s story, from working in corporate America to being laid off and pursuing her lifelong dream of actor.
- How fear is just a feeling
- getting vulnerable and telling people about your dreams
- maintaining momentum when chasing your dreams
- the importance of giving yourself space to dream
- Tackling a scarcity mindset and allowing yourself to shine
- Well intentioned dreamshitters
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.
133: Creating Solace, Breaking Taboos & Finding Purpose with Hope Alexander
The Couragemakers Podcast | Encouragement, Inspiration & Rebel Rousing for Mission Driven Doers, Makers & Shakers |
12/10/19 • 120 min
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!
139: The Creative Process & Feeding Your Creativity with Caroline Jestaz
The Couragemakers Podcast | Encouragement, Inspiration & Rebel Rousing for Mission Driven Doers, Makers & Shakers |
02/03/20 • 100 min
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
- Caroline’s love of languages and linguistics and how her creativity was nurtured as a child
- Life as a self-taught woman
- Caroline’s journey to writing
- Dealing with the critic inside your head
- Protecting your creativity and putting boundaries around it
- The importance of space and freedom in our creative life and work
- Creating conversations about creativity and overcoming the loneliness
I’m Meg and I’m the host of Couragemakers and founder of Th...
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