This is a conversation that ends the season the way it was meant to: together.

In This Episode:

• Why fear that's warning you tends to get more specific when you look directly at it, and what to do with that list.
• The difference between uncertainty and risk, and why we keep collapsing them into the same feeling.
• Why "I wasn't ready" is almost always the honest answer, and why that doesn't mean you shouldn't go.
• What happens between day 30 and 60 after leaving, and why that emotional unraveling is actually a sign your body finally feels safe.
• How to price your work when your entire sense of worth has been shaped by institutions that underpaid you.
• The hidden cost of borrowed identity, and what it means when the panic of losing a logo tells you how much of yourself you quietly handed over.
• Why grief can do bad math for us, and the only way to find out those years were ever really yours to begin with.
• What it looks like to break generational chains, not by rejecting where you came from, but by moving with the same boldness your parents had to survive.

You don't build a self from scratch.The company just rented you the storefront and let you forget that you're you.

Clarity comes through doing, not waiting.And this journey was never meant to be a solo one.

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•Follow Vivianne on LinkedIn for more reflections on courage, entrepreneurship, and building a life that actually fits you.

•More on Rachael Dietkus LCSW: Rachael is an internationally recognized leader in trauma-informed design, civic tech ethics, and care-centered public interest technology. As founder of Social Workers Who Design, she works at the intersection of design, social work, and systems change, helping organizations build ethical, sustainable, and trauma-responsive practices that support both people and impact.

•Vincent Brathwaite is a Caribbean American multi-disciplinary design leader, educator, and speaker. For the past two decades, he has worked to transform communities through disruptive design thinking. Driven by integrity, empathy, kindness, courage, and resilience, his mission is to design experiences that help leaders positively impact the world.

•Behzod Sirjani is a consultant who is regularly sought out to navigate complex challenges, whether that's helping a fast-growing startup drive growth or a large public company restructure their innovation practice.

Through Yet Another Studio, Behzod partners with companies ranging from small startups to industry leaders like Figma and Dropbox to build and scale research practices that drive better decision-making and growth. He is also a Program Partner at Reforge, where he built the "User Insights for Product Decisions" and "Effective Customer Conversations" programs and a venture partner at el cap.

This is a reframe of what security, hope, and walking out actually mean.

In This Episode:

• Why most people aren't afraid of leaving, they're experiencing learned helplessness, and why that's something you can work with

• The difference between helplessness and powerlessness, and why naming it matters

• Why security isn't something you're given, it's something you build

• How hope works less like a feeling and more like a discipline, a muscle, a set of choices

• What it actually means for hope to need a plan, a path, and people

• The hidden cost of mistaking stagnation for stability, paid in identity, skills, time, health, and freedom

• Why anger, when it's honest, is information and not something to suppress (and why courage is what it needs next)

You're allowed to stop frantically mopping and reach for the plug. You're allowed to treat financial planning as a way to make hope durable, not as a lack of faith. And you're allowed to see grief as a hallway, a transition space, not a place to take up residence.

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Resources Mentioned:

• Join The Walkout — a 2.5-day experience for UX and tech professionals exploring entrepreneurship.

• Follow Vivianne on LinkedIn for more reflections on courage, entrepreneurship, and building a life that actually fits you.

Vivianne breaks down the hidden habits corporate trains into us and how those same patterns quietly sabotage entrepreneurship, creativity, pricing, boundaries, and growth.

Because leaving your job is one thing.
Detoxing from the mindset is another.

In This Episode:

• The difference between leaving corporate and actually thinking like an entrepreneur.
• Why so many founders are unknowingly rebuilding another version of the cage they escaped.
• The 10 toxic corporate habits that quietly sabotage entrepreneurship.
• How approval-seeking, overworking, and perfectionism follow people into business.
• Why pricing too low is often a symptom of undervaluing yourself.
• The danger of measuring success by busyness instead of impact.
• Why “playing small to stay safe” slowly kills momentum.

Vivianne also shares practical reframes and replacement habits to help you start building differently.

If you’ve been stuck in overthinking, waiting for permission or trying to build something new with the same habits that burned you out … This episode will resonate.

If this replay helped, share it with someone still detoxing from corporate thinking.

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• Join The Walkout — a 2.5-day experience for UX and tech professionals exploring entrepreneurship and building something of their own.
• Follow Vivianne on LinkedIn for more reflections on courage, entrepreneurship, and designing a life that actually fits you.

Vivianne sits down with her longtime assistant, Annie, for an honest conversation about delegation, systems, boundaries, and the mistakes founders make when they hire too early.

This is a real behind-the-scenes look at what healthy support inside a business can actually look like.

In This Episode:

• The difference between hiring from clarity vs. overwhelm.

• Why delegation fails when founders expect people to read their minds.

• What makes a great assistant beyond just technical skills.

• How systems, SOPs, and training create trust over time.

• The emotional side of letting go and learning to collaborate.

• Why assistants shouldn’t just be treated like “admin support.”

• The red flags assistants notice in founders (including constant urgency and micromanaging).

They also unpack a powerful truth: Hiring support won’t fix chaos, it reveals it.

You don’t need an assistant because you’re failing, you need support because you were never meant to carry everything alone.

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Resources Mentioned

• The Walkout (June 3–5) — a 2.5-day experience for UX and tech professionals exploring entrepreneurship and building sustainable businesses.

• Follow Vivianne on LinkedIn for more reflections on entrepreneurship, courage, and building businesses that actually fit your life.

Vivianne sits down with AI expert Ovetta Sampson to break down why AI outputs feel “off,” what it’s actually costing your creativity, and how to take back control so your work reflects your voice and values. Ovetta Sampson is a 15-year veteran of designing intelligent experiences for some of the largest companies in the world and Business Insider named her one of the top 15 people in Enterprise AI.

This is a grounded, no-hype conversation about using AI without losing yourself in the process.

In This Episode:

• Why AI outputs often feel generic, flat, or “off.”

• The “median trap” and how AI pulls everything toward mediocrity.

• Why AI is optimized for reward and agreement, not truth or quality.

• The hidden cost of AI on your voice, trust, and creative identity.

• How over-relying on AI can quietly erode what makes your work unique.

• The difference between knowledge vs. wisdom (and why AI needs yours).

• Why better prompts aren’t enough and what actually works instead.

Ovetta also reframes AI as a tool you govern, not something you follow.

If you’ve been feeling frustrated with AI (or worried it’s flattening your voice), this is your reminder: AI doesn’t replace your creativity but it will dilute it if you let it.

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Resources Mentioned:

• Ovetta Sampson’s Mindful AI Masterclass: frameworks for designing AI that aligns with human values.

• Join The Walkout June 3rd - June 5th: a 2.5-day experience for creatives exploring building something of their own.

  
  Ovetta Sampson is a 15-year veteran in intelligent experience design and a Business Insider Top 15 leader in Enterprise AI. She’s the founder of Right AI, where she helps organizations implement AI in equitable, sustainable, and ethical ways while calling attention to the Human Engagement Risks of AI.

Vivianne sits down with Rachael Dietkus LCSW to unpack what actually happens after you leave: the patterns, grief, and identity shifts no one prepares you for.

This is a conversation about what it really takes to heal, rebuild, and trust yourself again.

In this episode:

• The invisible patterns you carry out of corporate (even after you leave).
• Why autonomy can feel uncomfortable after years of seeking permission.
• How hypervigilance, overperformance, and people-pleasing follow you into your next chapter.
• Why leaving often feels worse before it feels better.
• The role of grief, disorientation, and identity loss after you walk away.
• How corporate conditioning shapes your nervous system.
• What it actually looks like to heal from corporate (beyond surface-level fixes).

They also explore a powerful reframe: What if the behaviors you’re judging yourself for… were never flaws, but survival patterns?

You didn’t just leave a job, you left a system your body learned how to survive in.

So if it feels messy… disorienting… or harder than expected…
You’re not doing it wrong.

You’re unwinding patterns that took years to build.

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More on Rachael Dietkus LCSW: Rachael is an internationally recognized leader in trauma-informed design, civic tech ethics, and care-centered public interest technology. As founder of Social Workers Who Design, she works at the intersection of design, social work, and systems change, helping organizations build ethical, sustainable, and trauma-responsive practices that support both people and impact.

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Resources Mentioned

• The Walkout (June 3–5) — 2.5 days with an expert team (attorney, accountant, health insurance specialist) and entrepreneurs who left corporate and built something worth leaving for.

• How To Prototype Your Purpose In 30 Days free download
• Book | Time Off by John Fitch and Max Frenzel

Vivianne breaks down the real cost of staying in misaligned work and why the riskiest decision might not be leaving, but waiting.

This is a reality check on what your spreadsheet isn’t tracking.

In This Episode:

• The truth behind the “two truths and a lie” about leaving corporate.
• Why spreadsheets track money but miss what actually matters.
• The three hidden costs of staying: emotional, financial, and identity.
• How resentment turns into numbness (and why that’s dangerous).
• Why a salary is a ceiling, not a floor.
• How waiting for the “right time” is often fear in disguise.
• The difference between familiarity and real safety.

Vivianne also shares the truth:
Leaving wasn’t the biggest financial risk staying was.

You’re not just deciding when to leave.You’re deciding how long you’re willing to delay becoming who you’re meant to be.

Because the real cost isn’t just time or money.It’s the version of you that never gets built.

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Resources Mentioned:

• The Walkout (June 3–5) — a 2.5-day experience to help you build your exit with real support.
• Free Live Session: (April 17) 2pm - 3pm EST -Leaving isn’t the hard part. This is. with Rachael Dietkus, LCSW 

Vivianne shares what happened when she removed the noise, got quiet, and finally created space to hear herself again. What came up wasn’t just clarity, it was grief, honesty, and a different way of building.

This is a reset.

In This Episode:

•What happened when Vivianne deleted social media and removed constant input.

•Why most of us are living in a constant state of noise and distraction.

•The unexpected emotions that surfaced in the quiet (including grief).

•How productivity culture ties your worth to your output.

•The difference between doing more vs. doing the right things.

•Why clarity only comes when you create space for it.

Vivianne also shares what she’s building over the next 90 days, not from pressure, but from clarity.

What She’s Building:

•A LinkedIn series: Day One - telling the truth about leaving corporate.

•A series of free webinars and workshops designed to be genuinely helpful.

•The Walkout (June 3–5), a 2.5-day experience for people ready to build something of their own.

All rooted in one intention:

Not more noise, more good.

If you’ve been feeling the pressure to do more…

To be everywhere…

To keep producing…

This is your reminder:

You’re allowed to get quiet.

You’re allowed to strip things back.

And you’re allowed to build from clarity instead of fear.

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If this resonated, share it with someone who needs space to hear themselves again.

• Follow Vivianne on LinkedIn for more reflections on courage, business, and building something that actually fits your life.
• Join The Walkout a 2.5-day experience for UX and tech professionals exploring entrepreneurship

Vivianne sits down with her attorney and longtime business partner, Patrice Perkins, to break down the legal side of entrepreneurship in a way that actually feels practical, not overwhelming.

From protecting your brand to navigating AI and ownership, this conversation will help you take your work more seriously and more strategically.

In This Episode:

• The most common legal mistakes entrepreneurs make early on.

• Why protecting your brand (trademarks) should be a top priority.

• How contracts impact ownership, pricing, and long-term leverage.

• The difference between trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets.

• How to protect your IP when working with contractors and collaborators.

• What entrepreneurs need to know about AI, ownership, and legal gray areas.

• Why many legal issues are actually identity and value problems in disguise.

This conversation is a mix of real examples, live Q&A, and practical insights from entrepreneurs building in real time.

If you’re creating something, growing something, or protecting something…

This is your reminder: Your ideas are valuable. Your work is worth protecting. And how you build matters.

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Resources Mentioned

• The Lab (Patrice’s legal membership community) ongoing legal support, contract guidance, and office hours.

If this resonated, share it with someone who’s building something of their own.

• Follow Vivianne on LinkedIn for more reflections on courage, business, and building something that actually fits your life.

• Join The Walkout a 2.5-day experience for UX and tech professionals exploring entrepreneurship

Inspired by the book Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber, Vivianne explores why so many people feel disconnected from their work and why that feeling might not be a personal failure at all.

Sometimes the problem isn’t your motivation.Sometimes the problem is the system.

In This Episode:

• What David Graeber means by a “bullshit job.”

• The difference between a bad job and a pointless job.

• The five categories of meaningless work Graeber identifies.

• Why many essential jobs are underpaid while performative work is rewarded.

• How busyness can function as a form of social control.

• Why feeling disconnected from your work might actually be a rational response.

Vivianne also shares a simple exercise to help you see your work more clearly:Write down what you actually do each day and ask yourself what would really change if the role disappeared.

Sometimes discomfort isn’t failure.Sometimes it’s information.

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Resources Mentioned

• Book referenced in the episode:Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber.

• The Walkout (June 3–5) — a 2.5-day experience for UX and tech professionals exploring entrepreneurship:https://jointhewalkout.com

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If this episode resonated, share it with someone who’s been quietly questioning their work.

Follow Vivianne on LinkedIn for more reflections on courage, work, and building a life that actually feels meaningful.

Vivianne challenges one of the most dangerous stories we tell ourselves: that there will be more time later. Because for many people, someday becomes a coping mechanism that keeps them tolerating work and routines that no longer fit.

This episode is a wake-up call to stop postponing your life.

In This Episode:

• Why “someday” is often a coping mechanism, not a real plan.

• How corporate environments quietly train you to delay your life.

• Why promotions, raises, and milestones keep moving the goalposts.

• The hidden cost of waiting for the “right time.”

• Why the version of you who will be ready someday doesn’t actually exist.

• The difference between rest that restores you and waiting that stalls you.

Vivianne also introduces two simple tools to break the “someday” habit:

• The Honest Timeline Audit — to see exactly where you’ve been postponing your life.

• The 72-Hour Rule — one small action that moves a dream from someday to started.

Because once something is started, the energy changes.

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Resources Mentioned

• The Walkout (June 3–5) — a 2.5-day experience for UX and tech professionals exploring entrepreneurship:https://jointhewalkout.com

• Book referenced in the episode:Experiential Billionaire by Bridget Hilton & Joe Huff.

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If this episode resonated, share it with someone who’s been waiting for “the right time.”

Follow Vivianne on LinkedIn for more reflections on courage, work, and building a life that actually feels like yours.

Vivianne Castillo sits down with Lauren Celenza, software designer, writer, and interview journalist, to dive deep into the power of community, creativity, and reimagining the future of work and life. From festivals to entrepreneurship, from reclaiming imagination to questioning the way we use our time, this conversation is an invitation to step out of the mundane and into something more alive.

Expect an unfiltered conversation about:

• The courage to reclaim agency in a world that discourages imagination

• Why festivals, not conferences, might be the future of innovation

• How the passing of time is the only certainty and why that should push you toward change

• How small steps, not perfect plans, build the foundation for bold moves

• Why creativity isn't a luxury but a necessity for meaningful connection

If you’ve ever felt the pull toward something bigger but found yourself hesitating, consider this your sign to start. The future isn’t waiting for perfection, it’s built by those willing to take the first step.

Hit play and let’s get into it.

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• If this episode resonated, share it with an entrepreneur who’s tired of grinding and ready to build something that actually feels good.

• Follow Vivianne on LinkedIn for more reflections on courage, creativity, and regenerative entrepreneurship.

In this episode, Vivianne Castillo, Founder and CEO of HmntyCntrd and moonpaws, and Ash Coleman Hynie, Founder and CEO of CountrPT, talk about the uncomfortable, the unspoken, and the unapologetic realities of money, power, and persistence. No fluff. No clichés. Just straight talk and real strategies.

They cover topics like:

• Why fundraising feels personal and how to stop making it that way

• The silent treatment: when friends ghost your investment ask

• The biggest lies we’ve been told about money, power, and success

• Why not all money is good money and when to say no• The unspoken power moves that separate struggling entrepreneurs from thriving ones

• How shifting your mindset can open doors (and bank accounts)

Whether you’re a founder navigating your first raise, an entrepreneur shifting your money mindset, or just someone tired of the same old "hustle harder" advice, this is for you.

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• If this episode resonated, share it with an entrepreneur who’s tired of grinding and ready to build something that actually feels good.

• Follow Vivianne on LinkedIn for more reflections on courage, creativity, and regenerative entrepreneurship.

Vivianne and Vincent unpack the fear hidden inside responsibility, the psychology of sunk costs, and why staying put is often just practiced survival, not alignment.

This is a conversation about identity, agency, and what becomes possible when you stop confusing familiarity with safety.

In This Episode, We Explore:

• Why “too deep in” is usually attachment, not reality.

• The sunk cost fallacy and how it distorts your future.

• How identity gets fused with your job and why that makes leaving feel like self-erasure.

• Why exhaustion shrinks your imagination.

• The difference between certainty in place and uncertainty in motion.

• How corporate systems quietly train learned helplessness.

• Why movement creates clarity that standing still never can.

They also explore a simple but confronting shift: Instead of asking what you’ve already invested… ask what you want the next 10–15 years to feel like.

If you’ve been waiting to feel ready, calling misalignment “practical” or have been telling yourself you should just endure, this episode is just a friendly reminder that you’re not behind.

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•If this episode resonated, share it with an entrepreneur who’s tired of grinding and ready to build something that actually feels good.

•Follow Vivianne on LinkedIn for more reflections on courage, creativity, and regenerative entrepreneurship.

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Resources Mentioned

Vivianne shares two practical tools to help you move from reflection to action:

•Life Audit Workbook from Episode 19, designed to help you spot misalignment before burnout and reclaim your agency.

•Prototype Your Purpose (30-Day Framework) from Episode 23, a step-by-step guide to stop “finding” purpose and start experimenting your way toward clarity.

In this honest conversation, Vivianne and Vincent explore the hidden beliefs that keep so many designers in place, including:

The arrival fallacy: believing you’ll feel ready once you learn one more thing.

•How “I just need more information” can mask fear of movement.

•Why stability is often labeled responsible, even when it’s draining you.

•How gratitude can quietly become a leash.

•The fear of “starting over” and having to prove yourself again.

•Staying past alignment because leaving feels like failure.

•The difference between protecting your comfort and expanding your life.

They also challenge a hard question: When you’re afraid of failing… failing in the eyes of whom?

Because many designers aren’t lacking courage … they’ve simply been taught that staying still is the responsible choice.

If you’ve been carrying quiet dissatisfaction but calling it practicality…

If you’ve been waiting to feel “ready”…

If you’ve been telling yourself you should just be grateful…

This conversation will resonate.

You don’t have to endure what no longer fits.

And choosing yourself isn’t recklessness, it’s precision.

__________

•If this episode resonated, share it with an entrepreneur who’s tired of grinding and ready to build something that actually feels good.

•Follow Vivianne on LinkedIn for more reflections on courage, creativity, and regenerative entrepreneurship.

This isn’t just about leaving a company. It’s about choosing yourself before something essential in you disappears.

In this deeply personal episode, Vivianne revisits the resignation letter she wrote when she left Salesforce and reflects on how the same cultural patterns continue to surface years later.

But this episode isn’t a corporate takedown ... it's a broader conversation about:

• What it costs to stay in environments that don’t protect you.

• How toxic systems require your self-abandonment to function.

• The difference between confidence and conviction.

• Why the “safe” choice is often just the familiar one.

• What it actually means to bet on yourself.

If you’ve been carrying a quiet resignation letter in your head, this conversation will resonate and help you choose you.

And if you’re in a season of questioning what’s next and want a space to talk it through, Vivianne invites you to book a 30-minute conversation at here.

Because sometimes choosing yourself starts with simply saying out loud: “There has to be more than this.”

_______________________

If this episode resonated, share it with someone who needs permission to choose themselves and don’t forget to leave a review to help others discover Choose Courage Inc💙

At its core, this episode is about replacing fear-driven avoidance with courageous conversation. Not to close deals but to practice, learn, and build real momentum.

From there, she introduces a clear distinction:

• Inbound is about being found.

• Outbound is about being willing

This episode focuses on outbound, not as chasing or convincing, but as relational courage in action.

-The Three-Circle Framework for Aligned Outreach:Rather than starting with strangers, Vivianne encourages entrepreneurs to begin with proximity and trust.

-A Different Way to Think About Discovery Calls: This episode challenges the pressure-filled belief that every call must turn into a client.

-Outreach Without the Ick: Rather than scripts that manipulate or pressure, Vivianne shares principles behind outreach that feels clean.

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If this episode resonated and you want support putting it into practice, download the outreach templates and choose one message to send this week.

You don’t need to do everything. You just need to start.

In this episode, Vivianne is joined by designer-turned-entrepreneur Vincent Brathwaite for a grounded, honest conversation exploring today’s question: Can you really build an anti-capitalist business under capitalism, or are we just performing opting out? 

Together, they unpack the difference between capitalism and commerce, the subtle ways extraction shows up even in values-led businesses, and what it looks like to design work rooted in care, courage, and creativity instead of burnout and exploitation.

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If this conversation resonated, please consider sharing this episode with an entrepreneur who’s tired of the grind and ready to build something that actually feels good to run. It might be the nudge and encouragement that they need.

And if you’re feeling the pull toward the Creative Rebellion but aren’t sure how to redesign your business without burning it all down, explore how we can support you at choosecourageinc.com.

Remember: you don’t have to build differently alone.

In this episode, Vivianne Castillo, Founder and CEO of Choose Courage Inc. and moonpaws, and Ash Coleman Hynie, Founder and CEO of CountrPT, talk about the uncomfortable, the unspoken, and the unapologetic realities of money, power, and persistence. No fluff. No clichés. Just straight talk and real strategies.

They cover topics like:

• Why fundraising feels personal and how to stop making it that way• The silent treatment: when friends ghost your investment ask• The biggest lies we’ve been told about money, power, and success• Why not all money is good money and when to say no• The unspoken power moves that separate struggling entrepreneurs from thriving ones• How shifting your mindset can open doors (and bank accounts)

Whether you’re a founder navigating your first raise, an entrepreneur shifting your money mindset, or just someone tired of the same old "hustle harder" advice, this is for you.

______

• If this episode resonated, share it with an entrepreneur who’s tired of grinding and ready to build something that actually feels good.

• Follow Vivianne on LinkedIn for more reflections on courage, creativity, and regenerative entrepreneurship.

Sometimes the questions come directly from our community. Other times, they’re the exact questions we’re asking ourselves in real time. Either way, the goal isn’t to teach you how to do business “the right way”, it’s about doing it with courage, clarity, and care.

In this episode, Vivianne is joined by her friend and designer-turned-entrepreneur Vincent Brathwaite for a grounded, honest conversation about money & risk as they answer today’s question: “Are you too broke to start a business or too broke NOT to?"

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Join our email list to stay in the loop on new podcast episodes, freebies, and other experiences related to challenging the status quo of entrepreneurship here.

This season is about movement over motivation. It’s for people who are done enduring, done over-explaining their burnout, and ready to design what comes next with intention, honesty, and support.

Episodes this season will alternate between solo reflections and grounded conversations with people who have receipts, not highlight reels. You’ll also hear shorter midweek Real Talk episodes where real questions about leaving corporate, entrepreneurship, money, fear, and identity get answered without fluff or false promises.

If you’re questioning your work, your path, or the story you’ve been told about stability and success, you’re in the right place. This season is an invitation to treat hope not as a feeling, but as a practice.

____________________________

In this powerful panel session from The Walkout, Vivianne Castillo shares a deeply reflective and practical framework for rethinking work, stability, and entrepreneurship. Drawing from her background in counseling, design, and building a seven-figure consultancy, Vivianne challenges the belief that endurance equals success and invites listeners to stop “frantically mopping” broken systems.

She introduces hope not as wishful thinking, but as a discipline supported by three essential elements: a plan, a path, and people. This episode blends storytelling, nervous-system-aware insights, and concrete business guidance for anyone contemplating a move beyond corporate life.

Hope as a Discipline: The Three Essentials:

• A Plan (Financial Reality)

• A Path (Clear Enough to Start)
• People (Community as Infrastructure)

Redefining Security and Success:

• Traditional corporate “stability” is often a false promise dependent on external approval.

• True security comes from skills, adaptability, relationships, and self-trust.

• Staying solely out of fear can cost you time, health, creativity, and freedom.

  
  

  Who This Episode Is For:

• Professionals burned out from corporate environments

• High performers questioning whether they’re the problem

• Aspiring or early-stage entrepreneurs seeking a grounded exit strategy

• Anyone navigating grief, anger, or loss of identity from toxic work experiences

Walking out is not about impulsively quitting or burning everything down: it’s about choosing yourself with intention. Whether you stay in corporate while building, leave soon, or redefine your path entirely, this episode offers a compassionate and strategic framework for reclaiming agency, rebuilding hope, and designing a life and livelihood that actually support you.

And if something in this conversation stirred you, I'd like to invite you to honor it.

Please consider sharing this episode with someone who might need permission to imagine something different💙And when you’re ready, explore what’s possible at choosecourageinc.com

In this final episode of 2025, Vivianne dismantles two dominant but broken narratives: the myth of corporate loyalty and the fantasy that entrepreneurship is inherently freeing or less risky. She argues that both employment and entrepreneurship carry risk, but only one is honest about it.

From that tension, she introduces six rules designed to help you stop outsourcing your security and start building it yourself, whether you stay employed, start a business, or do both in parallel. This is not about quitting your job tomorrow. It’s about clarity, leverage, and long-term self-trust.

The Six Rules:

1. Your Job Is a Loan, Not a Career. Employment is a transaction, not a relationship. Treat your job like capital you’re borrowing to build skills, savings, and insight.

2. Your Side Hustle Should Scare You More Than Your Day Job. If it’s completely safe and comfortable, it’s probably a hobby. A real side hustle carries stakes: emotional, reputational, financial, or temporal.

3. Stop Waiting to Be Ready, You’re Already Overqualified. Many high performers underestimate themselves when working for themselves while confidently handling massive responsibility at work. The gap isn’t skill, it’s conviction.

4. Your Corporate Job Is Teaching You What Not to Build. Every frustration is data. Every inefficiency is market research. Most people vent; strategic thinkers document.

5. Entrepreneurship Isn’t Riskier Than Employment, It’s Just Honest. Employment feels stable because risk is hidden and outsourced. Entrepreneurship feels risky because decisions (and responsibility) are visible.

6. Work Your Job Like a Consultant, Not an Employee. You can keep an employee title while adopting a consultant mindset: clear deliverables, documented impact, firm boundaries, and emotional distance.

Vivianne closes the year with a reminder: courage is not one dramatic leap but a series of small, strategic choices. You don’t need permission to build a life with options. You need clarity, honesty about risk, and the willingness to invest in yourself consistently.

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If this episode resonated, share it with someone who’s quietly questioning their path. Sometimes clarity is contagious.

-Follow Vivianne on LinkedIn for grounded insights on courage, work, and building real security in uncertain times. 

-Download 6 Rules for Building the Life That You Want Workbook: a practical guide to reclaiming agency, reducing risk, and building what’s yours without dramatic leaps. This guide walks you through the same framework from the episode with clear prompts, exercises, and next steps you can apply immediately, right where you are.

-Join ⁠The Walkout⁠, an online 2-day experience from January 15th – January 16th for UX professionals interested in building a life and career outside of corporate without regret, guilt, or starting from scratch.

She opens up about perfectionism, imposter syndrome, and the tension between being detail-oriented and getting stuck. Vivianne reflects on her own entrepreneurial decisions, including the role of experimentation, intuition, and the discipline required to build something that lasts. And together, they unpack themes of authenticity, cultural stewardship, sustainability, and what it means to dream big without losing alignment.

What We Cover in This Episode

- How a single bold ask led Nikki to her first celebrity collaboration and transformed her brand.

- What it really takes to turn a passion project into a thriving, impactful platform.

- The creative tension between striving for excellence and knowing when to launch.

- How trusting your gut shapes better decisions in business and creativity.

- Essential lessons on protecting your ideas aka trademarks, ownership, and building real assets.

- And more!

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-Follow Vivianne for more conversations on courage, creativity, entrepreneurship, and building work that aligns with who you are becoming.

-Join ⁠The Walkout⁠, an online 2-day experience from January 15th – January 16th for UX professionals interested in building a life and career outside of corporate without regret, guilt, or starting from scratch.

-Nikki The Jeanius (formerly known as Nikki Billie Jean, born Nicolette Titilayo Oriji) is a Nigerian American editor-in-chief, fashion designer, creative director, and campaign/event producer based in the Washington, D.C. area. Of Yoruba-Igbo descent, Nikki’s journey into fashion began at Penn State, where she combined her love for African prints with formalwear design.

In 2012, she founded All Things Ankara, now the leading platform celebrating ankara print fashion through media, e-commerce, and major cultural events. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Huffington Post, Yahoo, Forbes, Essence, and more, and she’s collaborated with artists like Jidenna, Cardi B, Yemi Alade, and Kelly Rowland.

Nikki has been recognized as a trailblazer by Macy’s, curated fashion shows at Yale University, and earned multiple awards for her contributions to fashion and culture. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biobehavioral Health from Penn State.

Nikki’s story is one of creativity, cultural pride, and fearlessly turning passion into legacy.

In this episode, Vivianne sits down with Ava to explore her entrepreneurial journey, the evolution of Ava’s Pet Palace, and the collaboration between their two companies on the Cosmic Chews product line. Together, they discuss what it means to grow a business with integrity, how creativity and courage fuel each other, and how to stay rooted in values when opportunities and pressures increase.

Together Vivianne and Ava dive into:

•The moment her hobby transformed into a real company

•How her parents’ support shaped her courage and creativity

•Her evolving definition of success and why it has nothing to do with numbers

•How she handles anxiety, public speaking, and high-pressure moments

•Why comparison kills joy and creativity and what she does instead

•The magic of collaboration over competition (starring a pet astrology dog treat)

•Her belief that there’s no “right moment”, you create it

•Why community matters now more than ever as she opens Ava’s Pet Palace to investors

____________________________________________________________

If this conversation resonated with you, stay connected with the women behind it.

•Follow Ava to watch the evolution of Ava’s Pet Palace, her journey as a young CEO, and the values-driven entrepreneurship she’s modeling for the next generation.

•Follow Vivianne for grounded, courageous insights on leadership, creativity, and building businesses that nourish instead of deplete.

•Join The Walkout, an online 2-day experience from January 15th – January 16th for UX professionals interested in building a life and career outside of corporate without regret, guilt, or starting from scratch.

In this candid and deeply honest conversation, Vivianne and Dan share the real cost of alignment in business and the courage required to uphold it.

They unpack:

• How to recognize when a client relationship is misaligned.

• What it looks like to stand firm in your values even when it costs you financially.

• The difference between healthy discomfort and destructive erosion.

• Why trusting your gut is a skill, not a guessing game.

• How to navigate transitions when the next step isn’t clear.

• Why emotional clarity and business clarity are inseparable.

• The hidden power of defining “enough” for your life and work.

• How upbringing, cultural background, and spiritual frameworks shape our beliefs about work, suffering, and success.

• Why so many designers struggle with money, worthiness, and charging for their value.

• The importance of building a business model that nourishes instead of depletes.

• What courage looks like in everyday practice, not as heroics, but as alignment.

  
  

  Perfect For You If…

• You’re questioning whether the way you’re running your business is actually working for you.

• You’ve stayed in draining client relationships because you felt you “had to”.

• You’re craving more alignment, joy, and integrity in your work.

• You’re navigating transition and unsure what’s next.

• You're a designer or creative entrepreneur struggling with money and worth.

• You’re unlearning corporate conditioning and building toward something healthier.
  

If this episode resonated, share it with someone who’s ready to build with more clarity, courage, and self-trust.

-DAN MALL is a husband, dad, teacher, creative director, designer, founder, and entrepreneur from Philly. He helps designers get their flowers by teaching them about the business of design, leadership, systems, process, and craft. Dan runs Design System University to create, collect, and curate curriculum, content, and community to help enterprise teams design at scale. He also co-founded Great Job!, a platform that helps parents and caregivers design their own handbook for raising amazing kids. Previously, Dan ran design system consultancy SuperFriendly for over a decade. Dan writes weekly on site danmall.com and his weekly newsletter, and publishes bite-size tips and tricks to on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

-Follow Vivianne on LinkedIn for more courageous insights on work, mindset, and meaning.

-Join The Walkout, an online 2-day experience from January 15th – January 16th for UX professionals interested in building a life and career outside of corporate without regret, guilt, or starting from scratch.

Through honest storytelling and powerful reflection, Michael and Vivianne unpack the emotional, practical, and spiritual sides of starting over: confronting skill gaps, redefining success, unlearning grind culture, and learning to protect the sacred within business.

Together they explore:

-The difference between building a brand and building a business, and how creativity alone isn’t enough without sustainable systems.

-How entrepreneurs can mistake endurance for integrity and why betting on yourself sometimes means leaving comfort for alignment.

-The belief that “success and suffering are twins,” and how to untangle worth from work.

-Why rest should be a ritual, not a reward, and how honoring stillness sustains innovation.

-The daily tension between profit and peace and what it means to protect the sacred while scaling a business.

-How Tinycup became a quiet rebellion against extraction and speed, honoring the slower, communal coffee traditions of the Global South.

Michael also introduces new projects within Tinycup, including The Rest Shop (a collection designed to help people curate spaces of rest) and the upcoming ebook “Coffee Rest Rituals,” which guides readers in building intentional rituals using the five senses.

Vivianne and Michael close with a shared message for anyone navigating change: "You’re not starting from scratch, you’re starting from experience. Let your next chapter be messy, courageous, and aligned and build something that feels like peace."

Resources & Next Steps

-Explore Tinycup Coffee. Visit the Tinycup Rest Shop to discover products designed to help you create an environment of calm, restoration, and sensory grounding.

-Special Offer. Use code CHOOSECOURAGE25 at checkout for 25% off anything in The Rest Shop.

-Join ⁠The Walkout⁠, an online 2-day experience from January 15th - January 16th for UX professionals interested in building a life and career outside of corporate without regret, guilt, or starting from scratch.

In this deeply reflective and restorative conversation, Vivianne sits down with Nyam (a former tech leader turned sabbatical coach) to explore what it really takes to move from burnout to wholeness.

Nyam shares her breaking point in 2021, when even self-advocacy couldn’t protect her from exhaustion. Her turning point came after discovering stories of Black women taking sabbaticals as acts of liberation. That inspiration led her to step away from corporate life and take a one-year sabbatical across the U.S., Mexico, Portugal, Ghana, Colombia, and Spain.

Throughout their exchange, Vivianne and Nyam explore:

• How burnout often disguises itself as “success.”

• The difference between enduring and healing.

• What it means to live disconnected from your body and how rest restores that connection.

• Why travel can be both a mirror and a teacher for self-trust and intuition.

• The micro-betrayals we normalize at work (like apologizing for taking care of basic needs) and how they erode our sense of worth.

• The importance of community and support systems when taking extended leave or pursuing deep transformation.

They also discuss grief and anger as part of the healing process, reframing them as pathways toward reclamation rather than emotions to suppress. Vivianne introduces the idea that “rest isn’t the opposite of work, it’s the mirror that shows you why you’re working in the first place,” while Nyam reflects on turning pain into purpose and creating a business that nourishes rather than drains.

The episode closes with a conversation on redefining success through entrepreneurship, not as another grind, but as a creative, healing practice. Vivianne and Nyam challenge listeners to move from chasing “success” to cultivating fruitfulness: building lives and businesses rooted in courage, care, and creativity.

Find Nyam on LinkedIn, at nyamadodoadji.com, and on Substack at shespeakssoftly.substack.com. And enjoy her Burnout Reflection Guide for Tech Professionals here!

Learn more about Choose Courage Inc. at choosecourageinc.com and follow Vivianne on LinkedIn for more reflections on courage, creativity, and redefining success beyond the hustle.

Anna shares how her company grew from a deeply personal experience (caring for her terminally ill mother and realizing how harsh modern travel has become) into a mission to help people “arrive in better shape.” Together, she and Vivianne unpack what it means to unlearn corporate conditioning, trust slower rhythms of growth, and build businesses that restore rather than erode.

If you’ve ever felt torn between ambition and alignment, pressure and peace, or the need to keep proving versus the desire to feel whole, this episode will help you see that courage isn’t about doing more. It’s about becoming more honest with yourself.

The two discuss:

• The mindset shift from “grin and bear it” culture to crafting intentional comfort and agency, even in cramped airplane seats.

• The philosophy of active restoration and how entrepreneurs can design both products and lives that replenish energy instead of draining it.

• Why building a business requires unlearning the “never enough” mindset of corporate life and redefining what productivity and worth look like.

• How entrepreneurship mirrors personal growth, revealing our fears, attachments, and opportunities for healing.

• The emotional and financial mindset shifts required to move from employee thinking to founder thinking.

• Why courage isn’t about fearlessness, it’s about honesty, rest, and self-trust.

Throughout, Vivianne and Anna reflect on the healing potential of entrepreneurship when it’s approached not as a hustle, but as a mirror for becoming who you truly are.

Sign up for updates and travel restoration tips at softlanding.travel  and be the first to know when her brand officially launches under its new name.

Choose Courage Inc. helps entrepreneurs build businesses that heal rather than harm, models rooted in care, courage, and creativity. Join the community or explore group coaching at choosecourageinc.com.

Melanie also shares how TOPISMA serves the LGBTQIA2S+ community and allies through sustainable styling, secondhand fashion, and co-creative processes that help clients express their truest selves.

Vivianne and Melanie discuss:

• The emotional crash after a layoff and divorce and what it means to start over with nothing but courage.

• How corporate systems teach self-abandonment and how entrepreneurship can become a mirror for healing that.

• Shifting from scarcity and control to self-trust and alignment.

• Redefining wealth as rhythm, rest, time, and presence, not just money.

• Clothing as a tool for self-love, confidence, and embodiment.

• How entrepreneurship reveals your deepest stories about worth and safety and how to choose alignment over approval.

• Building a business rooted in tenderness, sustainability, and collaboration.

• Why community, rest, and experimentation are essential to creative entrepreneurship.

If You Enjoyed This Episode:

• Share it with a friend rebuilding after burnout, a creative seeking alignment, or anyone learning to trust their voice again.
• Leave a review to help more people find Choose Courage Inc. and remember: your business can be your healing.

________________________

About Melanie and TOPISMA

TOPISMA is a Seattle-based personal styling practice offering wardrobe experiences designed around humanity, healing, and creative sustainability. Melanie helps clients reconnect with themselves through clothing that honors identity, body, and story, sourcing primarily from secondhand pieces, upcycled fashion, and local designers.

Learn more or book a session:  www.topisma.com

Instagram: @topisma_seattle

If you’ve ever felt disillusioned with corporate culture, burned out by creative constraints, or betrayed by institutions that claimed to care, this episode offers a way forward: through curiosity, endurance, and the courage to build something new.

Together, they explore:

• The moments of “faked hope” : when you keep showing up even as you secretly lose faith in what you’re building.

• Kevin’s story of hustling within the walls of Nike, side-designing his way toward creative freedom, and how his son’s birth became the catalyst to finally leap toward grad school and a life-altering path.

• The question every creator must face: What am I willing to sacrifice for alignment? and what “sacrifice” actually means when it’s done for healing, not depletion.

• Vivianne’s powerful reflection on how the evangelical church and corporate UX culture mirror each other: both claiming to care about people while often upholding exclusion and hierarchy.

• The realization that creativity is where you stop faking hope and start building it.

• Follow Kevin Bethune on LinkedIn for insights on design, creativity, and human-centered innovation.

  Follow Vivianne on LinkedIn for reflections on courage, creativity, and regenerative entrepreneurship.

  Visit Choose Courage Inc. to join the community of entrepreneurs and creatives building with care, courage, and creativity.

Through vivid storytelling and real client examples, we unveil the Courage Over Comfort Spectrum, a model that helps founders see where their business truly lives: Are you building something that nourishes you, or something that quietly erodes you?

If you’ve been feeling burnt out, overextended, or stuck in a business that looks good on paper but feels hollow, this episode is your compass back to alignment.

Vivianne breaks down the four quadrants of entrepreneurship (from the extraction engine that runs on depletion to the creative rebellion that runs on care, courage, and creativity) and shows how to move from burnout to freedom with intention and integrity.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The Courage Over Comfort Spectrum: The horizontal axis from extractive capitalism → regenerative commerce and the vertical axis from entrepreneurship as erosion → entrepreneurship as healing.

• Why most entrepreneurs end up miserable: not because they’re failing, but because they’re replicating the same toxic systems they tried to escape.

• The four quadrants of entrepreneurship (e.g. The Extraction Engine, The Conscious Collapse, The Compromised Cause, and The Creative Rebellion)

• How to know which quadrant you’re in: What your calendar and bank account reveal about your real priorities.

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TLDR

Your business can be your protest.Your business can be your practice.Your business can be your liberation.

The Creative Rebellion is not a quick fix, it’s a long game of care, courage, and creativity. If this resonated with you:

• Send it to an entrepreneur who’s tired of the grind and ready to build something that actually feels good.
• Follow Vivianne on LinkedIn for more reflections on courage, creativity, and regenerative entrepreneurship.
• And finally, please leave a review if this resonated, it helps others discover Choose Courage Inc. and join the movement toward businesses built with care, courage, and creativity.

If you’ve been feeling stretched thin, stuck in reaction mode, or overwhelmed by all the noise, then this episode is your reset. Through powerful storytelling, Stoic wisdom, and real-life examples from running two companies, Vivianne shows you how to cut through the chaos, reclaim your focus, and make meaningful progress without burning out.

And no, these aren’t cute productivity hacks, these are mindset practices that will help you stop spiraling, start focusing on what truly matters, and rebuild momentum one intentional action at a time.

• Why modern chaos requires ancient wisdom and how Stoicism can help you stay grounded.

• How to identify your main thing (and the uncomfortable truth about what your calendar and bank account reveal).

• The art of subtraction: how doing less creates more clarity and impact.

• How to build the discipline of protection aka guarding your priorities from distractions, urgency, and other people’s expectations.

• The surprising reason you procrastinate and how “eating your frog” dismantles avoidance and stress.

• A 30-day plan to integrate both mindset shifts into your personal and professional life:

  • Days 1–7: Identify what truly matters.

  • Days 8–14: Protect it ruthlessly.

  • Days 15–21: Eat one frog a day.

  • Days 22–30: Refine your rhythm.

• What the Stoics called eudaimonia (aka a life well-lived) and how these practices get you there.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re doing a lot but not moving forward, this episode will hit home. You’ll learn how to stop chasing every shiny opportunity, stop avoiding the hard things, and finally create a rhythm of clarity and calm progress.

This isn’t about hustling harder ... it’s about focusing smarter.
You’ll walk away with a new lens for decision-making, a simple structure for momentum, and the reminder that the obstacle isn’t in your way, it is the way.

• Share this episode with a friend who’s been feeling scattered or stuck in survival mode.

• Follow Vivianne on LinkedIn for more courageous insights on work, mindset, and meaning.

• Please leave a review if this episode resonated! It helps others find Choose Courage Inc. and join this movement of building lives that align with courage, clarity, and care.

TLDR: This episode is for anyone who looks successful on paper but feels lost in their own life and for those ready to stop chasing the dream job and start building a brave life instead.

In this vulnerable and hyper-practical episode Vivianne Castillo — Founder and CEO of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HmntyCntrd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠moonpaws⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — cracks open the glossy façade of what society sells as the “dream job.” From a life in corporate UX that looked perfect on paper to building a purpose-led business and life in Mexico, Vivianne shares her raw journey of confronting burnout, rediscovering agency, and choosing courage over comfort.

This episode isn’t about entrepreneurship as a quick fix, it’s about internal revolution. Vivianne weaves together stories, truths, and shares some of the transformative practices she teaches to her clients (The Body Truth Audit, The Identity Archeology Dig, and The Relationship Audit) to help them get radically honest about what’s no longer serving them and start building lives they don’t need to escape from.

This episode covers: 

• How your body keeps score when you’re out of alignment

• The truth about stress weight and soul-crushing jobs

• The identity crisis after leaving corporate titles behind

• Why healing is essential to build a brave life and how to begin

• How childhood patterns keep us seeking worth through achievement

• Letting go of prestige, salary, and reputation to choose peace

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Join our 3-month entrepreneurship group coaching program designed to help you overcome self-doubt, build an entrepreneurial mindset, and launch a business that aligns with your passion and purpose. Learn more before registration closes ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

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Choose Courage Inc. is a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HmntyCntrd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ brand and this podcast is sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CountrPT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• Why leaving corporate is easy, but leaving the programming takes years.

• The 10 most toxic corporate habits holding you back:

  1. Seeking permission to exist.

  2. Trading time for money.

  3. Avoiding risk at all costs.

  4. Waiting for perfect conditions.

  5. Measuring success by busy-ness.

  6. Seeking external validation.

  7. Following someone else’s blueprint.

  8. Avoiding difficult conversations.

  9. Hoarding information.

  10. Playing small to stay safe.

      
      

• The replacement habits that help you reclaim authority, price for transformation, take intelligent risks, and scale your impact.

• Why your nervous system will resist at first and how to stay committed through discomfort.

• A practical 4-week Detox Action Plan to help you audit your habits, make small shifts, find accountability, and document your progress.

• What becomes possible when you stop operating like an employee and start thinking like an entrepreneur.

  
  

  Why You Should Listen

  If you’ve ever left corporate and still feel like you’re stuck in overwork, undercharging, or waiting for permission, this episode will be a wake-up call. You’ll walk away with a new operating system one designed not for compliance and survival but for creativity, impact, and growth.

  This isn’t about perfection. It’s about progress. Each habit you detox creates space for the entrepreneur you’re becoming.

  _________________

  Resources & Next Steps

  -Share this episode with a friend who’s making the leap from corporate to entrepreneurship.

  -Follow Vivianne on LinkedIn for more courageous insights on work, life, and building meaningful paths.

  -Show some love if this episode resonated with you and leave a review to help spread the word about Choose Courage Inc.!

And we're wasting no time and are jumping right into it with the realization that we’ve been sold a lie: that purpose is something you find: a mystical treasure hunt revealed through journaling, passion quizzes, or waiting for lightning bolt clarity. In this episode, Vivianne calls BS on the “purpose industry” and introduces a practical, action-driven alternative: prototyping your purpose in 30 days.

Instead of waiting for certainty, you’ll learn how to create clarity through small experiments, guided by your body’s truth and lived experience. Vivianne shares a step-by-step 4-week framework (plus a powerful case study) that shows how anyone can build meaning by testing, iterating, and learning in real time. Download your the free workbook discussed in this episode here.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why “finding” purpose keeps you stuck in perfectionism, overthinking, and avoidance.

• How to reframe purpose as prototyping, treating your life like a startup and gathering data through action.

• The Body Truth Audit: listening to your body’s signals as a compass for alignment.

• The 30-Day Micro-Bet Framework, including:

  • Week 1: Energy Archaeology — discover what fuels vs. drains you.

  • Week 2: Problem Magnet Test — track what problems you can’t stop caring about.

  • Week 3: Micro-Bet Laboratory — design small experiments to test meaning.

  • Week 4: Integration & Next Iteration — synthesize learnings and design your next prototype.

• A real-life case study of how one woman went from a miserable corporate role to building a fulfilling consulting practice through experimentation.

• Practical tools like the Two-Week Test, the 10-10-10 Rule, the Wise Friend Test, and Energy Accounting to support better decision-making.

• Why engagement matters more than passion when it comes to meaningful work.

• How to deal with fear, financial pressure, and other people’s opinions when trying new paths.

Why You Should Listen

If you’ve been spinning your wheels searching for your “true calling,” this episode will give you a liberating new perspective. You don’t need a perfect plan or cosmic revelation. You need experiments. Purpose isn’t something you discover: it’s something you build.

• Try Vivianne’s 30-Day Micro-Bet Framework and commit to 4 weeks of experiments and gather your own clarity data. Download the workbook for free here.

• Share this episode with a friend who’s feeling stuck in “purpose paralysis.”

• Follow Vivianne on LinkedIn for more courageous insights on work, life, and building meaningful paths.

💙 And if this episode resonated with you, we'd love it if you left a review and helped spread the word about Choose Courage Inc. Podcast. Your story of prototyping purpose might just be the encouragement someone else needs to start.

We're taking a brief break from our In Between series to revisit an episode we did earlier this year on an incredibly important topic: why "playing it safe" is the riskiest move.

In this episode, Vivianne Castillo, Founder and CEO of ⁠⁠HmntyCntrd⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠moonpaws⁠⁠, and Dan Mall, Founder of ⁠Design System University⁠ and two other incredible companies, get real about the messy, uncertain and transformative journey of entrepreneurship.

They question everything you're told about success, comfort and playing by the rules, showing you that sometimes the most courageous thing you can do is break all the expectations.

Join them for an unfiltered conversation about:

Ready to choose courage over comfort? Hit play and let’s get into it.

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Click ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ to join our newsletter and be the first to know about podcasts, coaching opportunities, special offers and other freebies designed to help you make real personal and professional change.

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Choose Courage Inc. is a ⁠⁠HmntyCntrd⁠⁠ brand and this podcast episode is sponsored by ⁠⁠CountrPT⁠⁠.

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DAN MALL is a husband, dad, teacher, creative director, designer, founder, and entrepreneur from Philly. He helps designers get their flowers by teaching them about the business of design, leadership, systems, process, and craft. Dan runs ⁠Design System University⁠ to create, collect, and curate curriculum, content, and community to help enterprise teams design at scale. He also co-founded ⁠Great Job!⁠, a platform that helps parents and caregivers design their own handbook for raising amazing kids. Previously, Dan ran design system consultancy ⁠SuperFriendly⁠ for over a decade. Dan writes weekly on site ⁠danmall.com⁠ and his weekly newsletter, and publishes bite-size tips and tricks to on ⁠LinkedIn⁠, ⁠Twitter⁠, ⁠YouTube⁠, and ⁠Instagram⁠.

In our third episode of our In Between mini-series, ⁠Vivianne Castillo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠Vincent Brathwaite⁠⁠⁠, CEO & Co-Founder of ⁠⁠⁠gidens⁠⁠⁠, return for a conversation that cuts through the noise of startup culture, hustle worship, and performative success.

Together, they explore what it means to build a life, not just a business. From the pressure to prove your worth as a Black founder to the childhood roots of overexplaining, they unpack how the seemingly small decisions (like keeping your team small, going for a walk, or canceling a meeting) can radically expand your peace, joy, and capacity to feel fully alive.

This episode is for anyone who’s tired of the hamster wheel, curious about what “enough” actually feels like, or seeking permission to stop performing and start living.

In this episode we’ll cover:

Vivianne Castillo, Founder and CEO of ⁠⁠HmntyCntrd⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠moonpaws⁠, sits down with Lauren Celenza, software designer, writer, and interview journalist, to explore why so many of us feel stuck in systems that drain us—and what it really takes to build a life and career that align with who we actually are.

Join them for an unfiltered conversation about:

•Breaking free from work that drains you — and why staying stuck isn’t the only option

•Creativity vs. capitalism and what happens when your work starts to feel like a cage

•Balancing financial security with creative freedom—without sacrificing yourself

•Discipline as liberation and why structure is the key to creative freedom

•Moving on from trauma bonding and how to build connections that go beyond shared suffering

•Using creativity as a tool for movement, clarity, and reinvention

•Why your next leap inspires others to bet on themselves too

If you’ve ever felt the tension between stability and what you actually want, this episode will challenge you to rethink what’s possible.

Let’s get it.

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Click ⁠here⁠ to join our newsletter and be the first to know about podcasts, coaching opportunities, special offers and other freebies designed to help you make real personal and professional change.

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Choose Courage Inc. is a ⁠⁠HmntyCntrd⁠⁠ brand sponsored by ⁠⁠CountrPT⁠⁠.

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Lauren Celenza is a design lead, writer, and moderator based in Seattle, with work featured in Fast Company, Forbes, NBC News, and In These Times.

As a designer, Lauren has led transformative product launches with Google Maps, Code for America, Samsara, and The World Resources Institute—building AI and 0-to-1 technology that has made millions of addresses, routes, and businesses visible for the first time in Google Maps history, secured over $90 million in tax refunds for U.S. taxpayers, enhanced frontline worker safety, and increased global funding for land restoration. She has also taught design at universities worldwide, engaging with students from over 40 countries.

As a writer, Lauren explores tech’s impact on society through Tech Without Losing Your Soul, a newsletter and interview series examining technology’s role in burnout, loneliness, and the possibilities of a more balanced digital life. She also moderates and interviews speakers at UNFINISHED Festival, a global event celebrating art, design, and democracy.

Get in touch: hi.laurencza@gmail.com

See Lauren’s work: ⁠laurencelenza.com⁠

Read & subscribe: ⁠laurencelenza.substack.com

This one’s tender. It’s honest. It’s personal.

In the second episode of our In Between mini-series, Vivianne Castillo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Vincent Brathwaite⁠⁠, CEO & Co-Founder of ⁠⁠gidens⁠⁠, for a conversation that lives in the quiet ache so many high-achievers carry but rarely name: the fear of abandonment.

Together, they unpack the invisible threads between childhood trauma, emotional neglect, and our adult definitions of success. They explore how early survival strategies (like hyper-independence, over-functioning, and people-pleasing) might help us build businesses but quietly rob us of peace, creativity, and connection.

This isn’t a step-by-step guide. It’s a conversation for anyone who’s ever wondered why they still empty after hitting all the milestones, "why do I do so much for others and still feel like I’m not enough?," and why it's so hard to rest, receive, or ask for help.

In this episode we’ll cover:

• How emotionally unavailable upbringings shaped our ideas of success

• The survival traits that helped us rise (but now hold us back)

• The deep link between over-functioning and the fear of being left

• What our younger selves would envy, mourn, or find confusing about our lives today

• Why healing isn’t soft or cute ... but it’s the only real way forward

Welcome to the first conversation in our special In Between mini-series — where we explore the quiet, messy, and often invisible moments that shape entrepreneurs far more than their highlight reels ever could. In this episode, our host Vivianne Castillo⁠⁠⁠⁠ and Vincent Brathwaite, CEO & Co-Founder of gidens, tackle a question that often trips up so many of us in business and life:

How do you tell the difference between your inner wisdom and emotional sabotage? Is this my intuition telling me to do or think this … or is it my anxiety?

In this episode we’ll cover:

• The deceptive ways anxiety disguises itself as wisdom (and how to spot it)
• The subtle lies anxiety tells, like “You need to know more before you act” or “Someone else is more qualified, so why even try?”
• How fear, perfectionism, and comparison masquerade as prudence or responsibility
• What it looks like when we mislabel fear or doubt as intuition — and how that self-sabotage keeps us small
• The real cost of outsourcing confidence by seeking endless opinions or waiting for perfect readiness
• Stories of saying “yes” from the wrong place, and how to lead and repair after misaligned decisions
• Practices, tools, and rituals to help filter emotional decisions and build trust in your own voice
• Reflections on becoming the adult your younger self needed — and learning to move even without full clarity

One of many practical takeaways:

Three powerful self-inquiry questions to discern anxiety from intuition:

1️⃣ Is this voice keeping me safe or keeping me small?

2️⃣ Is this true inner knowing or my nervous system avoiding discomfort?

3️⃣ What would it feel like to listen beyond the fear to the deeper wisdom beneath it?

Our Favorite Quotes from this Episode

💙 “Trusting yourself doesn’t mean you’ll always feel confident. It means you’ll learn to move even when you’re not.”

💙 “Anxiety and scarcity are cousins: always lurking around the question of ‘enough.’”

💙 “Your way forward isn’t waiting on you to think harder. It’s waiting on you to try.”

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Click⁠⁠⁠ ⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠ to join our newsletter and be the first to know about podcasts, coaching opportunities, special offers and other freebies designed to help you make real personal and professional change.

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Choose Courage Inc. is a ⁠⁠HmntyCntrd⁠⁠ brand and this podcast episode is sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠⁠CountrPT⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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Vincent Brathwaite  is a Caribbean American multi-disciplinary design leader, educator, and speaker. For the past two decades, he has worked to transform communities through disruptive design thinking. Driven by integrity, empathy, kindness, courage, and resilience, his mission is to design experiences that help leaders positively impact the world.

• A Personal Update: What life looks like right now as I settle into this new season in Mexico.

• Our New Direction: why we're introducing a few different mini-series that deliver practical wisdom (not just feel-good vibes)
• Introducing In Between: A first look at our upcoming mini-series that explores the parts of entrepreneurship no one claps for aka the doubt, burnout, personal reckoning, and messy middle spaces that shape us most.

Let’s get into it.

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Choose Courage Inc. is a ⁠⁠⁠⁠HmntyCntrd⁠⁠⁠⁠ brand and this podcast is sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠⁠CountrPT⁠⁠⁠⁠.

In this episode, Vivianne Castillo pulls back the curtain on something that keeps more people stuck than fear, money, or a lack of strategy ever could: isolation.

We’ve been sold this lie that the path to greatness is paved in solitude, that we need to figure it all out before we're “ready,” before we’re worthy of support. But the truth? Isolation doesn’t protect your dream: it slowly strangles it.

Here’s what we'll explore:

• The real cost of “figuring it out alone”

• How isolation causes your dream to shrink and what expands it

  •A story about Sarah, who had 3 years of plans and zero customers (until one shift changed everything)

• The three transformations that always happen when you stop going it alone: clarity, confidence, and connection

• A metaphor that will stay with you: the room your future self is already sitting in and how to finally walk into it

• So if you've been holding your dream in the dark, protecting it with your planning, this episode is a gentle-but-firm reminder that waiting for perfect is costing you more than you think. There’s a room filled with people building boldly and dreaming out loud and it's ready for you.

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  Choose Courage Inc. is a ⁠⁠⁠⁠HmntyCntrd⁠⁠⁠⁠ brand and this podcast is sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠⁠CountrPT⁠⁠⁠⁠.

And this episode is a little different.

We’re revisiting something we first shared in Episode 6: a conversation and reflection on The Discipline of Hope. At the time, it resonated deeply. But in light of everything happening in the world this June — especially the heaviness of this past week — it felt important to bring it back to the surface.

Hope can feel like a far-off concept when the world aches but we want to offer it to you not as a feeling you need to summon, but as a practice you can return to.

In this live-recorded talk that’s followed by a live Q&A/discussion, Vivianne Castillo shares how we can approach hope as a discipline during times of grief and uncertainty.

She's later joined by Partner and Facilitator at HmntyCntrd Alba Villamil and together they think through the intentional decisions we can make in how we relate to the world around us, and, most importantly, how we can choose courage over comfort when it feels like all is lost.


In this bonus episode, we touch on topics like:

•How can we differentiate hope from toxic positivity or false optimism?

•What’s the difference between helplessness and powerlessness — and why does knowing the difference matter?

•How do we navigate profound grief and anger?

•What can we do to protect our peace and boundaries?

Whether you’re listening to this episode for the first time or the second, I hope it wraps around you like a warm blanket — reminding you that hope is still worth holding, still worth choosing, still worth cultivating.

Let’s get into it.

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Download the slides and rituals/activities at ⁠TheDisciplineOfHope.com⁠

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Choose Courage Inc. is a ⁠⁠⁠HmntyCntrd⁠⁠⁠ brand and this podcast is sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠CountrPT⁠⁠⁠.

In this vulnerable and hyper-practical episode Vivianne Castillo — Founder and CEO of ⁠⁠⁠⁠HmntyCntrd⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠moonpaws⁠⁠⁠⁠ — cracks open the glossy façade of what society sells as the “dream job.” From a life in corporate UX that looked perfect on paper to building a purpose-led business and life in Mexico, Vivianne shares her raw journey of confronting burnout, rediscovering agency, and choosing courage over comfort.

This episode isn’t about entrepreneurship as a quick fix, it’s about internal revolution. Vivianne weaves together stories, truths, and shares some of the transformative practices she teaches to her clients (The Body Truth Audit, The Identity Archeology Dig, and The Relationship Audit) to help them get radically honest about what’s no longer serving them and start building lives they don’t need to escape from.

This episode covers: 

• How your body keeps score when you’re out of alignment

• The truth about stress weight and soul-crushing jobs

• The identity crisis after leaving corporate titles behind

• Why healing is essential to build a brave life and how to begin

• How childhood patterns keep us seeking worth through achievement

• Letting go of prestige, salary, and reputation to choose peace

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Join our 3-month entrepreneurship group coaching program designed to help you overcome self-doubt, build an entrepreneurial mindset, and launch a business that aligns with your passion and purpose. Learn more before registration closes ⁠here⁠.

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Choose Courage Inc. is a ⁠⁠⁠⁠HmntyCntrd⁠⁠⁠⁠ brand and this podcast is sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CountrPT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

This is more than a conversation: it's a mirror, a permission slip, and a blueprint for becoming the kindest version of yourself. Some of the things we cover include:

• The mindset shift from survival mode to soft life

• Releasing ancestral guilt and generational expectations

• Practicing boundaries without over-explaining

• What it means to keep promises to yourself

• How guilt is often a sign of transformation, not wrongdoing

• Parenting, healing, and showing up as your whole self

• Why convenience isn’t the same as love or necessity

• Living for your relationship with yourself, not just others

Let this episode sit with you like a good friend who reminds you: you’re allowed to be gentle with yourself.

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Join our 3-month entrepreneurship group coaching program designed to help you overcome self-doubt, build an entrepreneurial mindset, and launch a business that aligns with your passion and purpose. Learn more before registration closes ⁠here⁠.

---

Choose Courage Inc. is a ⁠⁠⁠⁠HmntyCntrd⁠⁠⁠⁠ brand and this podcast is sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CountrPT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Together, they explore the practical, emotional, and systemic considerations of relocating to another country — regardless of whether it's for greater personal freedom, safety, or simply a new chapter.

This is not your typical “how to move abroad” checklist, because we also get into the invisible work — the inner questions, financial recalibrations, healthcare realities, tax implications, and grief — that often go unspoken in shiny social media posts about "living your best life abroad."

Both will be speaking from their perspectives of moving abroad from the U.S. as they discuss topics like:

• How to assess if moving abroad is right for you
• Key financial and legal considerations before you go
• Research strategies for choosing the right country
• Practical insights on visas, banking, healthcare and taxes
• Building a support system in a new country

Regardless, if you're considering a short-term adventure, a permanent relocation, or simply craving insight into what life abroad might look like for you, then this episode offers grounded wisdom and unfiltered truths.

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Join our 3-month entrepreneurship group coaching program designed to help you overcome self-doubt, build an entrepreneurial mindset, and launch a business that aligns with your passion and purpose. Learn more before registration closes here.

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Sandra Camacho is a design educator, consultant and strategist based in Paris, France, specializing in designing for systemic change. She's also the founder of Design Changemakers, a gathering place for learning and co-design of liberatory futures.

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Choose Courage Inc. is a ⁠⁠⁠HmntyCntrd⁠⁠⁠ brand and this podcast is sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠⁠CountrPT⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Vivianne reflects on the Navy SEALs-inspired mantra “Slow is smooth and smooth is fast” and how it’s reshaping her approach to work, creativity, leadership, and life. This episode covers:

• Life in the Slow Lane (For Now): Vivianne shares how choosing slowness is helping her realign with clarity and purpose, both personally and professionally.
• Rethinking the Hustle: From high-touch consulting to more scalable impact, she reflects on how her work at HmntyCntrd is evolving to reach more people without sacrificing her wellbeing.
• An Audit of Impact: Vivianne takes stock of 5 years at HmntyCntrd — 230+ pieces of IP — and invites listeners to pause and celebrate how far they’ve come.
• Entrepreneurship as Healing: She opens up about her passion for coaching and why entrepreneurship is one of the greatest tools for self-discovery and growth.
• Building moonpaws: With big dreams for her astrology-for-pets app, Vivianne reveals why this next chapter of innovation and intention deserves her creative energy.
• A Big Life Move: As she prepares to move abroad, Vivianne opens up about the grief, the clarity, and the joy that come with leaving behind old boxes (literally) and creating room for what matters most.

This episode is for anyone who feels like they’re being called to recalibrate, to soften, to dream again — and to slow down in order to speed up in the direction of what matters most.

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Choose Courage Inc. is a ⁠⁠HmntyCntrd⁠⁠ brand that is sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠CountrPT⁠⁠⁠.

• Where in your life are you playing small, even though you know better?

• What belief about success are you starting to question, even if it still scares you to say it out loud?

Together, they unpack the internal shifts they’re navigating in real time — including what it means to reclaim rest, visibility, worth, creativity, and self-permission.

This episode is a mix of truth-telling, gentle confrontations, and necessary invitations and is for anyone who’s been shrinking, second-guessing, or simply ready to move differently.

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Choose Courage Inc. is a⁠ ⁠⁠HmntyCntrd⁠⁠⁠ brand that is sponsored by⁠⁠⁠CountrPT⁠.

In this episode episode, ⁠⁠Vivianne Castillo⁠⁠⁠⁠, Founder and CEO of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HmntyCntrd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠moonpaws⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠connects with her cousin Nikki The Jeanius, Founder of All Things Ankara (the number one African print platform in the world). Nikki’s journey is a masterclass in trusting your gut, honoring your creativity, and turning a passion project into a global platform — all while staying deeply rooted in authenticity, faith, and community.

This conversation has range, we get into:

• How a single email helped Nikki land her first celebrity collaboration

• What it means to dream bigger (even when you're the first in your family, industry, or city to do it)

• Why nurturing your creativity and your health go hand-in-hand with building a business that lasts

• The importance of finding your ride-or-die hype person for your vision

• Real talk about perfectionism, scaling smart, and staying ready for your breakthrough

This conversation is full of laughs, truth bombs, some insights into their family group texts and moments that will make you rethink what's possible when you stop waiting for perfect conditions and start moving in courage.
If you’re at the start of your journey, pivoting into a new season, or needing a reminder that you’re not dreaming too big ... then this episode is your permission slip to move in courage, not fear.

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Choose Courage Inc. is a ⁠⁠HmntyCntrd⁠⁠ brand sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠⁠CountrPT⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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Nikki The Jeanius (formerly known as Nikki Billie Jean, born Nicolette Titilayo Orji) is a Nigerian American editor-in-chief, fashion designer, creative director, and campaign/event producer based in the Washington, D.C. area. Of Yoruba-Igbo descent, Nikki’s journey into fashion began at Penn State, where she combined her love for African prints with formalwear design.

In 2012, she founded All Things Ankara, now the leading platform celebrating ankara print fashion through media, e-commerce, and major cultural events. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Huffington Post, Yahoo, Forbes, Essence, and more, and she’s collaborated with artists like Jidenna, Cardi B, Yemi Alade, and Kelly Rowland.

Nikki has been recognized as a trailblazer by Macy’s, curated fashion shows at Yale University, and earned multiple awards for her contributions to fashion and culture. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biobehavioral Health from Penn State.

Nikki’s story is one of creativity, cultural pride, and fearlessly turning passion into legacy.

Together, they explore:

• What it means to “fake hope” when the systems around you are breaking your spirit
• Why some rooms don’t deserve your ideas and what to do when that realization hits
• The overlap between church and corporate: both preaching care while practicing exclusion
• Creativity as an act of endurance, love, and resistance
• The hard truths about real innovation and why most people won’t talk about them
• Protecting your energy, your imagination, and your story
• Why healing is essential to creativity and how working on yourself unlocks deeper work

This episode is a sermon, a journal entry, a group therapy session, and a permission slip all in one. If you’ve ever wondered if it’s time to let go, move forward, or create something that’s never been seen before — we hope this helps you say yes.

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Choose Courage Inc. is a ⁠⁠HmntyCntrd⁠⁠ brand sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠CountrPT⁠⁠⁠.

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Kevin Bethune serves as the Founder & Chief Creative Officer of dreams • design + life, a think tank that delivers design & innovation services using an empathic, holistic approach.  His background spans engineering, business and design in equal proportion over 25+ years of in-depth product experiences at enterprises including Westinghouse Nuclear, Nike and BCG, positioning him to help brands deliver meaningful innovations to enrich people’s lives.His first book, Reimagining Design: Unlocking Strategic Innovation released with notable acclaim under the Simplicity: Design, Business, Technology, Life Series (The MIT Press) in March 2022. Kevin's second book, ⁠Nonlinear: Navigating Design with Curiosity and Conviction⁠, released in February 2025.  Kevin also serves as a Board Trustee for ArtCenter College of Design, and was recently named an honoree among The Curious 100 recognized by The Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity.

• What to do when your bold ideas make people uncomfortable
• The emotional rituals of creativity — from vinyl sessions to visionary storytelling
• How to show up in rooms not built for you (and when to leave them altogether)
• The power of confrontation as a form of care, creativity, and cultural disruption
• Why it’s time to stop asking for permission — and start crafting new realities

This episode is both a mirror and a map for anyone who’s ever felt out of place, underestimated, or creatively stifled. If you’ve been sitting on a dream or trying to navigate spaces not designed with you in mind — this one’s for you.

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Choose Courage Inc. is a ⁠⁠HmntyCntrd⁠⁠ brand sponsored by ⁠⁠CountrPT⁠⁠.

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Kevin Bethune serves as the Founder & Chief Creative Officer of dreams • design + life, a think tank that delivers design & innovation services using an empathic, holistic approach.  His background spans engineering, business and design in equal proportion over 25+ years of in-depth product experiences at enterprises including Westinghouse Nuclear, Nike and BCG, positioning him to help brands deliver meaningful innovations to enrich people’s lives.
His first book, Reimagining Design: Unlocking Strategic Innovation released with notable acclaim under the Simplicity: Design, Business, Technology, Life Series (The MIT Press) in March 2022. Kevin's second book, Nonlinear: Navigating Design with Curiosity and Conviction, released in February 2025.  Kevin also serves as a Board Trustee for ArtCenter College of Design, and was recently named an honoree among The Curious 100 recognized by The Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity.

Together, Vivianne and Behzod cover:

• Can you be deeply ambitious and deeply at peace?

• The difference between fences and boundaries

• How fear and scarcity keep us in places we’ve outgrown

• What it means to prototype your way forward

• Why perfectionism is just self-sabotage in cuter clothes

• The importance of internal shifts and micro-actions

• Building legacy not through consumption, but courageous creation

This one is both a sermon and a strategy session for anyone asking, “Is there more for me?” (The answer: Yes. And it starts with one step.)

---

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Choose Courage Inc. is a ⁠⁠⁠HmntyCntrd⁠⁠⁠ brand sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠CountrPT⁠⁠⁠.

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Behzod Sirjani is a consultant who is regularly sought out to navigate complex challenges, whether that's helping a fast-growing startup drive growth or a large public company restructure their innovation practice.

Through Yet Another Studio, Behzod partners with companies ranging from small startups to industry leaders like Figma and Dropbox to build and scale research practices that drive better decision-making and growth. He is also a Program Partner at Reforge, where he built the "User Insights for Product Decisions" and "Effective Customer Conversations" programs and a venture partner at el cap.

With vulnerability and wit, Vivianne and Behzod explore:

• Leaving a “great job” to bet on yourself

• How to financially and emotionally prepare for uncertainty

• The role of experimentation, play, and internal clarity in navigating career pivots

• What happens when the world doesn’t see your worth — and how to stop contorting yourself to be chosen

• Living with intention, defining your own carrots, and finding pride in your path

• Recognizing when you’re chasing dreams that aren’t even yours

This is part one of a two-part conversation that will challenge you to rethink your relationship with work, worth and what truly lights you up.

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Click⁠ ⁠here⁠⁠ to join our newsletter and be the first to know about podcasts, coaching opportunities, special offers and other freebies designed to help you make real personal and professional change.

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Choose Courage Inc. is a ⁠⁠HmntyCntrd⁠⁠ brand sponsored by ⁠⁠CountrPT⁠⁠.

---

Behzod Sirjani is a consultant who is regularly sought out to navigate complex challenges, whether that's helping a fast-growing startup drive growth or a large public company restructure their innovation practice.

Through Yet Another Studio, Behzod partners with companies ranging from small startups to industry leaders like Figma and Dropbox to build and scale research practices that drive better decision-making and growth. He is also a Program Partner at Reforge, where he built the "User Insights for Product Decisions" and "Effective Customer Conversations" programs and a venture partner at el cap.

In this episode Vivianne Castillo, Founder and CEO of ⁠⁠HmntyCntrd⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠moonpaws⁠, sits down with Grammy award-winning opera singer and creative powerhouse, Cierra Byrd, Mezzo, for an honest conversation about artistry, resilience, and the pursuit of authenticity in an industry that often demands conformity.

Cierra takes us into the world of opera — where artistry meets discipline, collaboration meets individuality, and a single role can take years to master. Together Vivianne and Cierra navigate through vulnerable conversations on the challenges of rejection and the importance of therapy in navigating self-worth beyond external validation, while also unpacking themes of scarcity mindset, belonging and the cost of being a trailblazer in any industry. 

In this episode we cover:

• The long-game of artistry: Why some opera singers prepare for roles years before performing them

• The intersection of creativity, identity, and survival in historically exclusive industries

• Rejection as redirection: reframing career setbacks as opportunities for growth

• The emotional and financial cost of “making it” in creative and corporate spaces

• How therapy and faith helped Cierra redefine success on her own terms

• The tension between being seen vs. actually doing the work in corporate and artistic industries

• Why honoring your own rhythm matters more than fitting into an industry mold

From gatekeeping in creative industries to learning when to pivot instead of proving your worth, this conversation is a masterclass in staying grounded in your purpose — you won’t want to miss this.

---

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Choose Courage Inc. is a ⁠⁠HmntyCntrd⁠⁠ brand sponsored by ⁠⁠CountrPT⁠⁠.

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Cierra Byrd, Mezzo is a professional opera singer and alumna of The Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. With a voice that captivates and a deep reverence for the craft, she approaches opera as an art of honor, storytelling, and truth. Known for her resilience and integrity, she navigates the industry with a commitment to excellence, authenticity, and continuous growth. 

She believes in a holistic approach to singing that nurtures both the voice and the artist behind it. Grounded in faith and an unshakable sense of purpose, she seeks not just to perform but to uplift, inspire, and leave a lasting impact through her work. 

Vivianne Castillo, Founder and CEO of ⁠⁠HmntyCntrd⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠moonpaws⁠, sits down with Lauren Celenza, software designer, writer, and interview journalist, to dive deep into the power of community, creativity, and reimagining the future of work and life. From festivals to entrepreneurship, from reclaiming imagination to questioning the way we use our time, this conversation is an invitation to step out of the mundane and into something more alive.

Expect an unfiltered conversation about:

• The courage to reclaim agency in a world that discourages imagination
• Why festivals, not conferences, might be the future of innovation
• How the passing of time is the only certainty — and why that should push you toward change
• How small steps, not perfect plans, build the foundation for bold moves
• Why creativity isn't a luxury but a necessity for meaningful connection

If you’ve ever felt the pull toward something bigger but found yourself hesitating, consider this your sign to start. The future isn’t waiting for perfection — it’s built by those willing to take the first step.

Hit play and let’s get into it.

---

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Choose Courage Inc. is a ⁠⁠HmntyCntrd⁠⁠ brand sponsored by ⁠⁠CountrPT⁠⁠.

---

Lauren Celenza is a design lead, writer, and moderator based in Seattle, with work featured in Fast Company, Forbes, NBC News, and In These Times.

As a designer, Lauren has led transformative product launches with Google Maps, Code for America, Samsara, and The World Resources Institute—building AI and 0-to-1 technology that has made millions of addresses, routes, and businesses visible for the first time in Google Maps history, secured over $90 million in tax refunds for U.S. taxpayers, enhanced frontline worker safety, and increased global funding for land restoration. She has also taught design at universities worldwide, engaging with students from over 40 countries.

As a writer, Lauren explores tech’s impact on society through Tech Without Losing Your Soul, a newsletter and interview series examining technology’s role in burnout, loneliness, and the possibilities of a more balanced digital life. She also moderates and interviews speakers at UNFINISHED Festival, a global event celebrating art, design, and democracy.

Get in touch: hi.laurencza@gmail.com

See Lauren’s work: ⁠laurencelenza.com⁠

Read & subscribe: ⁠laurencelenza.substack.com

Vivianne Castillo, Founder and CEO of ⁠HmntyCntrd⁠ and ⁠moonpaws, sits down with Lauren Celenza, software designer, writer, and interview journalist, to explore why so many of us feel stuck in systems that drain us—and what it really takes to build a life and career that align with who we actually are.

Join them for an unfiltered conversation about:

+ Breaking free from work that drains you — and why staying stuck isn’t the only option

+ Creativity vs. capitalism and what happens when your work starts to feel like a cage

+ Balancing financial security with creative freedom—without sacrificing yourself

+ Discipline as liberation and why structure is the key to creative freedom

+ Moving on from trauma bonding and how to build connections that go beyond shared suffering

+ Using creativity as a tool for movement, clarity, and reinvention

+ Why your next leap inspires others to bet on themselves too

If you’ve ever felt the tension between stability and what you actually want, this episode will challenge you to rethink what’s possible.

Let’s get it.

---

Click here to join our newsletter and be the first to know about podcasts, coaching opportunities, special offers and other freebies designed to help you make real personal and professional change.

---

Choose Courage Inc. is a ⁠⁠HmntyCntrd⁠⁠ brand sponsored by ⁠⁠CountrPT⁠⁠.

---

Lauren Celenza is a design lead, writer, and moderator based in Seattle, with work featured in Fast Company, Forbes, NBC News, and In These Times.

As a designer, Lauren has led transformative product launches with Google Maps, Code for America, Samsara, and The World Resources Institute—building AI and 0-to-1 technology that has made millions of addresses, routes, and businesses visible for the first time in Google Maps history, secured over $90 million in tax refunds for U.S. taxpayers, enhanced frontline worker safety, and increased global funding for land restoration. She has also taught design at universities worldwide, engaging with students from over 40 countries.

As a writer, Lauren explores tech’s impact on society through Tech Without Losing Your Soul, a newsletter and interview series examining technology’s role in burnout, loneliness, and the possibilities of a more balanced digital life. She also moderates and interviews speakers at UNFINISHED Festival, a global event celebrating art, design, and democracy.

Get in touch: hi.laurencza@gmail.com

See Lauren’s work: laurencelenza.com

Read & subscribe: laurencelenza.substack.com

This is a special, bonus episode that we created just for you and is a live recording on one of my favorite topics: The Discipline of Hope.

We're often asked about our work ethic — but how's your hope ethic? What's possible when we see hope as something we need to practice everyday?

In this live-recorded talk that’s followed by a live Q&A/discussion, Vivianne Castillo shares how we can approach hope as a discipline during times of grief and uncertainty.

She's later joined by Partner and Facilitator at HmntyCntrd Alba Villamil and together they think through the intentional decisions we can make in how we relate to the world around us, and, most importantly, how we can choose courage over comfort when it feels like all is lost.


In this bonus episode, we touch on topics like:

+ How can we differentiate hope from toxic positivity or false optimism?

+ What’s the difference between helplessness and powerlessness — and why does knowing the difference matter?

+ How do we navigate profound grief and anger?

+ What can we do to protect our peace and boundaries?

If you’re looking for relief, if you feel like your nervous system going thru it or if you’re just looking for a way forward in a difficult seasons, then this conversation is for you.

---

Download the slides and rituals/activities at TheDisciplineOfHope.com

---

Click ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ to join our newsletter and be the first to know about podcasts, coaching opportunities, special offers and other freebies designed to help you make real personal and professional change.

---

Choose Courage Inc. is a ⁠⁠HmntyCntrd⁠⁠ brand sponsored by ⁠⁠CountrPT⁠⁠.

They talk about the challenges of defining success on your own terms, how to stay true to your values even when it costs you and how to push past fear when you’re at a crossroads. In this episode, they cover:

• The power of rejecting clients who don’t align with your values and why that can be the key to preserving your peace

• How to move beyond external feedback and the myths of “success” we’re all chasing

• The importance of making space for clarity by challenging fear

• How multi-passionate people can stop shrinking and start embracing their full complexity

• What happens when you face the reality of your own suffering (and why leaning into it creates profound growth)

• A game-changing perspective on “enough” and why rethinking money and success is the ultimate form of freedom

It’s time to make bold decisions and change your story. Hit play and let’s go.

---

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Choose Courage Inc. is a ⁠⁠HmntyCntrd⁠⁠ brand sponsored by ⁠⁠CountrPT⁠⁠.

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DAN MALL is a husband, dad, teacher, creative director, designer, founder, and entrepreneur from Philly. He helps designers get their flowers by teaching them about the business of design, leadership, systems, process, and craft. Dan runs Design System University to create, collect, and curate curriculum, content, and community to help enterprise teams design at scale. He also co-founded Great Job!, a platform that helps parents and caregivers design their own handbook for raising amazing kids. Previously, Dan ran design system consultancy SuperFriendly for over a decade. Dan writes weekly on site danmall.com and his weekly newsletter, and publishes bite-size tips and tricks to on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

In this episode, Vivianne Castillo, Founder and CEO of ⁠HmntyCntrd⁠ and ⁠moonpaws⁠, and Dan Mall, Founder of Design System University and two other incredible companies, get real about the messy, uncertain and transformative journey of entrepreneurship.

They question everything you're told about success, comfort and playing by the rules, showing you that sometimes the most courageous thing you can do is break all the expectations.

Join them for an unfiltered conversation about:

Ready to choose courage over comfort? Hit play and let’s get into it.

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Click ⁠here⁠ to join our newsletter and be the first to know about podcasts, coaching opportunities, special offers and other freebies designed to help you make real personal and professional change.

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Choose Courage Inc. is a ⁠HmntyCntrd⁠ brand sponsored by ⁠CountrPT⁠.

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DAN MALL is a husband, dad, teacher, creative director, designer, founder, and entrepreneur from Philly. He helps designers get their flowers by teaching them about the business of design, leadership, systems, process, and craft. Dan runs Design System University to create, collect, and curate curriculum, content, and community to help enterprise teams design at scale. He also co-founded Great Job!, a platform that helps parents and caregivers design their own handbook for raising amazing kids. Previously, Dan ran design system consultancy SuperFriendly for over a decade. Dan writes weekly on site danmall.com and his weekly newsletter, and publishes bite-size tips and tricks to on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

In this episode, Vivianne Castillo, Founder and CEO of⁠⁠ HmntyCntrd⁠⁠ and⁠⁠moonpaws⁠⁠, and Ash Coleman Hynie, Founder and CEO of⁠⁠CountrPT⁠⁠, talk about the uncomfortable, the unspoken, and the unapologetic realities of money, power, and persistence. No fluff. No clichés. Just straight talk and real strategies. 

They cover topics like: 

• Why fundraising feels personal — and how to stop making it that way
• The silent treatment: when friends ghost your investment ask
• The biggest lies we’ve been told about money, power, and success
• Why not all money is good money — and when to say no
• The unspoken power moves that separate struggling entrepreneurs from thriving ones
• How shifting your mindset can open doors (and bank accounts)

Whether you’re a founder navigating your first raise, an entrepreneur shifting your money mindset, or just someone tired of the same old "hustle harder" advice, this is for you.

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Click⁠⁠ here⁠⁠ to join our newsletter and be the first to know about podcasts, coaching opportunities, special offers and other freebies designed to help you make real personal and professional change.

---

Choose Courage Inc. is a ⁠⁠HmntyCntrd⁠⁠ brand sponsored by⁠⁠CountrPT⁠.

In this episode, Vivianne Castillo, Founder and CEO of ⁠HmntyCntrd⁠ and ⁠moonpaws⁠, and Ash Coleman Hynie, Founder and CEO of ⁠CountrPT⁠, have a raw and honest conversation across several topics:

• The limits of external feedback and why not all advice is meant for you
• How to break free from corporate constraints and define success on your terms
• The role of fear: how it keeps us small and how to push past it
• Why multi-passionate people need to stop shrinking and embrace their complexity
• How gaslighting warps our sense of self and the ways we neglect ourselves because of it
• The surprising way thinking about death can bring more clarity and courage to your life

Ready to choose courage over comfort? Hit play and let’s dive in.

---

Click ⁠here⁠ to join our newsletter and be the first to know about podcasts, coaching opportunities, special offers and other freebies designed to help you make real personal and professional change.

---

Choose Courage Inc. is a ⁠HmntyCntrd⁠ brand sponsored by ⁠CountrPT⁠.

In this episode, Vivianne Castillo, Founder and CEO of HmntyCntrd and moonpaws, joins Ash Coleman Hynie, Founder and CEO of CountrPT, for an unfiltered, deeply honest dialogue about what it really takes to thrive as an entrepreneur. Together, they explore the challenges of setting boundaries, healing from corporate trauma, and rejecting one-size-fits-all entrepreneurial blueprints.

From redefining rest and resisting hustle culture to navigating guilt and embracing creativity, Vivianne and Ash deliver the kind of wisdom that hits close to home. They’ll challenge you to rethink the way you approach work, leadership, and success—all while staying true to yourself.

This isn’t your average business podcast. It’s a call to action for anyone ready to break the mold, set their own rules, and lead with courage and conviction.

Ready to reimagine your path? Hit play and let’s dive in.

---

Click here to join our newsletter and be the first to know about podcasts, coaching opportunities, special offers and other freebies designed to help you make real personal and professional change.

---

Choose Courage Inc. is a HmntyCntrd brand sponsored by CountrPT⁠.