The Storytelling with Heart Podcast

In “Coaching with Cam”, Camille takes a break from interviewing guests to share lessons, tips, tricks, and other communications guidance with listeners. 

In today’s Halloween-themed (but actually timeless) episode, Camille (aka Cam) tackles the scary side of storytelling. 

Cam explores how fear and vulnerability can stop us from telling our best, most impactful stories — but they don’t have to. 

She then walks listeners through some simple methods to move through the fear so you can build stronger connections with your audience, and actually enjoy the process.

This episode is geared towards Halloween but is relevant to any time of the year, offering some timeless principles for embracing fear and expressing yourself with bold authenticity. 

Have you ever wondered whether your personal story could help you professionally? 

Could sharing your own story help you differentiate yourself, stand out, connect better with people, overcome imposter syndrome, or simply grow as a person? 

Yes – all of the above, says  Coach Jon McLernon.

Jon is a nutrition coach who struggled with PTSD, depression, binge-eating, and poor health after a traumatic incident. After recovering and transforming his life, he went on to share his stories—and differentiate himself as a coach. 

Jon says his story became his biggest asset in business.

Since then, he went on to launch Between the Before & After, a podcast that shares inspiring real life stories of remarkable people overcoming significant adversity in their life. 

On his podcast, Jon has interviewed over 100 individuals about their stories, never shying away from the gritty and vulnerable details that make us messy and human.

In this episode, Jon opens up about his own story, how it’s helped him in business and life, and what he’s learned from other people’s stories. 

We explore:

• How a traumatic event sent Jon into a deep spiral of shame, binge eating, and depression—and how he turned his life around.

Find Jon and Between The Before And After Podcast here: https://freedomnutritioncoach.com/between-the-before-and-after-podcast/

What does it mean to work (and live) in alignment with your true self?

What do the words “authentic” and “heart centered” look like in practice?

… And what happens if the things you’re doing, saying, or writing about no longer feel like you?

In this episode, I go deep into these concepts with Drima, aka Amir Ahmad Nasr, a multifaceted writer, musician, speaker, and coach. 

Drima is the founder and head coach at Assertive & Co., where he facilitates a values-based method for awakening creators, coaches and experts to their true voice, so they can grow and lead with more purpose, freedom and fulfillment.

Under his given name (Amir Ahmad Nasr), Drima’s writing has been featured and reviewed in over 13 languages including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, The Economist, The Guardian, WIRED, and dozens more telling stories about faith, spirituality, human rights, and human flourishing.

Drima brings a human, heart-centered perspective to all of his work and storytelling. In this interview, I ask him to share his thoughts on concepts like authenticity, conviction, vulnerability, and heart-centered. We explore what these words mean in practice, and how to tell stories that deliver not only better results, but also greater satisfaction, meaning, and fulfillment. 

In this conversation, we explore: 

• What does “heart centered” actually mean, and why does it matter?

If you want to challenge the status quo and work and communicate in a heartfelt way that feels true to you, this episode is a must-listen.

Learn more about Drima and Assertive and Co here: https://assertive.co

Want to become a recognized authority in your area of expertise?

Then you’ll definitely want to listen to this episode with Rochelle Moulton.

A leading voice in the independent consulting space, Rochelle Moulton helps soloists build vibrant authority businesses.  

Rochelle earned her consulting stripes by leading introverted brainiacs at two powerhouse consulting firms and turning around the failing consulting arm of a Fortune 500 company. She built three professional firms from scratch—including selling one to Arthur Andersen. 

Rochelle is a champion of independent professionals, aka soloists. She hosts “Soloist Women”, co-hosts “The Business of Authority” podcast, and wrote the book The Authority Code: How To Position, Monetize And Sell Your Expertise.

I am delighted to have Rochelle on the show since I’ve been reading and listening to her stuff for years!

In this episode we dive into what it means to build authority and reputation, along with authenticity and satisfaction. 

Topics we cover include:

• How to operate in your “zone of genius” (and what that actually means.)

And be sure to check out Rochelle Moulton at rochellemoulton.com.

Do you have habits you want to change… stuff you want to get better at… self doubt you want to overcome?

In this episode, Karin Nordin shows us what’s possible. 

She provides compassionate, science-based guidance for personal and professional growth, while debunking myths about behavior change along the way.

Karin Nordin is a PhD expert in behavior change and mindset theory. 

After graduating with her doctorate, Karin had a striking realization: The typical self-help and productivity approaches of the personal development industry were shockingly inconsistent with the actual research on change. That inconsistency became the fuel for her business Body Brain Alliance, where she’s on a mission to teach compassion-first change techniques that actually work. 

In this episode, we cover:

• Why you shouldn’t stress if you struggle with change (hint: the struggle is universal.)

This is a fantastic episode, full of both practical and compassionate advice. 

And be sure to find Karin at bodybrainalliance.com, and on Instagram: karinnordinphd and bodybrainalliance.

In “Coaching with Cam”, Camille takes a break from interviewing guests to share lessons, tips, tricks, and other communications guidance with listeners. 

In today’s episode, Camille (aka Cam) reveals five fundamental communications principles. 

Here’s the big question: are you communicating effectively with your audience? 

Many leaders wrestle with what to say and how to say it. Especially when the stakes are high and you’re communicating big ideas or complex issues. 

You might find that you’re not really sure exactly what to say. How do you define what your key messages are? 

And, even if you do know what you want to express, how do you say it in a way that is clear and genuinely compelling for your audience?

Furthermore, how do you connect with people, and help your audience feel seen and inspired? 

And what if you seem to be saying “all the right things” but still feel a sense of dissonance or dissatisfaction, either from your audience… or yourself? 

If any of these concerns strike a chord with you—or you just want to be a better communicator—be sure to listen to today’s episode. 

Camille explores some of the common traps we can fall into when communicating, and then reviews five principles that are essential for any leader striving for influence and impact. 

Work on improving / adopting any of these principles and you will start to get better results (and more satisfaction) from your communications. 

If you are using AI-type tools to help you write, this lesson is even more important, as it will help you remember the basics even as you use technology to help you generate words. 

At the end of this lesson, Camille also gives you advice on how to begin putting these principles in place. 

If you want to be a better writer or speaker, or a more persuasive and impactful leader, don’t miss this episode!

The path to leadership (including thought leadership) is never a straight line. 

Have you ever wondered what it really takes to build a business — and a reputation — around the thing you’re most passionate about?

Are you curious about what the journey to thought leadership looks like for someone else?

Have you considered writing a book, creating a course or certification, or dreamed of building a mission-driven business or community? 

This episode will give you insight into all of this, through the lens of someone who has done it.

Molly Galbraith is the co-founder of Girls Gone Strong (GGS), the world’s largest platform providing evidence-based health, fitness, nutrition, pregnancy, and menopause education for women and the health and fitness professionals who work with them—including industry-leading certification programs and coaching.

Through her GGS Academy, she has certified thousands of professionals in over 125 countries, helping them become the go-to coach for women in their gyms and communities.

She's also the author of “Strong Women Lift Each Other Up,” a book dedicated to helping women create a better life for themselves and a better world for women and girls through lifting women up.

I’ve been working with Molly and GGS for a number of years. I’ve worked on all of their current certifications including their newly released Menopause Coaching Specialist Certification. And I served as Molly’s storytelling partner in her book Strong Women Lift Each Other Up. 

In this episode, we give listeners a behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to make a name for yourself as a thought leader, to become a published author of non-fiction, to create courses and certifications, and to build a business around your passion and your values. 

Topics we cover include:

• Why collaboration is the best kept secret of avid authors and content creators – and why (and how) you should try it for yourself.

Learn more about Molly Galbraith and Girls Gone Strong at https://www.girlsgonestrong.com and check out the GGS Menopause Coaching Specialist Certification at https://go.girlsgonestrong.com/menopause-pre-sale-list2

Donna Lichaw is an executive coach, speaker, and author of the Amazon bestseller, The User's Journey and her new book, The Leader’s Journey. Her mission is to help startup founders, tech executives, and senior leaders unlock their leadership potential so that they can make a greater impact and a difference at work and in the world.

Donna works with superheroes at companies like Adobe, Amazon, Disney, Google, Logitech, Mailchimp, Twitter, and Trello as well as a ton of non-profits, startups, and scale-ups. And she has taught at technology and innovation programs at New York University, Northwestern University, Parsons School of Design, and the School of Visual Arts. 

I love the storytelling-based approach Donna takes with her work. If you’re in a leadership position – or growing into one – you’re going to love this episode. 

Topics we cover include:

• How to find out what your strengths REALLY are. (Hint: They might be different from the things you’ve come to believe about yourself.)

And so much more.  

Learn more about Donna (and check out her new book, The Leader’s Journey) at https://www.donnalichaw.com/

Have you ever dreamed of writing a novel?

Ever fantasized about seeing YOUR name on the shelves of your favorite book store? 

Linh Nguyen did. In fact, at a young age, she wrote a letter to her future 30 year old self that said, “congratulations on your first book.”

Young Linh was right to have faith in her dreams, because she did it.

If you can relate to the dream of writing and publishing (especially if your sights are set on writing children’s books or YA), you’re going to want to listen to this.  

Linh Nguyen (she/her) is a Vietnamese-Canadian immigrant and writer who specializes in children’s literature and creative non-fiction. Her debut middle-grade fantasy novel, No Place Like Home, was released with HarperCollins Canada in March 2023. 

Prior to working as a full time author, Linh was working a more “typical” full time job. In this interview we explore how she found time to write, got her book published, and is now living her dream of living and working as a full-time author.

In this episode we cover:

• How Linh made time to write her first novel while working a full time job — and how she makes time to write now, as a full time author.

Linh’s work can be found at www.linhsnguyen.com or more frequently on Instagram @linh.s.nguyen.

If you want to get better at talking about what you do, presenting, selling, marketing, public speaking, writing, or sharing stories of any kind… listen to this episode! 

Michel Neray is a professional speaker, consultant, creator of Inside-Out storytelling, and the founder of momondays -- a monthly storytelling event that pre-pandemic was in 16 cities. 

Michel has helped thousands of individuals and organizations to drill down to their core message, become category leaders and craft more impactful stories to become more effective leaders, salespeople, coaches, teachers, trainers, speakers, and influencers of all types. He also uses the Inside-Out approach to differentiate, position, and brand organizations in the market.

I know Michel because back in the early 2000s he gave me my first “real” job out of University by hiring me at his boutique marketing/messaging agency called The Essential Message. Michel mentored me and provided me with a ton of experience that allowed me to leapfrog ahead in my career. I routinely apply many of the things he taught me to this day. Years later, I spoke at momondays, in which I delivered a speech that catapulted my business and brand. 

Many of the concepts Michel taught me remain relevant and timeless — and we cover a number of them in this discussion.

In this episode, we explore: 

• The value of storytelling, and why human beings are wired for story.

When you’re done listening to this episode, be sure to check out Michel Neray at  https://neray.com (where’s he got lots of useful free resources) and https://momondays.com/