Trauma. We all see it and experience it at some point...to some degree. What is it? What can we do about it? How do we move through trauma? How do we find and embrace healing?

In this episode of What’s the Point?, host Bill Ellis sits down with Gigi Khonyongwa-Fernandez, a Professional Coach and Consultant, Trauma-Informed Certified Coach, and Founder of GKF Coaching and Consulting/Families Blossoming LLC.

Gigi has a deeply personal connection to trauma and shares her compelling personal story of navigating significant life’s rollercoasters, and how these lived experiences, coupled with her professional expertise across continents within the health sector, led her to a deeper understanding of and passion for purpose, resilience, healing and finding joy along the way. Gigi offers insight into her own journey, including experiencing loss, medical trauma, and raising a child with special needs.

With warmth and wisdom, she walks listeners through the importance of defining your own narrative when faced with trauma and the importance of always making room for healing and hope. Whether you're navigating a traumatic event, know someone who is, or are simply seeking clarity, Gigi’s story and practical strategies offer encouragement, empowerment, and inspiration.

Episode Highlights & Key Takeaways:

• Transition as Transformation: Gigi believes transitions aren’t just events but opportunities to transform into who you’re becoming.

• Reclaiming Identity: After years of shaping her life around others, Gigi chose to ask: “What do I want?” That question changed everything.

• Language Matters: Words like “should” and “must” carry heavy energy. Reframing your language can shift your mindset.

• Redefining Success: It’s okay to pause and reassess what success looks like to you—especially if your definition no longer fits.

• Parenting with Purpose: Raising a neurodivergent child deepened Gigi’s empathy, patience, and commitment to coaching with compassion.

• Permission to Heal: You don’t need anyone’s approval to start your healing journey. Sometimes, the person you need permission from is yourself.

Connect with Bill:

• bill@brandingpillars.com

• www.brandingpillars.com

• www.brandingforresults.com

• IG - @wcellis

• Facebook - @CoachBillEllis

• LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/wcellis

• Book: Women Who Won

Links for This Episode:

• LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/gigikhonyongwafernandez

• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/gigi.khonyongwafernandez

• Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/yourjoyfinder/

Quick Episode Summary:

1. 0:00 Welcome and introduction to Gigi Khonyongwa-Fernandez
2. 2:15 Gigi’s global background: From the U.S. to London to Zambia and back
3. 5:45 Starting over after a divorce and why it led her to coaching
4. 9:30 Reclaiming identity after years of people-pleasing and shifting roles
5. 14:10 Redefining success: What it means when your old goals no longer fit
6. 17:50 On raising a neurodivergent son and how it reshaped her perspective
7. 23:30 Coaching as a calling: Helping others find clarity during their transitions
8. 27:45 The power of language in shaping mindset and confidence
9. 34:10 Advice for those feeling stuck: Start by asking "What do I want?"
10. 39:00 Final reflections: The point is to live intentionally and authenticall

Final Thoughts: Gigi Khonyongwa-Fernandez’s story is a powerful reminder that life’s most uncertain moments can become the most transformational. Through her lived experience and coaching insights, she invites us to lean into discomfort, reframe our narrative, and confidently embrace our next chapter.

Redefining Retirement, One Wave at a Time
In this episode of What’s the Point?, Bill Ellis welcomes Deborah Hammett, retired educator turned solo sailor and author of Young Salt at 60. After a 30+ year career as an elementary school teacher and principal on Martha’s Vineyard, Deborah did something few would expect—she learned to sail at age 60 and now lives aboard her boat, Maia, navigating the East Coast and The Bahamas.

Deborah’s story is about more than sailing—it’s about reinvention, lifelong learning, and answering the question: what’s next? From her early dreams of changing society through education to navigating the open ocean with no prior experience, Deborah exemplifies the power of purpose-driven pivots later in life.

Episode Highlights & Key Takeaways:

• From Classroom to Cockpit: How Deborah transitioned from public education to full-time sailing.
• Tears Are Not a Strategy: Lessons in resilience she passed on to students—and learned herself.
• Raising Kids and Building Community: Why Martha’s Vineyard became her home and launching point.
• Learning to Sail at 60: The hilarious and humbling early days of flipping lasers and falling in the marina.
• Solo Sailing as a Lifestyle: How she learned to manage a 36-foot keelboat and navigate weather, tides, and repairs.
• Mechanical Mastery: From bilge pumps to solar panels—how Deborah learned the technical side of boat life.
• Unlearning Bias: Facing internal biases and gender assumptions as a female captain.
• What’s the Point of Retirement?: Why Deborah believes your post-career years can hold just as much growth—and adventure—as the decades before.

Connect with Bill:

• bill@brandingpillars.com
• www.brandingpillars.com
• www.brandingforresults.com
• IG - @wcellis
• Facebook - @CoachBillEllis
• LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/wcellis
• Book: Women Who Won

Links for This Episode:

• Book: Young Salt at 60 (available wherever books are sold)

Quick Episode Summary:

• 0:00 Welcome and intro to Deborah Hammett’s unique journey
• 1:00 What inspired her to take up sailing at 60
• 3:00 Reflecting on three decades as a teacher and principal
• 6:00 Life on Martha’s Vineyard and how the ocean called to her
• 10:00 Family, independence, and growing up with grit
• 12:00 Teaching kids confidence, curiosity, and how to fail forward
• 14:00 Challenges with the teacher’s union and burnout at the end of her career
• 18:00 “Believe in Yourself”: The message her former students still remember
• 20:00 Life after retirement—travel, divorce, and the courage to start over
• 24:00 Discovering sailing and falling (literally) into a new life on the water
• 29:00 Buying Maia, learning the ropes, and sailing solo
• 32:00 Navigating weather windows and the unpredictability of boat life
• 34:00 Writing Young Salt at 60 to inspire others to take bold steps
• 35:00 Why staying active and learning new things keeps you young
• 38:00 The steepest learning curve: understanding mechanics and repairs
• 41:00 Self-discovery through travel—and confronting her own biases
• 43:00 Her answer to “What’s the Point?”: Use your post-career years for something big

Subscribe & Share:
Don’t miss an episode of What’s the Point?. Subscribe on your favorite platform and share this episode with someone who’s wondering what comes next in life. Bold choices can start at any age.

In this enlightening episode of What’s the Point?, Bill Ellis welcomes Scott Doyne—a former sports executive, keynote speaker, professional coach, and author of Exploring the Midlife Career Crisis: A Guide to Navigating the Four Stages of Career Transition. After two decades leading strategy and analytics at Turner Sports, Scott made a dramatic shift, stepping away from the world of NBA.com, March Madness, and Bleacher Report to help others redefine success in midlife.

Scott unpacks how leaving behind a "dream job" can be the beginning of a more aligned and fulfilling journey. From unpaid internships to executive leadership, and eventually entrepreneurship, his story is a masterclass in reinvention, resilience, and real-world strategy.

Episode Highlights & Key Takeaways:

• The Power of Internships: How Scott broke into the sports industry and built a 20-year career at Turner through early sacrifices and persistence.
• Leveraging Your MBA: Why graduate school gave Scott the education, network, and confidence to pivot into leadership roles.
• Networking That Works: The mindset and methods Scott used to authentically build a long-lasting network.
• Turning Points: How layoffs, life transitions, and journaling led Scott to discover his next purpose.
• The ICAN Framework: A practical approach to networking—Identify, Connect, Ask, Navigate.
• What Makes a Career Crisis 'Midlife': Why this time in life is uniquely suited to transformation and legacy-building.
• The Four Stages of Career Transition: Realize, Explore, Articulate, and Activate—Scott explains how anyone can use this model.
• From External Success to Inner Alignment: Redefining what a "career win" looks like beyond title and salary.

Scott Doyne’s story reminds us that our careers are not linear and our identities are not defined by titles. Whether you're navigating a transition or simply wondering if there's more to life than your current role, Scott's perspective offers clarity, confidence, and encouragement to take the next step—thoughtfully and with purpose.

Don’t miss an episode of What’s the Point?. Subscribe on your favorite platform and share this conversation with someone exploring a new chapter in their professional life. Transitions can be powerful—especially when you have the right roadmap.

Connect with Bill:

• bill@brandingpillars.com
• www.brandingpillars.com
• www.brandingforresults.com
• IG - @wcellis
• Facebook - @CoachBillEllis
• LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/wcellis
• Book: Women Who Won

Quick Episode Summary:

• 0:00 Welcome and intro to Scott Doyne and his impressive career journey
• 1:00 How Scott transitioned from Cincinnati to the world of Turner Sports
• 3:00 The sacrifices and hustle of early unpaid internships
• 6:00 The value of an MBA in finding purpose and confidence
• 10:00 Networking lessons, the ICAN framework, and pushing limits professionally
• 14:00 The importance of not tying identity to job titles alone
• 18:00 Working alongside major sports figures and what he learned from them
• 23:00 The reality of layoffs and why preparing early makes a difference
• 25:00 How journaling and coaching helped him find his new direction
• 28:00 Explaining the four stages of transition: Realize, Explore, Articulate, Activate
• 33:00 Pursuing purpose, not just a paycheck, in your next chapter
• 36:00 Grieving what you lose when leaving a big company—like colleagues and culture
• 39:00 The Ikigai concept and designing a life that blends passion, mission, and profession
• 41:00 Eastern philosophy vs. Western productivity: A different view of success
• 43:00 Scott’s answer to "What’s the Point?" — Help others help others