“Art has the power to tell stories, change perspectives, and help unite communities on various causes and issues. I use art to engage people in dialogue on current events, advocacy issues, disability rights issues and much more.” ~ Alicia Hopkins, from her artist statement

It’s far too tempting to fall into the trap of thinking that true creativity talent is reserved for the lucky few with astounding abilities.  World renowned artists, musicians, famous actors, best selling writers, the list is long, but elite.   But, what if true creative talent IS actually within ALL of us, regardless of what our abilities or disabilities may be?

Alicia Hopkins is a gifted artist, poet, and author whose pieces are at once unique and thought-provoking.  Alicia is also someone who navigates life with autism and dystonia.  Instead of letting her challenges shut her down, Alicia uses them to inspire a deeper connection to the creativity within herself and deepen her determination to advocate for others who may otherwise be overlooked as artists.  This includes those experiencing incarceration, mental health challenges and physical disabilities.

Winner of Art Possible Ohio Accessible Expressions People’s Choice Award, founder of the Poetry For All program and author of “Audacity to Speak”, Alicia has found many innovative and exciting ways to teach and share creativity to help people with a large variety of abilities and disabilities access their own native, creative joy and brilliance.  

I encourage you to tune in for what is sure to be a creatively rich conversation.

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

“I’m not Taylor Swift or an opera singer but I can still go out there and sing.  The invitation is to walk through the ring of fire that our fears have lit.”  ~ Sandi Kimmel

Sandi Kimmel makes her third appearance on Awkwardly Awesome Podcast as her story and creative genius keep expanding.  

Growing up in Sandi’s family, being academic was the prize.  As a creative person, she knew in her heart of hearts that just wasn’t her.  She pursued academic excellence just the same. 

As she got older, Sandi held jobs in Corporate America.  She tried to outrun the creative genius she knew was inside of her, but was afraid it wasn't professional enough to provide the success she thought she should achieve.  During this time, she was often saddened by the thought of her guitar sitting in a closet collecting dust.  

The urge to make music just wouldn’t let go.  So Sandi finally gave in.  She recorded her first album in 1998.  

She feels that each subsequent album she’s released has reflected great growth in her attitude towards life and her ability to embrace it and celebrate it.  This growth has included learning to navigate the heartache of grieving the death of her husband and her mother two short years apart.

Now, six albums into her recording journey, Sandi Kimmel has released “Practical Mystic" which she describes as “an invitation to remember who you are beneath the noise—without striving, without fixing, without force.”  

How did Sandi make it through the ring of fire of her fears to record the brilliant and joyful music within her?  

She has this to say, “I suddenly understood that I was a spiritual being and it didn’t matter what anyone else thought.  I started to write from the place in me that was touched, that was growing.  I sing the truth as I know it at the time.  We can only do the best we can with what we know at the time.  I can only sing to the place I’ve healed to.”

Please tune in for this most inspiring episode.

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

“There is something in many ancient practices, be it acupuncture, yoga, chiropractic, that works or helps, but none of them are a one-stop-shop.  None of them can cure everything all the time.”  ~ Mike Huber

In college, Mike Huber decided on an accounting degree for a very logical reason:  He  knew having a definitive skill would make for a lasting career.  Then he joined the military in order to pay for college.   

But, it would take significant back pain at the age of 26 before the adventure of Mike’s life really began.  Seeking relief after back surgery at the age of 30, he took a job teaching English in China knowing he would be amongst the world's leaders in acupuncture.  While the acupuncture did bring him relief, it wasn’t the solution. However, Mike did meet the woman who would later become his wife.  

Several years after marrying, while in Vermont, Mike and his wife took a hot yoga class. Mike was immediately hooked.  

Through the movement and breath work of yoga, Mike discovered he could reduce the amount of pain he was in and even feel good more often than not.  He was so inspired by his progress that he enrolled in a yoga training program and became a yoga teacher to share what he had learned about the practice with others.  

These days, Mike Huber is both a yoga teacher and a financial planner.  His yoga teaching includes volunteering in the South Dakota Penitentiary, sharing the restorative art of healing with people who rarely have access to it and who arguably need it most.  

When he was a kid, Mike often imagined his life would become fixed and unchanging once he entered adulthood.  But adult life has time and time again proven him wrong.  His journey surprises even him.  It has helped him heal in ways he once doubted possible.  Mike will tell you that he still doesn’t know what else he wants to be when he grows up . . . but, oh my goodness, is he having fun in the process of finding out.

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

“Going through a tough time definitely makes you a sharper person.  I think back to being in the hospital because I had a grapefruit-sized tumor in my head.  I kept waiting and waiting.  My surgery was delayed three times.  During that time, so much of my emotional well-being depended on my inner circle.  For example, my best friend Jake texted everyday.  Being alone was and still is one of my greatest fears.  I’m a people guy.  When everyone was gone for the night and it was just me and my thoughts, that was a very scary place.  I knew I might die.  I knew I might die in surgery.  AND I wondered if I would still be me if I did survive.”  ~ Phil Gintowt 

Phil Gintowt doesn’t get hung up on the “why me?”  Instead, he has a steadfast commitment to maintaining a positive attitude, regardless of his circumstances.

As a little kid, Phil learned to navigate the uncertain waters of seizures, a speech impediment, and attention deficit disorder.  On top of that, he had severe allergies. 

Luckily, as Phil neared adulthood these waters started to calm.  He was able to set his sights on the horizon and pursue his dream of becoming a chef.  He completed vocational school and landed an internship at a prestigious restaurant in Georgetown, Virginia.  Phil loved being close to Washington, DC and visited the Washington Monument, the Smithsonian and everything in between.

Everything, in fact, seemed to be going great.  Then a substantial tumor was discovered in Phil’s brain.  On top of everything else he’d already had to endure in life, Phil could have taken this unwanted news and let it contort him into a bitter, frustrated, angry person.  

Yet Phil refused to abandon his unyielding positivity.

These days, Phil Gintowt is writing a second book, is in the process of starting a podcast called “Waking Up With Phil,” and dreams of founding a foundation dedicated to supporting individuals facing serious, life altering conditions.

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

“Just as I was about to reach the top of the mountain I’d been climbing for years, I caught a glimpse of the view—and realized I was on the wrong mountain. So I jumped.”  ~ Paul Abel

This week, we’re joined by Paul Abel, Ph.D., who takes us on a deep dive into the high-stakes world of academia and the "awkward" courage it takes to pivot once you’re about to reach the summit of everything you thought you wanted.

Paul had a, shall we say, unique childhood.  One of his earliest memories was checking out a book on human anatomy from the library.  While other kids were out playing ball, Paul was experimenting with bees - putting them in the fridge to see how temperature affected their activity.  Whereas most kids dread dissecting the cat in high school biology class, Paul was fascinated by the complexity of it all.  

While pursuing his undergrad in biology at UCLA, Paul was headed towards becoming a physician - until he realized that much of practicing medicine felt like following recipes in a cookbook.  He wanted to write the recipes, not just follow them.  So Paul pivoted toward a PhD in Neuroscience.  Along the way, he studied rats, primates and neurons in crayfish (in case you’ve ever been curious).  He even studied ants in Costa Rica and discovered they’re actually quite good at stealing from each other! 

Paul was on the path to a promising career as a professor - teaching, researching, and getting paid to “nerd out” on science.  But after the grueling journey of obtaining his PhD, a seat on a faculty search committee changed everything, Paul saw “The Matrix" of academics a little too clearly. He decided to take the exit ramp off the scientific interstate to search for something else.

That “something else” led to a career in Corporate America, eventually landing him at Intel as a research executive.  Today he is managing partner at Blue Research, delivering the kind of high-stakes market insights where you simply can’t afford to be wrong.

Stick around for the finale, where Paul shares a never-before-told "reveal" about a major setback that happened behind closed doors during his doctoral degree. It’s a powerful reminder that our "Imperfect Best" often involves a big failure

Please join me as I have a conversation with this amazing man.

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

In this Fan Favorite episode, Tiffani Brooke Fest shares her journey from a childhood marked by abuse and hardship to finding sanctuary in theater, success as an actress, and healing through Buddhism. She explains how her pain became the fuel for her craft and the catalyst of her compassion.

Over time, Tiffani has turned her personal suffering into service—supporting survivors and volunteering at children’s hospitals in India. Her message is clear: "Suffering can become a source of purpose when we transform it into compassion and action".

This episode explores resilience, the craft of acting, spiritual practice, and the power of becoming one with your challenges.

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

“There’s often a misconception about confidence.  It’s not that I don’t feel scared, it’s that I do it anyway.” ~ Chandler Price

The parents of Chandler Price knew she was meant for the arts after seeing her dance around on the soccer field instead of helping her teammates win the game one too many times.  So, they decided to enroll her in dancing, acting, and singing classes instead and young Chandler was in bliss.

She carried that bliss with her throughout her childhood and adolescence, jubilantly singing along with Disney movies; her Grammy’s musicals like Grease, Annie, and Singing in the Rain; and putting a lot of mileage on her Dad’s stereo and microphone.  

But, one night before taking the stage in a musical her sophomore year of college as a theater major at Temple University in Philadelphia, Chandler was suddenly overcome with an intensely painful amount of worry and anticipation.  She was fearful even.  She felt too nervous to take the stage.  Somehow, she pulled herself together and powered through the performances but she was left feeling miserable about the whole ordeal.

After that experience Chandler knew two things:  

1) She loved music, dancing and acting.  

2) She never wanted to feel that nervous again.

So, instead of giving up her passion for performing, Chandler sought out tools to help her cope with this new found self-doubt and anxiety, including yoga, journaling, mantras, learning more about her craft and preparing for it much more thoroughly.

She says this about the high-level of confidence she now cultivates, “My mantra is: ‘I’m safe and supported.’  I trust that the universe has my back as I charge ahead.  I’ve made my life about getting out of my comfort zone because I’ve found that my comfort zone doesn’t include many opportunities for growth and personal growth is very important to me.  So, I put myself in situations where I have to trust on a deeper level, expand, and make mistakes.”

After college, Chandler decided she needed to leave Pennsylvania or risk living in the same state her whole life.  It was hard leaving her entire family behind but she packed up her cat, a few boxes of belongings and set her course for San Diego, with no place to live once she got there and no job lined up either.

But her mantra proved true.  

Now, Chandler is an innovative voice & acting coach, dedicated to helping clients to express themselves with authenticity, and hone their ability to captivate any audience and make a great impact.  She also has a decade of experience as a yoga teacher and somatic guide. 

AND she just started hosting The Confidence Download, a podcast that explores vocal freedom, embodiment, creativity, and self-trust.  

I feel so lucky to have her join me in conversation. 

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

When I, Jason Freeman, host of Awkwardly Awesome Podcast, began talking about the power of doing my Imperfect Best in 2015, I somehow assumed I was the expert on it thanks to the adversity my speech impediment and coordination issues caused me.  But, the more I spoke and wrote about it, the more I found that far from being an expert on Imperfect Best, I was very much still an eager student learning more about the concept every day and then awkwardly applying the learnings to my own life.  

When I launched Awkwardly Awesome Podcast back in October of 2020, I began asking each of my guests, “What does doing your Imperfect Best mean to you?” thinking it would be a nice way to cap off the episode.  I was elated to hear answers as varied as the guests I interviewed, each brilliant and expanding upon the concept of what Doing Our Imperfect Best means. 

Recently, I’ve had a few fresh insights into what Imperfect Best means to me, that while very simple in nature, have created an epiphany in my way of thinking and and acting.  During this episode, I’m excited to share my current Imperfect Best thinking with you and talk a bit about how 2026 has been going so far.  Chris Taylor, who is a frequent Awkwardly Awesome Podcast guest and the right-hand man in my business, will be assuming the role of host for this episode.  Won’t you join us for this Abundantly Imperfect Best episode?

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

QUESTION: What do you do when the sofa in your home becomes way too comfortable?

ANSWER: You rent out your home for half a year and become a part-time nomad.

This is precisely the type of change Breezy is continually innovating her life with.

When I met Breezy, her name was Briana.  She came into my life as a mentor when I was relatively new to San Diego and needed some kind, insightful guidance.  Fortunately for me, after her exceptional mentorship, we became friends.  

When I met up with Briana recently during a trip to San Diego, one of the first things I learned is that she’s now going by the name given to her at Burning Man, Breezy.  Life doesn’t stay the same for any of us and to proactively choose big changes like traveling the country as a nomad or asking to be called by a different name is definitely embracing the freedom to change right along with life’s constant changes and evolution.  

Born in Kansas City, Missouri, the youngest of four siblings, Briana’s first brush with powerfully navigating change was when she transferred from a private school where all the students wore uniforms to a public school where students had the freedom to dress as they wished.  Such changes are a big deal to a kid.  Briana went on to the University of Kansas, majoring in Journalism, only to realize that she had no desire for the lifestyle of being perpetually on-call, hoping to land the next news story.  So, she found great success being a portrait photographer, bringing out the best in people and helping them see themselves in a new light.  In her twenties, Briana also found the courage to leave a marriage with a partner who struggled with addiction.   Then, one day she realized she had had it with the weather in Missouri, so after visiting various places in California, she decided to move to San Diego.  

At a Mardi Gras celebration in downtown San Diego, Briana found herself mesmerized by the amount of people walking and dancing around with face and body paint.  On her friend’s advice and willingness to teach the trade, Briana added face and body artist  to her growing resume, discovering that she loved painting people’s faces and sometimes their entire bodies, witnessing the joy and boost of self-confidence that brought them. 

Part-time nomad, Breezy is meeting many wonderful people along her journey.  Sometimes she stays at their homes.  Sometimes she turns her car into a house on wheels.  She’s even traveled in Europe as part of this adventure.  As she continues, she’s intent on finding a box truck that she can use as a mobile art studio.

Talking with Breezy reminds me that the image we hold of ourselves can become so fixed and at times even negative.  Sometimes it takes a portrait photographer or a body artist to help us see the essence of ourselves in a kinder way.  Sometimes it takes us deciding to travel the world for part of the year.  Sometimes we even decide to change our name.

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

“To me money isn’t a big deal.  I was a pastor.  I was a teacher.  I’ve worked with the homeless.  My wife is an artist.  We get by on less.  My house tilts to the east, but it’s classy.” ~ Steve Boint

If you’ve listened to this podcast long enough, you know how much I love a good tale.  Fortunately for all of us, Steve Boint, has had a life chock full of great ones.  Take this one for example:  During a gap year between high school and college, Steve and his friend set off on an epic, cross country hitchhiking adventure intent on exploring as much of the United States and Canada as they could.  Some months into their trip they managed to get kicked out of Canada for vagrancy and were traveling through Washington State when suddenly they found themselves in the middle of what appeared to be a massive snow storm.  Only it wasn’t snowing.  They were engulfed in falling white ash.  At the moment they were clueless as to its source but would later discover it was fallout from the Mount St. Helens eruption!

Want another one?  While in college, Steve got bored one afternoon and decided to explore the art department of his small campus.  He found most of the paintings dull and unimpressive and just as he began to think his trip had been a waste of effort, he stumbled upon a series of paintings that stopped him dead in his tracks because they felt like they’d somehow captured his life.  The following semester, by sheer chance, he met the woman who painted the series of paintings.  They soon fell in love and have now been married for over forty years!

In his early thirties, Steve decided he needed a career change and remembering his love for science, went back to college.  Almost immediately he found himself facing the prospect of  getting kicked out of his chemistry class because he’d somehow never taken one before, not in his first round of college, not even in high school.  But he managed to impress his professor by being the only student to get a perfect score on the beginning of semester pre-test and was allowed to stay without the prerequisite. 

These are but a small taste of the tales that make up Steve’s life.  He’s earned master degrees in both divinity and education.  He’s been a security guard who refused to carry a gun, because to his way of thinking, property is never as important as human life.  He’s been a pastor, worked with people who experience homelessness, and has been a high school chemistry teacher.  He’s also built musical instruments from flutes to hammer dulcimers.  Today he owns Scurpea Publishing, which publishes Midwestern poets and authors, and has become a cornerstone of the South Dakota literary community. 

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com