No to Normal

If you’re tired of old-school financial advice that preaches restrictive spending so you can afford a house (because hey, that advice sucks and maybe you don’t even WANT to buy a house), this is the episode for you. Mimi Cirbusova, a certified financial education instructor and shame-free money mentor, knows that money is a truly personal topic and that one-size-fits-all advice does not work here....

No to Normal just turned one! *shoots confetti* That’s right, friends, the podcast is celebrating its one-year anniversary. And in order to celebrate this milestone, I wanted to take a little walk down memory lane and drop the very first guest episode I’ve ever done back in the feed. My episode with Ainsley Blattel from Modern Rebel is still one of my favorite conversations to date, and I’m excite...

What if the key to happiness, success, and personal fulfillment really came down to just putting fun, silly, and creative things out into the world? What if you embraced your crazy ideas instead of instantly thinking of all the reasons they won’t work? In today’s episode, I’ve invited Kyle Scheele, author, keynote speaker, and the “Patron Saint of Crazy Ideas” to answer those questions! Kyle share...

The average price for a piece of UGC content is $212… but that’s not really enough to support yourself as a full-time creator, right? That’s where those 4-figure and recurring deals come in so handy! In today’s episode, I’m sharing the 4 things that I did to land my first $1,000 UGC deal, so you can do the same (even if you’re a new creator!) Want personalized advice to help you on your UGC journe...

If you’re interested in the personal development space like me, you’ve likely heard about the power of positive affirmations. Maybe you’ve even tried them out yourself, journaling or saying them when you first wake up. “I am confidence. I am capable. I am abundant. I am successful.” And while there is evidence to support that affirmations can be a healthy addition to your daily routine and effecti...

The number of people traveling and living in RVs/vans has grown a lot these past couple of years, but where are you supposed to park? RV parks and campgrounds that can cost more than $100 a night? Walmart parking lots? Free land out in the woods with no cell signal or people around? While all of these options have pros and cons, there are a couple of other options out there that are giving RVers a...

If you’re a multi-passionate entrepreneur or creative, it can be so hard to decide on which idea to follow! When you’re constantly dreaming up new ideas and projects, how are you supposed to figure out which one is worth doing? And if you have multiple things you want to chase after, how do you make time for all of them in your day-to-day? In this episode, I’m sharing the BEST question to ask your...

Are the peak days of blogging long gone? Based on the growing popularity of Substack, it seems like written content is actually thriving more than ever! Substack is a way for writers and content creators to easily share newsletters with their readers, without all of the complicated & expensive tech that comes from normal email marketing platforms. On today’s episode, Karen Cherry talks about h...

“You’re not working hard enough. You’re not committed enough. Everyone else is doing better than you.” If this sounds like your internal monologue, then this episode is for you! Trust me, I know what it’s like to be your own toughest critic, but I think I’ve finally cracked the code on giving yourself grace and accepting where you’re at in your journey, even if it’s not as far along as you would l...

Book-lovers rejoice! This week’s minisode is all about the joy of libraries. Today’s stories include: The library that looks like a park inside (& my inspiration for this topic) How Little Free Library grew from 1 location in Wisconsin to over 150,000 worldwide Two librarians who went viral on social media for spreading their love of reading, destigmatizing mental health issues, and increasing...

Whether you’re applying for jobs, trying to book new clients for your own business, or putting creative work out there as an artist, self-doubt is just a natural part of the process. Questions like “am I good enough?” and “why is everyone saying no?” are bound to pop up at some point. It’s those little thoughts that motivated Amy Bernstein to write her new book, Wrangling the Doubt Monster: Fighti...

Not only has Jennae Cecelia earned a living as a poet, she has self-published 13 books in the past 8 years! While her first book didn’t get the sales she had hoped, she just kept writing, and is now a best-selling author who writes commissioned poems and coaches other authors, in addition to releasing her own books. In today’s episode, we talk about how she stayed motivated when she was first star...

It’s my birthday and I’m celebrating by sharing a big announcement about the next chapter of my life! It’s time to say goodbye to Lake Tahoe (at least for now) to travel and go all-in on my UGC creation journey. And while leaving a place I love is really scary, there are so many inspiring women out there who didn’t discover their passion until later in life, so I’m choosing to trust that I’ll end...

If you like reading (a lot) and you like socializing (a little) then Silent Book Club was made for you! Now, what is Silent Book Club you might ask? It’s basically what it sounds like! It’s a chance to gather at a cool spot in your city and silently read a book of your choice amongst other book lovers. There’s no pressure to talk about what you’re reading or keep up with the pace of the other peop...

It might seem like everyone has an online course these days, and honestly, I think that’s a good thing! It can save so much time and stress being able to learn from someone who has already achieved the goal you’re chasing. However, not all coaching programs are created equally, so this episode is going to walk you through the seven questions you should ask yourself before deciding to work with an...

If you want to make money by creating content but you don’t love the idea of pitching products to your followers or you have a small audience, then UGC is your ticket to money and time freedom! Unlike influencer marketing, UGC (user generated content) is a way for people to get paid to create authentic content for brands to post on social media, and the brands in turn are able to build more trust...

In this month’s minisode, I’m covering stories about people finding purpose and happiness later in life, and what we can learn from people with more lived experience than ourselves. Today’s stories include: A restaurant kitchen run by a rotating cast of grandmothers from around the world Long-time best friends who built a tiny home community to live near eachother Advice from 14 people who have li...

If you grew up watching Gilmore Girls, or if you tune in to Hallmark movies around Christmas time, you’re very familiar with the romanticized jobs like “innkeeper” or “bookshop owner.” And maybe you’ve even seen those jobs and thought “man, I wish I could spend my days like that!” Well, in today’s episode I’m talking with Caroline Cardamone, known as Inn Keeper Caroline on social meda, about what...

Before I started this podcast, before I moved to Lake Tahoe, before I did Instagram coaching, I got the crazy idea in my head to buy a mini school bus and convert into a mobile gift shop. In today’s episode I’m answering the biggest questions about running a mobile shop including how I converted the bus, where I parked the bus, where I found inventory, and the biggest lessons I learned from having...

Today, we’re talking about one of my very favorite topics…. School busses! Specifically, we’re talking about converting school busses into mobile retail shops. This is something I have a little experience with, but today is not about me, it’s about Sara Bartlett, owner of Canyon Couture. Not only did Sara convert a school bus into a super cute boutique, but she actually lived on the bus for a peri...

This week I’m trying out a brand new idea for the show by sharing my favorite headlines about “not so normal” stories that I haven’t been able to cover in my full guest episodes! Today’s stories include: A women’s sports bar that brought in $1M in 8 months The reason that January is actually an awful time to start new goals And the delightful UK-based series that highlights people living in houseb...

Imagine going through your entire life knowing exactly what you want to do when you grow up and spending all of your time actively working toward that goal, just to have it taken from you with almost no-notice. And then imagine it’s all happening right before the world basically shuts down from a global pandemic. How would you handle that? And how would you go about finding a new purpose? That’s w...

What if you could stay in a beautiful beach house for an entire month without paying a dime? I know it sounds too good to be true, but today’s guests, Bella & Simmy, have cracked the code on how to do just that. Bella and Simmy are two best friends who were able to live in beautiful homes across California for 2 months, thanks to the magic of Trusted House Sitters. In this episode, they’re exp...

After growing up in Christian fundamentalism, Amelia Protiva and her husband left the church and created brand new lives for themselves. From moving to the west coast to the midwest and back again, working in the start-up world, traveling with van life, and starting a family, they have learned to pivot time and time again. In this episode, Amelia gives an honest look inside these decisions, how sh...

Wake up. Drink coffee. Draw. Go to the beach. Draw some more. Take the pup on a hike. Repeat. This is the routine that Kinsey Hotchkiss has been able to adopt while owning her own graphic design business. After studying Chinese in college and traveling around the world, she found her niche a little later on designing minimalist, adventure-lifestyle illustrations for musical artists, surf brands, a...