The Brave Files

 Community • Lesson •  Creativity    There are some people in the world that have a magical ability to see a gap in the world and fill it with just the right thing. That’s what today’s guest, Joanna Waterfall, did when she founded Yellow Co - an organization birthed from an idea that struck her one day while she was in the shower. Joanna believes that creativity, business, community and social imp...

Awareness • Ownership • Detachment Do you feel like having all the answers and knowing exactly what’s coming next is the only way to feel safe? Yeah - So did this week’s guest but eventually, after much burnout, Jessica Eley realized that the “smart” way wasn’t always the best way for her! In this conversation, we dive deep into "normal"  .. .What the is normal anyway? It’s totally subjective and...

WISDOM • BALANCE • PEACEJana Wilson is an emotional healing educator, meditation teacher, retreat leader, hypnotherapist, HeartMath Facilitator, and founder of the Emotional Healing System. She’s trained with best-selling author and physician, Deepak Chopra MD and NY Times best-selling author, Debbie Ford. Jana lives off-grid in the foothills of the Sangre de Christo mountain range in Santa Fe, Ne...

Gratitude • Grace • Gumption Enjoy this special cross-over episode between The Brave Files and the Kindness Is podcast! Our host, Heather Vickery, was a featured guest on the Kindness Is Podcast with Kaitlin Johnstone. It's the perfect way to cap out Pride Month as Heather shares her personal story of claiming herself and showing up authentically.   In this inspiring episode of the 'Kindness Is' p...

Discipline • Grace • Gratitude Martha Anne Toll grew up a passionate ballet dancer, musician, and advocate for social and racial justice. Through her creative endeavors Martha learned three important life lessons which she will share in our conversation so be sure to stay tuned)  and at the tender age of *almost* 65 she released her debut novel Three Muses, which has already been receiving great p...

Unexpected • Unpredictable • Exciting When Annie White Brown's daughter was born with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus, she turned to her Jamaican roots and natural remedies to help alleviate her daughter's skin issues after surgeries. Her passion for herbal healing grew, leading her to develop a unique brand of essential oils, herbs, and natural butters that provided her daughter with much-needed r...

Rebellion • Empathy • Anarchy From his punk rock and Christian roots to becoming an award-winning educator and TikTok sensation, Aaron Leatherbarrow's story is a testament to the power of empathy and authenticity. Discover the challenges faced by teachers on the front lines in the United States. Hear how Aaron's punk rock background shaped his approach to education and led him to empower students...

Love • Light • Positive-Energy We have a choice who and how we’ll be in the world. Perhaps you think you don’t but I promise you … You do. Today's guest, Shiny Unsal learned this lesson firsthand after losing her father unexpectedly … Or was it? After a lot of self-discovery, she took on a new name and officially declared her new identity, purpose, and her forever mission on this planet, to go all...

Blessed • Vulnerable • Free In 2008, after twenty years of self-sabotage and playing Russian Roulette with her health, Bunmi Abo-aba finally reached burnout. Since the mask fell, she has worked tirelessly, plotting a path to her recovery and making her fair share of mistakes. But Bunmi is truly a phoenix who has risen from those ashes more than once. Today she’s beaten both food and alcohol addict...

Ambitious • Creative • Determined L’Oreal Thompson Payton was a girl with big dreams. Now she’s a woman who’s achieving those dreams and rewriting what it means to be successful. The “Stop Waiting for Perfect” author joins The Brave Files to share some painful, honest, and ultimately beautiful truths about what it’s like to be a recovering perfectionist facing real-world challenges and choosing pr...

Creative • Healing • Necessary Trauma is passed down, via DNA, from generation to generation. And we’ve learned that it affects us in so many, previously unknown, ways. It’s something we know, conceptually, happens but we haven’t been able to really say how or why. Today’s guest, Sharon Tubbs, dives deep into this by writing about her family history, specifically her grandfather Israel Page in her...

Honest • Approachable • Connected In a rare solo episode our host, Heather Vickery, shares her personal experience with vulnerability and fear - how it feels when they collide and how she faces and moves through it. This is a heart-centered, honest, and short episode from Heather's heart directly to yours.  If you’ve been inspired, touched, entertained, or motivated by this or any of Heather Vicke...

COURAGE • TENACITY • BRAVERY Tune in as Heather chats with her Human Design Mentor, Kyla Derkach. In 2017, I moved to Kyla Derkach to Spain from Canada entirely alone. She didn’t speak the language and had never even traveled there before. Kyla says she was lost at the time, but this adventure helped her find herself and, eventually, her husband. This also led to her starting her own business, Hat...

Broken • Process • Healing Erin Dihel often found herself angry and frustrated as a kid because she lacked a tremendous amount of control over her life … Enter the idea that making peace with others (and then, consequently with herself) WAS within her control! Erin has a creative approach to making peace, finding creative ways to make things work, and how to enhance the human experience. Erin move...

Welcome to 2023! Heather Vickery shares a New Year's message and introduces you to the idea of "wintering." Imagine what's possible if we, as humans, follow the path of nature rather than society.  Let's experiment.   If you’ve been inspired, touched, entertained, or motivated by this or any of Heather Vickery’s content you can “say thanks” by buying her a virtual coffee! Let's connect ... Follow...

 Respect • Autonomy • Grace Justice is not always compassionate but there is still compassion at the root of our human existence. We may not be able to see the growth and change in the moment  - but it’s there. The world has often made today’s Jule Arney feel less-than, wrong, and broken. As a Black, , neurodivergent person Jule has had to combat these external narratives that have, unwittingly, t...

CHANGE • QUESTIONS• BOUNDARIES When TikTok brings us together. This week I'm chatting with Quinn The Eskimo (ok, that's not his *real* name but it's his NEW name and over here we respect folks name preferences!). Quinn joined me to talk about totally transforming his super religious, conservative life by changing one, somewhat, simple thing: Learning to ask questions. So many questions! By embraci...

Courageous • Centered • Responsibility  We often think of fear as something that keeps us small and stuck - it can, in fact, do all of those things. But there’s also the flip side of fear - the empowering side - the brave side. This side of fear informs. It allows you to dig deep into yourself and find ways to heal, grow and prosper. Today I welcome Sarah Hagstrom Join us to talk about her journey...

Obligation • Opportunity • Pride Tamer Elnoury is not his real name … It’s one of several aliases he’s used throughout his career to infiltrate terror cells across the globe. His job was to decimate al-Qaeda and ISIS from the inside out. To put his arm around some of the worst people on the planet, convince them he was their brother in arms, and then ruin all their plans of death and destruction w...

POSSIBILITY • COURAGEOUS • RESILIENT Can you take that which was harmful and unacceptable and apply lessons toward a happy, healthy life? Tanya_Marie Dubé says she did just that. After surviving a childhood in and out of the foster care system and then living on the street as a teenager, Tanya shared that life was extremely challenging but now sees her experiences as the foundation for who she is...

Electrifying • Gritty • Unrealistic When Juliana Garcia was growing up she had a lot of questions - and asking those questions often lead to punishment because Juliana was supposed to put her head down, do what she was told, not make mistakes and to never, ever question things. Today, Juliana is an online entrepreneur with a multimillion-dollar business. She built this business on curiosity. She p...

** If you would like to support Puerto Rico's people after Hurricane Fiona's devastation, visit www.vickeryandco.com/HelpPuertoRico for a list of organizations who are on the ground, making a difference.**   Resilient • Expansive • Unstoppable Sometimes bravery shows up in the most unexpected ways and circumstances. Like discovering you want to take your business on the road because of a global pa...

Kindness • Action • Justice Kaitlin Johnstone has taken TikTok by storm with her socially conscious clothing brand Kind Cotten! What started as a way to put books into the hands of underprivileged children has turned into an incredible platform for awareness, education, and action. After leaving her teaching job, Kaitlin and her partner Kevin decided to create their inclusive clothing brand, Kind...

Are you searching for answers or looking for a breakthrough? How do we turn our circumstances into triumph? Come on a ride with us and meet Carla Moore! At 40 years old and 350 pounds, Carla was in a car accident that changed her life. She shares her transformation principles and how inward change creates an outward impact. "When you get a sense of who you are, and what you're here to do, you move...

In her early 40s, Leah began a profound journey into sexual healing – and you are invited to join her Leah Carey was subjected to sexual trauma from an early age. Her father’s alcoholic and narcissistic behaviors created extremely confusing messages about . As a result, she was left without the tools necessary to build healthy and intimate relationships. She completely lacked the ability to advoca...