Today’s guest is Jane Shi, a poet, editor, and the author of her debut poetry collection echolalia echolalia. She is an alumnus of Tin House Summer Workshop, The Writer's Studio Online at Simon Fraser University, and StoryStudio Chicago. In this conversation, we explore Jane’s early connection to poetry and wordplay, the ethos behind her collection, and the illusory nature of writer’s block.

Living on the stolen and occupied lands of Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples, she wants to live in a world where love is not a limited resource, land is not mined, hearts are not filched, and bodies are not violated.

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Today’s guest is Happy Ali, the author of “The Intuition Bible: How and Why to Tap Into Your Inner Wisdom.” With a B.A. in psychology from UCLA, he is a prophetic dreamer, certified master NLP practitioner, certified master clinical hypnotherapist, and host of the “Happy Insights” podcast. Happy’s spiritual journey began in 1995 when he dedicated his life to the exploration of metaphysical disciplines after a near-death experience inspired a dramatic awakening.

In this conversation, we explore Happy’s early life growing up in a family of prophetic dreamers, the power of joy and fun in unleashing our intuition, and ways we can find our unique expression of intuition.

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Today’s guest is award-winning writer and editor Erika W. Smith, who has been working in the media industry for over a decade, covering the latest in sex and relationships, entertainment, travel, and astrology. She’d previously held staff positions at Cosmopolitan, Refinery29, BUST magazine, with additional writing published at VICE, Allure, and Vulture.

In this conversation, Erika shares some of her insights and experiences as a contemporary working writer, from pitching in the newsroom, to traditional publishing and ghostwriting.

Photo by Kim Hoyos

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Today’s guest is Wendy Baird, the owner and Creative Director of Insight180, a brand consulting and design firm for b2b businesses, non-profits, and those who “sell the invisible.” She has been advising companies on positioning strategy, name development, brand identity, design, differentiation, and strategies for growth for more than 25 years.

Wendy has written and spoken on topics such as social responsibility, authentic branding, fostering high-performance b2b culture, conscious business practices, finding your voice, Human Design in business, and more. She is a board member of Conscious Capitalism of Central Maryland. As a Reiki practitioner, singer and vocal coach in her spare time, she is known to break into song unexpectedly.

In this conversation, we explore Wendy’s musical upbringing, the art of branding and seeing people’s essence, and the delight of being a multi-passionate creative.

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Today’s guest is Becca Powers, the author of "A Return to Radiance" and "Harness Your Inner CEO." A Fortune 500 high-tech sales executive, keynote speaker, and CEO of Powers Peak Potential, she has worked with industry giants Cisco, Dell, Royal Caribbean International, and Office Depot. With an impressive record of leading large teams and hitting $500 million in annual revenue, Powers has earned the coveted President’s Club award seven times. She is also a certified Kundalini yoga teacher and Reiki master.

In this conversation, we dive inside Becca’s comeback journey after burnout, the connection between awareness and safety, and the power of recognizing and changing generational patterns.

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Today’s conversation was held as part of the multidisciplinary writing workshop led by me and former “Side by Side” guest, Ashley Griggs. We invited special guests into the space, where workshop participants got to ask questions about the industry and the craft of writing. Today’s conversation spotlights television writer Ashley Sims.

Born and raised in Marietta, Georgia. She received her Bachelors in Journalism from the University of Georgia before moving to New York and completing her MFA at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. She got her professional start working as a Staff Writer for the Peabody Award winning series "UnREAL." After "UnREAL," Ashley spent the next 3 years on the ABC drama "A Million Little Things" before landing at CW's "4400" as a producer.

In this conversation, Ashley shares her insights on claiming your voice and cultivating relationships within the industry, and the benefits of being an evolving artist.

The Fall session for "Embracing the Multidisiplinary Writer" will commence September 29. Click here to learn more.

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Today’s conversation was held as part of the multidisciplinary writing workshop led by me and former “Side by Side” guest, Ashley Griggs. We invited special guests into the space, where workshop participants got to ask questions about the industry and the craft of writing. Today’s conversation spotlights playwright, screenwriter, television writer, and actor Chloé Hung.

Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Chloé has been called a “writer to watch” by The Globe and Mail. A graduate of NYU’s MFA dramatic writing program, her theater work has been seen on stages like the The Kennedy Center, the Banff Playwrights Centre, the Geffen Theatre, and the New Jersey Repertory Company. In the film and TV world, Chloé has written for “Queen Sugar” and “Cherish The Day” on OWN, and “The Watchful Eye” on Freeform. She is a Film Independent Screenwriters Lab fellow, and her screenplays have been shortlisted by the The Black List and the Fusion Film Festival.

In this conversation, Chloé shares some of her early memories that sparked her imagination, the journey of balancing personal with paid writing, and the skills that writers should cultivate in addition to writing itself.

The Fall session for "Embracing the Multidisiplinary Writer" will commence September 29. Click here to learn more.

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Today’s guest is Sam Bennett, the author of “Get It Done,” “Start Right Where You Are,” and most recently, “The 15-Minute Method: The Surprisingly Simple Art of Getting It Done.” A writer, speaker, actor, and creativity/productivity specialist, she is the founder of TheRealSamBennett.com, a company committed to helping overwhelmed creatives and frustrated overachievers get unstuck. Sam is also a popular course instructor on LinkedIn Learning with over a million class participants worldwide.

In this conversation, we talk about her journey of modeling the 15-minute method while completing the book, the way arts and humanities can disrupt disengagement in the workplace, and the myth of laziness and overwhelm.

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