In this episode, I kick things off talking about my reasons for loving the open road and how my interest in travel has impacted and improved my life. I share about the goodness that exploring and traveling can offer like fun, adventure, freedom, more empathy and understanding about ourselves and others, and personal growth too…because getting out of our comfort zones is seemingly always a positive thing. 

I discuss my earliest travel experiences and memories and one misadventure at the age of four that turned out to be a bit thorny! 

I also reflect on a profound experience I had sitting in a beautiful hot spring in Yellowstone Park on a random weekday in April at the age of 19, while on a 7 week cross country trip with a close friend. I share how simple moments like this captivated me and made me realize I wanted as much travel and exploration as time and resources would allow. 

Come join us on this travel adventure series. We are only just getting started and you don’t even need your passport! 

PerfectWhelm Podcast Links & Resources:

 -Schedule a free discovery call with me to learn more about my coaching programs and services.

 -Email: [email protected]

 -I hope you will follow, subscribe, rate, and/or share the podcast with someone you think might benefit from it.

If there ever was an episode where I put awkward honesty and uncomfortable truths out front, this is it!  In this solo episode, I have a very honest and vulnerable conversation with God as I reflect on some very raw thoughts, feelings, and reflections related to recent tragedies involving young Christ followers. More specifically, this podcast is my personal letter of mourning and lament concerning the kids who died in the central Texas floods and the children who were both injured and killed in the school/church shooting at the Catholic school in Minnesota. 

I explore the ideas of sorrow, mourning, and grief, and I lament the fact that Yahweh is so often invisible when we need God the most. The silence, divine hiddenness, and broken promises of the Christian Biblical God are tough realities to reconcile with a deity who is so often said to be trustworthy, faithful, and deserving of our worship and praise. He is characterized as being “good all the time” by his followers. Is this god always good? Is this god always loving? Is this god always just?

 The evidence and the Biblical texts and the history and clear accounts of what this God repeatedly commands, condones, and commits is most often anything but loving, forgiving, merciful, compassionate, or just. On the contrary, he consistently plays favorites and shows himself to be harsh, cruel, petty, vengeful, jealous, misogynistic, and violent. 

This reflective episode is deeply personal, and I’m sure it will be very upsetting for some listeners. I don’t hold back here. I bring a heavy dose of questions, doubts, scars, anger, curiosity, and sorrow to the table. I am lamenting to a deity who so often seems to be distracted, distant, and indifferent. I decided to ask him why and how he can be so callous, aloof, and asleep at the wheel… especially when his kids are in peril and praying/pleading for his love and protection. 

I don’t want to give too much of this episode away. If you are interested in matters of faith, I encourage you to give it a listen. 

PerfectWhelm Podcast Links & Resources:

 -Schedule a free discovery call with me to learn more about my coaching programs and services.

 -Email: [email protected]

 -I hope you will follow, subscribe, rate, and/or share the podcast with someone you think might benefit from it.

Eevi Niemela is an internationally accredited empowerment and mindset coach who helps people build their magnetic selves and an online presence so that they can create real freedom and become the actual owners of their own lives through an online business that they’re building. From rock bottom to red carpets, Eevi has built a life and an online business that is garnering attention around the globe, while also allowing her to be location independent.

In part 2 of our conversation, Eevi talks about the power of developing consistent habits that are in alignment with our values. Eevi is a master at asking powerful questions and helping to impact her clients personal growth by emphasizing the importance of cultivating positive energy and a healthy mindset. 

She emphasizes the idea that messaging matters, and her personal transformation and successful coaching business is a clear example of how to stand out, how to be different, and how to find your unique voice.

Want to Connect with Eevi and learn more about her business and background, her 1:1 coaching offerings or her incredible group coaching program “The Magnetic Method”,  then you can connect with her at the following links.

https://www.instagram.com/eevimaaria

More about “The Magnetic Method” Group Coaching Program:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DK-H36FIETG/?igsh=djV2dngyYzkwZXFx

Find Eevi on other Social Media sites like TikTok, Facebook, & LinkedIn using the name 

 @eevimaaria

PerfectWhelm Podcast Links & Resources:

-          Schedule a free discovery call with me to learn more about my coaching programs and services

 -          Email: [email protected]

 -          When you follow, subscribe, rate, and/or share the podcast with someone you think might benefit from it, it really helps me gain more traction and reach more people with this project. Thanks again for listening and all of your support.

Eevi Niemela is an Internationally Accredited Empowerment & Mindset Coach. She specializes in self-empowerment and helping people build a magnetic sense of self and an online presence, so they can create real freedom and become the actual owners of their own life through an online business they’re building. Along with the importance of focusing on a healthy mindset, much of Eevi’s work is centered on managing our energy levels and showing up for ourselves in the best possible ways.

Eevi has 11 years of academic study in Psychology and also a background in adult education.  She has made it from the rock bottom to building a life where she has the perspective of being at peace with who she has become. The rock bottom has evolved into a transformation in her life that now consists of red carpets, opportunities, collaborations, magazine features, and locational freedom in her online business. 

In her business, Eevi provides 1:1 coaching support, and she also offers her clients the opportunity to benefit from group coaching. Her Magnetic Method coaching program is a 12-week transformational program for coaches and personal brand-driven entrepreneurs that focuses on mindset, messaging, and effective tools for driving transformational business growth. This program is also aimed at helping those who desire to learn more in the areas of social media skills and manifestation.

Here are links that offer more information on the work that Eevi does. https://www.instagram.com/p/DLxmPvhMFxz/?igsh=MW5mZjFvNHQzMjUzeA==

https://www.instagram.com/p/DK-H36FIETG/?igsh=djV2dngyYzkwZXFx

You can find out more about Eevi and her work on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn by searching for her under the name of:  @eevimaaria

Today’s Episode:

In this part 1 of my conversation with Eevi, we discuss her early life growing up in Finland and her training in the fields of adult education and Psychology. She shares about the struggles she faced in her teens and early adulthood with self-doubts, low self-esteem, and intense bouts of overwhelm.

Eevi also talks about how she began to become aware of the coaching field and how powerful and transformational it can be to be to receive coaching from a trained and qualified coach. 

We also get into the topics of building a healthy mindset and how this relates to the energy we show up with in our lives. Eevi talks about the idea of manifestation and the importance of studying and better understanding the mind/brain. She elaborates on some personal growth strategies including daily gratitude exercises and writing, which she has used to set the tone for her daily activities and help her develop positive habits that relate to a healthy and supportive mindset.

PerfectWhelm Podcast Links & Resources:

-        Schedule a free discovery call with me to learn more about my coaching programs and services.

 -        Email: [email protected]

-         I hope you will follow, subscribe, rate, and/or share the podcast with someone you think might benefit from it.

Cherith Fluker is an author, freelance writer, and educator based in Alabama. She has a passion for self-care and sightseeing. She is the creator of WhatCherithinks, a lifestyle and travel blog that encourages people to explore boldly, prioritize their well-being, and embrace new experiences. 

Her work has been featured in publications like Food, Wine, & Travel Magazine, Hallmark Mahogany, LakeLife 24/7, and Bham Family Magazine. She has partnered with several tourism boards across the country to help tell their stories.

With a background in education, Cherith currently leads a team supporting teachers and school districts in the southeast and mid-atlantic states. Whether she’s writing, coaching, or sightseeing, Cherith is passionate about helping others live more fully—one story, trip, or moment at a time.

In the early stages of this episode, Cherith talks about her upbringing in Alabama and some of the specific challenges and struggles that she has faced in her adult life. Cherith explores the subject of grief and how she navigated through the difficulties of losing both of her parents. 

She discusses her writing and how picking up the pen offered her a way to turn pain points into something very deep, meaningful, and purpose driven. 

You don’t want to miss the words she shares concerning the advice she would offer her 12 year- old self. Cherith offers wholehearted reflections based on her writing and gives  women some important insights into overcoming fear, anxiety, and those self-doubts  associated with the belief of feeling stuck.

Cherith’s new book ‘Secret Birmingham: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure’ is another important feature of our conversation. This book uncovers the hidden stories and overlooked places that make the city unique. The book was just released earlier this month, and you will want to tune in to find out more about this project and how it came to be an incredible guide and resource for historians, travelers, adventurers, and curiosity seekers alike. 

Connecting with Cherith:

Facebook- WhatCherithinks

Instagram:  @cherithfluker

PerfectWhelm Podcast Links & Resources:

-          Schedule a free discovery call with me to learn more about my coaching programs and services.

-          Email: [email protected]

-          I hope you will follow, subscribe, rate, and/or share the podcast with someone you think might benefit from it.

In this solo episode, I talk about the milestone of now releasing 34 episodes, and how that journey has taken shape for me. I cover the highlights, the challenges, and how being willing to do B minus work and pushing myself to launch this past April has really been such an important piece of this venture. I briefly discuss how perfectionism can often hold us back, and sometimes “done is better than good.”

I also share some updates about what you can expect to hear and experience on PerfectWhelm Podcast over the next few weeks and into the months of autumn. An exciting travel series is right around the corner, so just listen in to find out more details about those particular episodes. The frequency of my weekly podcast releases will also be changing a bit over the next few months, and I will tell you why during the broadcast. It involves college coaching and a long upcoming journey to northern Idaho.

Towards the end of this episode, I talk about a few personal reflections that I’d been thinking about as my time with my family in the Turks and Caicos Islands came to a close this past week. I share specifically about the importance of family, the unpredictability of this life… and just some general existential reflections concerning our time on this planet. And finally, I close the episode with some brief thoughts on what I believe is one of the most inspiring words in the English language. 

PerfectWhelm Podcast Links & Resources:

-          Schedule a free discovery call with me to learn more about my coaching programs and services.

 -          Email: [email protected]

 -          I hope you will follow, subscribe, rate, and/or share the podcast with someone you think might benefit from it.

In Part 2 of our conversation, Carrie continues sharing with us about the impact of our personal narratives and the power of storytelling.

During this second segment, we also discussed the concept of reflecting on the characters in our lives and their relationships to our stories. This is also an important element when it comes changing the plot and rewriting the narratives.

Carrie discusses the importance too of paying attention to themes and motivations in our personal stories. If we are to break the cycles we are in, we must learn to ask questions about the patterned roles that we so often assume and repeat within our family systems.

Carrie speaks to the hope and capabilities that we have within us to rewrite our stories and she remarks that our desired self hinges on one element—the story we tell about ourselves and our potential.

Owning our stories, building healthy support systems, acknowledging our filters, and revising our perspectives are other key factors in changing the narratives in our lives. 

When talking about forgiveness, Carrie shares that if we struggle with blanket forgiveness, then we still begin the forgiving process if we are willing to forgive the reasons behind the harm or negative actions committed against us. 

Towards the end of our conversation, Carrie openly discusses the importance of staying open to the idea that challenges and crises can so often create opportunities for us to grow, learn, and evolve.

In closing, I want to add that I believe that Carrie is doing very impactful and life changing work.  The lessons that she shares in her book and interviews are empowering and transformative. I picked Carrie’s book up one evening a few days before our first interview, and I couldn’t put it down. I read it straight through, in one sitting!! It’s not just great storytelling, personal experiences, and knowledge that she shares.  She also offers a lot of tips, strategies, and real-life actionable steps that all of us can follow if we are serious about rewriting our stories. 

Connecting With Carrie:

To learn more about Carrie’s background, how to purchase her book, and the work and projects that she is involved with, visit her website: carriekcwest.com

Carrie is offering PerfectWhelm Podcast listeners a 10% discount code for those of you interested in obtaining her ‘Money Rewritten TM workshop. Just Use the code NB73KT to receive this offer.

 LI: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/carrie-west-46349764/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/story-of-your-life/?viewAsMember=true

FB:

https://www.facebook.com/carriekcwest/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571647474405

IG @storytellers_acad

PerfectWhelm Podcast Links & Resources:

- Schedule a free discovery call with me to learn more about my coaching programs and services

- Email: [email protected]

- I hope you will follow, subscribe, rate, and/or share the podcast with someone

you think might benefit from it.

In Part 1 of this 2 part conversation, Carrie shares about the challenges of her early life growing up in Pittsburgh and the impact that being rejected, ignored, and often abandoned as a baby and young child had on the first narratives and stories of her childhood.

Carrie shares how storytelling and using her imagination to help get her through dark moments as a child was so instrumental for her in finding some level of comfort and building a resilience within herself that contributed to her very survival.

Origin stories contribute to the formation of early beliefs, how we see ourselves, and the roles we take on within our family structures. Carrie sheds light on a narrative in her  early life called the “Popcorn Story.”  You don’t want to miss this riveting chain of events where a key figure enters into Carrie’s story and quite literally saves her life.

We discuss the harm of repeated stories and how they can become patterned narratives that instill and perpetuate fear, shame, guilt, and unresolved trauma. Carrie talks about the importance of noticing and becoming aware of the repeating stories, questioning the narratives, and making conscious decisions to challenge all of the self-limiting beliefs that hold us back from living our best lives.

At the end of part 1 of this interview, Carrie talks about a very poignant and heart-wrenching event… the unexpected death of her father. She talks about how challenging and life altering this was for her, and how it actually led to several changes and pivots in her life. You will want to listen in for the dramatic words that Carrie’s dad spoke to her just hours before he died.  By the way, she had never heard these words from him until that moment.

Connecting With Carrie:

To learn more about Carrie’s background, how to purchase her book, and the work and projects that she is involved with, visit her website:  carriekcwest.com

Carrie is offering PerfectWhelm Podcast listeners a 10% discount code for those of you interested in obtaining her ‘Money Rewritten TM workshop.  Just Use the code NB73KT to receive this offer.

 LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carrie-west-46349764/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/story-of-your-life/?viewAsMember=true

 FB: https://www.facebook.com/carriekcwest/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571647474405

 IG @storytellers_acad

PerfectWhelm Podcast Links & Resources:

-          Schedule a free discovery call with me to learn more about my coaching programs and services

-          Email: [email protected]

-          I hope you will follow, subscribe, rate, and/or share the podcast with someone you think might benefit from it.

In this episode, I discuss the recent flooding in central Texas and the heartbreaking tragedy that resulted in several people losing their lives.

Many of those who perished were children, mostly young girls who were part of Camp Mystic, a cabin full of young campers and counselors who were there to have fun, learn about their faith, and draw closer to God.

Setting the stage with some details about my own religious deconstruction and my break away from organized religion over the past 6-7 years, I talk about the realities that the Christian God was divinely hidden or asleep at the wheel during this awful disaster. 

I raise questions about the broken promises of God, all the unanswered prayers, and how so many Christians must engage in mental gymnastics to cover for and explain the silence and very troubling distant nature of God.

I define the term Lament and talk about the fact that there are many examples of regular people, prophets, psalmists, and even Jesus himself…who lamented and communicated their own personal heartache through their questions, doubts, sorrow, and tears.  

I deal head on with many of the inconsistencies, errors, repeated contradictions, historical and scientific issues, and inconsistencies of the thousands of different translations and interpretations of the Bible. Through manipulation, control tactics, fear based doctrines like the Rapture and eternal conscious torment in hell… many denominations within the domains of high control religion have gone to great lengths to discourage people from asking questions, raising doubts, and/or expressing sorrow and grief over all the suffering and evil in the world.

This episode is raw and many people may find it offensive or too controversial. I point out that difficult conversations must happen, and it starts with being intellectually honest with ourselves about the importance of being free to lament and question God. We are doomed to repeat what we don’t repair.

Experiencing anguish and expressing anger and lament is not unfaithfulness or disobedience. Rather, it is a part of being human. Have you made room in your life or within your faith to express lament?

This flood and the subsequent deaths of these young and helpless Christian campers shows overwhelming evidence of God’s absence, and it is truly heartbreaking that Jesus/God was absent when those young girls needed him the most.

 PerfectWhelm Podcast Links & Resources

-         Schedule a free discovery call with me to learn more about my coaching programs and services.

 -         Email: [email protected]

 -         I hope you will follow, subscribe, rate, and/or share the podcast with someone you think might benefit from it.

Today I break down 4 ideas that I’ve learned during my personal development coaching journey along with one very important story about Focus and Discipline.

First, I discuss some thoughts about a component of human personality called the ego and how it can impact our sense of self.

Next, I dig in to 7 questions that we might ask ourselves if we are struggling to finish things or if we’re having difficulty with staying on track as we pursue our goals.

The third principle I dive into relates to defining what we want and getting clarity around being specific about the change we are seeking.

I also share a personal inventory exercise based on writing down 4 categories that include “Things I Want More of”, “Things I Want Less of”, “Things I Want to Stop”, and “Things I Want to Start.” After we set up these categories, we list habits, behaviors, thoughts, feelings, actions, etc… that most accurately fall into one of the four subject domains.

I close out the episode with a story about Concentration and Discipline and how the British 8 Man rowing team overcame the Australian team to take home the gold medal in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Listen in to find out what is meant by the slogan “Will it make the boat go faster?”

 PerfectWhelm Podcast Links & Resources

-         Schedule a free discovery call with me to learn more about my coaching programs and services.

-         Email: [email protected]

 -         I hope you will follow, subscribe, rate, and/or share the podcast with someone you think might benefit from it.