Coherence Podcast

Your relationship with acknowledging yourself might feel more… non-existent than it needs to be. The skill of recognition has a way of getting overlooked in our daily lives, especially when we're so busy focusing on what we haven't accomplished yet!

In this solo pep talk episode, I break down why being seen and acknowledged brings up so much emotion—and remind you that you can give yourself credit right now, no major accomplishments required.

This episode will hopefully feel like you just got a good hug.

Kaitlin Carpenter runs her freelance company under the name "BattleCat"—inspired by her family's first cat and the perfectly fierce energy she brings to her work. From a small town in rural Idaho to working on projects like NASA Earth Sciences and heading up CreativeMornings Portland, Kaitlin embodies what it looks like to build a career around values rather than a predetermined strategy. 

In this conversation, we explore her journey from being discouraged by a dismissive creative writing professor in college to now pursuing her MFA while maintaining a rich ecosystem of meaningful work. Kaitlin opens up about the bridge-building potential that comes from understanding both rural and urban perspectives, her seven years leading CreativeMornings Portland with intentional attention to justice and representation, and why she created a literal punch card to reward herself for saying no to social invitations. 

We dive into the benefits and challenges of having multiple professional identities—from the cross-pollination of ideas between projects to the constant juggling act of competing priorities. Kaitlin shares practical wisdom about templatizing what you can while accepting what you can't predict, the importance of talking through decisions with trusted friends, and why she believes deciding is more important than making the perfect decision. 

 You can find Kaitlin at: 

• https://kaitlincarpenter.com/

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaitlincarpenter/

The moment you make a big life change—quitting your job, ending a relationship, moving across the country—you might expect to feel immediately transformed. But usually your internal world doesn’t change as fast as the external structure of your life. 

Coach and founder of Slant’d, Krystie Yen shares about how learning how to pause has often been the key to getting through the "structural lag," that disorienting gap between outer change and inner alignment.

From chasing the quintessential Asian American dream in corporate America to building her own freelance branding business, Krystie shares her journey of saying goodbye to prestige and comfort for something more authentic. 

You'll hear how a simple post-it note idea evolved into a nonprofit publishing house and how Slant'd continues to capture her attention years later. 

Whether you're contemplating a leap or finding yourself in the messy middle of transition, this conversation offers practical wisdom for honoring both the courage to change and the patience to let transformation happen at its own pace. 

You can find Krystie at: 

Your relationship with money might feel more… tense than it needs to be. Anxiety about money has an insidious way of creeping into how we run our lives, especially during uncertain times when the world feels unstable and we grip our resources tighter. 

In this solo episode, I break down three concrete exercises that can quickly shift how you feel about your finances—no complicated jargon required. 

I'll walk you through creating a financial snapshot that gives you clarity on how to assign a job to every dollar you make, understanding the financial order of operations so you know what to prioritize first, and optimizing your savings to work harder for you. 

Whether you're drowning in decision paralysis about debt versus emergency funds, or you're ready to move beyond survival mode into intentional abundance, this episode offers practical steps you can take immediately after listening.

To be notified about future Savvy dates, add your info here: https://coherence-studio.myflodesk.com/getsavvy

Coherence Studio - Savvy Financial Snapshot Spreadsheet:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qu3MWeV-YEdOQQUHxp1vugps86BRxPgehBeGPz6UURU/edit?usp=sharing 

External Resources mentioned on the episode: 

https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/investing-for-beginners/

https://moneyguy.com/guide/foo/

Callie Rojewski refuses to accept that logging off is the only solution to our complicated relationship with technology. In this conversation, she shares her journey from a decade of banging her head against the creator economy wall to building her branding and business strategy company, Online and IRL.

“Online and IRL” helps entrepreneurs and creators move beyond the pressure and perils of sustaining a personal brand to build truly sustainable platforms rooted in authentic connection and long-term impact. In partnership with Cyber Collective, she helps people learn about how to protect themselves online and use ‘internet street smarts’. For anyone who has ever wondered if their brand should be one based around their personal identity and name or broadened to an organization or studio name, this conversation might help you make up your mind! 

 You can find Callie at: 

• https://www.onlineandirl.com/

• https://www.cybercollective.org/

• IG: @callieand.co and @@onlineandirl

Experience designer Anthony Rocco and I sit down to record on the summer solstice and engage in a unique episode for Coherence Podcast -- one that doesn’t dip back into the past to connect dots but explores this present moment.

Anthony describes this summer as "weird" and "challenging"—his inner world feels calm while the outside world grows increasingly turbulent. In this reflective conversation, we explore what it means to choose stillness over reactive action when everything around us feels chaotic. 

He shares his journey from peak experience seeking and American "go and get it" culture to prioritizing ancient wisdom traditions, daily spiritual practice, and humble living. From swimming in San Francisco Bay as moving meditation to singing Marvin Gaye in the kitchen for nervous system regulation, Anthony offers practical tools for staying grounded when everything feels unmoored.

He even guides us through a micro-meditation practice using the five senses and issues a challenging homework assignment that we can practice right after listening.

 You can find Anthony at: 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/arocco/

• https://architectingcuriosity.org/

Rashid Zakat is a filmmaker and artist based in Philly. 

His work spans video production, interactive installations, and ecstatic gatherings like Revival!—a video DJ experiment that explores what collective joy and resilience looks like in times of crisis. 

From following a group of boys into his church's video ministry as a child to recently hosting hands-on workshops at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Rashid has spent his career exploring how creativity can be both a tool for solving problems and a vehicle for asking deeper questions. 

In this episode, Rashid reflects on the balance between his work as a capital “A” artist and his freelance work as a creative director and cinematographer for non-fiction, experimental films and music videos.

He shares how he’s navigated the tension between being a "creative plumber" who helps others bring their visions to life and prioritizing his own artistic inquiry.

Listen to this conversation if you want to explore the artist's life beyond the romantic notions—the reality of building sustainable creative work in a system not designed to support artists— and to remember the power of side projects that can evolve into something bigger.

This episode offers a meditation on staying true to your questions while building a life around them.

You can find Rashid at:

• rashidzakat.com
• @rashidzakat

When we step into our personal agency, we step into a place of engagement with the world and we start to grow hope. I made this episode to respond to the mounting scarcity energy that I’m witnessing in my client calls. People are frustrated with not hearing back about job opportunities, outreach emails, and are in a ‘what’s going to keep the lights on?’ moment (both literally and figuratively). This all is super challenging and it all requires a LOT of resilience. I hope this listen can be a dose of inspiration to keep trying, to keep showing up and remain awake to yourself and to others. 

Stay until the end of the episode to hear me run you through a clarity exercise that you can do to take a next step toward figuring out what you, the protagonist of your life, can do to remember that you have the Author’s pen in your hand.

Stuck in the endless loop of "What should I do with my life?" When you're stuck between knowing you want change but feeling paralyzed by the pressure to figure it all out perfectly, it's easy to get caught in what I call "analysis paralysis." In this solo episode, I’ll dismantle the problematic "follow your passion" advice and introduce a drastically different approach that actually leads to results.

Through real examples from my own transition from Kickstarter to founding my first business, New Women Space, I’ll show how the people who successfully create meaningful career changes aren't making one dramatic leap. They're making a series of small, strategic experiments that build confidence and gather real-world data. You'll learn two specific tactics you can start this week: the coffee chat challenge and how to offer small versions of your ideas in low-stakes settings.

If you've ever felt haunted by not knowing your "passion," overwhelmed by too many options, or stuck researching without ever taking action, this episode offers a practical roadmap for getting unstuck.

Resources referenced: 

• Coherence Course - for a more structured guide through the career change process  

Do you have a productivity monkey on your back? Have you ever realized that endless productivity doesn’t actually equate to happiness? 

For Dani Bicknell, the wake-up call came during the pandemic. As she continued to climb the career ladder and check all the "success" boxes, she felt more burned out than fulfilled. The solution wasn't working harder; it was remembering what brought her joy.

In this episode, Dani joins Melissa to reflect on the transformation that followed a few exploratory coaching sessions, the pull of creativity in the wake of burnout, and how parenting during a pandemic sharpened her sense of what really matters. From rediscovering her love of writing to publishing a book about internalized capitalism, she illustrates the messy, non-linear process of integrating creativity back into a productivity-obsessed life. 

If you've ever noticed the diminishing returns of working more on a never-ending quest for some unreachable finish line, this episode offers encouragement to let go of old definitions of success and embrace the chaos of creativity.

 You can find Dani at: 

• https://www.danibicknell.com

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniellebicknell/