Joy Found Here

What happens when a near-death childbirth experience becomes the wake-up call that launches a six-figure wellness empire? In episode 279 of Joy Found Here, Cassandra Sonma Ukaobi, known as Cass UK, shares how an emergency C-section and postpartum depression pushed her to leave a stable NHS career and go all-in on Tolicious, her wellness brand. For Cass, the journey wasn't about waiting until things felt safe. It was about trusting that self-care isn't selfish, it's survival.In This Episode, You Will Learn:03:39 Cass Uk joins the conversation04:54 Growing up in Nigeria with a midwife mother05:30 Choosing nursing school in Dominica over medicine in Nigeria08:28 The near-fatal childbirth that became her wake-up call10:04 Building Tolicious: products, philosophy, and the Healing Chats podcast15:04 Her own postpartum depression and the power of community21:17 Writing "The Tolicious Way"26:52 Family reactions, patriarchy, and generational expectations29:21 From tea and shea butter to a full skincare line33:53 Launching Blueprint Academy and the ancestral legacy behind her driveCassandra Sonma Ukaobi, known as Cass Uk, is a Nigerian-born, UK-based entrepreneur and former NHS nurse who founded Tolicious, an award-winning nurse-led wellness brand offering supplements, skincare, haircare, and workplace wellbeing programs. She bootstrapped the business to six-figure revenue in its first year while nursing full-time, later securing investment through the North East Accelerator Programme as the first Black female founder to do so, and the brand has since been named Best Female-Led Wellness Brand UK 2025. She also authored "The Tolicious Way," hosts the podcast Healing Chats, and founded Blueprint Academy, coaching women moving from corporate careers into entrepreneurship.In this episode, Cassandra Sonma Ukaobi shares the journey behind Tolicious, from growing up in Nigeria watching her midwife mother run a maternity clinic, through nursing training in Dominica and a career spanning London and the NHS. She opens up about the emergency C-section that nearly took her life and her son's, the wake-up call that pushed her to leave nursing and go all-in on her business. She speaks candidly about postpartum depression and community, and discusses writing her book, her plant-based skincare line tested at market pop-ups, and her mentoring work through Blueprint Academy. Throughout, she credits her nursing background for the skills that built her business, guided by her belief that self-care is not selfish but survival.Connect with Cassandra Sonma Ukaobi: WebsiteInstagramLinkedInBook: Cassandra Sonma Ukaobi “Class UK” - The Tolicious WayLet's Connect:WebsiteInstagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when trauma gets distilled into fifty-five letters to a mother who couldn't hear them? In episode 278, Kim Cook shares how a shelf collapse and old records cracked open years of grief, unlocking the letters behind her memoir, What Remains Is Love. For Kim, healing meant compassion for an imperfect mother and choosing joy at every age.In This Episode, You Will Learn:(03:34) How Kim's story began in a small farming town before her mother's bold move to Berkeley(07:14) Growing up immersed in a multicultural community and the gift of lived experience(13:33) Getting sober at 29 and finding her guiding filter of love, learning, and travel(19:31) The inspiration behind her book, What Remains Is Love: Fifty-Five Letters to My Mother(23:59) Understanding intergenerational trauma and the complexity of forgiveness(26:20) How a collapsed bookshelf and old records sparked the letters that became a memoir(32:15) Surviving addiction, financial hardship, and a life-threatening cancer diagnosis(37:17) Launching her new Substack, Plain Spoken, and finding a supportive writing community(42:02) Writing her next book, Life Without a Handbook: How I Got My Sh*t Together(45:43) Staying playful and curious at any age, and why fun can be found anywhereKim Cook is a multidisciplinary creative director, author, and cultural strategist known for translating bold ideas into impact across theater, circus, festivals, public art, and digital media. Her background includes creative leadership roles at Burning Man and Montreal's Moment Factory, and founding New Orleans' LUNA Fête Festival as CEO of the Arts Council New Orleans. A nine-time NEA grant recipient and Kennedy Center Fellow, she holds degrees in Performing Arts and Arts and Consciousness, plus a Circus Dramaturgy certificate from France and Belgium's National Circus Schools. She authored What Remains Is Love: Fifty-Five Letters to My Mother, a memoir on grief and reconciliation, and writes Substack Plain Spoken.In this episode, Kim Cook traces her story from a turbulent Bay Area childhood to her unreconciled relationship with her mother, a trailblazing physicist. She shares how her book, What Remains Is Love, grew out of grief into a vehicle for processing intergenerational trauma. Kim speaks candidly about recovering from addiction and surviving cancer, and describes her creative career across theater, circus, and placemaking, plus her new Substack and next book. She closes on lifelong learning and finding joy in ordinary moments.Connect with Kim Cook: WebsiteInstagramLinkedInBook: Kim Cook - What Remains Is LoveLet's Connect:WebsiteInstagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if the only difference between a listener and a published author is hitting record? In episode 277, Michelle Glogovac, THE Podcast Matchmaker®, shares how a 2018 layoff pushed her from corporate aviation into a career built on other people's stories — one nudge, one ask at a time, into a business, a book, and a following she never saw coming.In This Episode, You Will Learn:(00:13) Introducing Michelle Glogovac, THE Podcast Matchmaker®(05:14) From Corporate Aviation to a 2018 Layoff That Changed Everything(06:00) How a Life Coach's Podcast Sparked an Unexpected Career Pitch(11:30) Learning the Behind-the-Scenes of Podcasting and Building a Team(16:37) Why Michelle Calls Her Shows Her "Selfish, Guilty Pleasure"(21:43) The First Step to Sharing Your Story on Podcasts(29:19) What It's Really Like to Work With a Podcast Publicist(34:16) The Evolution From My Simplified Life to Read The Damn Book, BURNT, and Kitchen Briefs(45:07) Advice for Podcasters Looking to Book Great Guests(52:03) Where to Find Michelle and Final Thoughts on Sharing Your StoryMichelle Glogovac is THE Podcast Matchmaker®, an award-winning publicist and host of the Webby-nominated Read The Damn Book, Behind The Campaign, and BURNT podcasts, as well as author of How To Get On Podcasts (McGraw Hill, 2024). She has helped entrepreneurs, authors, nonprofits, and advocates land spots on over 1,000 podcasts and establish themselves as thought leaders, and has coached thousands of authors through podcast book tours via the Nonfiction Writers Association. Michelle holds a B.A. and M.S. in Law and is Founder and CEO of The MLG Collective®. She lives in the Bay Area and loves sushi.In this episode, Michelle Glogovac shares how 18 years in corporate aviation sales led, after a 2018 layoff, to discovering podcasts and becoming a podcast publicist. She traces how that pivot grew into her own family of shows, including Read The Damn Book, Behind The Campaign, BURNT, and Kitchen Briefs, each born from a different passion. Michelle walks through her process for helping clients define their story, identify their audience, and land the right podcast placements, stressing that persistence and simply asking are what open doors. She speaks candidly about the discomfort many feel discussing their own accomplishments and the value of recorded stories as a legacy. She closes by reflecting on her platforms' unexpected growth, from hoping for 600 Instagram followers to nearly 24,000, built simply by showing up.Connect with Michelle Glogovac: WebsiteThe MLG Collective WebsiteInstagramFacebookXGet Michelle’s books!Let's Connect:WebsiteInstagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if the loudest truths in your life have been arriving as whispers all along? In episode 276 of Joy Found Here, transformational mindset coach Kathleen Huebner shares how a difficult divorce and a mysterious moment on a walk in the woods led her to write her bestselling book, Whispers Within Us. For Kathleen, the real work isn't chasing constant noise or forcing outcomes—it's learning to slow down, get quiet, and trust the signs, synchronicities, and inner nudges that have been trying to reach us the whole time.In This Episode, You Will Learn:(03:27) Welcoming Kathleen Huebner to the show(03:47) Life after divorce: the path into yoga, spirituality, and coaching(05:45) Writing Whispers Within Us: the whiteboard process and a 3.5-year journey(09:03) Recognizing signs and synchronicities—and the feathers that connect her to her late father(12:57) Training with the Napoleon Hill Institute and uncovering limiting beliefs(16:50) The "seven layers deep" method for surfacing emotional trigger points(20:16) The audible whisper on a forest walk that gave the book its name(24:39) Letting go of outcomes and embracing "tower moments"(30:33) Finding gratitude in turmoil and trusting the magic(38:18) Setting boundaries with technology and finding quiet in a noisy world(48:29) Where to find Kathleen, her book, and a second book on the horizonKathleen Huebner is a transformational mindset coach, certified yoga instructor, and bestselling author of Whispers Within Us. A Founding Ambassador for the Napoleon Hill Institute and Certified Wellness Coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, she helps clients move past limiting beliefs to realign mind, body, and spirit. Her divorce inspired both her book and her "From Mrs. to Miss" mastermind for divorced women reinventing their lives. Based in Wisconsin, she coaches clients worldwide and is currently writing a second book.In this episode, Kathleen traces her path from divorce through yoga certification and Napoleon Hill Institute training, sharing how these experiences opened her up to noticing "whispers" — signs, synchronicities, and intuitive nudges. She recounts the origin of her book's title and her three-and-a-half-year writing process, then unpacks her coaching philosophy: uncovering childhood-rooted limiting beliefs, her "seven layers deep" questioning technique, and the value of active listening. She shares practical tools for slowing down—unplugging from phones, time in nature, gratitude practice—and describes her mastermind structure. She closes by sharing where to find her and confirms a second book is underway.Connect with Kathleen Huebner: WebsiteInstagramFacebookYouTubeGet Kathleen’s books!Let's Connect:WebsiteInstagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if the biggest obstacle to becoming who you're meant to be isn't outside circumstances, but the boxes you've been checking your whole life? In episode 275, executive coach and bestselling author Tori DaCosta shares how a pause in her corporate career led her to write No Name Bastard—and reclaim ownership over the one thing she could truly control: herself.In This Episode, You Will Learn:(05:11) From Executive MBA to a Career-Defining Pause(07:08) Life as a Primary Caregiver and the Question That Changed Everything(10:45) Naming All the Hats: The Exercise That Sparked Clarity(12:38) Work-Life Collaboration Over Work-Life Balance(21:06) Why Tori Wrote No Name Bastard(24:45) Surprising Reader Feedback and Redefining Ambition(29:05) Learning to Sit Still and the Freedom of Letting Go(42:29) Rebuilding Self-Trust Through Control, Manage, and Influence(47:51) Why Challenges Are Fuel — and Where to Find ToriTori DaCosta is a business leader, executive coach, bestselling author, and speaker who helps people lead themselves with clarity and intention. She's the author of No Name Bastard: How Our Lives Teach Us What We Can Control, Manage, and Influence, drawing on her own experiences to help readers turn hard seasons into growth. She spent over a decade leading teams within a Fortune 50 company, holds an Executive MBA from Emory University and a bachelor's degree from Appalachian State University, and centers her work on the transformative power of ownership. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and two children and enjoys running and the outdoors.In this episode, Tori DaCosta shares the journey behind writing No Name Bastard and unpacks her "control, manage, and influence" framework. She traces her path from corporate leadership and an executive MBA to a moment of stillness that pushed her to rethink the impact she wanted to make, and offers practical strategies like scheduling one-on-one time with her kids and swapping work-life balance for work-life collaboration. She speaks to self-trust, ownership, and sitting with discomfort, using a biosphere experiment where trees fell over from lack of wind to show why resistance builds strength. She also discusses redefining ambition and success on her own terms, freeing herself from judgment, and the surprising response from male readers around people-pleasing.Connect with Tori DaCosta: WebsiteLinkedInInstagramFacebookYouTubeBook: Tori DaCosta - No Name BastardLet's Connect:WebsiteInstagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.