HELIX Stories

Who goes from biochemistry, medicine, and Alzheimer's research to voice acting?

Stephanie Murphy does!  Having gone deep into a career in science, starting with a PhD in biochemistry and half a medical degree, Stephanie took a sharp turn, left that all behind, and launched a career in voice acting and voiceover work.  THIS is a good story, and it comes with a twist.  Stephanie is the voice you hear in the intro of every episode of HELIX Stories!

Join us to hear Stephanie talk about how she returned to her first love - broadcasting and radio - to launch a successful voice acting and narration business that feeds more than just her checkbook.  You'll hear talk about finding happiness, finding work that matches your lifestyle, and not being a slave to money.  Stephanie gets to have a flexible schedule, work with people she likes, and she even gets to spend the occasional Friday in her pajamas.  It's OK.  We don't judge.  ;-)

Along this unusual and inspiring career path, Stephanie has has to overcome doubt cast by others, technical hurdles (podcasting in 2008 wasn't easy!), and even moments where she questioned her own business decisions.  Finding creative solutions to problems and remaining true to her inner voice has allowed Stephanie to build a new life based on her rather awesome outer voice.

Thanks Steph!  We appreciate you taking the time to chat today.

Rachel Moore has a whole lot going on, but above all else she is REALLY social!

A professional social media manager by day, Rachel is a social media personality on her own after hours.  Her Really Social website is an insanely useful social media resource.  Her UnpauseIt show is - true story - "a podcast by a family of geeks". Rachel has taken her family's love of comic book movies, cosplay, video games and all things geeky and turned it into something really interesting and fun that you'll want to check out.

Rachel has a knack for moving effortlessly between more formal content creation and an informal look into her real life.  Her fearless willingness to just be herself on camera gives her a friendly edge that draws you into what she has to say.  She's careful to be purposeful in what she shows and shares while remaining accessible, approachable and real.  This has made Rachel a bit of an accidental influencer.  A title she's happy to have.

Rachel and I talk about the role of her family in shaping and even tempering her social presence.  In an odd twist, her kids often reign her in and make her think about the real need to record and publish in a given situation.  Find another situation where teenagers tell their mom to get off Twitter!

You'll hear Rachel discuss being unafraid to make mistakes online, using mistakes as a learning experience, and having the self-assurance to remain unaffected by occasional critics or detractors.

What I found most impressive about Rachel is her willingness to discuss any topic without regard for potential impact on metrics and audience size.  She's happy to discuss current events, politics and even issues of faith. Her success in this area comes from her willingness to DISCUSS and LISTEN rather than firing up her social channels to tell or convince.  We need more of what Rachel brings to the table if we're going to repair some of the division we see today.

This is 25 minutes well worth your time. Rachel is amazing, and I hope to have her on again sometimes very soon.

Who doesn't want to be peaceful, prosperous, and productive?

This is exactly what Joann Krall is out to spread in the world.  After a long career in accounting and direct sales, Joann found herself faced with some personal tragedy.  What was once an organized life fell into a bit of disarray.  Forced to right the ship, Joann started finding ways to get her life back on track, moving toward a place where chaos was replaced by happiness and peace.

From this experience, The Sensible Organizer was born.  For the last 14 years Joann has been helping harried humans transform clutter and bad habits into peace, prosperity and productivity.

Joann and I discuss the bleed from simple organizing to overall lifestyle, the personal relationships she forms with her clients as a result of her approach, and how being her genuine self both helps and hinders business at times.  We spent some time talking about the evolution of "organization and productivity" as technology has advanced.  We also touch on the impact technology and the Internet has had on the way Joann forms client relationships and grows her business.

If you'd like to hear the story of a human being that genuinely wants to help other human beings live a better life, then turned that into a business she loves, come spend some time to listen to Joann's HELIX story.

When you're in the business of delivering sailing yachts, you can never be sure when you'll actually get to point B ... or when plastic cutlery and zip ties will save the day.

This is the story of Matthew Kotze, who went from surfing and the beaches of South Africa, to the stodgy world of investment banking, then to life on the open sea. Matt is the founder and owner of Thumbs Up Yacht Delivery based in Mallorca.  Matt is in the business of moving sailing yachts from port to port in the UK and all around Europe.

The process of building this business required Matt to learn on the fly, accept reality without regard for ego, and align his business values with her personal values and his general outlook on life. In the end, what he got was a business that ebbs and flows financially, but provides ample opportunity for creativity, personal relationships with clients, and a happy family life.

Matt's business requires him to accept uncertainty, a bit of danger, and a steady stream of changing conditions.  It involves thinking creatively on his feet, a willingness to do whatever needs to be done, and acceptance whatever the universe throws at him along the way.  The business was built directly on blood, sweat and tears.  First there was sailing and seafaring experience. Then there was the courage to dive all the way in on a dream. Finally, Matt added a substantial amount of time learning and applying guerilla marketing, SEO and business development methods.

This is a story you'll want to hear.  The end result is a life and a business that fit together seamlessly. It seems to me that Matt could not be happier about it!

Most people get diagnosed with a debilitating chronic illness and call it a day. But not Hilary Jastram.  You'd be hard pressed to find a more enthusiastic or positive person walking the planet today!

Hilary took her diagnosis as a wake-up call.  A forced re-set, if you will.  She then used it to create not only a successful editing and copywriting business, but also an organization dedicated to educating, supporting and empowering chronically ill entrepreneurs.  No moss grows under this woman's feet!

Hilary was kind enough to share her story with us.  You'll hear how she went from a less than perfect fit in old jobs, to literally creating the future she needed, one handshake, phone all and e-mail at a time. Refusing to take no for an answer, Hilary has now established herself as an in-demand book editor, copywriter and author coach.  Having edited nearly 100 books at this point while also battling recurring health issues, Hilary's infectious laugh, voice and sense of humor both attracts clients and inspires others to act in a positive way.

If you're looking for 35 minutes worth of uplifting triumph and awesome humor, this episode of HELIX Stories is for you!

What do you get when you combine an impressive education, experience in tech marketing, and a love of stand-up comedy and storytelling?  You get Kathy Klotz-Guest, founder of Keeping It Human!

Kathy is a textbook example of creative problem solving and out-of-the-box thinking.  People create products and services.  People use products and services.  Yet the traditional approaches Kathy found in her mid-90's tech marketing jobs seemed to completely ignore the people and humanity.  As intelligent humans are prone to do, Kathy saw a problem, then set out to solve it.

Armed with the skills she was honing doing stand-up company and improv after hours, Kathy started to introduce idea that telling stories and bringing humanity into the picture could change everything in marketing.  Long before YouTube and social media changed the face of marketing, Kathy was laying the groundwork.  Improv and comedy were fun and invigorating.  Corporate tech marketing was not.

Armed with the idea that people relate to real people, humor and even vulnerability, Kathy left the corporate world behind and set out to turn marketing and selling on its ear.  She was brave enough to call the marketing establishment on its tone-deafness.  Using the first feedback coming back across the early Internet, Kathy started to convince the establishment that she was on to something.  Marketing was really storytelling. It required experimentation and risk taking and a willingness for brands to abandon the safety of the corporate monolithic image.  Brands had to become human, and Kathy was ready to teach that lesson.

What followed was 20 years of innovation and creativity in storytelling on both business and comedy staged in the San Fransisco Bay area.  There have been seminars, workshops, speaking engagements, and books.  When Kathy says things, smart marketers listen.  Her commitment to creatively changing the face of that business is paying off, and its a GREAT story.

Imagine that?  An expert storyteller with a great story to tell.  Thanks Kathy!  I appreciate you taking the time to tell your HELIX story. :-)

Mia Voss is awesome. Her courage and creativity in finding new niches and re-inventing herself in different roles is inspiring.

Listen to Mia tell the tale of her long and winding road from commercial insurance, to functionally-focused building inspections, to Google+ live streamer, to storytelling, then to travel and automotive blogger and influencer.  Mia's story is one of recognizing opportunity, then pouncing on it even when it represents a total departure from the past.

Along the way Mia used her experiences as a woman in male-dominated businesses to propel herself into a position of advocacy for women and the purchasing power of women in the marketplace.  Her perspective on women and the traditional need to be "easily explainable" is very insightful, and explains her uncanny ability to connect with and inspire empowered women.

Mia has spoken about the "shame" of appearing "not creative".  We explore this topic, then highlight how Mia's continuous re-invention represents a form of creativity that many people fail to see.

This episode is well worth the listen.  Thank you Mia! :-)

Today on HELIX Stories we hear from Kendra Beavis, founder and chief designer at MOKA.  Kendra and I discuss the nature of creativity.  Aside from being my friend and a valued partner, Kendra is an infectiously positive human being.  Kendra's LOVE of all things creative and design inspires her to not only create for herself, but to inspire her clients and friends to explore their own creativity.

Kendra started MOKA after arriving in the world of "big design" after art school. Discouraged and disillusioned by the impersonal nature of the work she was doing, Kendra struck out on her own.  Armed with the positive experiences she gained growing up in a family business, MOKA was created to give Kendra and her team the opportunity to do work they love to do for spirit-aligned clients.  Kendra's love of humans translates into a very personal, deep-dive branding process that produces spectacular results for her clients both professionally and on a personal level.

In February of 2020, Kendra launched Creative Spark, a free 30-day program designed to help EVERYONE get in touch with their creative side. We discuss how adults lose touch with the emotional and mental freedom they enjoyed as children, which can stifle creativity.

Thanks, Kendra!  I could not have asked for a better first guest for HELIX Stories.  :-)