The Soul Proprietor

What happens to meaning, purpose, and community when work — as we know it — disappears? This episode, Curt and Melody imagine a utopian future where AI meets all our basic needs, and wrestle with what would actually make life feel meaningful if survival isn’t on the line. There’s chocolate factory stories, genuine disagreement about human nature, and a healthy dose of "am I making any sense here?"...

What would actually happen if AI took over most of our jobs and could it be a good thing? This week, Curt and Melody explore about the fear and possibility of an AI-driven utopia, wrestling with everything from robots replacing manual labor to whether humans would actually feel satisfied with “enough.” The conversation bounces between optimism and skepticism, with both hosts challenging each other...

They keep saying they'll stop apologizing for talking about AI. This time they mean it. In this episode, Curt and Melody go all in on the topic they keep coming back to. They're not covering the fun side here, like cute images or faster emails. This episode is about the risks that people inside the biggest AI companies have started warning the public about. Several researchers have left frontier A...

One year of The Soul Proprietor. For their one-year anniversary, Curt and Melody look back at what the podcast has become.. and, perhaps more importantly, how much they have changed while making it. What started as a conversation about business has become a place to talk about the things entrepreneurs don't always have somewhere else to talk about: mental health, spirituality, stress, identity, AI...

What happens when something is wrong, but you can't prove it? After a brain injury more than three years ago, Melody spent years wondering whether the changes she experienced were real.. or whether she was somehow convincing herself and everyone else that something was wrong. In this episode of The Soul Proprietor , Melody shares what happened when she finally had a SPECT brain scan and got someth...

What if the most valuable thing a business can build isn't something that shows up on a balance sheet? In this episode of The Soul Proprietor Podcast , Curt and Melody sit down with Dave Wintsch, a longtime youth leader, mentor, and someone who has had a lasting influence on Melody's life. Dave spent decades building community by doing something deceptively simple: he entered other people's worlds...

Curt and Melody are both feeling the squeeze of AI in their businesses, but instead of geeking out about the tech, they’re asking: has the very thing that’s supposed to save us actually made real work.. and real connection—harder? This episode is a meandering, totally honest look at what happens when business, process, and humanity collide. Expect bathhouse stories, checklists gone wild, and about...

What if you could travel anywhere in history and witness one moment with your own eyes? Would you choose something deeply personal, like your parents' first date? A historical mystery like the building of Stonehenge? Or something that could challenge everything you believe.. like witnessing the resurrection of Jesus? In this episode of The Soul Proprietor , Curt and Melody explore that question an...

Melody was in the Philippines, reconnected with her team after months of burnout, overwhelm, and uncertainty about what was sustainable for her.. and for the business. What starts as a conversation about travel, health, and navigating life in a different culture becomes something much deeper: a look at what happens when a founder steps away, gets back in the room with the team, and starts letting...

Ever wished you could get honest about what goes wrong in interviews, building a team, or making business partnerships work? This compilation episode is basically a highlight reel of the real, messy, sometimes hilarious conversations Curt and Melody keep having about how easy it is to get hiring, boundaries, and “vision” totally wrong.. plus a cautionary tale about why you should never skip the pa...

AI was supposed to make life easier. So why does it feel like so many entrepreneurs are working more, thinking less clearly, and carrying more mental load than ever? For this Best Of episode, we revisit some of Curt and Melody's conversations about what AI is actually doing to the way entrepreneurs work, think, create, and dream.. Curt and Melody use AI extensively yet they asked this question: Wh...

What happens when we start outsourcing not just our work, but our actual voice, relationships, or even our consciousness to AI? This episode is the kind of rambling, real talk you have with your smartest friend at midnight: what even is the line? Melody and Curt get philosophical and a little bit ridiculous as they try to figure out what we're giving up.. and whether we're even noticing it's happe...

AI promised to help us work smarter. So why are so many entrepreneurs feeling more overwhelmed than ever? In this episode, Curt Kempton and Melody Edwards explore a question that's becoming impossible to ignore: "When does AI stop being a helpful tool and start becoming an unhealthy dependency?" The conversation begins with a humorous confession about planning life around AI credit windows before...

What happens when you finally step away from your business? After weeks away from work, Curt and Melody reunite to share what they learned about their businesses and themselves. What begins as a catch-up conversation quickly turns into a deeper discussion about burnout, trusting a team, recovering from constant decision-making, and how AI may be changing the way entrepreneurs think. Melody opens u...

Success isn't just measured by revenue. In this special "Best Of" episode, we revisit two of the most impactful conversations in the Soul Proprietor archives with Meaghan Likes and Michael Hinderliter. We unpack the hidden costs of entrepreneurship.. from the responsibility of leading employees and the myth of passive income to protecting your marriage, mental health, and sense of purpose. What Th...

In this special Best Of episode, we revisit some of Curt and Melody's most thought-provoking conversations from the podcast archive, exploring the ethical questions that shape not just our businesses, but who we become. From the phrase "It's just business" to the tension between confidence and authenticity, these conversations wrestle with what happens when doing the right thing isn't the easiest—...

What makes an entrepreneur different from a business owner? Why do some minds seem wired to chase ideas, embrace risk, and constantly reinvent themselves.. even when it creates chaos? While Curt and Melody are away, podcast editor Ivan returns for another "Best Of" takeover, curating some of the most memorable conversations about the entrepreneurial mind. From sparkly brains and ADHD strategies to...

What if the biggest threat to your business isn't failure...it's your inability to stop working? In this "Best Of" episode, we revisit some of Curt and Melody's conversations about workaholism, entrepreneur burnout, identity, and the hidden cost of always being "on." Entrepreneurs often wear hustle like a badge of honor. Society rewards long hours, constant availability, and endless ambition. But...

Father's Day has a way of making us reflect.. not just on our fathers, but on the people who raised us and the parents we're becoming. In this heartfelt conversation, Curt and Melody explore the expectations we place on mothers and fathers, why holidays like Mother's Day and Father's Day can stir up unexpected emotions, and the freedom that comes when we stop expecting perfection from ourselves or...

What does a great interview actually sound like? In Part 2 of The Hiring Experiment , the roles are reversed as Curt interviews Melody using the hiring framework he relies on today. Instead of searching for perfect answers, Curt demonstrates an approach built on curiosity, authenticity, and understanding who a candidate really is beneath the resume. Throughout the conversation, Melody steps into t...

Melody just got back from a whirlwind week of deep cleaning an inn on Cape Cod while launching a full-blown vegan detox.. yes, at the same time! This episode kicks off with that chaotic personal story before rolling into a hilarious, slightly cringey role-play of how she used to run job interviews (and all the mistakes that came with it). It’s all about the messy, mysterious art of hiring: what’s...

In Part 3 of Curt and Melody’s conversation with Josh Latimer, the discussion moves far beyond business tactics and into the deeper questions entrepreneurs wrestle with underneath the surface. Josh shares candidly about boredom in business, the tension between creativity and leadership, why so many entrepreneurs chase goals they don’t actually want, and how identity shapes pricing, confidence, gro...

At what point do entrepreneurs stop dreaming and start only solving problems? In this deeply honest conversation, Curt and Melody explore the tension between creativity, ambition, technology, and being human in a world that never stops moving. What started as a conversation about entrepreneurship and AI turned into something much bigger: a reflection on dreaming itself. They unpack the addictive n...

What happens when your values deeply align with a room full of people… but your identity still feels complicated? In this episode, Melody joins Curt live from a Christian business conference in Arkansas and opens up about something unexpectedly vulnerable: feeling like a fraud in spaces where she actually feels deeply at home. What starts as a conversation about faith quickly becomes a much bigger...

Ever feel like your faith, your business, and who you’re becoming… don’t quite line up anymore? That’s where this conversation goes. Curt Kempton and Melody Edwards sit down with Josh Latimer for Part 2—and instead of clean answers, they follow the tension. The result is a conversation that moves through belief, doubt, identity, and what happens when long-held frameworks start to shift. This is ab...