Your World of Creativity

Today’s guest lives at the intersection of music, media, and the side hustle. If you’ve ever wondered how local scenes get discovered, how independent artists break through, or how creatives build meaningful work alongside a day job—this conversation pulls back the curtain.

Allen Halas is a music writer, radio host, and podcaster based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He currently works for OnMilwaukee, the city’s largest digital media outlet, where he covers arts, culture, and music. He was previously heard on FM 102.1 as the host of Love Local Radio, championing homegrown talent and community voices.

Allen's Website

@AllenHalas on Instagram

Allen's Facebook page

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allenhalas/

Allen is also the founder of Breaking And Entering, a music platform he launched in 2014 that produces daily content spotlighting independent artists in the Milwaukee music scene. In addition, he co-hosts the Hustling Sideways podcast with Jim Love, where they explore the passion projects and side hustles of entrepreneurs balancing creative work with a traditional 9-to-5.

1) Falling in Love With the Local Scene

Allen, you’ve built much of your career around spotlighting local and independent music. What first drew you to covering the Milwaukee music scene, and what keeps you invested in telling these stories year after year?

2) Breaking And Entering: Building a Platform From the Ground Up

You founded Breaking And Entering in 2014 and have produced daily content ever since—no small feat. What did you learn early on about consistency, credibility, and community when building a media platform focused on independent artists?

3) From Radio Waves to Digital Media

You’ve worked across radio, digital publishing, and podcasting. How has the shift from traditional radio to online media changed the way artists are discovered—and what do you think still matters most, regardless of platform?

4) Hustling Sideways: Passion Projects After the 9-to-5

On Hustling Sideways, you explore how people pursue meaningful creative work alongside full-time jobs. What patterns do you see among those who successfully sustain side hustles—and what advice would you give creatives who feel stretched thin?

5) The Future of Local Music and Independent Media

Looking ahead, what excites you most about the future of local music scenes and independent media? And where do you think creators need to be more intentional to thrive in an increasingly crowded landscape?

For creatives listening who feel invisible or unsure if their work matters—what would you tell them about the power of showing up, supporting their scene, and staying local while thinking big?

On Your World of Creativity, we travel around the world talking with creative practitioners who turn ideas into impact. Today we’re stepping into the studio with a guest to explore what it really means to trust yourself, dismantle habits, and make braver, more embodied art. Welcome choreographer, director, educator and author … Alexandra Beller.

Alexandra's Website

@alexandrabellerdances on Instagram

Alexandra on YouTube

Alexandra's Facebook page

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexandra-beller-0a56a57

A former member of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, she is now the Artistic Director of Alexandra Beller/Dances, having created more than 40 dance theater works internationally.

Her teaching spans Princeton University, the Laban Institute, and residencies around the globe. In theater, she’s worked Off-Broadway and regionally, with credits including Lincoln Center and A.R.T.

Alexandra is currently writing two books:

The Embodied Conductor (Meredith Music, 2025) and

The Anatomy of Art (Bloomsbury, 2026).

Her work blends somatic practice, rigorous inquiry, and creative freedom to help artists deepen their process and unlock new possibilities.

1 — The Creative Process as a Living Practice

Alexandra, you’ve spent decades inside the creative process — as performer, choreographer, director, and educator. What inspired you to write a book about the creative process now, and what do you hope artists take away from it?

Follow-up:

The Anatomy of Art reads like a field guide for creative life — part poetic meditation, part practical workbook — with chapters on Time, Space, Meaning, Relationship, Process, Material, and more. Each section offers inquiry prompts, embodiment exercises, and devising practices that help artists reconnect to their sensory intelligence and personal voice.

You also weave in contributions from seminal voices like Anne Bogart and Deborah Hay, folding perspectives from across disciplines and generations into the book.

Can you share how you designed The Anatomy of Art to live at that intersection of instinct and analysis — and why it felt important to create something that offers rigorous tools while still honoring the mystery of making?

2 — Trust, Doubt, and Creative Courage

You speak often about trusting yourself in the creative process. That sounds simple — but it’s incredibly difficult in practice.

What does it really mean to trust yourself as an artist — and how do creatives actually begin to do that?

Optional follow-up:

What role does doubt play? Is it something to eliminate — or something to work with?

3 — Structure and Freedom

You work with systems like Laban and Bartenieff — which are rigorous, structured methodologies — yet your approach is also deeply poetic and personal.

How do you balance structure and freedom in your work?

And more broadly, how can artists use structure without becoming constrained by it?

4 — Dismantling Habits & Artistic Reinvention

You talk about dismantling habits — creatively and personally.

Why is breaking creative habits so essential for growth?

What happens if we don’t?

Follow-up:

Is there a connection between the parts of ourselves we hide and the habits we form in our art?

5 — Joy, Burnout & Staying Porous

Artists often struggle with burnout, pressure, comparison, and the fear of not being “enough.”

How can artists stay porous and brave without becoming overwhelmed?

And how do we create conditions for joy — especially in careers that can feel filled with struggle?

Key themes:

• The body as intelligence

• Trust as a practice, not a personality trait

• Structure as a container for freedom

• Dismantling habits to create braver work

• Joy as a discipline

On Your World of Creativity, we travel around the world talking with creative practitioners, healers, founders, and changemakers. And today, we’re stamping our creative passport in Brisbane, Australia, to talk with someone who’s helping millions reconnect with the wisdom of their bodies. If you’ve ever felt stuck, depleted, or disconnected from your inner clarity, today’s conversation may open a powerful new door.

Inna Segal is a pioneer in energy medicine and human consciousness, and the internationally bestselling author of The Secret Language of Your Body, translated into 26 languages with more than a million copies sold worldwide. Her work has been praised by leading physicians including Bernie Siegel, Christiane Northrup, and more for its practical, compassionate, and deeply transformative approach to healing.

https://www.innasegal.com/masterclass

Inna’s journey began as a young immigrant from Belarus to Australia, where emotional isolation and trauma manifested as chronic illness. At age 20, following the stillbirth of her baby and a profound personal collapse, she experienced a spontaneous healing breakthrough that revealed the emotional, ancestral, and energetic roots of her suffering.

That moment became the foundation of her life’s work.

For more than 25 years, Inna has helped people worldwide—doctors, creatives, trauma survivors, and leaders—understand the deeper messages of the body and activate their own healing abilities. She has taught internationally, created multiple healing decks and programs, and developed a non-linear approach to healing that integrates emotions, archetypes, energy systems, and ancestral patterns.

Today, she supports people globally through courses, masterclasses, and intuitive healing work—helping them reconnect with the wisdom of their bodies and the timing of their souls.

1) From Personal Crisis to Life’s Work

Inna, your journey into healing began through profound personal loss and physical pain—from chronic illness to the stillbirth of your baby. Can you share that pivotal moment when you decided to listen to your body differently, and how that experience became the foundation of everything you do today?

2) The Secret Language of the Body

You teach that illness is rarely just physical—and that symptoms often appear far from where the real issue began. What do you mean by the “secret language of the body,” and how can someone begin to understand what their own body is trying to communicate?

3) Healing Beyond Symptoms: Emotions, Ancestry, and Archetypes

Your work explores emotional patterns, inherited trauma, masculine and feminine dynamics, and archetypes. From your experience, what deeper layers are most often overlooked in healing—and why can trying to “fix” symptoms too quickly actually be harmful?

Inna, where can listeners find your books, courses, and the Awaken the Healer Within masterclass?

4) The Soul of Your Brand

Inna, I want to shift for a moment to what I call the soul of your brand. Using my brand model—clarity of purpose, lived experience, emotional truth, and practical impact—you didn’t just build a business, you embodied your message.

How would you describe the soul of your work today?

What values guide it?

And how do you translate something so intuitive and spiritual into grounded books, programs, and experiences that genuinely help people?

5) Where to Begin When You Feel Overwhelmed

Many listeners may be dealing with emotional stress, physical symptoms, or simply feeling disconnected. When someone feels overwhelmed by everything they’re experiencing, where do you recommend they begin? What’s one simple way they can start reconnecting with their body and inner healer today?

“If someone listening today feels broken, stuck, or disconnected from their body—what would you want them to remember about their own capacity to heal?”

Today’s guest lives at the intersection of craft, sound, and story. If you’ve ever wondered what happens when making the instrument becomes part of the art — and when music leads before meaning — this conversation will invite you to slow down, listen deeply, and sit inside the mystery.

Martin Maudal is a renowned luthier, songwriter, and producer, and a graduate of Berklee College of Music. Raised in Claremont, California at the foot of Mount Baldy, and shaped by years in the New York music scene, Martin blends West Coast soul with East Coast grit.

He is the founder of Maudal Musical Machines, where he hand-builds electric resonator guitars—functional sculptures and vessels of sound that he also performs and records with. What began as a way to showcase these instruments evolved into Baldy Crawlers, a deeply expressive musical collective blending Folk, Americana, Jazz, and social commentary.

Martin on YouTube

@maudalmusicalmachines on Instagram

Martin's Facebook page

Following critical acclaim for “Bring Me a Flower,” Baldy Crawlers return with the haunting new single Boy, released January 9, 2026—an intuitive, open-ended work that invites listeners not to solve the song, but to sit inside it.

1) When Craft Becomes the Muse

Martin, Baldy Crawlers began as a way to showcase your handmade guitars—and then became something much bigger. At what point did you realize this wasn’t just a marketing project, but a true artistic calling of its own?

2) Music Before Meaning

Your new single “Boy” started not with a concept, but with a feeling. You’ve said, “This one was music before it was words.” What happens creatively when you let sound lead before meaning—and how do you know when not to force interpretation?

3) Instruments as Storytellers

You build the very instruments you record and perform with. How does handcrafting a guitar—its materials, weight, resonance—shape the stories that come out of it? In what ways does the instrument itself become a collaborator?

4) Leaving Space for Mystery

“Boy” lives in a dreamlike space where silence speaks as loudly as sound. In a world that pushes clarity, content, and explanation, how do you protect ambiguity—and why do you think listeners crave that space now?

5) Empathy, Myth, and the Human Pulse

From “Bring Me a Flower” to “Boy,” Baldy Crawlers’ music feels rooted in empathy and shared humanity. What themes keep returning in your work—and what do you hope listeners discover about themselves when they sit with these songs?

“Before we wrap up, Martin, where can listeners explore Baldy Crawlers’ music, your instruments at Maudal Musical Machines, and keep up with upcoming releases?”

For creatives listening who feel pressure to explain, optimize, or over-define their work—what would you say about trusting intuition and letting the art reveal itself in its own time?

Music tracks are copyrighted, provided by the artist, and used with permission.

"Bedlam"

"Boy"

"Bring Me A Flower"

"Orbelin"

Today’s guest proves that a creative career doesn’t have to rely on algorithms, going viral, or luck. If you’ve ever wondered how to strategize your creativity like a real profession—and build a living from your work—this conversation is for you.

Kern Carter is a former indie and current traditionally published author writing books for Penguin and Scholastic. He writes essays at the intersection of publishing and pop culture, offering candid insight into what it actually takes to make a living as an author and creative entrepreneur.

www.kerncarter.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerncarter/

In the past year alone, Kern has sold approximately 15,000 books—without being popular on any social media platform—by intentionally building and leveraging community. His journey includes dropping out of high school at 18 when he became a father, earning a full athletic scholarship, self-publishing his first books, securing an agent, and signing multiple traditional publishing deals beginning in 2021.

Beyond books, Kern runs a thriving creative business spanning film production (with a film on Amazon Prime Video), ghostwriting, and platforms that support emerging writers. His story is one of perseverance, planning, and playing the long game.

1) Designing a Creative Career on Purpose

Kern, you’ve said you’re living the life you told yourself you’d live at eight years old—and that it didn’t happen by accident. How did you approach building a creative career the way someone might approach a traditional profession, with strategy, planning, and long-term vision?

2) Prioritizing Yourself While Raising a Child

You became a father very young, yet you still prioritized your creative ambitions. That’s a difficult balance for many people. How did you navigate that tension—and what impact did that decision have on both your career and your relationship with your daughter?

3) Selling Books Without Social Media Fame

You’ve sold roughly 15,000 books in the last year without being popular on social media, which goes against most advice writers hear today. What role has community building played in your success, and how can writers start building real relationships instead of chasing followers?

4) Playing the Long Game

Your journey took 15 years to reach what many would call “overnight success.” How did you stay motivated through the slower seasons, and what mindset shifts helped you keep going when results weren’t immediate?

5) Education, Income, and the Future of Creative Work

You’ve been outspoken about what formal education gets wrong when it comes to preparing writers to earn a living. What do you think aspiring authors really need to learn—and how are you personally adapting to changes like AI entering creative industries?

For creatives listening who feel behind, discouraged, or unsure if their plan is working—what’s one thing you want them to remember about patience, strategy, and belief in themselves?

Cathleen Ireland is an award-winning singer, songwriter, and producer whose work blends warm pop, soul, and coastal R&B with emotional depth and authenticity.

Throughout this conversation, we’ll be playing excerpts from four of Cathleen’s songs:

“Coastin’”

“Golden Sienna”

“In the City”

“Do You Care”

A longtime fixture in Pittsburgh’s music scene, she has earned international recognition for both her music and visual storytelling, with songwriting honors from the USA Songwriting Competition, the UK Songwriting Competition, and the International Acoustic Music Awards, along with more than 70 film festival selections for her music videos worldwide.

In 2024, Cathleen was awarded Best Adult Contemporary Song by The Artists Forum Music Competition in New York City for “DRIVE,” a track she co-wrote and co-produced with multi-platinum producer Ryan M. Tedder.

She kicked off this year with the release of an uplifting new single “Coastin’,” from her latest album In The City — a sunlit, groove-driven anthem rooted in gratitude, presence, and self-acceptance.

As both a songwriter and producer, Cathleen remains deeply hands-on in shaping a sound that feels modern yet personal—polished yet unmistakably human. She is also the founder and lead vocalist of the Pittsburgh-based band Hot Weather Holiday.

Cathleen's Website

Cathleen on YouTube

@cathleenireland on Instagram

Cathleen's Facebook page

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cathleen-ireland-68513550/

1) “Coastin’” and the Moment After the Climb

Cathleen, “Coastin’” feels like a deep exhale — a moment of calm after pushing through uncertainty. What season of life were you in when you wrote this song, and what did “coastin’” represent for you personally?

2) Gratitude Without Platitudes

The lyrics celebrate gratitude, presence, and self-acceptance—but in a way that feels earned, not glossy. How do you write about gratitude without it sounding cliché, and how has lived experience shaped the honesty in your songwriting?

3) From “DRIVE” to In The City: Crafting Songs That Move People

Your song “DRIVE,” co-written and produced with Ryan M. Tedder, earned major recognition and clearly resonated with listeners. What did that collaboration teach you about songwriting, production, and trusting your creative instincts — and how did that experience influence the music you’re making now?

4) Creative Momentum and Collaboration

You’ve collaborated with a wide range of musicians and producers over the years. How do collaboration and trust influence your creative process—and what have you learned about your own voice through working closely with others?

5) Presence, Peace, and the Creative Life

“Coastin’” reminds us that fulfillment doesn’t always come from chasing what’s next. For creatives who feel pressure to constantly produce, perform, or prove themselves, what does it look like to slow down and still stay creatively alive?

If someone listening today is in the middle of their own climb, what’s one thing you’d want them to remember about joy, patience, and trusting the process?

Today’s conversation might change the way you think about your home. What if the spaces you live in are quietly shaping your energy, relationships, and sense of purpose—every single day? Whether you own or rent, this episode will show you how to put the mind–body–environment connection to work for you.”

Talor Stewart is a licensed architect with more than 25 years of experience and the author of the #1 bestselling book Conscious Home Design, which has reached the top of the charts in seven countries. An award-winning architect, Talor specializes in single- and multi-family homes as well as intentional communities, working with clients across the United States and select international locations.

Talor's Website

@conscioushomedesign on Instagram

Talor's Facebook page

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/talorstewart/

Over the past two decades, Talor has developed the Conscious Home Design (CHD) philosophy and system—an approach that helps people understand how their homes can actively support wellbeing, relationships, and personal growth. In addition to his design practice, he teaches and certifies other designers and architects in the CHD method, empowering them to bring these life-changing principles to clients everywhere.

Talor’s work expands the familiar mind-body connection to include the built environment, helping people—whether they own or rent—make simple, meaningful changes that uplift daily life.

1) What Really Makes a Good Life?

Talor, you often reference long-term research on happiness. What does the research—especially the Harvard Study on Adult Happiness—tell us about what actually helps people thrive as they age, and how did that insight influence your approach to home design?

2) Relationships, By Design

One of the exercises in your workbook is about three different types of relationships that are essential to our wellbeing. Can you break those down for us—and explain how the bones of our homes can either support or undermine those relationships?

3) From Maslow to the Floor Plan

When you’re thinking about what a home truly needs to provide, what framework do you use? How does Maslow’s hierarchy of needs translate into your concept of the nine essential spaces, and why does that matter whether someone lives in a house or a small apartment?

4) The “Sunny Window Effect”

You’ve coined the term sunny window effect. What is it, and why does access to sunlight have such a powerful influence on motivation, mood, and daily behavior?

5) Small Shifts, Big Impact

For listeners who may not be building a new home—or who rent—what are a few small, practical changes they can make right now to shift their environment and, in turn, shift their life?

If someone listening today wants to start living more intentionally—but feels overwhelmed—what’s one simple step they can take this week to let their home support them more fully?

What could we do to start making a “Creative Room: Express Yourself! Making Room for Creativity”?

Today’s guest is going to help you answer a question every creative wrestles with: How do I show up with confidence, clarity, and purpose—especially when the stakes are high? If you’ve ever felt stuck, underestimated, or like you’re holding back your best work… this conversation will help you lead with more intention—and live with fewer regrets.

Pallavi Ridout is an executive leadership coach, keynote speaker, facilitator, and emcee who helps leaders unlock confidence, clarity, and purpose. After a 20-year corporate career, she stepped into her calling full-time—guiding individuals and teams through her signature work, Leading a Life of No Regrets.

And outside of leadership development, Pallavi is a global traveler who has visited 30 countries—including an “Around the World in 80 Days” adventure with her son—and she even competes in pool championships.

Pallavi's Website

https://www.linkedin.com/in/pallaviridout

Book: https://a.co/d/2FcPIoy

1) The Pivot: From Corporate Success to No Regrets

Pallavi, you had a 20-year corporate career across global industries—entertainment, internet, aerospace—and then made the bold decision to build your own path. What was the moment—or season—that made you decide: “I’m going to lead a life of no regrets”?

2) Confidence + Clarity: The Foundation of Creative Leadership

A lot of creatives struggle with visibility—speaking up, owning their value, pitching ideas, asking for opportunities. When you coach leaders, what are the most common confidence blockers you see… and what’s one practical way people can start building confidence quickly?

3) Executive Presence Without “Performing”

You specialize in executive presence, emotional intelligence, and communication. How do you help leaders develop executive presence in a way that feels authentic—especially for thoughtful, introverted, or highly creative people who don’t want to feel like they’re “acting” in professional settings?

4) Turning Loss Into Leadership: Your Chapter in Lives Lost and Leadership Found

You’re a contributing author to Lives Lost and Leadership Found, a powerful collection where leaders reflect on how grief, loss, and “special somebodies” shape our capacity to lead. What inspired you to contribute your story—and what did the writing process unlock for you personally or professionally? And what was it like being part of a multi-author collection where so many voices are transforming loss into leadership wisdom?

5) Purpose, Courage, and Community Impact

You devote 25% of your work to purpose-driven efforts that strengthen communities and amplify unheard voices. How do you personally stay grounded in purpose while also growing a business—and what does “living with no regrets” look like in real life, not just as a keynote theme?

If someone listening today is ready to lead with more courage—but they’ve been hesitating—what’s one small step they can take in the next 24 hours to move toward a life of no regrets?

Have you ever walked out of a meeting feeling misunderstood, over-explained, or like your best ideas never landed the way you intended? Today’s episode is all about the hidden power of conversation—and how better listening, clearer communication, and stronger trust can unlock creativity, alignment, and real momentum inside any team or organization.

Today, I’m joined by Adrienne Shoch, Founder of 5 to 1 Consulting. Adrienne brings more than 25 years of global experience in communication-focused leadership and team development. Her work blends communication science, positive leadership, neuroscience, and awareness practices to help leaders and teams create meaningful, lasting change.

Adrienne's Website

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrienne-shoch/

Book: https://a.co/d/be0u3kH

Adrienne has led Thales University North America, managed HR across Europe as an expatriate for CGI/AMS, consulted for the World Bank, facilitated at Wharton Executive Education, and guest lectured at Salisbury University and UNC Asheville.

She’s authored a business case quantifying something staggering: the $1.2 trillion annual cost of poor communication in U.S. businesses.

She also recently contributed a chapter to the new book Lives Lost and Leadership Found

https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrienne-shoch/

1) Why Conversation Quality Is a Competitive Advantage

Adrienne, you’ve made a bold claim that conversational excellence isn’t a “soft skill”—it’s a hard business driver with measurable impact.

Where do most organizations underestimate the cost of poor communication, and what’s the most surprising consequence you’ve seen play out in the real world?

2) The $1.2 Trillion Problem

You quantified the annual cost of poor workplace communication at $1.2 trillion in the U.S.—that’s not a rounding error, that’s a national business crisis.

What are the biggest “hidden drains” that create that number—misalignment, rework, turnover, conflict, decision delays—and what do leaders need to start measuring differently?

3) Trust, Awareness, and Generative Conversations

A lot of leaders think communication means: “I said it clearly.”

But your work focuses on trust, verbal awareness, and high-quality generative conversations.

What are the key ingredients of a truly great conversation inside a team—and what habits immediately kill trust and connection?

4) The Human Side: Loss, Compassion, and Leadership Growth

You also wrote a chapter in Lives Lost and Leadership Found called:

“A Journey through Compassion, Transformation, and the Practice of Letting Go.”

How does loss reshape a leader’s ability to listen, relate, and communicate—and what does it look like to lead with compassion without losing performance and accountability?

5) A Practical Path Forward for Leaders and Teams

If a leader is listening right now thinking, “This is us—we’ve got meetings, we’ve got Slack, we’ve got email… but we don’t have real conversations,” where should they start?

What are 2–3 simple practices teams can implement this week to improve conversational competence and build a healthier culture—fast?

Adrienne, what’s one reminder you want every leader to carry into their next conversation—something simple, practical, and transformative?

Today we’re joined by Dr. Matthew Harmody — a retired emergency physician, living kidney donor, and one of the leading advocates for kidney donation in the United States. Matthew donated a kidney to a stranger, then dedicated his post-medical career to eliminating the national kidney waitlist through education, mentorship, and policy reform.

Matt's Website

@5k50ss on Instagram

Matt's Facebook page

Matt's Facebook group

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-harmody-97988311/

He currently serves as Board Chair of the National Kidney Donation Organization, is a founding member of the Coalition to Modify NOTA, and has just released a remarkable new book, Ascending America: Five Kidney Donors, Fifty States, One Record-Breaking Journey. The book chronicles an extraordinary feat—summiting the highest point in all fifty states in record time—while carrying a much bigger message about courage, health, and the power of giving.

1. From the ER to Altruism in Action
2. Matt, you spent years as an emergency physician—trained to assess risk, act fast, and save lives under pressure. What first inspired you to donate a kidney to a stranger, and how did that single decision redirect the course of your life?
3. Donor Myths vs. Reality
4. Many people believe kidney donation is dangerous, permanently limiting, or something only done for family. What surprised you most—physically and emotionally—about living with one kidney, and what do you wish the public understood about life after donation?
5. Climbing for a Cause
6. Ascending America documents your team’s Guinness World Record journey summiting the highest point in every state. How did this extreme physical challenge become a platform for kidney donation advocacy—and what moments on that journey stayed with you the most?
7. The Science of Selflessness
8. You’ve spoken about the neuroscience behind altruism. From your perspective, what does science tell us about why people give so selflessly—and how might understanding that help normalize and expand living kidney donation?
9. Changing the System, Not Just the Story
10. Beyond individual donors, you’re working to change federal policy through efforts to modify the National Organ Transplant Act. What needs to change to eliminate the kidney waitlist—and how can everyday people support this mission?

Matt, after everything you’ve experienced—as a physician, a donor, an athlete, and an advocate—what do you hope people take away about courage, health, and the power of giving?