The Story Engine Podcast

Most people who want to write a book are thinking about the book. What they don't see coming is what the process does to them.

Steven Heumann spent 15 years as a television writer and director before founding Superhuman Creative, a ghostwriting and publishing company that helps leaders tell their stories. In this conversation, we talk about the difference between leading with principles and leading with your story, what it actually means to reach a moment of authenticity (it's not a mindset shift, it's an identity shift), and why the clients who go through his process often describe it as four months of therapy with a book at the end. Steven also shares his own turning point: lying in a bunk bed in a Montana RV, in the middle of a shoot, quietly deciding to walk away from everything he'd built and start over. That one private moment changed what Fridays look like for him today.

Rae Irelan was home alone, leg in a cast, a two-year-old running around, and a mattress on the living room floor because she couldn't climb stairs. Then the landlord called. Sixty days to move out.

Most people would have collapsed. Rae and her husband Sammy sold almost everything they owned, hit the road, and used the chaos to finally go all-in on what they had been studying for months: using AI to take back the hours that were quietly draining founders dry.

In this episode, Rae shares the real breaking point behind her shift, how she and Sammy built a system to audit where time actually goes (the numbers shock every single client), and what it looked like when the systems started working while they were homeschooling their son on a beach in Puerto Rico. She also shares the story of a trucking family with seven kids who got 40 hours a month back each, launched a new six-figure revenue stream, and then opened their home to foster kids. This is what happens when your business stops running you.

Chandler Bolt dropped out of college with a C in English, ADHD, and about three months of runway in the bank. He borrowed his parents' retirement savings to buy out his business partner at Self Publishing School, then paid every dollar back in 11 months. Over the last 12 years, his company has helped publish more than 7,000 books.

In this episode, Chandler gets honest about what it means to lead through a genuinely hard season: flat growth years, SEO traffic down 70%, and an industry being disrupted by AI hype that he thinks is badly outpacing AI capability. He shares the framework he calls the "wartime CEO," why he still drives the same Nissan Altima from high school (250,000 miles and counting), and what Self Publishing School does completely differently from everyone else in the space.

Chris Miles calls himself the anti-financial advisor. Not because financial advisors are bad people. Because he was one, and it nearly ruined him twice.

In 2007 he had it all figured out. Debt free basement finished, growing equity, a Mercedes in the driveway. He went to the bank to cash out on his home's equity and they kept moving the goalposts. Get your credit score up two points. Now do X, Y, Z. By September they told him the truth. No more cash out refinances for business owners. The equity he built his whole plan around was trapped.

Within two years he lost the house, the car, and nearly everything he thought defined him. He tells the story of standing at his door mid argument with his wife, slamming it, driving off, and somehow knowing something was about to shift. Two months later it did.

Here's the part that stuck with me. Chris says he didn't actually feel wealthy until the money was gone. That's when he found out what was actually his.

Full conversation is on the podcast. Worth your drive time this week.

On this episode of The Story Engine Podcast I sit down with Andrew Quebbemann, and we discuss something on the podcast that I haven't stopped thinking about.

"People only think other people die."

Not morbid. Just true. You know people get sick, but it's someone else. You know people get laid off, but not you. You're a safe driver, you eat healthy, you got your shots. So the plan gets pushed to twelve on the top ten list. Every year.

Andrew had a client call him at 58 and say he wanted to retire in two years. Andrew ran the numbers. Second meeting, he had to say it straight: the math doesn't work. Not because the guy didn't have money. Because nobody had mapped where he was actually headed until it was almost too late.

Time is the one thing you can't buy back once it's gone. That's the whole episode.

What happens when you've built the career, earned the title, achieved the success—and still feel disconnected from yourself? In this deeply honest conversation, I sit down with Justin Ricklefs, founder of Guild Collective and author of *Give a Damn*, to explore the hidden cost of achievement-driven leadership. Justin shares the personal journey that transformed his life—from sitting alone in a Target parking lot while working what many would consider a dream job, to building a human-centered company rooted in purpose, presence, and genuine connection. Together, we unpack why so many leaders reach a point where hustle, control, and performance stop working—and what happens when you're forced to confront the deeper fears, identities, and stories driving your success. Justin reveals how burnout, numbness, strained relationships, and constant striving are often symptoms of something much deeper, and why the path forward isn't found in another productivity hack, marketing strategy, or business book. If you've ever felt trapped by the very success you've created, this episode offers a powerful reminder: your value is not determined by what you do. It's determined by who you are. And when leaders learn to lead from that place, they create healthier teams, stronger cultures, more meaningful businesses, and ultimately a more fulfilling life.

Scott Richmond was lying on a hotel bathroom floor in Atlanta, the day after his birthday, on the phone with his mom. He'd already spent thirteen days in two hospitals that month. He'd lost 42 pounds. His mom was telling him they couldn't afford this anymore. He needed to come home.

He didn't go home. He stayed anchored to one thing: his five year old daughter back in Iowa. That's what kept him fighting through a year that included being told, by the best pulmonary hospital in the country, that they simply didn't have an answer for him.

Here's what Scott told me on this episode of Story Engine. Almost nobody who comes to him needs more information. They've already Googled everything, tried every protocol, seen twenty or thirty practitioners. What they're actually missing is one thing, the piece that makes all the other pieces finally connect. And more often than not, that piece isn't physical at all.

If you've ever felt like you're doing everything right and still stuck, this conversation is for you.

What if the symptoms you're fighting aren't the real problem? In this powerful episode of The Story Engine Podcast, I sit down with functional medicine pioneer and bestselling author Dr. Jill Carnahan to explore her extraordinary journey from a 25-year-old battling aggressive breast cancer and Crohn's disease to becoming one of the leading voices in root-cause medicine. Dr. Jill shares how a seemingly healthy childhood on a family farm exposed her to hidden environmental toxins, setting the stage for a health crisis that would ultimately transform her life's mission. Through her own healing journey, she discovered that true health isn't just physical—it's deeply connected to our emotional resilience, spiritual perspective, and willingness to ask better questions. But this conversation goes far beyond disease and diagnosis. We dive into why modern healthcare is failing both patients and practitioners, the burnout epidemic among clinicians, and the critical importance of treating people as human beings rather than collections of symptoms. Dr. Jill reveals the mindset shifts that helped her overcome seemingly impossible odds, why curiosity may be one of the most powerful healing tools available, and how she's now helping an entirely new generation of practitioners rediscover the humanity at the heart of medicine. If you've ever struggled with chronic illness, felt unheard by the medical system, or wondered how adversity can become your greatest gift, this episode is one you won't forget.

On this episode of The Story Engine Podcast, I am talking to Nancy Bisbikos. Nancy runs a company called the Biko Method, and for fifteen years she's been helping people, from Olympic athletes to PGA golfers to executives, clear what she calls "emotional footprints." These are the patterns that get built when we're small and unprotected, then get passed down without anyone naming them.

In aviation school, Nancy Bisbikos would walk into a classroom with tiny rectangular windows and feel like she couldn't breathe. Her nails turned blue every time. She had no idea why until her parents told her most of her family on her father's side died in concentration camps, through suffocation.

We talk about the difference between a subconscious block and a conscious one, why the college basketball player who misses the game winning shot starts passing more the next season, and why the loudest voice in your head is usually the one you shouldn't trust. Nancy also tells a story about the moment she had to choose between staying sick and choosing real growth. It's not a comfortable story. It's a true one.

What if the biggest thing holding your brand back isn't a lack of content, strategy, or opportunity—but your inability to see your own value? In this deeply personal and insightful episode of The Story Engine Podcast, I sit down with filmmaker, storyteller, and entrepreneur Chris Van Loan II to explore the hidden art of capturing authentic moments that create lasting impact. From documenting elite masterminds and transformational events to helping entrepreneurs share their stories in ways that truly connect, Chris reveals why the most meaningful moments are often the ones that never make it to the screen—and how that realization sparked a powerful evolution in his own business. But this conversation goes far beyond media and marketing. Chris opens up about years of self-doubt, feeling overlooked despite an impressive track record, and the difficult journey of recognizing his own worth. Through a powerful live storytelling exercise, we uncover the deeper thread connecting his career, his purpose, and the message he most needed to hear himself: believe in your own magic. If you've ever struggled with imposter syndrome, questioned your value, or felt like your best work wasn't being seen, this episode will leave you inspired, challenged, and ready to step into your next chapter.