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So many of us set our goals for the new year ahead with all good intentions and then………procrastination sets in! How often do you begin an important task and then suddenly find yourself standing in front of the coffee machine five minutes later? You feel as though you are going nowhere fast in life because instead of moving forward toward your goals, it feels like you’re stagnating and could be doing more with your life. It could be that you are guilty of procrastination. This is the act of delaying or postponing an important task and what we end up doing is that we focus on less urgent, more enjoyable, and far easier activities instead.
In today’s episode, I will share some simple ideas that can help you manage your day, and have you feeling more motivated, productive, creative, and inspired to get you started on that very thing you have been putting off. You have one life and you have the potential for greatness. Let us help you beat procrastination today, so you can win back your life in 2023.
For more go to https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/95
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Are you someone who is constantly doubting themselves and you feel that your authentic self is not valuable enough? Do you compare yourself to others and feel like an imposter? Imposter syndrome is a real thing and it can affect anyone irrespective of background or skill level. To put it simply, imposter syndrome is the experience of feeling like a phony & feeling as though at any moment you’re going to be found out as a fraud.
Unfortunately, if this is you, you will never feel the satisfaction that comes from personal authenticity, and achieving the things that you aspire to.
In this episode, we want to inspire you to stop faking & stop conforming, especially as we near the end of the year. Now is the time for you to release your bottomless level of potential. You have the ability to live life on your own terms & add a level of value to the world that no one else can. It’s time for you to make the next phase of your life shine.
For more go to https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/94
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This week’s guest is Leah Canali, whose career journey has seen her achieve great success for over 20 years as a vocalist, songwriter, session singer, and commercial jingle composer. Leah is a multi-genre master with a voice that has been described as having a signature smoky soulful tone, with a healthy dose of coveted whistle tones.
Leah is known as the Queen who sings for Queens and in this episode, Leah shares her many career highlights which include becoming one of the go-to vocalists and songwriters for the RuPauls Drag Race franchise, having written, recorded and performed with many of the franchise’s stars. In 2021, Leah co-wrote, produced and sang on “The Taste” EP which debuted at #5 on the iTunes Pop Charts and featured the song “Come Through” which went viral on TikTok. Her many performance credits include The Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots, Pride Toronto, World Pride, World Fashion Week, as well as The Official Inaugural Party of Barack Obama. Leah gives us an insight into her career trajectory, her songwriting process, the skills that emerging artists need in order to have sustainable careers, how she manages her own vocal health during a busy working schedule, the importance of self-care for performing artists, issues around misogyny in the performing arts and so much more. This episode with Leah Canali is not to be missed.
Find Leah online
In this episode
04:40 — The Origin Story of Leah Canali
08:30 — Healthily Equipping Different Instruments
15:07 — The Genre That’s Connected to the Soul
16:51 — An Arrangement Towards Unexpected Things
20:07 — The Queen Who Sings for Queens
27:19 — BTS on the Queen’s Iconic and Memorable Songs
32:43 — What is the Credibility of an Artist?
36:17 — The Inaugural Party of Obama
38:56 — Making Performing a Steady Income
42:01 — Being a Woman in the Music Industry
44:50 — A Good Performance Reflects a Healthy Body
55:17 — Leah’s Achievements and Goals
59:23 — Best Piece of Advice to Emerging Artists
For more go to https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/93
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Research shows that your genetics load the gun, but it is your lifestyle that pulls the trigger. Despite this being the case, so many people continue to self-sabotage their health and longevity and according to this week’s guest, Leah Coutts, if you don’t fully believe that you are worthy, you will self-sabotage your health and well-being, whether you want to or not. Today, we welcome Leah who is currently a Senior Lecturer in the Research Department at Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University, as well as a health and fitness coach, a bodybuilding and prep coach, a posing coach, a pro bodybuilder and owner of Soulfulveganfitness, a health and lifestyle business!
Leah shares her incredible journey into the health and lifestyle industry that began when she was misdiagnosed by her doctors as a child and was inspired even further when she was again facing another misdiagnosis as a teenager. Leah defied all the limitations that were placed upon her by the medical profession at the time with sheer determination. This led her to succeed in areas of her life that were deemed impossible.
Based on her own experiences with the medical profession, along with other life events, it has become Leah’s mission to empower others to make positive changes in their lives and to guide them to develop a mindset of not accepting other’s limitations. Leah is truly inspirational as she offers so many great pieces of advice in this episode.
Find Leah online
www.soulfulveganfitness.com – Health and Fitness Coaching
www.consciousphysiquecoaching.com – Bodybuilding and Competition Coaching
Instagram: @leahmarie_figurepro
In this episode
05:09 — A Calling to Fitness and Academia
14:01 — Pushing Through What Genes Dictates
17:39 — Deconditioning the Preconditioned
22:50 — To Be Empowered Is to Be the Best Self
38:23 — Breaking Society’s Dictation Towards Body Image
40:16 — Listening to the Voice of the Mind and Body
49:07 — The Meaning Behind Soulful Vegan Fitness
54:02 — Catering Towards a Personalized Fitness
59:46 — History’s Narration That Needs To Be Fixed
01:02:17 — The Habit of Being Purposeful for the Morrow
01:07:11 — The Great Purpose of Leah
For more go to https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/92
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This week on a Voice and Beyond, we welcome, Travis Sherwood, who holds a Doctor of Musical Arts and a Master of Music degree from the University of Southern California. Travis currently serves as Assistant Professor of Voice and Vocal Area Coordinator on the faculty of San Diego State University, School of Music and Dance. Travis frequently lectures and presents on the subjects of artistic literacy, student-centred pedagogy, voice pedagogy, and vocal literature.
In this episode, Travis discusses his research into the traditions, evolution and limitations of the master-apprentice Model. Travis tells us that this learning environment establishes a clear hierarchy of power in the teacher-student relationship. He explains that the master-apprentice tradition is rooted in the experiences of the master, requiring students to value the teacher’s observations of their voice over their own. From an inferior position, students become dependent on their teachers, often ignoring their bodies in pursuit of the “correct” way to sing. Additionally, in this teacher-centred pedagogy, students frequently silence their artistic and technical instincts.
Travis warns us that by perpetuating this tradition, we are not creating safe spaces where students can be expressive, artistic and explore their voices autonomously. He states that there are still certain elements of this tradition permeating in our profession and as voice teachers we must check in on ourselves to ensure we are not perpetuating this teaching model. He suggests we can begin by questioning whether out teaching is grounded in a student-centred philosophy and that our teaching values and builds off the knowledge and experiences of our students. As a mentor and co-learner, we must listen to students with an empathetic ear, responding to their needs and encouraging their sense of individual agency. Travis believes that as we move into the future, the master-apprentice model can limit the possibility of evolution in the voice teaching field.
This is a most fascinating and informative interview with Travis Sherwood and one that will inspire many to reflect on their teaching practices.
https://travissherwoodbaritone.com/
In this episode:
06:11 — The Background of a Master
07:43 — Experience From a Student-Centered Teacher
11:08 — Master-Apprentice: The Status Quo
20:08 — The Effects of the Traditional Model
21:19 — Breaking Free From Dependency
23:33 — The Limited Perspective of the Overseer
29:22 — Teachers Being Life-Long Students
32:11 — Reverberating the Student’s Language
35:36 — The Things That Permeated From the Histories
37:54 — The Evolution of Teaching the Voice
40:38 — Balancing Act of Voice Science
44:17 — Harms of High Art and Lower Art Mentality
50:42 — Is It an Open or a Closed Repertoire?
01:01:05 — Be Student-Centered: Grounding the Pedagogy
01:03:54 — Travis’ Best Advice
For more go to https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/91
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What is the status of your self-worth at present? How do you determine your self-worth? Many people base their value on things such as how many friends they have, their income, what car they drive, what neighbourhood they live in, the number of social media followers they have, and even their relationship status. All these are external factors and in this episode, we talk about how our worth is at the core of our very selves—our thoughts, our feelings, and our behaviours. These are all intimately tied to how we perceive our value as human beings, our internal sense of simply being good enough and worthy of love and belonging from others. If you are struggling with your self worth this episode is for you. Today’s show offers you three simple steps to help you increase your self worth.
In this episode
01:10 — What is Self-Worth?
06:18 — You Determine Your Self-Worth
07:57 — Challenge Your Inner Voice
08:30 — Self-Worth Rooting from Childhood Experiences
10:42 — Practicing Self-Compassion
11:37 — Joy and Sorrow
12:46 — Learning Self-Compassion
14:35 — Don’t Tear Others Down to Build Your Self-Worth Up
15:05 — Stop Gossiping Other People!
17:30 — When You Value Yourself, You Value Others
18:17 — Conclusion
For more go to https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/90
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Our guest in this week’s episode is Risa Groux, a functional nutritionist, certified autoimmune coach and author of the new book, FOODFRAME: Diet is a Four-Letter Word.
In her practice, Risa deals with a number of diseases which include autoimmune diseases, diabetes, cancer, digestion issues, thyroid problems, and hormone imbalances, just to name a few. She believes that education is key to improved health and the more educated we are about health and nutrition, the more improved life quality we can all lead. One of the problems we face is misconceptions about the various diets that are available and Risa tells us that not all diets will allow us to thrive. She believes that a one size fits all approach to nutrition doesn’t work and that people should be eating according to their current health status. Risa helps us break down the most popular mainstream diets, which include Paleo, Ketogenic, Autoimmune Protocol, Vegan, Low FODMAP and Low Lectin diets and shares with us those who would benefit from these various diets based on their health problems.
Risa states that our genetics load the gun when it comes to our health, but that it is our lifestyle that pulls the trigger and one example of this is the current health crisis facing our children who have a one in three chance of becoming a type two diabetic due to the overconsumption of sugar in that part of our population.
Risa offers many pearls of wisdom when it comes to some of the measures we can take to improve our overall health and well-being by not only minimising sugars, but also by alleviating bad oils, doing a simple detox, including a daily intake of vital supplements and the benefits of getting back to cooking at home and eating meals at the table as a family rather consuming fast foods. There is so much in this episode with Risa Groux you don’t want to miss.
Find Risa Online
For more go to https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/89
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Recently, I was invited to be a guest on a Facebook Live event with Anne Leatherland, who is a voice educator, business coach and the founder of Vocal Intuition based in the United Kingdom. During this interview, I was asked to speak about the process of researching and writing my book “Singing Contemporary Commercial Music Styles: A Pedagogical Framework”, as well as my own professional CCM journey which led me to an academic career path. In this episode, I decided to share this interview as I believe it is time for CCM to be respected and valued equally to classical music and no longer be treated as its poor relation, especially in academia.
This interview offers quite a rare insight into my 45 years of CCM industry experience, how I fell in love with this music as a young child, my award-winning career as a pop/rock vocalist, my serendipitous transition from performance career to teaching CCM styles, and my shock introduction into higher education as a mature aged post-graduate student. It was here that I realised that the music I had built a whole career upon, was not legitimised from an academic or pedagogical standpoint. This shock revelation launched my research into CCM singing voice pedagogy, write a book based on the results of that research and has inspired me to become an advocate for this music.
In this episode, I speak candidly about the status quo in higher education, and that it is time to listen to not only the needs of our students, but also the demands of music markets, music consumers, and music industry personnel as a voice community. I would love to hear from you if any parts of this interview resonated with you. A big thanks goes to Anne for having me as a guest and allowing me to speak on this topic.
In this episode
06:05 — Marisa’s Humble Beginnings
11:57 — Was Classical Singing a Thing?
17:31 — An Advocate for the CCM Community
24:42 — Music’s Supply and Demand
29:05 — Authenticity: The Most Important Ingredient
32:48 — The Special CCM Pedagogy
35:48 — Not Just Knowledge. Set It Up Your Voice!
37:23 — Warming Up to a Different Language
39:26 — Dismantling Their Articulated Backgrounds
Find Vocal Intuition Online
For more go to https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/88
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How are you coping in your life at present? Are you constantly in a state of overwhelm and feel as though you have too much going on? You’re spending every day simply treading water and you feel that it's not possible to catch up. This is the time that it’s most important to reset and recalibrate in order to get back to neutral, so you can manage your day, your week and your life in general. But, how do we get back that vibrancy when we’re feeling overwhelmed and stressed? In this episode, I’m going to talk you through three behaviours that may be causing you to spiral out of control and offer you some coping mechanisms around those habits. If you’re ready to move from chaos to calm, overwhelm to transforming your life, listen up!
In this episode
01:09 — 3 Coping Strategies
06:08 — #1. Learn to Prioritize
07:19 — Take Control of Your Situation and Remain Positive
08:57 — Allow Yourself to Breathe
09:43 — #2. Distraction Detachment
11:59 — Focus On What You Are Doing
13:04 — Set Yourself Up for Success
14:04 — #3. Congruence
15:32 — Avoid spending time with negative people
16:20 — How Often Do You Make a Decision?
18:46 — Trust Your Intuition
19:34 — Conclusion
For more go to https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/87
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This week's guest is Joyce Anastasia.
This week on A Voice and Beyond, I share a most inspiring interview with our special guest, Joyce Anastasia. Joyce is a transformational leadership consultant, with over 20 years of experience in multidisciplinary psychology, creative arts, business and leadership. In this episode, Joyce discusses some of her other roles as an educator, writer and visionary activist with a lifelong passion to inspire new ways to lead by wisdom and congruence. Joyce travels internationally alongside contemporary Western businesses, and their leaders, Indigenous Cultures and their wisdom keepers working with them to bridge the gap between Western and Indigenous cultures, encouraging new ways to manifest the critical shifts needed to create a more thriving planet.
Recently, Joyce published her book Extraordinary Leadership During Extraordinary Times. The primary focus of this book is to motivate us to discover personal ways to positively impact who we are and transform the systems that define our world. Joyce also shares her views on the importance of exploring creativity, the positive impact of good teamwork skills in the workplace, how a harmonious home life can set you up for a more positive business life, and the implications of operating out of fear in our day-to-day lives. This is a truly fascinating and profound interview with Joyce Anastasia, one not to be missed.
Find Joyce online
In this episode
05:19 — Where Did It All Begin?
11:21 — The Vision in the Playground
15:27 — Blessing or Curse
21:28 — Sharing the Gift to the World
26:27 — How Do Clients Reach You?
29:54 — The Process of Intuition
35:43 — Choosing to Transform Ourselves
40:19 — Triumph Over a World Full of Fear
46:37 — Steps Towards Global Transformation
51:39 — The Key Is Being Authentic
57:04 — Bridging the Gap Between Western and Indigenous
01:03:59 — The Seven Vital Keys
01:06:10 — Joyce’s Soul Print
For more go to https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/86
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From the publisher's feed
A Voice and Beyond isn’t just a podcast—it’s a movement. It’s a celebration of every voice. It’s a space where authenticity thrives, personal transformation happens, and the beauty of individuality…
Each episode is a tribute to the challenges, and triumphs that make us who we are. Through heartfelt conversations and inspiring stories, we take you, our listener, on an incredible journey of connection, growth, and empowerment.
Whether you’re a performing artist, a creative, or someone who is simply searching for
a place where your voice is heard, we invite you to tune in and become part of our global family.
Let your journey of inspiration begin here and now!

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