Productive Joy

Today on Productive Joy, Dr. Christie welcomes Nick Hutchison, founder and CEO of BookThinkers, to talk about reading, leadership, and building a business around books. They share standout nonfiction reads for 2026, including Worthy by Jamie Kern Lima and Limitless Daily by Jim Kwik, and discuss morning “suggestibility” plus bookending the day with reading. Nick explains how business podcasts and...

Today on Productive Joy the Recap, Dr. Christie highlights Dr. Whitney Hegseth’s book Just Talk To Us Normally and its message for educational leadership: speak to children in ways that empower rather than enable or discount them, and assume they are capable. Dr. Christie applies the idea beyond schools to parenting and workplaces, urging listeners to stop using “just” labels (e.g., “just a secret...

Today on Productive Joy the Recap, Dr. Christie highlights Dr. Whitney Hegseth’s book Just Talk To Us Normally and its message for educational leadership: speak to children in ways that empower rather than enable or discount them, and assume they are capable. The host applies the idea beyond schools to parenting and workplaces, urging listeners to stop using “just” labels (e.g., “just a secretary”...

On Productive Joy, Dr. Christie introduces Dr. Whitney Hegseth—assistant professor of educational leadership, former K–12 teacher, and author of Just Talk To Us Normally: A Leader’s Guide to Organizing Schools that Elevate Students. Whitney argues society chronically underestimates young people, especially at intersections of race, sex, ability, language, and immigration status, and urges leaders...

In this Productive Joy recap, Dr. Christie highlights guest Ashlieya Mariano, creator of The Queen of the Mind, who has lived in 32 places before age 23 and focuses on helping people become the best versions of themselves through music and performing arts.  Dr. Christie emphasizes the importance of being honest with yourself by recognizing both your “sparkly” strengths and your “shadow side,” desc...

Today Dr. Christie welcomes guest Ashlieya Mariano—author, filmmaker, business owner, performing artist, and animal lover—who shares that she lived in 32 places before 23 due to a complex childhood and touring internationally as a performer from age 15. Ashlieya discusses her Irish and Scottish roots, schooling in England, and pride in living in the US. She explains how low self-worth and a need t...

In this episode of Productive Joy: The Recap, Dr. Christie recaps Jeanne Chung’s message about staying open to opportunities beyond a rigid plan, highlighting Chung’s varied career path from investment banker to yoga instructor to COO and model at 58, and her book “Say Yes Before You’re Ready.” The host shares a personal story about her 24-year-old son Jackson’s sudden Type 1 diabetes diagnosis an...

On Productive Joy, Dr. Christie welcomes Jeanne Chung—former investment banker turned yoga teacher, global entrepreneur in wellness, hospitality, and menopause, boutique hotel owner, and author in New York City—and they discuss why rigid life plans are inherently flawed and how saying yes to unexpected pivots can lead to greater fulfillment.  Jeanne explains how choosing not to tell her father’s N...

In this Productive Joy recap, Dr. Christie spotlights guest Dana Killian, a seven-time author who recently released Becoming Unbreakable: A Big Sister’s Guide to Trauma, following a 2023 memoir and earlier mystery-style books. Dana shares a repeatable process for coping and healing after layered trauma, including the death of her son from fentanyl, losing both parents, and discovering her husband’...

Today on Productive Joy, Dr. Christie interviews author Dana Killian, a survivor, painter, and former fashion designer, about her writing and healing. Killian explains how she began writing mystery fiction in 2015 as a portable career during a messy personal life, using classes, editors, and first-person perspective with an investigative journalist protagonist. She then shifted to nonfiction after...

In this Productive Joy episode, Dr. Christie  introduces Liz Landry—author, speaker, coach, and business strategist—who explains why many entrepreneurs lose joy as their businesses grow: they delegate task execution but keep ownership of outcomes. This essentially turns them into a constant “help desk.”  Liz shares her own experience of working 18-hour days despite hiring good people and realizing...

Today Dr. Christie welcomes Liz Landry—author, speaker, coach, and business strategist—to explain why many entrepreneurs become overwhelmed as they grow: they delegate task execution but keep ownership of outcomes, turning the owner into a nonstop help desk.  Liz shares how building her first business led to misery, 18-hour days, and the realization that hiring more people doesn’t create freedom w...

Intentionality, Stillness, and Becoming You & More From Alicia Danielle In this Productive Joy recap, the host highlights key takeaways from guest Alicia Danielle, author of Becoming You. Alicia emphasizes that stillness matters and encourages listeners to take a step back, define fun as laughter and positive impact, and lead with a mindset rooted in intentionality. A standout quote—“Forgive y...

Today Dr. Christie welcomes Alicia Danielle—author, speaker, and coach, to discuss authentic leadership and “becoming you” in corporate and life. Alicia shares how title changes and workplace uncertainty can cause people to shrink, doubt themselves, and self-sabotage, which led her to write “Boss Mentality: How to Lead Effectively” for new and emerging leaders who were promoted for expertise but n...

In this Productive Joy recap, Dr. Christie reflects on her conversation with Kim Boudreau Smith, a coach who helps women get out of their own way by focusing more on being than accomplishing. Christie explores how many people tie self-worth to productivity and achievement, often shaped by upbringing, and emphasizes that worth is not the sum of what you’ve done.  She shares her goal of teaching her...

Today on Productive Joy, Dr. Christie talks with coach, keynote speaker, and business leader Kim Boudreau Smith about breathing through September as a “second new year,” releasing the pressure to do it all in Q4, and building continual momentum.  Kim shares how corporate experiences led her to entrepreneurship and strategic consulting, where she helps women CEOs stop being the bottleneck, strength...

In this Productive Joy Recap, Dr. Christie highlights insights from Lindsay Smith, who helped sharpen the Intentionality Group’s messaging from unclear to laser-focused. Lindsay’s key idea is that you don’t have to wait to feel more joy—joy is a choice and a business metric that impacts employee retention and performance, because people quit or quiet-quit when work isn’t enjoyable. Dr. Christie sh...

Today on Productive Joy, Dr. Christie welcomes Lindsay Smith, a CEO coach, leadership speaker, and licensed therapist who built and sold two Silicon Valley counseling centers. Lindsay explains that joy doesn’t require life to get easier and shares Jack Canfield’s E+R=O model: events are uncontrollable, but responses shape outcomes. She discusses allowing emotions instead of suppressing them, using...

Today, Dr. Christie recaps her conversation with marketing expert and chicken-raiser Danielle Burnowski, who turned a personal passion into a standout marketing lesson through her chickens and the Instagram account Nest_and_Nonsense, even adopting the chickens out. The episode reinforces the Productive Joy theme: connect what “lights you up” with action, leadership, and real productivity (includin...

Today on Productive Joy, Dr. Christie  welcomes Danielle Bornowski, a growth strategy CEO and mom who left nonprofit PR/communications in 2019 after feeling called to do something more and realizing she excels at translating sales and marketing in a comfortable way. Danielle shares how she and her husband turned their backyard chickens into a profitable “adopt-a-hen” business for people who want f...

In this Productive Joy Recap, Dr. Christie highlights insights from Dr. Michelle Machado and her new book Alive Again, emphasizing the importance of saying no, slowing down, and spending time “being” instead of living in constant go mode. She shares Dr. Machado’s framework—awaken, align, activate, and anchor—as a way to choose what matters, feel it fully, and stay grounded in purpose. Dr. Christie...

Today on Productive Joy, Dr. Christie interviews Dr. Michelle Machado, a global educator, two-time TEDx speaker, medical education expert, and human performance strategist, about her new book, “Alive Again: Four Steps to Reclaim Your Life in a Distracted World,” launching today and available widely (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Target).  Dr. Machado explains how high achievers can feel exh...

Today on Productive Joy the recap, Dr. Christie reflects on her conversation with Justin Roethlingshoefer, highlighting his passion and message that owning who you are expands possibilities rather than limiting them. He and Dr. Christie discuss how pain can create purpose if you choose to overcome it, even when simple concepts aren’t easy to apply due to the knowing-doing gap.  With August marking...

Today Dr. Christie welcomes Justin Roethlingshoefer, founder of Own It Coaching, human health and performance expert, and best-selling author, to discuss a different approach to health that centers the whole person. Justin shares how a lifelong calling to help redeem global health was shaped by 25 years of personal struggles including anorexia, obesity, anxiety, addiction, organ failure, burnout,...

On today's Productive Joy, the recap, Dr. Christie discusses Jennifer Robin Wilson’s work with the KOLBE strengths assessment and her book 'The Heart of Homestay' about hosting exchange students. The key takeaway is that we rarely know what others bring to the table unless we ask, and meaningful connections happen when we choose curiosity over judgment. Dr. Christie shares a personal e...