Own Your Awkward: Conversations on Authenticity, Growth and the Power of Being Different

Joseph Carrabis told stories to anyone who would listen starting in childhood, wrote his first stories in grade school and started getting paid for his writing in 1978. He's been everything from a long-haul trucker to a Chief Research Scientist and held patents covering mathematics, anthropology, neuroscience, and linguistics based on a technology he created in his basement and from which he c...

Alyssa Berthiaume is a mompreneur, author, ghostwriter, and writing guide with a superpower for hearing between the lines and capturing the voice of her clients. She's the Founder/CEO of The Write Place, Right Time, her virtual boutique of book coaching and ghostwriting services for brilliant, brave, and badass folks ready to change the ‘effin’ world with their stories. She’s also the author o...

David George Brooke - That Gratitude Guy, has been a speaker, coach, and best-selling author for over 25 years. He is a former Nordstrom store manager and managed in the corporate world for over 30 years. His published works include “That Gratitude Guy’s Daily Gratitude Journal”, “Monday Morning Minutes,” “Six-Word Lessons to Embrace Gratitude” and a number of other books on gratitude. As a result...

Valerie Gordon is an award-winning television producer, content creator, and longtime storyteller. Through The Storytelling Strategist , the career and communications firm she launched in 2017, Valerie combines her storytelling background with her passion for advocating for women in the workforce. She speaks at conferences, offering keynotes and group workshops, and partners with corporations to d...

Join us for this episode as we talk to Mark Reid (professor, lawyer, and Japanese paper maker) On his show he dives deep with artists, authors, entrepreneurs, and other influential people. Mark hosts the podcast Zen Sammich, which is a podcast for the independent thinker and anyone who embraces life despite its absurdity. Follow Mark Reid online: zensammich.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/zen-sammi...

Anne is so much more than a short bio, and more complex than a business summary. Whether working at her day job, volunteering with organizations she cares about, maintaining side ventures, or serving as a good friend or family member – she aims to create reliable, safe spaces for others to feel free to be themselves. Anne has held a variety of positions in various industries. Over the last 16 year...

Jennifer Jane Young is an Intuitive Business & Leadership Advisor, Founder of The School of Intuitive Leadership and former United Nations Consultant. She helps entrepreneurs & leaders find the path of least resistance, make the biggest impact and create sustainable, aligned success through right brain/intuitive leadership. She brings together the last 13 years of her experience, coaching,...

Wade is the co-founder and CEO of GoMobi.work, a Software as a Service company that gives businesses tools to help their employees grow and do their best work. Wade's personal mission is to help a million people find purposeful work so they can use their gifts to serve others and make the impact they want to in the world. When he is not nerding out on the future of work, business strategy, or...

Meet Yifat (pronounced "ee-fah-t", the "Y" makes the long "e" sound like in Yvonne) She is an entrepreneur that runs an engagement marketing business that helps entrepreneurs establish instant trust with their prospects. She's been in business for over 11 years, she does Krav Maga, loves geeky things, cooks spicy food, and is a traveler and adventurer, but also on...

Helen Polise, aka the “TikTok Teacher” and owner of Muthership Productions, is a TV commercial director with 30+ years of experience elevating global brands like Sensodyne, Blistex, Hasbro, NFL Alumni and more. After a quick rise to TikTok fame during the pandemic, she recently founded Socialize (HelloSocialize.com), a startup where she demystifies the social media process, and teaches people step...

Tamar Yahawahdah is a dual-licensed massage therapist and esthetician in Tacoma, WA. She has experience in Deep Tissue, Swedish, Sports and Geriatric modalities.   During any length session, you may require four different modalities in various locations of the body. Her hands talk to your muscles to determine your needs. This is how your session is customized to your body versus having a blanket r...

Brittany Sleeper is the current Mrs Washington American 2022 and competed in the Mrs America pageant this summer in Las Vegas. Brittany works with communities across the south sound. her platform is Humanizing the Badge where her husband is a law enforcement officer in the state and she works to strengthen the relationship between law enforcement and the community. You can find her on all social m...

When Covid hit, Ben was furloughed from work. He found himself down and out, staring at an empty handle of Jim Bean Whiskey. He was unemployed, depressed, and felt unworthy.   Hesitantly, he opened his Macbook and started reaching out to strangers on Linkedin. This spearheaded his entrepreneurial journey.  The rest is history.   Now Ben hosts a network of 5 podcasts called “Real Business Connectio...

Arik Korman is on a journey to learn from superhumans - people who have done remarkable things or have remarkable ideas to share - so that he can be the best dad he can be for his son, AJ. The Arik Korman Show on iHeartRadio, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts features conversations with thought leaders from the arts, sciences, academia, and more. Previous guests have included newsmakers Dr. Ibram X. Ken...

Meet Giang Nguyen:   Being a first-gen immigrant who grew up in poverty, led Giang to have a lifelong dedication to advocacy and community service. From an early age she volunteered in homeless shelters, advocated for the Asian Pacific Islander community, and participated in charity donation drives.    Giang continues to advocate for people suffering disparate outcomes. Some of her work includes r...

Captain Chris Staudinger is a professional travel journalist turned tour guide who lives in Tacoma. For years now he has tried to share the best of the world with people and now focuses of sharing Washington's History and Lore with people who have a deep desire to know more. A graduate of Pacific Lutheran University, he met his wife while climbing Kilimanjaro and they taught in South Korea tog...

Julia is bringing a new twist to the art scene in Tacoma, Washington. Being a bit more extroverted than most artists, Julia has a passion to connect and collaborate with others. She takes this to the next level by planning live art events around the community as well as curating a local artist meetup group every week.   Julia's events can be found in coffee shops, bars, or any other space the...

Ali is a singer, songwriter, poet, painter, best selling author, daughter, sister, wife, mum , nana and friend.... With a background in disability case management, ministry, music, counselling and support work with adults living with a variety of challenges, Ali brings a healing perspective to all forms of art she creates.   Ali has been using art as part of her healing journey for over 40 years b...

Dana Claire Simpson, a native of Gig Harbor, Washington, first caught the eyes of devoted comics readers with the internet strip Ozy and Millie. After winning the 2009 Comic Strip Superstar contest, she developed the strip Phoebe and Her Unicorn (originally known as Heavenly Nostrils), which is now syndicated in newspapers worldwide.   There are fifteen Phoebe and Her Unicorn books, including the...

Check it out!  Today I am interviewing Don Sellers. For the past three years, Don has been my mentor in Toastmasters and so much more.    Don has lived a rich life serving in the US Air Force, then becoming an active member in Toastmasters and writing. In his time with Toastmasters, he has served many club and district level leadership positions including District Governor for District 32.   Curre...

Tacoma based singer-songwriter, Dave Hannon, was born with music in his blood. As the son of a professional touring piano player, Dave began learning piano at the age of 6 and was writing his own songs by the age of 10.  On his 13th birthday, he learned his first 3 chords on guitar and never looked back.   While attending Gonzaga University, Dave honed his skills as a singer-songwriter, performing...

Simon Severino helps business owners in SaaS and Services run their company more effectively which results in sales that soar. Trusted by Google, Roche, Consilience Ventures, Amgen, AbbVie. He created the Strategy Sprints™ Method that doubles revenue in 90 days by getting owners out of the weeds. TEDx speaker, Contributor to Forbes and Entrepreneur Magazine, member of the SVBS Silicon Valley Block...

Monica Nevi is a native of the Seattle area, having grown up about 20 minutes south in the glory that is Renton, Wa. The product of a wonderfully humorous family and diverse life experience, she went on to earn a degree from Seattle University and lived in the city for 3 more years after going to school. A collegiate basketball player, after injuries ended her career she decided to move forward wi...

Learn about what makes Jack Lepiarz so different and how he has mad that difference work for him in today's episode of the Own Your Awkward podcast. Jack has been performing in the circus his entire life. For more than a decade, he's been performing as "Jacques ze Whipper," a silly, sassy, French whip cracker at Renaissance Festivals around the country. He does all of that while...

Neetal Parekh is an attorney and founder/CEO of Innov8social, which builds content, tools, and programs to make social entrepreneurship more accessible, actionable, and transformative. She is a passionate advocate for social impact ecosystem-building who believes that this field empowers us to creatively re-imagine how businesses and individuals can create meaningful impact and lasting value. Neet...