Have you ever walked into a professional setting or a high-end space and asked yourself, “Do I belong here?”

Join host Rita Ernst on The Story I’m Telling Myself for a transformative conversation with Mo McKnight Howe, the visionary owner of Revelry Gallery. In this episode, they dive deep into the "inner stories" of exclusion that artists and professionals face, the danger of elitist gatekeeping, and why it is time to cultivate your own spaces of belonging.

What You’ll Discover in This Episode:

• The "Closed Door" Narrative: Mo shares her raw experience of graduating from art school and being told she couldn't make it in her hometown—leading her to challenge the "starving artist" story by building a commercial powerhouse that now supports over 150 local artists.
• The Anti-White Wall Gallery: Learn why Mo and her partner Paula rejected the "stark and sterile" elitism of traditional galleries. From blue walls and antique rugs to a gallery dog that greets you at the door, discover how to design an environment that feels like a home.
• Anti-Gatekeeping and Mentorship: Mo explains her "open book" approach to the art world, providing the professional guidance she never received—on everything from pricing and branding to helping artists "graduate" from odd jobs into full-time creators.
• The Kids Cove Strategy: Explore why the traditional "don't touch" rule in galleries breeds a sense of exclusion for families. Mo discusses cultivating childhood art appreciation through a dedicated space where the youngest collectors can pick out their own handmade pieces.
• Price Inclusivity as Belonging: Discover the strategic power of the four-dollar sticker. Mo discusses how offering accessible entry points ensures that everyone can support the creative economy, regardless of their budget.

Why You Should Listen:

If you have ever told yourself the "cruel story" that you aren't good enough or that you need to conform to fit into a certain professional mold, this episode is your permission slip to rewrite the narrative. Mo’s 15-year journey is a masterclass in career resilience, showing that you don't have to be the owner of a business to cultivate community—you can start by changing the touchpoints within your own team today.

Stop waiting for an invitation and start building your own table. Learn how to move beyond professional intimidation and support the "shop local" movement to keep culture alive in your community.

Listen now and subscribe to the show to start transforming the stories you tell yourself.

Connect with Mo

mo@revelrygallery.comwww.RevelryGallery.comhttps://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/news/2020/09/25/forty-under-40-mo-mcknight-howe.html

The Kindness Revolution – Reclaiming Joy Beyond Burnout

⁠Grab your complementary companion guideAre you tired of "chasing" a version of happiness that feels out of reach? Join host Rita Ernst on The Story I’m Telling Myself for a transformative conversation with leadership and storytelling coach Monica Kleijn Evason.

In this episode, they dive deep into the "inner stories" that keep us stuck in burnout, the epidemic of modern loneliness, and why it is time for a "Kindness Revolution".

What You’ll Discover in This Episode:

• Burnout vs. Stress: Monica explains the critical difference between the two and how burnout often breeds a layer of cynicism that makes the very idea of "happiness" feel like an "ick".
• The "Marmite" Identity: Learn why being told you are "polarizing" is actually a gift. Monica shares her journey from being a "love junkie" seeking universal approval to embracing her "Marmite" self—realizing she was never meant to be "vanilla".
• The Science of Loneliness: Explore the "loneliness pandemic" and how social anxiety can affect even the most extroverted leaders. Monica discusses building "warm hubs" to foster community connection.
• Kindness as a Reciprocal Soul: Discover why true kindness isn't just about the Giver—it’s about the "reciprocal soul" that feeds the person receiving it and the person doing it.
• The "Five Frogs" Rule for Action: If five frogs are on a log and one decides to jump, how many are left? (Hint: The answer is five). Monica breaks down the difference between deciding to act and actually jumping off the log.

Why You Should Listen:

If you have ever told yourself the "cruel story" that you don't deserve to be happy, or if you feel the pressure to "dial down" your energy to fit in, this episode is your permission slip to shine. From DJing at the World Happiness Summit to taking a group of 75-year-olds to a Rock Choir, Monica’s story is a masterclass in finding courage through playfulness.

Stop surviving and start thriving. Learn how to raise your vibration through "strong kindness" and rewrite the inner narrative that is standing in your way.

monicakevason.com

Unpack Anxiety, Nervous System Regulation, and High-Achiever Burnout with Robyn Graham

Grab your complementary companion guide

Are you a high-achieving professional woman or entrepreneur who feels like you are standing in your own way?. You might be telling yourself the story that you don’t need to heal because your past wasn’t “bad enough” to count as trauma.

But if you find yourself trapped in a cycle of perfectionism, control, and people-pleasing, your nervous system is revealing the truth.

In this motivational and relatable episode of The Story I’m Telling Myself, you will discover:

• The Science of "Nervous System on Fire": Learn why high achievers often live in a state of constant high alert, cycling through fight, flight, freeze, or "fawn" (people-pleasing).
• The Truth About "Discounted Trauma": Robyn explores the internal narrative of believing your experiences weren't "bad enough" compared to others and why acknowledging your hurt is the first step to true healing.
• Breaking the Generational Curse: Understand how maternal anxiety and a dysregulated nervous system can create a "vicious cycle" that impacts your children.
• Rewiring Your Brain for Calm: Discover how your mind can control your brain to grow new neural pathways and move you from "emotional chaos" to a thriving life and career.
• Practical Tools for Resilience: Robyn shares the neuroscience behind a gratitude practice, explaining how identifying three things daily activates the prefrontal cortex to enhance creativity and executive functioning.

Why Professional Women and Managers Need to Listen: Manager burnout is at an all-time high, often driven by the simultaneous pressure to please bosses, please teams, and maintain perfect control. Robyn identifies the "alarm bells" of dysregulation, such as overreacting to small requests, chronic physical pain, and the inability to sleep.

Whether you are navigating a career transition or struggling with self-doubt, this conversation offers the practical tips and inspiration needed to rewrite your narrative and create the life you truly desire.

Be sure to subscribe and leave a five-star review to help other ambitious women challenge their self-limiting stories.

Connect with Robyn Graham:

Website: www.therobyngraham.comBook for Parents

Book for Teens

This episode of The Story I’m Telling Myself features Nathan Stuck, the "Social Impact Guy" and founder of Profitable Purpose Consulting, for a deep dive into the evolution of mission-driven business.

GRAB THE COMPLIMENTARY COMPANION SELF-REFLECTION JOURNAL

In this provocative conversation, host Rita Ernst and Nathan explore the choice between being an "Arsonist or an Architect" when it comes to systemic change and reimagining capitalism.

From "B Corp Guy" to Social Impact Visionary, Nathan shares his personal epiphany of moving beyond being just the "B Corp guy". While he remains a staunch advocate for B Corp certification as the gold standard, he realized that focusing solely on ideological purity was causing him to lose sight of the forest for the trees. By shifting his narrative to focus on social impact, he has embraced a philosophy of progress over perfection, allowing him to help companies at any stage of their journey toward becoming better corporate citizens.

Key Discussion Points:

• Arsonist vs. Architect: Why the "easy way out" of cancellation and "burning it all down" fails to move the needle, and why the "real work" involves the constructive, often difficult task of building a legacy within existing institutions.
• Reimagining Capitalism: How to move beyond a "check-the-box" approach to DEI and ESG to create a stakeholder-focused capitalism that rewards innovation and risk while maintaining ethical guardrails.
• The Business Case for Good: Nathan explains how social impact is a powerful economic engine, driving employer branding, talent retention, and consumer loyalty, ultimately creating a tangible ROI on doing good.
• Navigating Moral Nuance: A look at controversial examples like the Salvation Army and Nespresso, and a discussion on which "sins of the past" are truly irredeemable versus which organizations simply need a hand to do better.
• The Power of Small Actions: From picking up a bag of trash to rotating team-led volunteer activities, Nathan and Rita discuss how small, consistent deeds build the "beloved community".

Why You Should Listen

If you have ever felt paralyzed by the fear of doing it wrong or found yourself trapped in a righteous, judgmental space, this episode is your wake-up call.

Learn how to meet the system where it is—much like the legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg—and use your intellect and business to push it toward a more equitable future.

Connect with the Guest

Nathan Stuck is the founder of Profitable Purpose Consulting, Executive Director of Be Local Georgia, and a lecturer at the University of Georgia. You can connect with him on LinkedIn to learn more about building a mission-driven enterprise.

Watch his TEDx TalkGrab his book

What happens when you build a brand from scratch, reach the top 5% of Etsy shops worldwide, and realize the success you’ve built is actually exhausting you?

In this powerful episode of The Story I’m Telling Myself, host Rita Ernst sits down with Allison Sherwin, the founder of Threads and Honey, to redefine the 'F' word—failure.

Allison shares her transition from a 15-year corporate sales career to building an international embroidery brand featured in Food Network, House Beautiful, and The Observer.

Despite hitting profitability within three years and scaling to a team of six in her in the basement of her home, Allison found herself stuck in the "messy middle" of growth. She reveals the internal battle she faced with imposter syndrome, the "ego trap" of viewing her business as her "baby," and the overwhelming mom guilt that surfaced as the business outpaced her gifts and desires.

In this episode, we explore:

• The Scaling Trap: Why Allison chose "peace and joy" over scaling to an eight-figure manufacturing organization.
• The Permission Slip: The life-changing advice Allison received from her father during his final illness: "It’s okay to walk away and change your mind".
• Redefining Failure: How to dismantle the story that stopping a profitable venture negates your past achievements.
• The "What Next" Phase: Allison’s journey into her new chapter as an author and partner in her husband's business.

Whether you are a perfectionist struggling with burnout, an entrepreneur contemplating an exit strategy, or a professional navigating a new season of life, Allison’s story is a "permission slip" to prioritize your mental health and purpose over your pedigree.

“You are never stuck. Take the next right step that is right for you.” — Allison Sherwin-------------------------Connect with Our Guest: Allison Sherwin

Episode Resources:

• Companion Journal Guide: Download our premium guide featuring prompts to redefine your relationship with failure and unlock your permission to act.
• Recommended Reading: What Color Is Your Parachute?.

Don't forget to subscribe to The Story I’m Telling Myself and leave a five-star review if this episode helped you rewrite your own narrative!

Is your "perfect" life built on a hollow foundation?

From the outside, Holly McNeill had it all: the handsome husband, the beautiful home, a thriving career, and children. It was the "idyllic," picture-perfect life we are told to want. But inside, a destructive narrative of low self-worth and the belief that she was "unlovable and unworthy" was quietly rotting the structure from within.

Eventually, the house of cards collapsed in what Holly calls "The Inevitable Crash"—a terrifying health crisis during the rise of the HIV/AIDS epidemic that left her paralyzed by shame and fear for two weeks while awaiting medical results.

In this raw and vulnerable conversation, host Rita Ernst (Transformational Coach and founder of Ignite Your Extraordinary) sits down with Holly to deconstruct how Rose From the Ashes of Shame & Unworthiness.

Grab the complimentary companion self-reflection guideConnect with Holly

Watch Holly' Podcast

What if the thing you’ve been muting your entire life is the very thing meant to heal you? Grab the companion journal

In this deeply moving episode, Rachel shares how being literally hit by a truck became the catalyst for reclaiming a dream she had silenced for decades. While out for a run with her husband, Rachel was struck by a truck, leaving her with a compression fracture and alone in a trauma room for nine hours, without her phone, family, or certainty about her future.

In the middle of shock and pain, something unexpected happened: she began to sing.

That moment revealed what years of perfectionism, fear of judgment, and self-doubt had buried: her identity as a singer and her ability to regulate her nervous system through creativity. What started as a small act of survival became a powerful lesson in emotional regulation, resilience, and rewriting self-limiting narratives.

This episode is especially for highly sensitive people (HSPs), perfectionists, and overwhelmed entrepreneurs navigating imposter syndrome, burnout, and the relentless pressure to succeed. Rachel walks us through the small, imperfect steps that rebuilt her confidence, from hiring a virtual voice coach during recovery to performing on the very stage she once avoided, and eventually seeing herself on a Times Square billboard.

We explore:

• How self-limiting beliefs and perfectionism mute our most meaningful dreams

• Why confidence is built through action, not waiting until you feel “ready.”

• Overcoming imposter syndrome at work and in entrepreneurship

• Emotional regulation skills during trauma, burnout, and high stress

• The power of “borrowed belief” when your inner critic is loud

• Growth mindset vs. fixed mindset in business and personal reinvention

• Why so many entrepreneurs regret not being bolder, and how to stop repeating that pattern

Rachel’s story is a masterclass in cognitive reframing, resilience, and choosing expression over fear. It’s a reminder that healing doesn’t always come from pushing harder, but from finally letting yourself be seen.

If you’re an entrepreneur struggling with self-doubt, burnout recovery, work-life balance, or the fear of failure, this episode will challenge you to ask:
What dream are you still muting, and what might happen if you let it speak?

🎧 Listen now for inspiration, mindset shifts, and permission to stop dying with your music still locked inside.

Connect with Rachel:www.racheldruckenmiller.comRachel's TEDxLightbulbs Music VideoRachel's Podcast Playlist

What if the reason your marketing isn’t working has nothing to do with your tactics and everything to do with how you’re positioning yourself?

In this Season One finale of The Story I’m Telling Myself, host Rita is joined by Brad Luttrell, founder of Prologue Stories LLC, for a powerful live conversation on marketing, storytelling, personal branding, and relationship-driven growth.

At the center of this episode is a game-changing idea:
👉 Are you positioning what you do as a painkiller, or just a vitamin?

Most businesses, entrepreneurs, job seekers, and personal brands unknowingly market themselves as “nice-to-have” solutions. Brad breaks down why this approach fails, how to identify the real pain your audience is trying to solve, and why people are willing to pay a premium for immediate relief, not long-term promises.

• The painkiller vs. vitamin framework and how it applies to marketing, sales, and personal branding

• Why feature-based messaging doesn’t convert—and what to say instead

• How internal teams lose context and assume their message is clear when it isn’t

• Why you can’t rush trust or assume relationship buy-in

• How to build a warm network so you never have to rely on cold starts

• Why content marketing is a long game (and why “instant results” are a myth)

• The 80/20 content rule that builds emotional connection without selling

• How consistency compounds into momentum over time

Brad also shares his entrepreneurial journey, from founding and scaling GoWild, navigating rapid growth, fundraising, and market collapse, to ultimately shutting it down and discovering his true strength as a storyteller. That realization led to the creation of Prologue Stories, where he now helps companies clarify their messaging, reposition their brands, and launch podcasts that actually resonate.

• An entrepreneur, founder, or business owner

• A marketer, consultant, or creative

• A career changer or personal brand builder

• Someone struggling to explain what they do in a way that clicks

• Tired of chasing tactics and ready to build trust, clarity, and demand

The episode closes with a powerful reminder:
👉 Don’t assume your audience knows you.
👉 Don’t lead with vitamins.
👉 Build the relationship and offer the painkiller when it matters.

Because you never know who’s paying attention.

🎧 Listen to the full episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Audible.