You spent years building the thing. What happens when the thing isn't who you are?

In this conversation, Colt sits down with entrepreneur, marketing strategist, and author Adam Loomis to unpack a trap kingdom-minded builders quietly fall into: mistaking the work for the calling. Adam, a third-generation minister turned serial entrepreneur, explains why so many gifted leaders stay stuck in businesses they've outgrown, how faith turns fear into forward motion, and why perfectionism is the quiet enemy of obedience.

You'll hear how AI is reshaping what a visionary can build in a week, why authentic conversation beats polished marketing, how to encourage yourself in the Lord when everything falls apart, and what to do when you don't yet know your calling. Adam also opens up honestly about bankruptcy, divorce, and the identity work that came after.

ABOUT THE GUEST

Adam Loomis is a marketing strategist, speaker, and author who has spent two decades helping hundreds of business owners grow through organic, relationship-first marketing. His journey started with a single question from a friend who owned a cigar shop, "Do you know anything about social media?" and grew into an approach that has reached over 300 million people through authentic engagement rather than paid ads.

Adam is the author of Conversational Marketing and host of the Mondays with Adam podcast. Driven by faith and purpose, he helps entrepreneurs cut the hype and build something meaningful through marketing that actually works.

You can quote the verses. You can teach the truth. But when the worst day of your life arrives, what you actually believe about God will rise to the surface.

In this episode, Colt sits down with biblical counsellor and author Melissa Baker for an honest conversation about functional theology, the gap between the faith we profess and the faith we live. Melissa opens up about the year that dismantled her life, when she lost her husband, her church, her job, her home, and the country she had adopted, all within twelve months.

You'll learn how driven leaders tend to quietly medicate with work and status, why daily surrender matters more than ambition, what most Christians get wrong about grief, and how to stop performing the answer to "how are you?" Melissa is candid about the questions she wasn't allowed to ask and the theology she had to unlearn before she could rebuild.

ABOUT THE GUEST

Melissa Dawn Baker is a biblical counsellor, writer, and founder of Daughter of Grace LLC, a ministry walking with women through grief, anxiety, and the long work of rebuilding faith after loss. She is the author of To Cast My Cares, a Scripture-rooted study used by churches and individuals navigating hard seasons.

Raised in a pastor's home and called with her husband to Ontario in 1980 to help plant a church, Melissa spent three decades in full-time ministry and music education across Canada before relocating to North Carolina in 2020. A dual citizen of Canada and the United States, she writes openly about the kingdoms in her own heart that had to fall, and points readers to a faithful God who brings beauty from ashes.

Twenty years ago, Cheyenne Jones received a 28-page vision from God during a week of fasting — a detailed blueprint to help young women reclaim their identity. Instead of acting on it, she buried it. A secret from her past made the calling too personal, too exposing, and fear kept her running. In this episode, Cheyenne shares the fundraiser that cracked her open, the scripture that shifted everything from self-preservation to surrender, and the birthday provision that confirmed God was already moving ahead of her. Colt and Cheyenne go to deeply vulnerable places together — discussing abortion, shame, and the forgiveness that comes when you stop running. Cheyenne now runs Face-to-Face Against Exploitation and facilitates the Girls Like Us program in youth homes across Nova Scotia, walking alongside young women who remind her of exactly who she used to be.

In this episode of The Driven, host Colt Charlebois sits down with Vinny Savard and Jennifer Amirault for a raw and honest conversation about the cost of drivenness. Together they explore the dark side of ambition — the limiting beliefs, inner dialogue, and hidden motives that can fuel success but come at a serious personal price.

Jennifer shares her powerful story of transformation and surrender, including an unexpected encounter with Jesus during a guided meditation that changed the trajectory of her life and leadership. Vinny opens up about the pressure to perform, the lies that drove his ambition, and what it looks like to lead from a place of purpose rather than proving yourself.

They dig into what it means to be driven by impact rather than ego, how to identify when ambition is rooted in pain, and why the most meaningful leadership starts with surrender. This isn't a tips-and-tricks leadership conversation — it's a deep, faith-centered look at what it really takes to lead with integrity.

Vinny and Jennifer are the lead organizers of the upcoming Leaders of Impact Conference on May 23rd in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where Colt will be speaking. Visit Inspire FM online to learn more and register.

Welcome to the very first episode of the Driven Podcast, hosted by Colt Charlebois. In this pilot, Colt introduces the show's mission: exploring the fine line between drive for impact and ego-driven pride. He shares his own story of chasing success in real estate, accumulating $100K in debt by his mid-20s, and hitting rock bottom in a friend's basement before a radical shift in perspective changed everything. This podcast isn't about business owners promoting their products -- it's about raw, vulnerable conversations that unpack the true motives behind ambition, the cost of climbing the wrong mountain, and what it looks like when faith, purpose, and leadership intersect. If you've ever wondered whether your drive is taking you somewhere worth going, this is your show. Buckle up.