Pat wanner

What does it take to build a creative career that spans music, film, and literature, all at once, and keep reinventing across every decade?

James Hand is a musician, songwriter, filmmaker, author, and educator with more than 30 years of experience in the arts. His song "I'm Trying To Get To You" won Triple J Unearthed in 2001, his short film Just Friends screened at Cannes in 2006, and today he performs as lead guitarist and vocalist for The Waterloo Sunsets, a popular 1960s tribute band. He's also the author of the Beth Duncan book series, a twelve-novel collection, with book three, The Fit Girl Part II, part of a planned ten-part young adult series.

In this episode, James shares how three decades of teaching music shaped his approach to every creative medium that followed, what it was like winning national recognition as a songwriter and later screening a film at Cannes, and what pushed him to expand his storytelling into a twelve-book novel series. He also reflects on staying creatively relevant across decades of change in music, film, and publishing.

What We Talked About:

1. Three decades as a music educator and mentor
2. Winning Triple J Unearthed as a songwriter
3. Screening his short film Just Friends at Cannes
4. Performing with 1960s tribute band The Waterloo Sunsets
5. Writing and publishing the twelve-book Beth Duncan series
6. Staying creatively relevant across music, film, and literature

Connect with James Hand:

Website: jameshand.com.au

TikTok: linked on his profile

What if a single promise made to a dying parent could reshape the next twenty-five years of your life?

Matthew Cossolotto, known as The Empowerment Pro, made a promise to his dying mother to finish a book she'd been encouraging him to write. Harness Your PromisePower: Change Your Life, Transform the World, with a foreword by Jack Canfield, is rooted in that make-or-break promise. It's the second book in his Triad Empowerment System trilogy, alongside The Joy of Public Speaking and the upcoming Harness Your HabitForce. His career has taken him from speechwriting for NATO's Secretary General to the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives to top executives at Fortune 100 companies.

In this episode, Matthew shares the story behind the promise he made to his mother, and how keeping it changed the entire trajectory of his life. He explains why he believes "a promise is like a goal on steroids," breaks down his Triad Empowerment System of Habits, Speaking, and Promises, and shares how his initiative, Make a Promise Day, is turning personal integrity into an annual practice. He also shares promise stories from well-known figures like Oprah Winfrey and LeBron James.

What We Talked About:

1. The promise Matthew made to his dying mother, and what it led to
2. Why a promise functions like "a goal on steroids"
3. His Triad Empowerment System: Habits, Speaking, and Promises
4. Famous promise stories from Oprah, Jack Canfield, and LeBron James
5. Make a Promise Day and why it matters
6. Moving from stage fright to stage delight as a speaker

Connect with Matthew Cossolotto:

Website: matthewcossolotto.com/speaking

Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram & LinkedIn: linked on his profile

What happens when a trained mental health therapist realizes the real problem isn't just how people think, it's how they search?

Melanie Gorman is the founder and Chief Strategist of Crownsville Media, a marketing and website development agency helping service-based businesses build visibility, earn trust, and generate qualified leads. Before founding her agency, she spent 8 years managing digital platforms for John Gray, author of Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, followed by nearly 13 years leading the Experts division at YourTango. Today, she's known for her "Common Sense SEO" approach, cutting through marketing noise with practical, human-centered strategy.

In this episode, Melanie shares the grad school moment that first pushed her toward business, why she believes most business owners come to marketing carrying inherited assumptions and outdated advice, and how her clinical background gives her a unique read on how people search for help and decide who to trust. She also breaks down what business owners should actually focus on if they want to be found, trusted, and hired online.

WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT:

1. The grad school question that changed her career path
2. What Common Sense SEO means, and what it helps you stop wasting time on
3. How a therapist's understanding of people shapes smarter marketing strategy
4. Lessons from working with John Gray and YourTango
5. Using AI in content marketing without losing your voice
6. Turning visibility into real, qualified leads

CONNECT WITH MELANIE GORMAN:

Website: crownsvillemedia.com

LinkedIn: linked on her profile

What do you do when a drunk driver takes away the voice you built an entire career on, and ten years later, you find a way to use it again?

Laura Van Wormer is a longtime novelist whose 1988 debut, Riverside Drive, was a bestseller, followed by 13 more novels with major publishing houses. In 2015, a head-on collision left her with a crushed collarbone, 16 broken ribs, and what she calls her "ventilator voice." Nearly unable to write another novel for years, she found her way back through an unexpected medium: a serialized fiction podcast called The Class of '74.

In this episode, Laura shares how a suggestion from her partner to try podcasting after her 50th high school reunion sparked an entirely new chapter in her writing life, why writing what you know shaped both her career and her recovery, and how The Class of '74 has connected with strangers around the world who never lived through 1971. She also opens up about her early career at Doubleday and writing tie-in novels for Dynasty, Dallas, and Knots Landing.

WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT:

1. Recovering her voice, physically and creatively, after a near-fatal accident
2. The suggestion that sparked The Class of '74
3. Writing serialized fiction as a podcast versus print novels
4. Her early publishing career at Doubleday and beyond
5. Why writing what you know resonates so deeply with readers
6. How podcast storytelling can soothe loneliness

CONNECT WITH LAURA VAN WORMER:

Podcast: The Class of '74

Facebook, YouTube & LinkedIn: linked on her profile

What if the biggest threat to your best employees isn't the workload, it's the leader standing in front of them?

Bryan Hughes originally set out to become a music teacher before switching into professional sales and eventually spending 30 years leading high-performing teams, including P&L accountability for $750M and more than 4,000 employees. His doctoral dissertation focused on helping organizations recover after a toxic leader had been removed, which became the foundation for his Amazon best-selling book, Toxicity: Let's Finally Do Something About It.

In this episode, Bryan breaks down why great people don't usually quit the work, they quit the environment, the warning signs of toxic leadership that companies love to ignore, and the everyday behaviors that quietly build or destroy trust on a team. He also shares what it actually takes to recover a culture after toxic leadership has done its damage.

What We Talked About:

1. Why employees leave environments, not jobs
2. Warning signs of toxic leadership companies often ignore
3. Everyday behaviors that build or destroy trust
4. How organizations recover after removing a toxic leader
5. The most valuable leadership skill in the age of AI
6. Building teams people actually want to stay on

Connect with Bryan Hughes:

Website: (linked on his profile)

Free organizational health quiz: culturequiz.cleardaystrategies.com

Facebook, Twitter/X, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn & TikTok: linked on his profile

What if ancient history was actually a lot more accepting, and a lot more gay, than the history books ever let on?

Neil Laird is a multiple Emmy-nominated director and executive producer who's spent nearly three decades making historical documentaries for Discovery, BBC, PBS, History Channel, and National Geographic, filming in over 70 countries. After years of uncovering what TV and textbooks got wrong about the ancient world, he began writing comedic novels inspired by his time in the field, starting with Prime Time Travelers.

In this episode, Neil shares what same-sex life actually looked like in ancient Egypt, Rome, and other cultures, compared to how it's typically portrayed today. He opens up about the real story behind making historical TV documentaries, what it's been like traveling the world as an openly gay filmmaker, often in difficult locations, and how streaming and AI are reshaping the future of the genre he helped build.

WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT:

1. Same-sex life in ancient Egypt, Rome, and beyond
2. The real story behind making TV documentaries
3. Traveling the world as an out filmmaker in difficult locations
4. How streaming changed TV for viewers and creators alike
5. Whether AI threatens the future of documentary production
6. Turning decades of TV experience into comedic historical fiction

CONNECT WITH NEIL LAIRD:

Website: (linked on his profile)

IMDb: full list of his shows

Facebook, LinkedIn & TikTok: linked on his profile

What stories get lost when history is only told by the winners, or by those who left before the hardest parts happened?

Tudor Alexander is a Romanian-born novelist and author of seven published novels, four in the U.S., focused on immigrants and the experience of leaving home for a new language and culture. His recent novels, The Last Patient and In Darkness and Light, explore life in pre- and post-WWII communist Romania, drawing on his grandmother's memories, his mother-in-law's deportation during WWII, and his own immigration to the U.S. nearly 50 years ago.

In this episode, Tudor shares why he chose communist Romania as the backdrop for his novels, how much of his work is rooted in real family history versus research, and what he discovered about resilience, love, and ordinary life persisting even under political oppression. He also reflects on his own immigrant experience and why he believes these overlooked stories still matter today.

WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT:

1. Preserving family memory through historical fiction
2. Life in pre- and post-WWII communist Romania
3. How authoritarian regimes shape families across generations
4. Balancing historical accuracy with storytelling
5. His own immigration story and what he left behind
6. Why family sagas are such a powerful lens for history

CONNECT WITH TUDOR ALEXANDER:

Website: linked on his profile

Facebook: linked on his profile

Conversation with Rag

What happens when conventional medicine can't fix your nine-month-old's repeated ear infections, but a single natural remedy does?

Abby Beale is a certified classical homeopath who's spent over two decades studying and practicing homeopathy since 2003. A former speed reading and learning expert, she brought her love of deep study into homeopathy after her own child's health crisis convinced her there was more to explore beyond conventional medicine. She's the creator of Homeopathy Primer, a 384-page study guide built with contributions from over 35 homeopaths.

In this episode, Abby explains what homeopathy actually is and how it works, the moment her son's ear infections convinced her to dive into this field, and the difference between homeopathy and naturopathy. She also shares how people can start using homeopathic remedies at home for acute ailments, and where to find a qualified homeopath.

WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT:

1. The ear infection story that started her homeopathy journey
2. What homeopathy is and how it actually works
3. Homeopathy vs. naturopathy
4. Getting started with homeopathic remedies at home
5. Building Homeopathy Primer with over 35 contributors
6. Free resources like her "Tea with a Homeopath" sessions

CONNECT WITH ABBY BEALE:

Website: homeopathyhealings.com

Book: homeopathyprimer.com

Facebook, Instagram & LinkedIn: linked on her profile