Brad Walsh—host of the long-running Empowerography podcast—has interviewed 700+ women who have turned pain into purpose, and wisdom into action. 

He coined the word “Empowerography” by combining his first love—photography—with empowerment, and his show has become a living library of resilience ever since. In this conversation, Brad and I do less “Q&A” and more “two travelers swapping stories by the fire,” comparing what we’ve learned from hundreds of remarkable people who are busy making the world better.

Here’s the headline we both keep coming back to: 

Everyone Has a Story.

And if you get curious enough to hear it, you’ll find a doorway (and a treasure of insights) you didn’t know was there… for them and for you.

In this episode, Brad shares what he’s seen over and over again in over seven hundred conversations: Resilience. Again and again, guests on his podcast show courage, inner strength, and the refusal to be defined by what has happened to them. One woman, for instance, turned her third cancer diagnosis into a touring play that brings hope to others. 

These stories remind us that resilience isn’t abstract—it’s lived in real time, by ordinary people who choose not to give up.

At the heart of Brad’s work are the “three C’s”: Connection, Community, and Collaboration. None of us are meant to do life—or business—alone, and one way we create connection is through the kind of listening that heals. Not listening to respond, but listening to understand. Sometimes just saying, “Tell me more,” dissolves walls that were about to turn into combat. 

Storytelling, too, is central. Brad makes a compelling case that sharing what you’ve lived through is not a luxury, but a responsibility, because you never know when your story might be the lifeline someone else needs.

You’ll also hear about the power of small shifts in perspective—regular listeners of the Conspiracy of Goodness Podcast know a lot about this already, especially if you listened to the episode featuring Enock Glidden: born with spina bifida and unable to use his legs, he climbed El Capitan by swapping “I can’t” for “How can I?” 

Seven Hundred Ways to Change Your Perspective

That one phrase can move mountains—or scale them. 

I practice a similar habit I call “pearl-hunting:” In any tedious meeting or long day, I look for one pearl or nugget of wisdom or truth that I’ll use every day. Suddenly, nothing is boring; everything is instructive. These kinds of shifts are cleansing to make: They remind us that possibility often hides in plain sight.

We’ll dig into self-awareness, too—not the woo-woo version, but the practical muscle in your brain. Sometimes it’s as simple as zooming out and asking, “Why is this triggering me?” or “What part of this is making me upset?” Other times, it’s found in journaling, walking in nature, or simply sitting still. 

Building self-awareness changes how we move through conflict and opportunity—and tied to that is a favorite lesson from National Geographic legend Dewitt Jones: don’t marry an outcome. If you’re at the north pole with a camera and you’re fixated only on getting good pictures of polar bears, you might miss the baby seal glowing in perfect light right at your feet. Hold a direction, but stay open to serendipity.

At the end of this conversation, Brad and I circle back to themes of mentorship, intention, and the inputs we choose for our lives. Mentors are important: at least three-quarters of his guests mention one, reminding us that guidance is something we should both seek and offer. 

Progress doesn’t always come from giant leaps—it often starts with one small step in the right direction, especially if you surround yourself with cheerleaders instead of energy vampires. 

And through it all, remember to feed your soul, not your fears. If your media diet is making you feel brittle and tired, swap in stories and voices that widen your view and lighten the load your shoulders. Just four minutes of good news each day measurably improves optimism—so imagine what a steady diet can do!

A few luminous examples from Brad Walsh’s Podcast and ours:

• Turning pain into purpose: A guest who faced cancer three times and built a one-woman show in order to bring light into chemo rooms and living rooms alike.
  
• Service as oxygen: A creator who transformed grief into an advocacy movement that supports victims’ families and pushes for systems that honor them.
  
• Ingenuity that sneaks up on you: From artists and chemists who clean polluted waterways by turning toxic sludge into paint pigments, to scientists training giant pouched rats to clear landmines, detect tuberculosis in minutes, and find survivors in collapsed buildings. (File under: “I never saw that coming—and now I can’t stop smiling.”)
  

Each story isn’t a parade float of perfection; it’s a tool in the toolbox—a way of thinking, a sentence to borrow, a practice to try.

10 tips to help make you more resilient today (put these on your fridge!)

1. Want to create an instant friend? Ask, “What’s your story?” It’s the shortest bridge between two human beings.
   
2. Want to turn someon hostile into a friend? Say, “Tell me more.” Especially when you disagree. Curiosity disarms defensiveness.
   
3. Want to make something seem possible? Swap “I can’t” for “How can I?” Watch what opens.
   
4. Stuck in a boring conversation or meeting? Go pearl-hunting. In every conversation, meeting or awkward conversation, look for one idea or insight that you’ll keep; the one that feels like you were meant to hear it today!
   
5. Starting to feel hot under the collar? Zoom out before you blow up. When your ears get hot (mine do!), step back and ask: Will this matter in six days? Six months?
   
6. To anxious to start or keep going? Do not marry a particular outcome. Be faithful to direction, not destination.
   
7. Want to grow? Find a mentor, or be a mentor. Knowledge hoarded helps no one; knowledge shared changes worlds.
   
8. Want a better life? Carefully select what you are giving your attention to! Choose your inputs: If it feeds your fear, release it. If it feeds your soul, make room for more.
   
9. Need to change something, anything: Start small, start now. A tiny step beats a perfect plan.
   
10. Want more goodness and beauty to show up all around you? Be good, do good. It’s astonishing how far a sincere smile, an honest “How are you, really?”, or a small act of service can ripple. All that kindness and gentleness tends to bounce right back to you!
    

The Importance of Sharing Good News

If your newsfeed has you convinced our era is a dumpster fire, this episode is a cool hand to the forehead. The people Brad interviews—like the ones we bring you every week—are proof of what’s possible. They are not unicorns or sasquatches; they are our neighbors, colleagues, and quiet heroes, who have decided to trade complaints for contribution, and certainty for curiosity. That choice is available to all of us, right where we stand.

And here’s an encouraging secret: hope is a discipline. The more we look for evidence of goodness, courage, and ingenious problem-solving, the more we see it—and the braver we become about adding our own piece.

So pour your coffee (or your tea), come sit by our campfire, and let this be your four minutes (okay… sixty) of good news that changes your posture toward the day. If you’re tired of content that feeds fear, this one will feed your focus—on what you can do next, with what you have, alongside people who care.

Bring your curiosity, leave with a pearl—or, if nothing else, a new sentence you’ll carry into every conversation: “Tell me more.”

• Podcast: Empowerography with Brad Walsh
• CoG Episode: Nat Geo Photographer Dewitt Jones Captures The Beauty That Transcends Our Differences (Episode #160)
• CoG Episode: Toxic Sludge to High End Paints: The Art of Transformation with John Sabraw (Episode #196)
• CoG Episode: Treating Obstacles as Adventures: The Power of Asking “How Can I?” with Enock Glidden (Episode #197)
• CoG Episode: The Possibility Curve: Turning Change into an Ally with Dewitt Jones (Episode #219)
• CoG Episode: What If Rats Could Save the World? Turns Out, They Already Are! With Dr. Cindy Fast (Episode #222)

• 00:00 – Introduction & Welcome
• 05:20 – Everyone Has a Story
• 12:30 – Stories of Strength: Valerie & Beyond
• 19:47 – Confidence, Self-Love & Finding Your Voice
• 23:00 – Brad’s Journey: From Corporate to Empowerography
• 27:52 – Mentorship, Pearls & Choosing Positivity
• 39:14 – Break
• 41:29 – Self-Awareness & Intention
• 52:10 – Purpose, Passion & Taking the Leap
• 1:12:00 – Closing: Do Good in the World