Sprinkled throughout today’s conversation is a phrase I absolutely love. No matter the situation or the statement, the response is simple, “Let’s talk about it.” Chanda Coston is a Navy Veteran, PMP, and Business Strategist who helps purpose-driven entrepreneurs—especially women over 40—turn chaos into clarity and grow businesses that make sense (and money). In our time together, we talk about the need for clarity, the importance in telling our stories, and having people in our corner. Chanda also talks about her life as a professional pivoter, the reality that nothing happens overnight, trusting yourself, starting over and carving new paths, and systems as self-care. If you’re looking to make some changes, let this sink in: If Chanda can do it, so can you.

• Chanda Co. Strategist
• Chanda Co. on Instagram
• Free Ebook: Barriers to Breakthru
• 1:1 Tiny Challenge ($21)
• The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks Than Others Do in 12 Months by Brian P Moran and Michael Lennington
• Episode photo from Envato Elements: Study Of Patterns And Lines

I’ve been slowly waking up to the reality that I’ve been running my business and living my life on autopilot for far too long. It’s been six years since I really felt like I was in control and not operating by the whims of others and the seat of my pants. But here I am, staring at 2026 off in the distance, ready to shake the sleep from my eyes and do something completely different. In this episode, I’m going to share why I’m ready to shake things up, how I’m reconnecting with my vision, passion, and action, and how you can, too.

Before I go any further, I have some reflection questions for you. It might be useful to open your notes app or get a journal and pen out to write down your thoughts to these four questions:

1. How loud is your fear?
2. What is your fear saying to you?
3. Do you know where you’re going?
4. How long has your autopilot been engaged?

Okay, before I dive into what these three words mean for me and my future, take a few moments in your notes app or journal and write down some initial thoughts to these three questions:

1. What is my vision?
2. How does my passion help bring that vision to life?
3. What actions am I taking to make sure that my vision and passion become a reality?

Now that I’ve shared a little about my own vision, passion, and action, I want you to return to your notes app or journal and go deeper with these questions:

1. What really is my vision?
2. What are my passion levels teaching me?
3. What is the next action I need to take?

• Airplane! (1980)
• This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
• Innovators of Vancouver
• Episode photo from Envato Elements: No people in empty captain cabin with dashboard navigation

I always enjoy meeting people who think deeply about the work they do, but also have a lot of fun doing it. Izzy Poirier is a designer, brand strategist, zine publisher, and community builder. From her earliest years, she’s been intrigued with the nature of people, their stories and identities, and making sure that they have a place to belong. In our conversation, we talk about the intersection of design, brand strategy, community building with the Ottawa Design Club, craft, and the art of zines. We also dive into Pivotal Moments, a zine featuring stories from creatives around the world, produced in collaboration with the Ottawa Design Club and New York Design Club. Izzy shares what went into producing the zine, curating the stories, the impact, and how a single font changed everything in the design phase of the project. If you’re looking for some inspiration as you consider new projects or pivots in your own future, then this is the episode for you.

• Izzy Poirier
• Ottawa Design Club
• New York Design Club
• Pivotal Moments
• Heather Crank (Crahmánti)
• Bend Design
• Cadillac LYRIQ
• The Running Man (2025)
• Non Foundry
• Non Ophelie
• TYPE01
• Xerox – Graphic & Print Design Solutions
• Brand – International Brand Design Magazine

Even if you’ve never had a hamster for a pet, you’ve witnessed the spectacle of them running in a hamster wheel. They step inside a giant wheel in the center of their captivity and run, and run, and run. It’s so adorable when they do it. But what if I could tell you we have human hamster wheels, in the center of our captivity, and we run, and run, and run? They aren’t literal wheels, but they serve the same purpose: keep us distracted from the reality that we aren’t where we want to be, not doing the work that matters to us, and somewhere along the way, we took a wrong turn. It’s never been easier to numb out and just keep running, but one day, the call will come from inside the house, it’s time to answer the call, step off the wheel, and jack in to life.

1. Incorporate experimentation and research and development into your creative process.
2. Look for ways to increase diversity in your work.
3. Before you offload tasks to someone else or another system, make sure that what you’re building isn’t just a larger hamster wheel in disguise.
4. Offload repetitive tasks to virtual assistants, employees, or AI and automation systems.
5. Batch recording is great until it’s not.
6. Don’t fool yourself, the hamster wheel is pernicious, don’t be afraid to step away.

• The Running Man (2025)
• Neuromancer by William Gibson
• Starship Troopers (1997)
• Showgirls (1995)
• Episode photo from Envato Elements: A playful hamster runs energetically on its wheel inside a bright, colorful cage

You might look at today’s title and think I’m trying to be humorous or sensational or clickbait-y, but I’m absolutely serious. It’s such an important question that it demands me to say it aloud right now: Is your business killing you? When you first start your business, you don’t think about the ways it overtakes your life, you let it gladly, because that’s the price you pay for building something that statistically could end in five years or less. But then, over time, you just keep letting it control your life. Social media and email dominate your existence on and off hours. Any hiccups in payments or acquiring new clients results in prayer, drinking, or worse, loans from online payment providers. Shutting it off means the potential for losing everything, or so you tell yourself. Before you know it, you’ve lost your vision and passion, but you keep powering on because at some point along the way, it’s what you do, and you’re also unemployable. If this is resonating with you, grab a cup of tea, take a seat, and let’s talk, because the truth is going to hurt.

• Episode photo from Envato Elements: Various spices on stone table

Weaving through the design, data, stories, and statuses on social media, I witnessed the human need to be seen; the longing to be discovered. I like this word, “longing.” I recently came across a book by Sue Monk Kidd called, Writing Creativity and Soul and she writes a lot about longing as a creative, a writer, woman, and a mother. What a word to sit and reflect upon: Longing. Merriam-Webster defines longing as “a strong desire especially for something unattainable.” In this episode, I explore the building blocks of the soul: deep questions that take time to answer.

• Writing Creativity and Soul by Sue Monk Kidd
• Austin Kleon
• Episode photo from Envato Elements: Close-up view of the wooden craft products