In this first episode of What About Hope, you’ll learn the story behind the podcast—when and how the idea came to me and the process of moving forward with it.
I talk about how the podcast is a calling that kept tugging at me and about the messy, uncertain journey of creating something new.
I recorded this podcast in early 2022. Due to sound quality issues with my first recorded episode—an interview with coach and collaborative artist Katrina Sather—I struggled with the editing process.
As I slogged through editing, I found myself looking for other projects to work on instead of What About Hope. Thankfully, none of the projects came to fruition, and I got back into working on the podcast in the spring of 2022.
What I don’t mention in this episode is that I set aside work on What About Hope in the summer of 2022 until February of 2023. A mix of things led to this break from What About Hope.
I had less time and creative energy due to the paid work and family responsibilities.
And, if I’m honest, I also needed a break to shift my relationship to the project. I started What About Hope an an experiment. It felt fun, energizing, like an adventure.
At some point, the sense of experimentation and play left the project, and I was white-knuckling my way forward.
This was the opposite of how what I wanted to demonstrate through this project. But, that’s where I was with it.
So, fast forward six months, and a few essential things lined up.
I learned how to set a few critical boundaries.
I tapped back into a sense of play about work and life.
Both of these go together.
If we say yes to everyone else’s wants and needs, and we don’t consider our own, we burn out. I was extra crispy by the end of 2022!
If we don’t leave empty space in our days and weeks, then there isn’t enough room for inspiration, creativity, joy.
If we approach our life and work with play and experimentation, not only is it more enjoyable, but there’s more ease.
I began to tap into what I had been missing—play and experimentation—in early January, I heard an excerpt of an NPR interview with Sam Phillips, Elvis’ producer.
In the interview, Phillips mentions "a country band that we were kind of playing around with."
It was in his voice—this levity around his work. He was experimenting. It wasn’t serious. It was play.
It cracked something open in me, and I instantly understood why my approach to What About Hope wasn’t working. It was no longer about play and joy and fun. It had become serious.
Next, a friend at my son’s school told me about what her French mom says to her when she worries.
"It’s not so serious," her mom says. I needed to hear this, and it aligned perfectly with Phillip’s approach to his work in music. (I wrote more about "It’s not so serious," in this previous post.)
It wasn’t serious. It was play.
If we remember, "It’s not so serious," there’s room for creativity to flow and life feels doable, less heavy and more fun.
We don’t need all of the answers at the beginning. We can discover them. We can try things and be curious about where they will take us or what they will teach us.
We can take action with a sense of play and fun. Because, that’s where the best stuff in life comes from.
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