You don’t have to shine like everyone else. (Your messiness looks different and that’s a good thing)

When I sat down with Kelly Swanson on this week's Podcast, I thought we’d be talking about courage.

We ended up talking about permission.

Permission to show up messy.

To laugh at yourself.

To walk off the stage (literally)… and still own the room.

Kelly is a National Speakers Hall ofFame inductee, a funny motivational keynote speaker, and a master of strategic storytelling who’shelped leaders and teams across the world turn their mess into theirmessage.

But what struck me most wasn’t her humor or success.

It was this: “People don’tremember perfect They remember real.”

She shared how, after years of trying to fit the mold, she finallydecided to stop hiding the southern sass, the rhinestones, the glitter.

And that one decision, to show up as herself, changedeverything.

Her story is a reminder that fear doesn’t disappear when you stepinto the spotlight.

You just learn to make it your co-star.

And sometimes?

Falling off the stage becomes the most unforgettable part of yourstory.

🎧 Listen to Kelly’s full episode on the OneFear Per Year Podcast

(You’ll laugh, you’ll reflect, and you’ll rethink what “failure”really means.)

♻️ Repost this to remind someone that imperfection is thebrand.

👋 Follow One Fear Per Year for morestories of courage, fear, and growth(and humor!).

You know that voice in your head that says,

“What if I fail?

”“What if I’m not good enough?”

“What if I embarrass myself?”

Jonathan Graham calls that voice a liar.

He spent years at Netflix and Apple, helping shape products used by hundreds of millions of people. But when he looked closer, he realized something bigger: The greatest limits weren’t in technology.

They were in fear.

Now he’s on a mission to help 1 million people build courage. To fact-check their fears and step into the potential waiting on the other side.

In this conversation, Jonathan shares:

• Why 91% of what we fear never comes true

• The 5-step “FACTS” framework to shrink fear’s grip

• How courage is like a muscle. One we can train daily

• And why the opposite of fear isn’t confidence… it’s love.

This episode is a reminder that fear isn’t a stop sign. It’s an invitation to grow.

#WalkThroughFear #Courage #PersonalGrowth #Mindset #OneFearPerYear

In this week’s episode of One Fear Per Year, I sat down with comedian and storyteller Holly James.  We talk about what happens when you stop living for approval and start livingfor truth.

Holly shares how walking through fear meant losing parts of her old life… and finding something even deeper on the other side.

We talked about:

✨ Choosing the thing you’d regret not trying

✨ The courage to be misunderstood

✨ What it means to build a life after you leteverything fall apart

It’s raw.

It’s funny.

And it’s one of the most honest conversations I’ve had aboutrediscovering who you really are.

What’s one thing you’ve been afraid to start because you don’t feel ready yet?

#OneFearPerYear #Podcast #Courage #Authenticity #Storytelling

You ever meet someone and instantly feel like they see you?

That was my first conversation with Kris Kelso. We met at the National Speakers Association conference, and I overheard him say two words that stopped me in my tracks:

“Humble confidence.”

Those two words felt like truth. Because for so many of us chasing purpose, leading teams, or trying something new… we swing between I’ve got this and who am I to do this?

Chris knows that dance better than most. He’s a global keynote speaker, leadership coach, and author of Overcoming the Impostor, a book that’s helped thousands silence their inner critic and lead with confidence.

He’s coached entrepreneurs across the world, written for Fast Company and Yahoo Finance, and serves as Dean of Entrepreneurship at the Professional Christian Coaching Institute — yet he’s the first to admit he once feared being “found out.”

In this episode, we talk about:

💭 The trap of “proud insecurity” — pretending to have it all together while secretly doubting yourself.

💡 How humility and confidence aren’t opposites — they’re partners.

🧠 Why imposter syndrome is a human problem, not a weakness.

❤️ And how peace, not perfection, might just be the opposite of fear.

This conversation is real, grounding, and freeing. Because every one of us has doubted whether we’re enough — and every one of us can learn to lead with humble confidence.

You can win a Tony Award…

stand on stage at Radio City Music Hall…

and still feel completely empty inside.

That’s exactly what happened to Nick Demos.

From the outside, he had it all—

Tony and Olivier Award–winning producer.

Award-winning filmmaker.

Eight-figure business coach & leader.

A life most people only dream about.

But behind the scenes?

Nick was running.

Chasing achievements to cover fear and pain.

Until the night he realized…“This isn’t it.” That moment changed everything.

He dove into deep soul work, spiritual practice, and healing—

and emerged with a new mission:

helping leaders and entrepreneurs share their stories authentically on stage.

In our conversation on One Fear Per Year, Nick opens upabout:

➜ Growing up hiding who he was—and the mentors whosaved him.

➜ The truth about chasing external success (and whyit leaves us empty).

➜ How fear points us toward the very places we’remeant to grow.

➜ The bold new project that scares him right now—andwhy he’s doing it anyway.

This is an episode about courage, authenticity, and rewriting what “success” really means.

Listen in. You won’t forget it.

#OneFearPerYear

You don’t have to have it all figured out. Especially when lifefeels like quicksand and moving a million miles per minute.

 When I sat down with Jennifer Fondrevay I knew the conversation would hit deep because she's not just another consultant.

She’s the M&A Whisperer! 

A global speaker and best selling author of Now What? A Survivor’s Guide for Thriving Through Mergers & Acquisitions.

 She’s been on all sides of billion dollar deals.

She’s written for Forbes and Harvard Business Review.

She’s even stood on the TEDx stage.

But what struck me most wasn’t the accolades.

It was her honesty.

She talked about fear (and not knowing what to do when it hits!)

The kind that shows up when everything you’ve built suddenly shifts, changes, and becomes something unrecognizable.

The fear of not being valuable anymore.

Of wondering if your skills will matter in the future.

Her advice?

Focus on what you can control:

➜ Your talent

➜ Your effort

➜ Your attitude

Everything else? Cross it off the list. “No one is going totell you your value. It’s your job to get clear on what you bring to the company moving forward.”

It sounds simple, but when Jennifer walked me through the exercise she gives executive teams after a merger, I understood it. Because whether it’s business or just life itself… the fear is the same:

Am I enough?

 Jennifer reminds us WE ARE if we’re willing to own it. 

This episode left me inspired to let go of what I can’t control and double down on what I can.

So, what about you? !hat fear are you ready to cross off your list?

#OneFearPerYear

You don’t often hear a Marine, a PhD in psychology, and a corporate executive talk about… love being the opposite word of fear.

 But that’s exactly what happened when I satdown with Matt Poepsel on the One Fear Per Year podcast.

 Matt’s journey is incredible

From serving in the U.S. Marine Corps as anArabic Linguist…

To earning his PhD in Psychology and MBA fromBoston University…

To becoming the “Godfather of TalentOptimization” at The Predictive Index.

 He climbed the ladder of achievement. But none of it brought lasting fulfillment.

 It took a midlife crisis, meditation, andasking the BIG questions to change everything.

 Now, Matt helps leaders embrace what he calls“enlightened leadership” a blend of Eastern philosophy, Western psychology, anddecades of business experience.

 In this conversation, we dive into:

➜ The fear that almost stoppedhim from writing his book Expand the Circle

➜ Why 85% of us are lying toourselves about self-awareness

➜ How love—not courage—is thetrue opposite of fear

➜ What it means to createripples of unity and connection in leadership

This is not your typical leadership message.

It’s deeper.

It’s braver.

And it might just be the perspective shiftyou’ve been waiting for.

 So what’s one fear you’ve been avoiding that,if faced, could ripple out into something bigger than yourself?

 #OneFearPerYear

✨ What does it really take to leave behind the safety of a paycheck and step boldly into entrepreneurship?

On this week’s One Fear Per Year podcast, I sat down with a lovely human I've known for over a decade, Katrina Sawa.

Katrina is known as The Jumpstart Your Biz Coach. She is a 14-time international best-selling author, speaker, and the CEO of Jumpstart Publishing, where she has helped countless entrepreneurs grow faster, publish books, and design businesses they actually love.

In our conversation, Katrina opened up about:

💡 The decision to walk away from her 9-5 job and start her own business

💡 How “It’ll all work out” became the motto that carried her through 23 years of entrepreneurship

💡 The deeper fears she faced around love and worthiness, and how she turned them into lessons of self-love

💡 Why creating community and surrounding yourself with love is just as powerful as any business strategy

Her story is raw, honest, and full of wisdom for anyone navigating fear in life or business.

#onefearperyear

What if your biggest fear…became your greatest purpose?

On this week’s One Fear Per Year podcast, I had the honor of sitting down with Jose Angel Pereira—a man whose story left me both shaken and deeply inspired.

Jose was at the pinnacle of his career as CEO of CITGO Petroleum. An immigrant who had worked tirelessly for decades, he was ready to retire… when everything changed.

Instead of stepping into retirement, he stepped into captivity.

For five years he lived as an international hostage in Venezuela.(One year spent completely alone, in solitary confinement.)

And yet, what struck me most was not the pain of his story, but the power. The way he turned unimaginable fear into an “Unbreakable Leadership” framework. The way he now helps executives, entrepreneurs, and everyday people break free from being “mental hostages” in their own lives.

Because as Jose said:👉 “You don’t have to be a physical hostage. You can be a mental hostage too. But fear can be transformed into purpose, if you choose it.”

This conversation will challenge you. It will move you. And it will remind you that nothing, absolutely nothing, is impossible.

What fear in your life is waiting to be transformed into purpose?

#OneFearPerYear

You know what the opposite of fear is?

For Kathy Guest, it’s laughter.

(Healthy laughter… the kind that frees you)

Kathy spent 20+ years in the tech world by day…and on comedy stages by night.

At first, she kept those worlds separate.

Professional Kathy.

Funny Kathy.

 But that fragmentation wasn’t sustainable.

 So she did the brave thing and merged them.

 Now she teaches teams how to break out of rigidity, bring play into the workplace, and unlock innovation, through comedy and improv.

Fear, uncertainty, and rigidity are creativity killers.

But play?

Micro-moments of laughter?

A culture that makes it safe to take risks?

That’s where innovation actually lives.

As Kathy says:

“20 years in tech didn’t make me braver. Comedy did.”

And that bravery is what she now helps others build.

 You're going to love this insightful conversation!

Kathy’s energy, wisdom, and humor are a reminder that we don’t have to choose between “serious” and “silly.”

We can be both.

In fact, we need both.

Here's to lots of laughter sprinkled in and lots of safe places to innovate!

#onefearperyear