Beyond the Draft

What happens when you stop living according to everyone else's expectations and start listening to your own voice?

In this episode of Beyond the Draft, Imma sits down with Lynda Leonce, authenticity coach, author, mentor, and speaker.

Lynda shares her journey of questioning, healing, and reconnecting with the person she truly was beneath fear, limiting beliefs, and expectations.

They explore authenticity, self-discovery, people-pleasing, fear of disappointing others, and the courage it takes to make choices that actually reflect who you are.

Because sometimes becoming your best self isn't about becoming someone new.

It's about remembering who you've always been.

Dick Wybrow spent years in major-market radio and as a writer and producer for CNN before becoming a bestselling author of humorous science fiction and fantasy. He now lives and writes in New Zealand, helping aspiring writers get their books out of their heads and onto the page.

In this episode, Dick shares what radio, television, and fiction each taught him about holding an audience's attention, why humor reveals truth better than a serious approach ever could, and the first step to finally starting the book you've been carrying around for years.

WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT:

Lessons from radio, TV, and fiction on holding an audience

Why humor is a powerful storytelling tool

Breaking the paralysis of "someday I'll write my book"

His new novel, The Facilite Con

CONNECT WITH DICK WYBROW:

Website & book link: https://geni.us/TFCbookPodcasts

Amy Lou Jenkins is an award-winning, best-selling author of four books, including Every Natural Fact. For years she mistook compliance for kindness and silence for respect, until nature taught her a different story.

In this episode, Amy Lou shares the moment in the woods that helped her realize her voice was never "too much," where the cultural scripts that silence people, especially women, actually come from, and what it looks like to finally stop apologizing for who you are.

WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT:

1. The nature experience that changed how she saw her own voice
2. Where silencing "cultural scripts" come from
3. Pushing back against commercialism's message that something is wrong with you
4. Her upcoming book, The Alchemy of Sass

CONNECT WITH AMY LOU JENKINS:

Website: amyloujenkins.com/belong/

Corwin "CJ Moneyway" Johnson is a media entrepreneur, bestselling author, and host of The CJ Moneyway Show, ranked among the top 39 entrepreneurship podcasts in the United States. He's the author of Both Eyes Open and Both Eyes Shut, with his upcoming release, Faith Through Trials, exploring faith, discernment, and resilience through life's hardest seasons. Beyond his podcast, CJ is building Moneyway Media, a platform rooted in one philosophy: Legacy Over Likes, Brick by Brick.

In this episode, CJ shares the pivotal moment that shaped his journey into resilience and purpose, how faith has guided him through his toughest seasons, and the biggest lesson he's learned from interviewing hundreds of entrepreneurs, authors, and thought leaders. He also opens up about what's behind his upcoming book, Faith Through Trials, and what he'd tell someone in the middle of a difficult season searching for hope.

WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT:

- The pivotal moment that shaped CJ's resilience and purpose

- How faith has guided him through adversity

- Lessons from Both Eyes Open and Both Eyes Shut

- What inspired Planting Seeds with CJ

- The biggest lesson learned from interviewing hundreds of guests

- A glimpse into his upcoming book, Faith Through Trials

- Staying grounded while building a growing media platform

CONNECT WITH CJ MONEYWAY:

Website: cjmoneyway.com

Podcast: The CJ Moneyway Show

YouTube: youtube.com/@themoneywayshow8493

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/corwin-johnson-3b7b51aa

Megan Lynch is the author of the upcoming psychological thriller HYMN FOR THE FORSAKEN, an American Gothic story about a girl's fight to protect her land, family, and identity when the tech giants move in. After surviving cancer and years of writing without finding the wide readership she believed her work deserved, Megan decided this would finally be the year her book reaches a bestseller list.

In this episode, Megan opens up about what it means to write about the wealth gap through the eyes of a "have-not," why surviving cancer changed how she thinks about pursuing her dreams, and her passionate stance on human-written storytelling in an age of AI-generated content. She also shares her writing process, how she pushes through writer's block, and what she hopes readers take away from HYMN FOR THE FORSAKEN.

WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT:

- Writing a psychological thriller about the wealth gap in America

- How surviving cancer changed her relationship with her dreams

- Why human-written storytelling matters more than ever in the age of AI

- Her writing process and how she overcomes writer's block

- What she hopes readers take away from HYMN FOR THE FORSAKEN

- Being a good literary community member

CONNECT WITH MEGAN LYNCH:

Website: www.authormeganlynch.com

Instagram & Threads: @meganlynchbooks

Pablo Yanez spent over a decade as a photographer before founding BeYourCover, an AI-powered tool that helps self-published authors create professional, print-ready book covers in minutes, no designer required. As a book cover photographer, he kept seeing the same problem: authors pouring months into their manuscripts, only to get stopped cold by a cover that felt too expensive or too hard to get right on their own.

In this episode, Pablo shares how his years behind a camera trained his eye for what actually makes a cover work, what's genuinely broken about how self-published authors get their covers made, and where he draws the line on what AI can and can't replace when it comes to human design instinct. He also opens up about the biggest mistakes indie authors make with their covers, and where he sees AI creative tools headed next.

WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT:

- From street photographer to AI founder

- What's actually broken about the self-publishing cover process

- Where AI helps, and where the human eye still matters

- Responding to authors skeptical or uneasy about AI in publishing

- What separates a cover that sells from one that flops

- The biggest mistake indie authors make with their covers

- Where AI creative tools are headed next

CONNECT WITH PABLO YANEZ:

Website: beyourcover.com

Sometimes the storms we desperately want to escape become the experiences that transform us.

In this episode of Beyond the Draft, Imma speaks with Bill Derrick, business leader, author, speaker, and President of Derrick Companies.

After more than 50 years in the construction industry, Bill faced the Great Recession while leading his family business—and later received a diagnosis of multiple myeloma.

Rather than allowing these experiences to define him, Bill found lessons in resilience, faith, gratitude, leadership, and purpose.

Drawing from his book Restored by the Storm, Bill shares how to keep hope alive when life doesn't go according to plan and how to discover gratitude even while you're still walking through the storm.

Connect with Bill and learn more about his book:

Restored by the Storm.

Menopause doesn't have to mean the end of confidence, health, or joy.

In this episode of Beyond the Draft, Imma speaks with Alison Bladh, award-winning Registered Nutritional Therapist, Beauty Therapist, international bestselling author of Have a Magnificent Menopause, and a leading voice in women's midlife health.

Alison shares practical insights on nutrition, lifestyle, confidence, and changing the way women think about menopause. Together, they explore why midlife can be the beginning of a healthier, happier, and more empowered chapter.

If you've ever thought, “Maybe this is just how life is now,” this conversation is for you.

CONNECT WITH ALISON:

Visit her website and explore her work on women's health, nutrition, and menopause.

What if talking about death could actually help us live more fully?

In this thought-provoking episode of Beyond the Draft, Imma sits down with Liz Scott, a psychologist with nearly 50 years of experience, to explore one of humanity’s most uncomfortable subjects: mortality.

Liz shares the deeply personal journey behind her book, You’re Going to Die But Not Me, including her long-standing fear of death, the research that challenged her beliefs, and how humor became an unexpected tool for confronting fear.

Together, they explore why we fear death, the role of laughter in difficult conversations, what psychology and philosophy can teach us about mortality, and how becoming more comfortable with death might actually transform the way we live.

This is an honest, surprising, and occasionally funny conversation about fear, curiosity, acceptance, and what it truly means to live a meaningful life.

Listen, reflect, and ask yourself: What would change if you stopped avoiding the conversations you fear most?

What if you don't have to choose between the different parts of who you are?

In this episode of Beyond the Draft, Imma sits down with Jo Madnani, author, TEDx Princeton speaker, marketing strategist, and storyteller, to explore identity, belonging, reinvention, and the power of embracing every chapter of your story.

Jo shares how an unexpected season of uncertainty inspired The Immigrant Journey and The Immigrant Lens, and why the identities, experiences, cultures, and passions we sometimes feel pressured to separate may actually be what makes us whole.

From building global brands to navigating personal transformation, Jo offers a powerful perspective on authenticity, self-discovery, and finding confidence in the many “ands” that make us who we are.

Your story doesn't have to fit into one category. Sometimes, your “and” is your greatest strength.