Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with Motivate Your Monday and your host, Diane Wyzga.

“Each One Lift One” is the way we roll here! Recently I introduced my friend, Eliza Young (the genius behind my Quarter Moon Story Arts logo and soon-to-be-revealed overhauled website) and the author of Life in Captivity to my other friend and podcast colleague Steve Ramona of Doing Business With a Servant’s Heart. It was a match!

Their powerful and poignant conversation highlights this truth: “You can’t change what happened to you; but you can choose where you go in the future.”

From the June 11th 2026 Episode Notes: “In this deeply moving episode of Doing Business with a Servant’s Heart, Steve Ramona sits down with Eliza Young, author of Life in Captivity, a memoir born from a childhood marked by medical trauma, family conflict, repeated separation, and the long road back to self-trust. Their conversation is a splendid reminder that this season of your life is not the whole story.”

Click this LINK to access the episode on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKbEuVR4HGs]

Connect with Eliza Young:

Web: https://substack.com/@captivatingeliza

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCodDmXVVWdOCGrePbSevQDw

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/creativeliza

Connect with Steve Ramona:

Web: https://steveramona.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveramona

IG: https://www.instagram.com/bizopportunitynow/

Podcast: https://www.servinginbusinesspodcast.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkgN4ZO83lPjCJtuv0LeOJw

Eliza: https://youtu.be/MKbEuVR4HGs

And thank you for listening.

You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together.

AND! Stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website during reconstruction, email me [info@quartermoonstoryarts.net] to arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as Quarter Moon Story Arts on Substack.

Stories From Women Who Walk Production Team

Podcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story Arts

Music: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron Music

ALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.

Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with Wednesdays on Whidbey and your host, Diane Wyzga.

We humans have shortcomings in common. Certain personal and professional imperfections—such as procrastination, impatience, and difficulty with public speaking, among others—that we naturally work to improve or manage.

Maybe like me you’ve struggled to perfect your shortcomings only to discover that a better use of your energy might be to put them in service to self-awareness.

Developing a habit of proactive personal growth identifies shortcomings without excessive self-shame and focuses on practical strategies for improvement, rather than dwelling on the weakness itself. No more “Should on you!”

What if instead of focusing on what I’m not because of a standard set by someone else, I assess all I’ve done, accomplished, overcome, created, and become over the course of my life thus far because I learned how to fall down 7 and get up 8?

What if I make up my mind to attend to projects and ideas that are achievable and meaningful to me despite my shortcomings—because I say so!

Question: How are you incorporating your shortcomings to live the life you want, where you want, how you want, with whom you want, and for the reasons you want? We determine who we are, shortcomings and all!

You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together.

AND! Stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website during reconstruction, email me [info@quartermoonstoryarts.net] to arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as Quarter Moon Story Arts on Substack.

Stories From Women Who Walk Production Team

Podcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story Arts

Music: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron Music

ALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.

Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with Story Prompt Friday and your host, Diane Wyzga.

I teach my personal narrative clients and students that their rigorous “depth of inquiry” steers them way from writing surface-level, first-available answer drafts to crafting a memorable story. What do I mean?

Nice personal essays often recount the superficial events of what happened and to whom. Maturing storytellers grow their essays into unforgettable narratives by deeply exploring why what happened to them matters, probing motivations, and reflecting on how those experiences shaped their world view.

For example, a nice personal essay focuses on content. Facts tell the reader what you did, the places you went, or the most obvious outcomes of an event. A memorable story focuses on context—the situation or circumstances the facts took place in. Together content plus context create meaning. Meaning reveals your underlying emotions, struggles, doubts, and the personal truths you uncovered along the way. Story listeners are drawn to meaning like filings to a magnet.

Tip: To transform a nice essay into memorable story, dig deep by asking yourself 5 probing "depth of inquiry" questions:

1. What did you desire?

2. What choices did you make to get it?

3. What were the consequences of those choices?

4. Did you achieve what you desired, or fail?

5. How did the experience change you?

Story Prompt: Think of a time when you were offered an unlikely opportunity. You said “Yes! Come what may!” What happened next? Write that story and share it out loud!

You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together.

AND! Stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website during reconstruction, email me [info@quartermoonstoryarts.net] to arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as Quarter Moon Story Arts on Substack.

Stories From Women Who Walk Production Team

Podcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story Arts

Music: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron Music

ALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.

Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with Wednesdays on Whidbey and your host, Diane Wyzga.

Maybe like me you love hearing stories by women who know who they are. They don’t waste words on small talk. They don't give "nice" little speeches. When they speak, the whole room stops.

Many of us spend our lives doing the exact opposite. We say what we think people want to hear. We shy away from speaking our truth, offering our ideas.

For example, recall a time when you spoke up in a meeting. The surface story is: “I pitched an idea, it got rejected, and I sat down.” That’s a report, not a story. The real story happens when you ask yourself why rejection stung so bad. It wasn’t about the project; it was the moment you sat down and realized you’ve been shrinking yourself to make other people comfortable—and you’re finally done with that.

The memorable story—the one that sits in your chest—arises from your “depth of inquiry.” You’re not looking for glory; you’re fighting for your right to be seen and heard.

TIP: Expressing yourself creatively isn't about being showy. It’s about standing in your own shoes, saying exactly what you mean, and meaning what you say. Speak your truth like you know what you’re talking about... because you do.

And, I can help. Email me: info@quartermoonstoryarts.net

You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, please subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together.

AND! Stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website during reconstruction, email me [info@quartermoonstoryarts.net] to arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as Quarter Moon Story Arts on Substack.

Stories From Women Who Walk Production Team

Podcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story Arts

Music: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron Music

ALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.

Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with Story Prompt Friday and your host, Diane Wyzga

Pull up a chair and let’s talk about something I’ve been exploring lately. It’s the “depth of inquiry” that steers a nice essay into a memorable story. That sounds a bit academic, right? But here on Front Porch Friday© what it really means is the difference between just surviving your life, and actually understanding the truth of what you’ve lived through.

Too often, as women, we get into the habit of just reporting the facts. We tell our stories like a laundry list of events. "I raised the kids, I worked the job, I did what was expected, and now I’m here." There’s no story magic because you are missing. We do the same thing when we speak out loud to the world—we say what’s polite, or what keeps the peace, instead of saying what we actually mean.

Think about a moment where you had to say a hard "no" to someone, or maybe you finally picked up a hobby you abandoned years ago. The surface story is simple: "I was too busy for another commitment," or "I just wanted a new creative project." But looking deeper we feel the memorable story.

The truth is more than protecting your calendar or buying art supplies; you realized that your time and your passions don't belong to everyone else anymore. You decided that you are finally ready to be seen and heard exactly as you are, without adapting yourself so others feel comfortable.

That shift right there? That is “depth of inquiry.” It’s stopping the report and starting the investigation, the exciting archeological dig on your life.

Story Prompt: As you go about your day, take a deep look past the surface of your own daily routine as if gazing into a wishing well. Don't just report the facts of your life to yourself. Find the glimmering coins of a deeper truth under the surface; write that story and share it out loud!

You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, please subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together.

AND! Stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website during reconstruction, email me [info@quartermoonstoryarts.net] to arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as Quarter Moon Story Arts on Substack.

Stories From Women Who Walk Production Team

Podcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story Arts

Music: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron Music

ALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.