What does it mean to show up courageously in your life? Who exactly are you showing up for? Why is it important to keep showing up. In the 431st episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast, Rob sat down with author and story teller, Jude Charles, to answer those questions and more. This episode is a bit different from the typical discussions we have on the podcast, but we think you’re going to like it. Click the play button below, or scroll down for a full transcript.

Stuff to check out:

Jude’s Book (audio)

Get The Questions

The Copywriter Club Facebook Group

The Copywriter Underground

Full Transcript:

Rob Marsh:  A couple of months ago, I scheduled a catch-up call with my friend Jude Charles. Jude has been a guest on the podcast and a speaker at several of our TCCIRL live events. But we hadn’t talked in several months so we hopped on Zoom to catch up on what we were both doing. During our catch-up, our discussion got personal and a bit vulnerable and we shared some of the things we were working on and working through. And we both realized we probably should have been recording the call because there are probably a few people who could benefit from the insights we were sharing.

Some of the questions that came up included… What lights you up in your day-to-day life? Or in your work? Who are you showing up for? Who are you making a difference for with your work? And what do you do each day that requires courage? 

It was too late to hit record on that discussion, but we scheduled a time to revisit some of these ideas and this time we did hit record. That’s what you’ll hear if you continue to listen in on this episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast. This discussion is a bit different from the typical interview we usually share, but I think you’re going to like the change in topic and tone—at least for this episode so keep listening.

But first, this episode is brought to you by The Copywriter Underground. You’ve heard me talk about the monthly trainings—the next one happens this week and is all about how to land a “real job” for a client where you are their PT or FT copywriter. That’s happening tomorrow on the day this episode goes live. And of course it will be recorded and shared in The Underground training vault along with dozens of other trainings on building your authority and audience, on launch strategy, on building an email list, on research, on creating new products and services and so much more. To get your hands on all that training for less than you’ll spend on a single night out with your spouse or partner, visit thecopywriterclub.com/tcu.

And now, let’s go to our discussion with Jude Charles. 

Welcome back to the podcast. You’ve been here before. You know the drill. You were on episode number 217, where you talked about the demonstration of proof. And then you came back for an ensemble episode, if I remember right, 279, where you were chatting a little bit about burnout with a couple of other people and just kind of talking about how copywriters can deal with that. You and I reconnected a couple of months ago and we were just chatting and I think it was, we were chatting. I can’t remember which one of us said this, but we were like, we should be recording this. Cause it was a really, really good discussion. And so I’m thrilled to have you back. So we normally start out with your story, but since we’ve done that before, just kind of catch us up. What’s been going on this last year or two?

Jude Charles: Yeah. So I, Ironically, I think I’ve been going through a process of reinvention, maybe for the last, it feels like the last five years, it’s probably been less than that. It started at TCC IRL, where we’ve talked about it. I don’t know if we’ve ever talked about it online, but offline, we’ve talked about how you challenged me to get on stage and to share my expertise and what I had to offer. I was scared out of my mind the first time I did it. It was back in 2019. I remember I had been to TCC IRL the first year, which was only about 50 people. And then I came back the next year and it was much bigger than I was expecting. But yeah, I remember just almost like walking away from that and saying, you know what, I can’t do this. Because I went to tech check the rehearsal. And I remember looking at the room and I’m just like, I can’t speak in front of all these people. Like, this is crazy. But I pushed past my comfort zone and did it. And that’s what started this journey that’s what I feel like has been a process of reinvention for the last five years, where I have been on over 150 podcasts as a guest. speaking and sharing and sharing my purpose, which I believe is to lead and empower entrepreneurs to have relentless courage, but also sharing just my own journey vulnerably about my experiences going beyond business. And so in the last two years, I have been contemplating this transition that I’d kind of put out in the atmosphere that I would walk away from video production. But I think in 2014, not 2014, 2024, what was of wild for me is that it was the year that I received the most messages from people that basically told me how I, through my voice, I changed their life. And I don’t know if I shared this with you, I had to have when we were talking last, because I think it had happened already, but I got this one email from a lady back in November, and it started with this line that immediately caught my attention. It was a very long email, and I wasn’t gonna read it at first, but it was this line at the beginning that said, my father died a week after walking me down the aisle.

Rob Marsh: That’s a great line. That is a really, really good hook. Sad, sad as well.

Jude Charles: Right, and she’s not a copywriter, I was just like, wait, where is this going? Because it’s in response to an email that I send out that you probably remember is the email that I talk about right before my 30th birthday, I went to Colombia, the country of Colombia, and got lost pretty much. And so at the end of the email, I asked readers, what did you do for your last birthday? And so she starts that way. And it’s like, wait, she’s not answering the question, but she’s going on this long journey. And ultimately, what she shared with me is that, She lost her dad back in 2010, right after she got married. And then most recently, she lost her uncle, which is her dad’s brother. And in losing her dad’s brother, she felt like she was losing this connection to her dad. And she was spending time remembering her dad. He used to wear this hat called Life is Good. And she was like, his whole life, he never wore a hat. But just about a month before he passed away, he started wearing this hat, and on the hat it said, life is good. She couldn’t figure out why he was wearing this hat. But in losing her uncle, thinking about her dad, she decided she needed to hear a calm voice. And so she looked up my name on the podcast app. 

Now, I don’t have a podcast, but like I mentioned, I’ve been on over 150 podcasts. And she’s obviously heard me on maybe one or two, and so she looked it up, and what she decided to click on was a podcast I did recently that’s not in her industry. She sells draperies and blinds, window blinds, right? But she clicked on a podcast that I think was called something like How to Grow Your Etsy Business or something like that. And she listens to this hour-long podcast, but in the last two minutes of this podcast, the podcast host asks me, hey, what books are you reading right now? And I share with her, you know, two books that I’m reading. And then she’s like, I want to send you this book. And I think you’ll really love it. The book is called Life is Good. And it’s behind the brand that is Life is Good. And it was all this lady needed that went to go listen to this podcast to feel a deep connection with her dad again. 

And Rob, as I read this email, I started crying because I think to myself how I downplay sometimes. about the idea of me getting on podcasts and sharing and talking and doing all these things. And of course, I get on and talk about storytelling and what I’ve done in the last 18 years. But then there are people who need, in a dire moment, they need something different. They need something deeper. And what are the odds that this lady clicks on something that is not in her industry, that she finds an answer to her problem that has nothing to do with video production or storytelling, which is what I do, but it’