They say, “A picture is worth a thousand words” — which really means when words aren’t enough, photos can become a medium for storytelling, especially when taken in a meaningful and reflective way.

When Marie Masse got into the world of photography, she had zero background and didn’t even have a decent camera to use. What started out as something casual quickly became a more thoughtful and intentional practice. She began to notice tiny stories and documented them with her lens. These tiny stories have since become the foundation for her work at Dangerously Good Stories.

Join me on today’s episode of The Inside Story Podcast as Marie shares with me:

• How she started out taking pictures and eventually began “documenting herself awake”
• What tiny stories are and how you can find them by looking at the different areas in your life
• Why it’s important to be living awake for the stories of your life and not sleepwalking through it
• The...

With the spread of the pandemic that affected -- and continues to affect -- millions of people worldwide came the rise in Asian racism. In speaking of this, we’re not only talking about racial slurs hurled toward Asian Americans, but also workplace inequity and discrimination, and physical violence. 

Today’s guest on The Inside Story Podcast is Michelle Hoover, a leadership-development strategist, consultant, and coach. An advocate for lifting women at work, she is using her voice to inspire solidarity against racism, and to remind her fellow Asian Americans of their value and worth.

There are so many eye-openers in my conversation with Michelle. Listen in as she shares with me:

• The staggering statistics reflecting discrimination against Asian American women in corporate America
• 2 macro considerations she draws from her background, and what it’s like growing up in a Korean household
• The latest book she’s reading by Margaret Chin, that discusses 3...

Successful people often display the same qualities: passion, persistence, self-discipline, creativity, and commitment. But they also have one more thing in common and that is their willingness to fail. 

So many of us get stuck and never move forward with our plans and goals because we’re scared of not being able to do it right the first time. We’re scared to make mistakes because failure hurts. It stings like a bee and it’s the kind of pain we don’t want to feel.

But if we’re honest, we know failing can teach us so many valuable lessons we will never learn otherwise, and even develop in us the determination to win.

Join me today in this episode of The Inside Story Podcast as I discuss:

• Why we should be willing to fail and allow ourselves to make mistakes
• My own story of how I messed up a Challenge I was leading for the LIGHTbeamers Community, and what I learned from it
• Two of my favorite one-liners on success from the book Double Blessing by Mark...

Are you waiting for that perfect moment to start something? Have you painted an imaginary starting line that’s supposed to mark just the right point in your life to begin doing what you’ve always wanted to do?

So many of us (myself included!) believe we should first get to a starting line — where everything is all lined up and completely ideal — before we work on a project or pursue a goal.

My friend, I’m here to burst that bubble and tell you: there is NO STARTING LINE.

I invite you to listen to this episode as I share with you:

• The difficulty I had in launching this podcast because of unfounded fears I kept listening to in my head
• What starting lines look like to different people
• How to bring about a paradigm shift by rephrasing your big goals, and acknowledging small accomplishments that will get you to your ultimate win

Beginning today, work on eliminating those starting lines that aren’t supposed to be there. Do something every day that...

What do you do when you’re at mid-life, thrown a curve ball at work, decide to start your own business, and find out it’s not easy?

You take the experience, seek out and support others who are in the same boat, and never look back.

When Colleen Kochannek found herself wildly unprepared to start and run an online business at her age, she realized there were others like her. And this is where she found the opportunity to help women over 50 navigate the online space, knowing that these individuals had so much to offer because of the wealth of experience they bring with them.

I know many of us will relate to Colleen and what she’s been through, which is why I invite you to join us today as we talk about:

• Being laid-off at 49 years old and not wanting to go back to the corporate world
• Her decision of starting an online business thinking, “How hard can it be?”, and realizing on day 2 that she wasn’t prepared at all!
• What it means to be someone from...

In the work that I do, I help women dig out their story and amplify their visibility as they share it. But speaking your mind, telling your story and becoming more visible along the way can be quite hard — especially when you’re a woman who’s expected by society to stay small and stay quiet.

In today’s episode, I am talking to Diann Wingert — a therapist turned coach who works with women who have high potential but are under-achieving partly because they are holding themselves back. We uncover why women choose to stay behind the scenes, and what we should be doing instead.

My conversation with Diann is rich with so many nuggets of wisdom. Here are some of what we talk about:

• The definition of feminine conditioning and what Diann observed in her years as a psychotherapist
• Why she loves working with women who are in their mid-life
• Biological conditions that have contributed to feminine conditioning (you may be surprised!)
• Telling yourself you’re...

There will always be 2 sides to life: the beautiful and exhilarating one, and the other that’s messy and difficult. You can’t have one without the other, and even the most successful people I know who seem to have it all have gone through both. In fact, most success stories become even more fascinating and extraordinary because of the obstacles that had to be overcome.

But what does it take to navigate through this life that’s both messy and marvelous? Good friends and colleagues Rhea Merck and Amy Montanez have written a book called LAUNCH: A Guide to Adulting — meant for 18-35 year olds , but is being picked up by older folks who feel like they still have a lot to learn! (Raising my hand over here!) 

On today’s episode, Amy, Rhea and I talk specifically about a few of the “life skills” found in the book.

I invite you to listen in as they share with me:

• The background story of how Messy Marvelous came about and their...

What I’m sharing with you today is something I have not openly talked about with other people.

It’s not so much that I’m ashamed of it. It’s because I don’t want it to define me as a person, and I don’t want to offend somebody dealing with this differently from me… so much so that as a result, I’ve been keeping myself from discussing it. 

It’s about my life-long battle with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

I’ve long planned to record this episode, but I kept pushing it back since talking about it made me uncomfortable. Today, I am finally opening up and giving you the inside story on my life with RA.

Here are some of the things I share in this episode:

• What RA is and what it was like to be 18 months old suffering from this disorder
• The doctor’s prognosis of what my life would be like with RA
• The non-traditional way I have dealt with my condition
• Realizing that the pain from RA was only half the battle; the other half was...

I’m fresh off 2 events that have left me feeling energized and truly inspired! And the relevant insights I took away were not just for the way I do my work as a Storytelling coach, but also for how I live my personal life.

On both occasions, one valuable truth struck me: we have to make the conscious effort of putting ourselves in the room and allowing ourselves to be transformed when we do that.

But what do I mean by “putting yourself in the room”?

Here’s what I’m sharing with you today:

• My experience in Montana, and what it felt like to attend my first in-person event in over a year
• The virtual Storytelling Symposium I led that was attended by women who chose to put themselves in the room
• What it means to give yourself the chance to be in the room fully and truly present, ready to soak up the lessons other people in the room impart
• Putting yourself in the room not just to receive wisdom from others but also giving something back by sharing your own...

This week’s episode is brought to you by the Storytelling Symposium presented by LIGHTbeamers, a Transformational Storytelling Event To Empower You to Make a Bigger Impact with Your Story!

Step into your Brave this year and join the Storytelling Symposium!

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It’s a pretty special day at The Inside Story Podcast because today, we have our very first gentleman on the show!

Dan Mangena is a motivational speaker, best-selling author & Wall Street Journal “Master of Success”.  He is a multiple 7-figure business owner who has had his share of ups and downs before getting to where he is now. And as he and I take a look back at his journey, he shares some pretty powerful truths that will make you dream bigger for yourself than ever before.

Here are some of what Dan and I talk about in today’s episode:

• His life as a trilogy and where he is at this point
• The life-changing diagnosis of...