People often see a podcast launch as a moment.
What they don’t see are the years that led up to it.
The Look Up Mindset Podcast wasn’t built in a day. It was built slowly—through lived experience, storytelling, loss, reinvention, and a growing realization that the stories I was sharing needed a new home.
It Started With One Story
Long before there was a podcast, there was a story—my own.
After a life-altering accident and a forced restart, I began sharing what I had learned about perspective, resilience, and choosing how to respond when life throws you a curveball. At first, it was deeply personal. Then something unexpected happened: when I shared my story, other people started sharing theirs.
That moment planted a seed.
From One Voice to Many
That seed grew into an idea—and eventually into the anthology Look Up—Global Stories of Resilience.
The book became a collection of real stories from ordinary people around the world who had navigated loss, illness, reinvention, grief, and bold life pivots. What struck me most wasn’t just the resilience—it was the universality. Different cultures, different circumstances, same human strength.
As the book made its way into the world, I found myself talking about these stories everywhere—on TV segments, podcasts, panels, book events, and in-person conversations. Each time, people leaned in. They didn’t want polished inspiration. They wanted authenticity.
Losing a Job, Finding a New Voice
In the midst of promoting the book, I also lost my job.
It was destabilizing and clarifying all at once. Suddenly, the work I was doing—sharing resilience stories, helping people reframe their own experiences—wasn’t just meaningful. It was essential.
And slowly, a question kept resurfacing:
Why am I always telling these stories on someone else’s platform?
Pulling the Band-Aid Off
Launching my own podcast had been on my mind for a while—but like many creative leaps, it lived in the “someday” category.
Until it didn’t.
I finally pulled the Band-Aid off and decided to launch The Look Up Mindset Podcast—a space where real stories of resilience, transformation, and adventure could be shared in full voice, with depth, nuance, and humanity.
But, of course, timing had its own plans.
Launching Through the Storm
The podcast came together during the holiday season—an already emotional and demanding time, especially for those of us who have lost loved ones. Grief has a way of showing up louder when the world expects celebration.
Then my 90-year-old father was hospitalized.
And just when it felt like the universe was stacking the deck, Winter Storm Fern (such an unfitting name) clobbered Nashville, coating the city in ice, knocking out power to over 250,000 homes, and—yes—taking down countless trees. (Hint: listen to episode 1 for the story about a tree in Poughkeepsie, NY.)
I reflected at the symbolism.
And then I kept going, once the power, heat, and Internet came back on.
Because resilience isn’t about perfect conditions. It’s about showing up anyway.
What the Podcast Is—and What’s Next
The first season of The Look Up Mindset Podcast has already been recorded and features contributors from Look Up—Global Stories of Resilience. Their stories come alive in a new way—spoken, felt, and shared in real time.
Season Two is recording now, and Season Three is already taking shape.
This podcast is evolving into something bigger than a show. It’s becoming a living archive of resilience—and my hope is that future seasons will become another inspirational compilation of stories that remind us what’s possible.
Your Invitation
If you love real stories.
If you believe perspective can change everything.
If you’ve lived a story of resilience, transformation, or adventure—or know someone who has—this podcast is for you.
🎧 Listen. Subscribe. Share.
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite streaming platform!
New episodes drop every two weeks.
And if you feel called to be part of what’s next, I invite you to submit your story using the form linked here.
Here’s to looking up—always.
