Brad Walsh started as a photographer, with his passion being the ability to capture stories with film.  After creating a thriving business in boudoir photography, a mind shift led him to trusting that his purpose was to help women tell their stories beyond film - Empowerography Podcast was born!

In this episode Brad talks about the women that have inspired him throughout his life, and how he was driven to create a platform for women to empower, elevate and educate one another (and men!) through conversation with a man.  The result has been a podcast that is in the top 3% globally and growing! 

With a desire to bring harmony between feminine and masculine energy, and a deep call to create a community where we can all learn from one another, this podcast is about the power of connection, communication, sharing, and the inspiration that comes from heart-aligned action. 

Brad’s passion has led him to conversations with hundreds of fascinating women, stints of publishing episodes daily, and the deep desire to get these stories in the ears and on the hearts of as many as he can.

Brad is a beautiful human, Empowerography is a testament to following your calling when the Universe gives you “pivots” that are unexpected. 

This conversation is a reminder you are limitless and capable of anything you can dream up.

If you dream it, you can do it.

About the Guest:

Brad Walsh identifies first and foremost as a father to two beautiful girls aged 21 and 23, and a husband to an amazingly inspiring woman.  He is a photographer, a published #1 International Best-Selling Author, a #1 International Best-Selling Publisher and a podcast host/producer who found himself wanting to inspire others during the pandemic. he birthed the idea of EMPOWEROGRAPHY as a platform to highlight strong, inspired and dynamic women to share their stories of success, triumph, resiliency and transformation. He had no idea that what started as a simple concept would take on a life of its own. He is so excited to share this platform with you and continue to EMPOWER, ELEVATE and EDUCATE by amplifying the voices of women all over the world.  Please join him in spreading the word about this mission/collective/movement he is creating to help provide a platform for women to help empower and inspire other women out there in the world.

EMPOWEROGRAPHY can be found on all of your favourite listening platforms, and you can find and follow Brad here:

https://www.empowerographypodcast.com/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/empowerographypodcastlounge

https://www.instagram.com/empowerographypodcast

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradwalsh70/

About the Host:

Tanya's mission is to create a legacy of self-love for women that reinforces trust in themselves through our programs, coaching, podcast, and book, The Trifecta of Joy! As Founder and creator of the Trifecta of Joy Philosophy, she combines over 30 years of research and work in various helping fields, to help you achieve your greatest successes!

Using her philosophy of the Trifecta of Joy, her mission is to empower people through their struggles with the elements of awareness, befriending your inner critic and raising your vibe. This podcast is about sharing stories of imperfection moving through life to shift toward possibilities, purpose, and power in your life!

Having had many wtf moments including becoming a widow, struggling with weight and body image issues, dating after loss, single parenting, remarriage, and blending families, Tanya is committed to offering you inspiration and empowerment – body, mind, and spirit!

As a speaker, writer, and coach, Tanya steps into her life’s purpose daily – to INSPIRE HOPE.

Order your copy of the Trifecta of Joy – HELP yourself in a world of change right here.

Get in touch with Tanya and follow the fun and inspiration in other places too!

www.perfectlyimperfect.wtf 

https://www.facebook.com/PerfectlyImperfect.wtf

https://www.instagram.com/perfectlyimperfect.wtf

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanya-gill-695aa358/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH9VaHVMPa-Vk0l4LTuc_lQ

https://www.tiktok.com/@perfectlyimperfect.wtf?lang=en

Hugs, Hip Bumps, and Go ahead and SHINE!

Xo Tanya

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Hello friends, it's Tanya Gill from the trifecta of joy. And I am so excited to have a new friend with me. And my friend today is named Brad Walsh. Now here's what's cool about Brad. He's a professional photographer who found himself wanting to inspire others during the pandemic. So like a lot of people, I think we had this kind of shifting feeling. And so, Brad burst idea called Empowerography. And what is so cool about Empower geography is that he decided to step into a mission of highlighting strong, inspired and dynamic women to share their stories of success, triumph, resiliency, and transformation. So there's some really cool things here, because this is, I'm doing a podcast about awesome women. But he didn't realize that this concept would actually take a life of its own. And so he has this amazing platform, his podcast, you have to check it out. It's called Empower geography. And, Brad, welcome. Thank you for being here.

Thank you so much. I am absolutely honored. And it's a pleasure to be here with you today, ton of time. Yeah, thank you very much for the invitation to participate and share a little bit of my story and my journey here on your platform. I'm going to be having you on my podcast as well. So it's a little swap we're doing to

Yes, it is. It's I'm honored to be to be a guest on your podcast as well. However, like, seriously, you started out as a photographer, let's talk about this nonlinear or maybe it feels more linear than it sounds path to where you are now.

Yeah, I think, you know, I think it was a natural progression, actually. Because when I when I look back at how the path started for me, and, you know, working as an audiovisual tech and corporate, then into photography full time, and now the podcast is I think that the common thread there among those three is storytelling, right? Because photography, where photographers are storytellers, working as an audio visual Tech, we told stories through audio and video, video production, audio production, and then into podcasting, providing a platform for storytelling. So I think that's the common thread for me is the storytelling. But yeah, it's been an absolutely incredible journey. I mean, the podcast is now three years old, celebrated three years in April. And yeah, I would just say it's a natural progression, I think it's just kind of unfolded beautifully the way it was meant to happen. And I mean, I haven't shot I haven't done any photography work in over two years now. But I'm feeling a calling to go back to it and return back to my roots because photography is my first love my first passion I learned how to shoot black and white film back in high school. So developing images in the darkroom being around you know, that when I think about it now, just I can I can feel myself at see myself back in the darkroom. And I can smell those chemicals and the magic of the darkroom at seeing an image come to life that I created in camera, come to life on a piece of paper, as you put it through the chemical baths. It is such a magical process. And, you know, having now of course, moved into the digital age, and there aren't very many photographers that I know of, anyways, there aren't a lot of photographers out there that are still still shooting film and have access to dark rooms. So when I think about that, and it just it takes me I can literally smell the chemicals in the room and I can, you know, see the enlarger and running the photography paper through the chemical baths and just seeing that image come to life is so magical. And again, it's it's all tied into the storytelling and, you know, moving into the photography later in my life because that was back in high school. I never wanted to photograph people I had no interest in photographing people. My thing was architecture and landscapes. And through my corporate career, I fell in love with photographing people because I was tasked with the responsibility of doing the corporate headshots when I was working in corporate as an audiovisual tech as part of my job. And, you know, on that journey, falling into falling in love with photographing people and then I got connected through a mutual friend to a boudoir photographer who was based in Florida and I fell in love with her work and the mission and the message behind that genre of photography with what you can help women accomplish in terms of body acceptance, self confidence, self love. You know, it was just it was a light bulb moment I just knew I ended up mentoring with this woman that I was connected with for six months and I just when I was done my mentorship, it was just one of those light bulb I knew that's the direction I got to take my business, I fell in love with it. So I've been in the space of women's empowerment and providing, I guess, a stage or a platform for women, starting with their photography. And then just like I said, naturally progressing into the podcast. I mean, I started the podcast in 2019. Because I started to feel like the photography, there wasn't enough of an impact there. I wasn't reaching enough people and I wanted to impact more people reach more people. And so I thought, Why don't I take what I'm doing with the photography, and turn that into her transplant that into a podcast where I focused the podcast solely on women. And of course, at the time, and even now, I don't know of many, if any men that are out there that hosts a platform that solely highlights women, and shares their stories amplifies their voices. So, you know, I reached out to seven or eight friends of mine women who are photographers, they worked in the same industry as me and explained what my idea was behind the platform, what I wanted to do with it. And I asked them if they would help me get it off the ground by letting me interview them. Thankfully, they all said yes, and agreed. So I did the interviews, I created the content, and started publishing the interviews. And so 2019 was like a, I call it my dress rehearsal because I only did eight episodes. And I put them all out. Because at the time, I was also in my second year full time in the photography business. And the business started to pick up traction. I was getting more inquiries more bookings. And I thought, I left corporate for reason, I need to shift all of my energy, my focus to the business. So I shoved actually shelved the podcast idea, and went back to the business and put all my focus there. And then of course, we fast forward to March of 2020. And we all know what that story entailed around the world. And, you know, it just it rendered my business inoperable. I couldn't be booking shoots. And I got tired of the negativity and the anger and all the stuff that was going on in the world. And I just thought I can't I don't want any part of that I'm going to actually take advantage of this gift of time that everyone's been given on the planet, and flip the narrative and do something good. So this was my second light bulb moments like, I've got to reignite this podcast I have all this time on my hands, I might as well do something good, put something positive out into the world. So I started reaching out to women on Instagram. And the response was just incredible. Women were so happy to hear that a man had created a platform such as this, to help elevate women and amplify their voices through sharing their stories that it turned into this incredible thing where the women I was interviewing was it Brad I've got a friend I can introduce you to Brad I got a friend should be a great guest for your podcast to where it's grown to this beautiful community that we now have. And I can honestly tell you, Tanya with every fiber of my being an every bit of my heart and soul. This is my purpose. This is my mission on this planet is to do this work to help elevate women, and amplify their voices. Nothing has ever set my soul on fire like this. We're not even photography, and I never ever in a million years dreamed that I would ever say that because photography is my first love, photography and Brad are synonymous in my mind. And here I am doing this work. And I haven't picked up my camera in over two years now. So it's been an absolutely incredible journey I have met and connected with some of the most incredibly inspirational women and I just love being in this space and being able to provide a platform and a stage and a space for women to share their stories because everybody has a story. And it needs to be told every single person needs to tell their story. And for me to be invited into these spaces with these women to share in their vulnerability share in their stories is an absolute honor for me, I've had women tell me that they've told me things that they've never shared with anyone else. And that is just incredible to me. So this is this is why I'm here on this planet is to do this work. And I absolutely love it with all of my heart and soul.

It's so beautiful. It's so beautiful. And what's interesting, though, is that what I hear as the common thread is actually capturing and sharing the story. Right? And whether it's through film, or whether like it's it is that capturing and telling of the story and story are so powerful they are we all have a story. And in reality, if we look at history, right, a history didn't been framed through the lens and the story of men and, and so women have a different experience of life and and women come from I mean, we we have a different history, if you will. Yeah. creating that space to tell tip for people to tell stories. For me, like as a woman, the feeling that I get from that is that we can learn so much about ourselves, about our place in the world, how we connect and see one another by by listening to other people's stories and being inspired by them, even when they've been through hell and back, or maybe, especially if they've been through hell and back.

Absolutely, it's, you know, that's what I love about it. And that's a big part of the reason for it is because the women who are coming on the show and sharing their journeys, their stories, that is a permission slip for others to stand up and share their stories, but also the insights and the inspiration in those stories, so that maybe they don't have to go through the same struggles because of the information and the story that's being shared, that they that these women don't have to go through the same struggles or that they realize, hey, if Tanya has done this in her life, that means I can do it, too. If Tanya can do it, I'm capable as well. So it's, again, it's a permission slip to stand up and lean into who you truly authentically are. And the fact that you can do what these other women have done, it is possible because these women are showing you they're leading the way they're blazing the trail to know that it is possible.

It is possible, it is possible. And I think when you talk about, like, blazing the way and and you know, like leading through example, I think it's almost also like, it's not just leading the way, it's also saying, Hey, I'm here to hold your hand and like, and we're in this experience of life together. So you might not know me, but But I might have something that will spark something in you to help continue to grow and spread your light to

100%. Yet they will resonate. And that's why storytelling is as we've talked to storytelling is such an important fabric or thread in all of our lives. We all have a story to tell, I don't care who you are. I mean, we've been conditioned. And I hear so many of you, I don't have a story who's going to want to listen to my story. Well, someone out there needs to hear your story. It is your duty and your responsibility as a human being on this planet to share your story because it will undoubtedly resonate with someone else. And it will inspire at least one person.

Thank you for saying that proud, like, so you and I met through a beautiful mutual friend. Yes. Yeah, and I did a previous podcast with Heidi about, about what to say when when someone you love is grieving. Because we have a common background as both as being widows. Right, right. And with the shifts in my own personal life, I'm continuing with perfectly imperfect life coaching. I'm continuing with the podcast. I love it, you talk about like sharing your story. And I, I became very committed to writing my book, getting it published, and then turning it into an audiobook because I felt like even if it landed on the heart of one other person, it had the potential to make a difference. 100% so and so I'm gonna take all of that information and say, I believe that you came into my life, and I came into your life for a purpose. And that purpose partly being because of Heidi, and because of my conversations with you, I've decided that the podcast must go on. I love it. It is a piece of opportunity, if you will, to be invited to look at your life, consider your life and, and understand the connections through like you said the stories. And I want to talk about your story. Because you shared with me when we were talking before very briefly, that you were raised by strong, resilient women. And that really landed deeply on my heart because I was widowed when my boys were eight months old and four years old. And I didn't remarry until 14 years later. Wow. So I I very much my children as a solo parent. And I think as a solo parent, we often especially as mothers have an experience of feeling like we're fucking up our kids. Yeah, yeah. Of the void or because of whatever because we have to has a blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And you shared with me that you were raised in in a situation where you had an independent mom who was taking care and she was a really important inspiration in your life.

My mother I left my biological father when I was 10. But I mean, even leading up to that, he was never really involved in our lives. He, he didn't. He was absentee, he wasn't there, he wasn't around. And so at 10 years old, my mother realized that he was having an affair. And after 15 years of marriage, she had had enough. And I so admire her strength and courage to stand up and say, No more. I'm not putting up with this. And I don't have to put up with it. I put up with this for long enough. Like I remember, as a kid, my mom's sleeping on at a certain point in the relationship, I remember her sleeping on the couch, they weren't even sleeping in the same bed. And so it got to that point for her. And, of course, she had a lot of encouragement and support from her mother, my grandmother, who was like a mother to me, she was she was my second mother. It's funny, because my mom would tell me stories, as I got older that when we would be out the three of us, or the four of us, my brother, and I, and my mom and my grandmother, people thought my grandmother was my mother, sometimes, because we were that close, we had an incredible bond. So she had that support system. So therein lies the strength of the two women, my mom, first of all, having the strength and the courage to stand up and say no more, but my grandmother jumping in to support her daughter. So the strength in both of those women, they were role models for me, I mean, back, it was 1980, when she left, so that wasn't a very common thing for mothers, women to step out of their marriage and say no more. And we ended up moving into a one bedroom apartment in the same building that my grandparents lived in, actually. So there in was another bonus, where my mom had the support in terms of being able to look after us because she hadn't worked in 10 years, because she stayed home to raise us. So now, she had to go out find herself a job because she had to support my brother and I. And so when she managed to, to get a job, my grandmother was there to support us and look after us and help raise us. And so those two women, I mean, the strength of both of them is just incredible to have those role models in my life to teach me and show me and guide me through life. I mean, my mom was doing it all along as a single parent really, anyways, from when I was born to when I was when she left. But, you know, to have the strength and the courage to stand up and say, I'm not done, I'm done. I'm not I don't deserve this is just those two women are my heart and my soul. They are incredible human beings. And unfortunately, my grandmother passed away in 2020. But I know she's still here with me, always. I know, she's guiding me we had that close, tight relationship. Like I said, she was like a second mother to me. And, you know, that continued on until she passed that relationship. And I love that woman dearly with all of my heart and souls. She, She's my everything, her and my mom. So

what what are their first names?

Brenda? Is my mom. And Gladys was my grandmother. This was your grandmother?

Yeah. I just, I always feel like when when we get an opportunity to hear people's names, it creates a different kind of connection. Yeah. gives a little bit more of an identity. It's not just some random mom. Some random ground, it's glad us and yeah. And you know, being able to acknowledge them has a lot of power. It really for sure. It really does. Thank you for sharing that, you know, I, again, it's that hearing, hearing, the admiration, the respect the love that you have for them, knowing that they faced adversity and challenge and and still made the decisions that were right for them and their family at that time. Right. It also takes a massive amount of vulnerability.

Absolutely, absolutely. I mean, they're, they're my first two examples of strong women in my life. And that was at 10 years old. Of course, at that age, I didn't realize but now as I look back as an adult male, the incredible strength and courage and resilience, both of those women had I mean, they're, they're my very first examples.

So how has that impacted your relationship with the women in your life?

It has taught you know, it has had a huge impact because they taught me growing up that, you know, so many boys and I've talked about this many times before boys growing up are taught that not to show your emotions. It's not it's not manly, it's not Macho. It's not this, it's not that. And they taught me that it's okay to show your emotions and you should you have emotions you're a human being. And just because you're done yeah, just because you're a boy doesn't mean you don't show your emotions. But they also ingrained in me and taught me that you can do anything in your life, that support was huge, anything is possible, you just have to put your mind to it, and you can do it, whatever it is you want to do in this life, anything is possible for you. And so they constantly ingrain that in me and taught that to me. So there's so many valuable lessons that I gained and gleaned from those two women supporting me and, you know, teaching me about respecting women, all of these things started from that very young age. And they're all incredibly valuable lessons, which have led me to where I am today, and I wouldn't be the man I am today without those two women. So I owe them a debt that is never ever repayable for all that they taught me and gave me and showed me that I could never repay what they what they gave me the gifts that they gave me.

What gifts to the current women in your life give you

support, support and to continuing that message of knowing that anything is possible, because when I first jumped into entrepreneurship, I dealt with a lot of impostor syndrome and competition mindsets and all of that stuff. And my mom was still there supporting me, my wife was there supporting me, sharing with me that you can do this, you've got this, it is possible. So it's just been a continuation now with the podcasts and the women I have in the community, they too have become a support system. For me, I have cheerleaders, I have a close knit group of women around me who support me and continually tell me you can do this, you've got this look at look at what you have created. Look at what has been built here. And it is possible. So it's just a continuation of what my mom and my grandmother taught me from a young age to the continuing now to where I am today. And having that support system, I believe that we aren't meant to, nor can we do anything alone in this life. And so having that support system around you, I think surrounding yourself with the right people is key relationships, and community are the foundation for everything in this life. Everything.

Isn't isn't it so interesting? Because I agree entirely real. And I think that what the pandemic has taught a lot of us is the essential nature of relationship. And and it's so interesting, right? Because had the pandemic not happened you and I would probably not be having this conversation. Yeah. The fact that we can create relationship virtually, is really quite beautiful. Because you're in Ontario, and I'm in Alberta. Yeah. And there's a piece of it that is like, we have this opportunity, if you will, to I love what you said, to realize that if you put your mind to something, it can happen. But it's not just your mind. It's not just believing in yourself. It's also the spirit piece of trusting yourself. And the body part of actually actioning it right. It's like it's the actioning it. You did you said you did eight episodes, and then you shelved it. A lot of people say Oh, well, you know, I tried that, or you know that I did that whatever. But then it's also I think that what I I'm hearing is that you had almost that spirit calling saying trust this, trust this. And because you had the supportive community around you are also saying trust this. We it was those little steps forward because people, a lot of people assume that there's a leap that happens, right? And it's kind of like yes, there's a leap, you throw the backpack over the fence and say, I love that. Yeah. You're like, Okay, pack packs over the fence. We're going on the lawn. Yeah.

But it's then realizing that once you're over the fence and the backpack is over the fence, on the other side of the fence, you don't want the adventure to be alone. And it's it's a much richer experience when you can share that adventure with others.

Absolutely. That's that's another thing that I think is key is yes, having the support system. I know, I know, without a shadow of a doubt. None of this is possible without all of the women who have got on board with what I'm doing who have showed up and shared their vulnerability share their stories, without all of you. There is no Empower geography plain and simple. Sure, I came up with the idea. But without all the participants in power orography doesn't exist. So it's a community effort. It's a community platform and the other A piece of that is the celebration piece of it, celebrating that you're that you've completed these steps that you've gone through and you've put in the work. Yes, of course you can't do. Sure. You can. You can, like you said, you can have the power of the mind that, yes, I want to do this, I'm going to do this. But if you don't put in the work, it's not going to happen. And when you put in the work, it I think that's also again, it's another permission slip for others to see and take lessons from that and say, hey, if Brad's doing this, this is possible for others, I can do this too. And having those people around you to celebrate with you, and to lift you up. And you do the same for them. That's what it's all about is supporting each other.

Absolutely. In a previous podcast, I interviewed Dr. Jody Carrington, and I keep coming back to this, I've come back to it several times in many of my podcasts. Because her her line is we're all just we're all simply here to walk one another home. And, and her last book is feeling seen. And, and I think that that is a real statement about where we are in life right now. We're here to walk one another home. We're here to feel seen and be seen. And and do it. Briefly. Yeah, absolutely. No, I think that a lot of people are realizing that playing small, isn't serving their highest good. And it's, and it's taking the action. It's the steps to say, I'm going to trust this and I'm going to take the action. Yeah. So when you started doing this, and you started taking action? What was the indication that you are, what was your first indication that this was the right path? Mm hmm.

I've never been asked that before. Just a feeling in my gut, just the feeling that it just lit me up and excited me so much to do this work to to have these conversations to connect with people in that way. Because it we connect on a very, very, a much deeper level than your surface connections, right? Because, again, it goes back to the storytelling, these women are sharing stories. And these stories resonate, I pull inspiration from every single one of the women I speak to, and share in their journey. I compare it to being a passenger in the car with each one of my guests. They're driving the car, they're taking me on the journey of their life, and I'm sitting in the passenger seat beside them, I get to share in that I'm going along for that ride with them. What a fucking incredible honor that is, like, it's mind blowing to me that I am in the car, like some of these stories are just so every one of the stories is so powerful, but I am being invited into their car. That's a very closed, personal space. And I'm in that, How incredible is that? What an honor that is for me. It's so beautiful. And so it's just, it was just a knowing a feeling my soul smiling, laughing my heart smiling, and it's just like nothing I've ever experienced before it is. And I mean, photography, like I said at the beginning was my first love my first passion that was that same thing except amplified 1000s of times more by doing this work than as opposed to the photography. And that's not to say that I still don't love photography. I do. It's part of who I am. You can't. Once you've stepped into that with art with whatever art form it is you practice. I don't think you can ever shed that. I'm never not going to be a photographer. No matter if I'm shooting or not. Photography is part of who I am. It's in my DNA. It's just there. But this work. It's on a whole other level.

I I so appreciate the way you described that. It was like your soul was on fire laughing joyful, just like yes, yes, yes, yes. Because that's a big piece of it. Like, I really believe that we ended up when we as our path unfolds. You just start to feel that fire burning brighter and stronger and more excitement and more possibility and we just lean gently into the possibility we don't have to run into it. No, make it and run into the possibly dead we you know, it's like you just weighed in to to it just and just go with it.

Never in a million years. Ever dream. This is what I've been doing. I mean, never did this thought ever entered my mind up until I just started doing it. I mean, I just jumped in. I had never done a podcast before. I just figured you know what I've got my rd A visual background. So I know tech and I know gear and I know how to edit. But I've never interviewed anyone or I just figured, you know what? This, I need to do this. This has to be done. This is part of my journey. And I just jumped in and did it. Figured it out. And that's it.

I asked a question about imposter syndrome, Brad, because, and I'll tell you, straight out like, we're in season two. And I have not done you've done like 400. How many episodes have you done?

I published today? Let me flick 484 public was published today.

Okay, so you've published 484 podcasts, which is mind blowing to me, I haven't even I know that I haven't published even 100. However, there's also an incredible evolution that happens as a podcast host. I mean, I personally do some podcasts where I have conversations with people and somewhere I just have conversations with my audience. Yeah. And actually, I don't call them my audience. I call them my community. I call them my right. Your tribe. They're part of my people. Yeah, yeah. Part of the collective that's meant to be. However, if I listened back to some of my early podcasts, which I'm, I've only done a couple of times, I'm slightly horrified. Because and I'm sure I'll look back at even maybe these ones and go wow, like, there's of me, that is critical. And then there's another piece of me that is proud, because you see the growth, you know, the evolution of it as a host, and as the experience of it, unfolding as it's meant to be. So do you still get impostor syndrome? Or did you just shelve impostor syndrome?

No, no, I still get it. I actually have never gone back and listened to any of my early episodes. I have not. And I was thinking reason someone I was talking about this with someone else. And I thought, I should go back and listen to one of my first eight that I recorded. And I'm like, I don't know, I'm kind of scared too. In a way, but I mean, the imposter syndrome, the competition mindset, that stuff I experienced a lot more in my, when I first jumped into entrepreneurship. In my photography business, I was stuck in a competition mindset and impostor syndrome for almost the first two years of my business. And it was a tough struggle. I mean, it was hard I, I finally was able to get to a place where I was, I managed to wrap my mind. And so I'm gonna go off topic here for a second. But thinking about mindset, the word mindset, I was talking with a friend yesterday. And I've heard this before. And she said, You know, I really don't like that word mindset. And someone else told me the same thing. And I said, Well, why? And she said, Because mind and set means your set, your mind is set on something, it's set in a certain mode. So like I, I prefer to use the word mind shift, which I thought was very interesting, right? Because it's true mindset. That means you're set in a particular way of thinking or pattern. Absolute mind shift means you're able to shift your mind the way you think. So that little tweak, and it does tie into this. So I was able to shift my mind the way I was thinking, and realize that, you know what, there's more than enough work, there's more than enough money, there's more than all of it no matter what field of work you're in, there's more than enough to go around for everybody. So once I was able to shift, make that shift that little tweak, and realize that my only competition is me, that's all I need to worry about. If I can go and look back at my work as a photographer, and see that I've improved, that's all that matters. Because I was stuck in this well, why am I not at this point by now why this person is here, that person's this far. I'm only here and I mean, thankfully, I didn't give up there was points where I wanted to, I really wanted i i Seriously contemplated throwing in the towel and thinking, this is too fucking hard. Like, I can't do this. Like I'm not where I thought I would be. And so I got a mentor, which also helped. But being able to shift my mind to think that my only competition is me. And stepping into that and embodying that and believing in that helped. But I was stuck in that for almost two years before I was finally able to shift it and it still pops up. I mean, when I first started the podcast and putting it out there I'm one to of course working in audio visual, I was always behind the scenes doing all the work behind. That's where I stayed is be On the scenes and till this last, I would say, year where some of my community, my friends, were saying you need to step out from behind the mic, you need to step out from behind the shadows and put yourself out there, we want to see who Brad is, we want to see who the host is of this podcast, you need to put yourself out there more. So there was a lot of impostor syndrome around that stepping out from behind the mic and putting myself out there. So I started sharing posts being more vulnerable. And so it still pops up, you never, I don't think we ever get rid of that you never, I don't think you're able, you may be able to shelve it for a while. And it will undoubtedly creep in again, because we're human beings, we're, we're constantly evolving and growing, pushing, the more you push yourself outside of your comfort zone, the more you're going to grow. But it's still going to creep in, you can't avoid it, it's just I think it's getting to a point where you're able to turn the volume down much quicker, and know how to do it much quicker so that you're not stuck in that mind. Set. Because it is a set, you're set in that mindset. For too long, you're able to get yourself and pull yourself out of it much quicker. It's just It comes with practice, and constantly working on yourself and doing the work on yourself. Because I mean, we are the foundation self is the foundation for everything, it all starts here within us. So you have to do the inner work. And once you do that, it makes things easier as you progress as you grow as you expand, to turn the volume down.

It's that awareness piece, right? Yep. In the trifecta of joy, we talked about awareness, befriending your inner critic and raising your vibration. Yeah. And again, it's a mind body spirit. We're a mind body spirit unit. I love that. When we have the mind shift, and then we drop into embodying what we're here to do, trusting ourselves enough to, to first of all, acknowledge Oh, my God, I'm in competition. Comparison, and competition and comparison is a part of our cultural stew. Right? Like, very L to say it's a very masculine trait. It's a pattern. And a lot of women take on that trait. Yep. As a means of moving forward. And and also recognized, I think that we're also into a space of shifting and recognizing that masculine and feminine energy exists in all of us. And it's meant to exist in harmony. Contrast, yeah,

100%. Right.

so, and so often, that impostor syndrome, I think, because it comes from that masculine energy, and noticing and then shifting and embodying the trust. And taking the steps forward is sometimes I think, more of the feminine energy. Yeah. Because what I'm hearing from you is it's not that forced sense, but rather a sense of flowing it

that yeah, flow, and that's the feminine side, right? Is the flow and the masculine, this hustle culture bullshit, and context who do do competition, all of this stuff. It's like, no, that's not that's not in flow that's not in alignment. And I think people are starting to realize that and stepping more into and embodying both the masculine and feminine, you gotta have both we all have, as you said, we all have it within us. You've got to find the balance.

Oh, see, and I Oh, I'm gonna, I'm gonna hit you with that one. Okay, so this is something that you need to know about me, Brad, I actually believe balances bullshit. Okay. Okay. And I do I believe balance is bullshit. And I had this conversation with my manager when I was with children many years ago, because she said, Well, you know, we just need to create balance and I was like, It's bullshit. Now and she just looked at me and I was like, no, because balance says that there's an there's an equality always happening and is is that at any given moment, something is going to create a shift that is going to create off balance. So I use I use harmony to discuss Yeah, I was just gonna say harmony, I use the flow in and the flow out actually picture and infinity symbol and things flowing in and out as to and I think that when we create flow, we recognize that masculine and feminine can be present at the same time, reef and, and joy can be present at the same time. You know, happiness and anger can be present at the same time. And that's, that's the interesting thing. Like as human beings, we're such dynamic beings that we act really can flow through so much in a day.

I love that you said you brought up grief and joy because I was interviewing a woman about a month ago or a month or so ago. And she is she works on a grief field as well. And she said to me, grief and joy are soulmates. You cannot invite joy to the party without grief, inviting grief to the party. And I thought that was an incredible way of looking. I never heard that before. Grief and joy are soulmates. I thought, holy shit that you're right. You can't have one with it. It's like everything else, right? You can't have darkness without the light. You can't have joy without the sadness. You need both. You need the harmony, the harmony of voles, not to balance the harmony of both. Two, you can't know one without the other without experiencing the other. So I thought it was a very interesting analogy. Grief and joy are soulmates.

I really love that because one of the things that I say is that grief, grief is the Grinch is the sorry, grief is the gift. It was you that you've loved. Yeah. Right. Because, because love is such like, I just think that we're just we I believe we are all just loving light. And, and we're here to be there as a humanity. But if we don't experience love it, we can't experience grief. That's right. Oh, you know, so I love that. The cheap grief and joy are soulmates. Yeah. That Oh, that's really good. That is,

yeah, I love that I thought it was so powerful. And the analogy of you can't you have to invite them both to the party, they both have to be there.

And what Empower geography does is it It invites a space for women to to be able to not just recognize and share their story, but celebrate their story out there in a way that is authentic for them. Yeah, and that can include grief, joy, and every other emotion that comes with our unique stories.

Absolutely. It's yeah, I mean, like I said, it's it's incredible. It's an honor for me to share in the stories, it's just, I this work sets my soul on fire. Honestly, I've never felt such a fire in my belly for any work that I've ever done in my life as I have for this, this past three years, have been three of the best years of my life. Honestly, doing this work, it is unbelievable. And the relationships and the friendships are the best part of all of it. The connections, they are everything.

Connections are such a beautiful thing. Right? It's that being seen feeling seen making the connection, and and then sharing that connection because it even in a podcast, it's you and I having the conversation, but our conversation has a greater purpose. Yeah, greater purpose is to literally put it out into the world. And let it remain there and let it find the people that it's meant to find as it is, as it is discovered. Now, I've got to ask, you've got this podcast, you've done, literally a gajillion episodes, interviewing amazing women from all over the world. I am sure you check your statistics once in a while, how many countries are listening to empower on graphy? Do you know? Just out of curiosity?

I I honestly don't know. I mean, the UK, Australia, Canada, of course the US. Brazil. It's It's global. I mean, the podcast is in the top 3% globally. So every I don't know, I honestly don't i don't really you know, honestly, I don't really pay too much attention to the stats. I don't want to get caught up and yeah, weighed down in that stuff. Because it's not about that. You know, and early on. It's funny because I would get I would be reaching out to women on Instagram and ask them if they're interested on in being guests on the podcast. And I had a few women come back and the first thing they asked me is, well, how many downloads Do you have? How many listeners do you have? And it used to drive me batshit crazy, I couldn't stand it. I hated it. And it drove me nuts. And I got to the point where it's like, okay, well, this is still happening. It didn't happen in a lot. But when it did, I got to the point where you know what? That's not my they're not my people. Because if that's all you're interested in that then you you aren't a good fit for this platform because that's not what it's about. It's about sharing the stories of women who have done incredible things in their lives. That's what it's about. It's not about the statistics. It's not about the downloads. No I don't care about that stuff.

I and the reason I asked about the countries is because I don't care about the numbers either. A lot of people focus on that. What I like to see is, I like to look for interesting and or different countries around the world where, by what I call universal magic, that I've, I've had the privilege of being in that country, right. So when when, for example, when, when I had I had listened to in South Africa, I was like, Oh, how incredible that I've never been to South Africa. And yet, I have this ability to spread love and light, to even one set of ears in South Africa is just to me, a magical gift.

It is it's it speaks to the power of the podcasting platform, it is absolutely incredible. When you think about it, I mean, we have access to audiences that you never would have even imagined. Right. It's it's an incredibly powerful platform. And that's why I encourage people to get on to podcasts and guests on podcast, because you will get access to audiences that you never had access to. And it's an incredible way to share your story, like you said, people in Japan and Costa, Costa Rica, New Zealand, like all over the world have the opportunity to hear. I mean, who would have thought that someone in Costa Rica would be listening to my podcast or someone in Australia or India or it's mind boggling to me. And that's, that's just the power of the platform power of the medium. Podcasting is an incredibly powerful medium. To get your message out there, it's, I think it's the best medium that there is. Because there's no censorship, you can say whatever you want, you know, and you can reach at. But the access you have to people around the world, you are in their ears, you have a captive audience, for that 45 minutes that hour, or however long your episode is, you have a captive audience, you're in their ears, how powerful is that?

It is it's beautiful. It's beautiful. It's it's an opportunity to share a conversation with a stranger and invite and invite possibility to them. And, and you never know, right? Maybe someone's doing dishes, maybe someone's out. Maybe someone's driving to work, you don't know where they are in their lives or what they're experiencing. And yet, we have the gift of being able to share space with them. And potentially and I always say hopefully, actually, I trust that there's a glimmer, right, if there's one glimmer from a podcast that inspires them to take action, to mind shift to embody what they really truly love, then, then we've done our job.

How incredible is that? You know, I mean, think about that. Just sit and think about that for a minute is like, holy, you could change the trajectory of someone's day of someone's life, just through them listening to your conversation that is powerful, and beautiful, and just incredible. It's amazing.

And you know, Brad, I appreciate that. You say that, because I have an episode that I put out very early on. And it was one where I was exceptionally vulnerable. And it was where I shared that I learned that I had been sexually abused. And it was a very hard podcast to do. And yet I felt that it was critical that I put my voice out there and talk about it. And, and I had so many people reach out to me and use the word brave about how brave I was and how inspired they were by my bravery. And I think that we need brave spaces. But I also think that we have to recognize that bravery and vulnerability are soulmates. Yeah, yeah. Because if you know if we're talking about, about that experiences, you without the vulnerability, that bravery can't exist. That's right. And so, you know, like, I, as hard as that podcast was, I know that it had an impact and it encouraged other people to have a voice. So it was worth doing and, and it's a no regrets decision, right. Because of your work. It's part of your journey.

Exactly. It's exactly it's part of my life path. It's me in in my purpose, right. Yeah.

Yeah. Just as powerful as that. Right.

And and this is the other thing, empower ographers How did you decide On the title of Empower geography,

I honestly I just put together my my passion of photography and empowerment, because through the photography, I was helping to empower. Right? And it honestly, it just came to me, you know, you hear I hear people talk about this. It's funny that, you know, I can't figure out a name and figuring out the name for my podcast or figuring out the name for my business so hard and, and I was just sitting there one day, and it just downloaded to me that this is it. I just knew as soon as the word came to me and I spoke it out like this, is it? Because it is I mean, photography is such a huge part of who I am. It's in my DNA, it is part of me. And the empowerment piece. I mean, that's what I was doing through the photography, and then the empowerment piece, the power that you give people, or that people Sorry, I shouldn't say because we don't give people power. The the ability to share stories is empowering, right? And so it just it came together, it just, I got no other way to describe it. It just came to me and the and I knew right away without a second thought this is it. I had people say, well, that's hard to say. And it's how do you pronounce it? It's hard to remember. And I was like, No, this is it. I'm not changing it. This is it. That's all there is to it. It fits, it's perfect. It is a perfect description of the work I'm doing. And it ties everything in as one. It all comes together perfectly.

It's awesome. And it is it's about empowerment. It's about elevation, it's about. Yeah, it's about that beautiful opportunity to share and inspire others. And, Brad, thank you so much for being such an inspiration. A few weeks ago, when we chatted you shared with me that you were publishing a podcast a day for the for the month of August, if that's Yep, which is, in my mind, slightly insane. However, I also, I find that really inspiring because that is an indication of you living your passion. Right? And, and wanting to share and get these voices out and the stories to the world. Knowing that there are people out there that are waiting for them. You don't know who they are, but there are people out there waiting for them. They're waiting, and they're waiting to hear the story of someone they don't even know Yeah, going to change potentially the trajectory of their life.

And it's beautiful to be able to do that for people.

It is such a gift. It is such a gift and it's in it's a solid reminder for me. And I think that that's also part of the purpose of our conversation is that it's a reminder for me that this that the trifecta of joy podcast, has has a purpose. And it's just, it is the gift to our listeners and and I'm grateful I am so deeply grateful and humbled for every person who listens to a show and subscribes or shares or just starts listening and says, Oh my gosh, she made me laugh and I'm done. It whatever.

Yeah, absolutely. You touch one person's life. That's that's the goal. And that's the gift and you need to keep doing this work. Tanya you need it's part of your path. It's part of your purpose. So I mean, if I can inspire I'm honored and humbled that I can inspire you to keep going because you need to keep doing it. This is this is part of your path. So

thank you, Brad. Thank you so much. My friends. Oh my goodness, I could share Brad you forever and ever. That's a beautiful human and listen to you an incredible conversation. Brad, if our listeners want to find you Where would you like them to go?

They can find me on Instagram at Empower orography podcast ticket check out my website at Empower geography podcast.com Or they can find me on Facebook. I have a community there. The Empower orography podcast lounge those are the three main places I'm hanging out.

Okay. You also can be found on all the listening platforms. Yes,

yes, Spotify, Spotify, Apple, Google Stitcher, all those platforms? Absolutely.

So get your get your my friends, get yourself plugged in and listen to empower autography and stay tuned for when I have the opportunity and make sure excited for that on Empowerography as well. I'm very, very

good to flip the script here and I get to ask.

Oh, and you're such a great question. Asker I was listening to podcast I'm like, Oh, Ah, this has been gonna be

amazing. It. Thank you so much for this incredibly amazing and inspirational conversation, the opportunity to share the work that I'm doing in the world, and just to be in your presence and be on your platform. It's absolute honor and pleasure. Thank you so much for inviting me and having me tenure. I've enjoyed every minute of it.

Thank you so much, Brad, and I have a feeling that you're going to be back. I just,

I would be honored.