Johanna Walker is the fear-blasting, storytelling maven for entrepreneurs and people with a mission, also known as a public speaking coach. She co-produces and co-hosts Truth Be Told, a popular storytelling event in Boulder, CO and is the founder of Women Who Speak, a transformational speaker coaching program for female leaders. She’s written and performed solo theater pieces that she’s toured throughout the US and Canada, and has worked with adolescent girls, women in jail & corporate execs, over and over witnessing the transformative power of telling our stories and speaking our truths.
In this episode we talked about:
- How Johanna became a fear-blasting, story-telling maven for entrepreneurs and people with a mission
- The fact that Johanna was teaching what she needed to learn at the beginning
- Our personal experiences with becoming comfortable on stage & sharing our stories
- How connecting to her body through dance allowed Johanna to connect to her speaking voice
- The open door that the play state creates for us
- Fear as a learned pattern that originally served us well that is no longer serving us and how creative play shakes those patterns loose and turns the fear into useable energy
- Stepping through the doorway of fear
- The power of our stories in others’ lives
- Creativity being most powerful when it is contained
- Johanna’s & Melissa’s Something Cool
Mentioned In This Episode:
Polar Bear & Dog Playing Together
Ignite Your Speaking Power Class
Melissa’s Something Cool – Prosthetic Leg Engineer
Connect with Johanna Walker:
Website | Blog | Instagram | Ignite Your Speaking Power Class
Johanna’s TEDx Talk:
Quotes:
“I was pretty good at figuring out what the right answer was, so I would deliver the right answer or if I wasn’t 100% sure I had the right answer, I stayed quiet.” – Johanna Walker
“Connecting to my body through dance was a huge way of connecting to my voice and my power.” – Johanna Walker
“You can’t be in fear and be in that play state at the same time.” -Melissa Dinwiddie
“When we’re in that play state, we get our full, authentic selves to show up.” – Melissa Dinwiddie
“Play is bigger than fear. Play is stronger, it is more powerful than fear. Play is mightier.” – Johanna Walker
“Fear is energy. It’s a story we have in our head, but when we can let go of the story, drop into our breath, and our body, and our voice, then the fear is no longer a story it’s just energy and we can play with it.” – Johanna Walker
“We think that they [our stories] don’t matter, or it’s just about me, or it’s too weird, or it’s too dark, or it’s too personal, or there’s some reason not to tell it, but when you can really get that it’s not about me, it’s a gift, then it’s just like here we go.” – Johanna Walker
“The more clear the limitation is [on my creativity] the more room is for me to push up against the edges and feel my fullness and push the edges out a little.” – Johanna Walker
Listeners Wanted!
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If I pick you for a Listener Spotlight, we’ll have a relaxed, fun conversation, and the recording of our conversation will be part of a future episode! How cool is that?
Want a creative kick start?
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What would change for you if you could totally revel in the joy of creating? You CAN, with The Creative Sandbox Way!
You’ll learn:
- Melissa’s 10 fool-proof guideposts that have helped thousands get joyfully creating.
- 5 reasons why creative play is good for you, AND for the world (it’s neuroscience, baby!)
- Why “I’m not creative” is always a lie, and how to bust it.
- How to turn creative blocks into friends.
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