When we step into our personal agency, we step into a place of engagement with the world and we start to grow hope. I made this episode to respond to the mounting scarcity energy that I’m witnessing in my client calls. People are frustrated with not hearing back about job opportunities, outreach emails, and are in a ‘what’s going to keep the lights on?’ moment (both literally and figuratively). This all is super challenging and it all requires a LOT of resilience. I hope this listen can be a dose of inspiration to keep trying, to keep showing up and remain awake to yourself and to others. 

Stay until the end of the episode to hear me run you through a clarity exercise that you can do to take a next step toward figuring out what you, the protagonist of your life, can do to remember that you have the Author’s pen in your hand.

Stuck in the endless loop of "What should I do with my life?" When you're stuck between knowing you want change but feeling paralyzed by the pressure to figure it all out perfectly, it's easy to get caught in what I call "analysis paralysis." In this solo episode, I’ll dismantle the problematic "follow your passion" advice and introduce a drastically different approach that actually leads to results.

Through real examples from my own transition from Kickstarter to founding my first business, New Women Space, I’ll show how the people who successfully create meaningful career changes aren't making one dramatic leap. They're making a series of small, strategic experiments that build confidence and gather real-world data. You'll learn two specific tactics you can start this week: the coffee chat challenge and how to offer small versions of your ideas in low-stakes settings.

If you've ever felt haunted by not knowing your "passion," overwhelmed by too many options, or stuck researching without ever taking action, this episode offers a practical roadmap for getting unstuck.

Resources referenced: 

• Coherence Course - for a more structured guide through the career change process  

What happens when a painful secret becomes a revolutionary business idea? For Emily Sauer, painful sex wasn't just a personal struggle—it was a problem no one seemed to be solving (or talking about). So she took matters into her own hands and made a prototype in her kitchen and started talking about it. A lot.

Emily’s story reminds us that innovation often starts with a worthy problem to solve, empathy, and some guts. 

In this episode, Emily, founder and CEO of The Pelvic People, takes us through her career story from art school and high-fashion photo shoots to building a company that’s redefining pelvic health. With candor and humor, she reflects on her early days figuring out how to solve problems and do well in school even with her ADHD diagnosis, and connects a (retrospectively obvious) line to how she transformed something she felt shame around into an empowering solution and movement that now reaches thousands of clinicians and customers.

If you’ve ever felt like your body wasn’t doing what it was “supposed to,” or you’ve wondered how to use your relationship (and charismatic) skills to your advantage, this should be an inspiring listen. 

You can find Emily at:

website: thepelvicpeople.com

IG: @sauerhour

Simone Stolzoff is an author, designer, and workplace expert whose debut book The Good Enough Job catapulted his speaking career and recently landed him a TEDx talk.   

Simo and Melissa talk about the challenge of being pulled in two different directions, and the time he declared something on Twitter that changed his life. Simo worked for the reputed design consultancy IDEO for many years, so it’s no surprise that he helps other people design their next career steps and applies an extremely experimental approach to his own business. Listen in to hear here why Simo is doubling down on his business despite the challenges that come with doing your own thing.

Fun Fact: Melissa was the matchmaker who connected Simone with his now wife! 

You can find Simo at:

website: https://www.simonestolzoff.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/thepizza_bagel/

Tired of hearing conflicting content advice that leaves you overwhelmed in inaction? When your livelihood feels tied to getting the word out about your work, it can feel like your only option is to show up on every platform and to force yourself to post all the time. But people feel tension around social media, not wanting to add to the noise or not knowing how to show up in a way that feels not… icky. 

In this reflective solo episode, host Melissa Wong unpacks the concept of "authentic sharing style," offering a personalized framework for sharing your work without burnout or vulnerability hangovers. She guides you through understanding your core motivations, addressing common fears like judgment and imposter syndrome, and identifying which communication mediums help you naturally show up with more ease.

If you've ever felt overwhelmed by social media "shoulds" or wondered which content approach would actually feel sustainable, this conversation provides practical wisdom on finding the sweet spot where your strengths, audience needs, and unique voice converge.

Myisha Battle is a certified clinical sexologist and sex and dating coach, educator, and speaker. She is the author of This is Supposed to Be Fun: How to Find Joy in Hooking Up, Settling Down, and Everything in Between.

In this episode, Myisha takes us through her evolution from middle school peer counselor to psychology graduate student to working four jobs while trying to grow her business to today as a respected sexologist, author, and Time Magazine columnist. 

Myisha talks about how the business philosophy of "form follows function" allows her to create a coaching business that really works for her not just in theory but in practice. 

If you've ever wondered how to build a thriving practice around taboo topics, this conversation just might inspire you to have the courage to speak about issues that really matter. 

You can find Myisha at:

website: https://myishabattle.com/

IG: @myishabattle

What happens when you trade corporate success for creative pursuit? For Janet Wong (Melissa’s cousin!), leaving her role as director of labor relations to write children's books wasn't just a career change—it was a return to the artistic spirit she'd never been encouraged to take seriously. 

In this episode, Janet takes us behind the scenes of her 30-year journey in children's literature, from her early days of doubt to becoming an award-winning author and independent publisher. Through family artifacts, rejection letters, and pivotal moments of mentorship, she illustrates how our professional lives can become richer when we stop trying to fit into others' expectations.

If you've ever felt torn between practicality and passion, or wondered how to maintain longevity in a creative field, this conversation offers wisdom on embracing your quirks, finding your voice, and remembering that there's always "room for me" in spaces that matter to you.

You can find Janet at: 

Website: https://janet-wong.com/

IG: @janetwongauthor

Ever catch yourself daydreaming about breaking free from the 9-to-5 grind, but wonder if you're actually ready to take that leap? You're not alone in this, and today's episode walks you through an exploration of what's really possible.

I'm diving deep into what it truly means to be ready for self-employment—beyond business plans and savings accounts. I'll share my own journey of questioning, planning, and finally making the switch, along with the inner work that made all the difference.

We're getting real about the emotional rollercoaster of creating your own path and I'm breaking down both the mindset shifts and practical steps that will help you move from "someday" to "day one." Whether you're feeling that gentle nudge or a full-on push toward self-employment, this episode will help you understand if you're ready to write your own rules.

If you've ever looked at your career and thought "there has to be more than this," consider this episode your guide to figuring out if going solo is your next right move. I truly believe that creating a career that truly fits you is possible when you know what to look for and how to prepare.

Get the "Are you ready to work for yourself?" Quiz here.

Adam “Smiley” Poswolsky is a keynote speaker, workplace belonging & future of work expert and a bestselling author of four books that have been translated into multiple languages, including The Quarter-Life Breakthrough, Friendship in the Age of Loneliness, and The Workplace Belonging Toolkit. Melissa and Smiley used to live together in a 13 person co-living house in Oakland, CA. 

In this conversation they talk about the secret ingredient to his success getting his first book published and building the fulfilling and dynamic speaking career that he has today. Listen in to learn the classic and often overlooked tactic to growing a business that you love.

You can find Smiley at:

Website:https://www.smileyposwolsky.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/whatsupsmiley/

Substack: https://substack.com/@friendswithsmiley

Your host Melissa Wong shares about her zig zagging career journey and how she found her work calling.

It's a very personal episode that kicks off a new season of episodes all about people who have designed work that is custom tailored to their unique skills, stories, and sensibilities.

Hear how Melissa went from crying in the career counselors office to becoming a career coach herself.

Stella Gold (they/them) is a Rebirth + Wealth Coach for changemakers and comes from a lineage of activists. They are the founder of My Gold Standard, providing financial education and business coaching as well as grief, death, and end of life planning support. 

In our conversation Stella shares about how we can use business as an ecosystem for financial solidarity for ourselves AND the collective. We also face the hard fact that while entrepreneurship does give you more control in some ways, it also gives you less control in other ways. 

You can find Stella at: 

Website: mygoldstandard.co

IG: @mygoldstandard

Laura Patterson currently works as an associate partner at Promise Venture Studio, a nonprofit accelerator for social entrepreneurs in early childhood. Melissa asks her about the common thread between her past work: her mission to increase access to high quality education for all students. 

Laura shares her personal experience navigating different educational environments and the disparities she observed. She emphasizes the importance of community engagement and the role of catalyzers in fostering connections and how we might actually have reason to be optimistic about our collective future if we just look at what’s happening around us locally. 

Fun Fact: Melissa was a member of a giving circle that Laura started in 2020 in response to the pandemic. What started as a six month commitment ended up lasting three years! 

You can find Laura at: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauraepatterson

Do you have a productivity monkey on your back? Have you ever realized that endless productivity doesn’t actually equate to happiness? 

For Dani Bicknell, the wake-up call came during the pandemic. As she continued to climb the career ladder and check all the "success" boxes, she felt more burned out than fulfilled. The solution wasn't working harder; it was remembering what brought her joy.

In this episode, Dani joins Melissa to reflect on the transformation that followed a few exploratory coaching sessions, the pull of creativity in the wake of burnout, and how parenting during a pandemic sharpened her sense of what really matters. From rediscovering her love of writing to publishing a book about internalized capitalism, she illustrates the messy, non-linear process of integrating creativity back into a productivity-obsessed life. 

If you've ever noticed the diminishing returns of working more on a never-ending quest for some unreachable finish line, this episode offers encouragement to let go of old definitions of success and embrace the chaos of creativity.

 You can find Dani at: 

• https://www.danibicknell.com

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniellebicknell/

Ilana Lipsett is a civic designer who has built her career around helping communities and cities become more resilient when preparing for the future. As a participatory futures design strategist she facilitates challenging conversations with the goal of arriving at innovative solutions, and creating more empathy along the way. 

In this conversation, Ilana presents a hopeful and grounded perspective of how we begin to come together at every level of human relationship. 

You can find Ilana at: 

Website: www.ilanalipsett.com

LinkedIn: @ilanalipsett

Jenny Gottstein is a play designer who knows how to make activism fun. She understands that fun and joy are mission critical to social change.

From zombie apocalypse disaster preparedness games to voting education parties to climate action game shows, Jenny has built her career helping organizations harness the infectious power of a good time to support missions like disaster resilience, textile recycling, financial literacy, civic engagement, environmental stewardship.

Tune in to hear how Jenny has stayed true to her guiding mission and for tips on how to create your own 'sparkle map'. 

You can find Jenny at:

• Design Studio Website: www.playscapades.com/
• Personal Website: https://www.jennygottstein.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennygottstein/

Meg Busse is a program designer, facilitator and currently the COO at The Roddenberry Foundation, where supports activists and entrepreneurs on their missions to bring original solutions to some of the world’s most pressing issues. She also wrote the book on how to get a non-profit job as a first time job seeker while working as a director at Idealist.org. 

Meg and I talk about the importance of creating spaces for connection and care and how to think about reciprocity in relationships. Listen in to hear her inside knowledge about what some of the country’s most prominent activists and innovators talk about when they get a space of their own.

You can find Meg at:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/megbusse/

 Xenia Viray is an otherworldy writer, artist, facilitator, and overall spiritual wise person who is on a mission to heal our imaginations @mythsofcreation.

Melissa invites friend, collaborator, and former coaching client Xenia to be the first guest of the Season 2 reboot of Coherence Podcast because of her gifts of seeing how all the parts contribute to a system, from the microbes and bugs to the stars and planets. Xenia fuses philosophy, science, creativity, and metaphysics to help her clients return to their essential nature.

In this episode, Xenia and Melissa talk about the importance of creating your own meaning making system, embracing your authenticity (and caring less about what others think), and the vulnerability and faith it takes to create something new.

You can find Xenia at:

Website: www.mythsofcreation.com

IG: @mythsofcreation

Welcome back to Coherence Podcast! 

Season 1 was about how individual creatives bring together the different parts of self. Season 2 is all about making sense at the collective level and envisioning a compelling way forward for our society as a whole. 

This new conversation series features innovators helping to create new meaning for our society during a time where we are missing a shared sense of what makes life worthwhile.

Ahran is a multidisciplinary artist, mindset coach and group facilitator who uses art, improv, conversation and storytelling as a way to help us shift ancestral patterns.

Ahran shares about the multi-chaptered journey she’s taken to get to a place of authenticity with her art practice. A practice of vulnerability and pleasure — she trusts creative expression as a critical component to shifting deep seated family patterns. This is an open-hearted conversation that is bound to have you reflecting on your own relationship to your creativity.

** At the end of the episode Melissa breaks down one of the topics from the conversation and offers up a personal challenge you can try.

Learn more about Ahran:

IG: @ahranmakes

Email: ahranleecoaching@gmail.com

Kim is a marketing expert and coach based in Brooklyn, NY. He is the founder of 3pts, which provides guidance, tools and community to self-funded, creative entrepreneurs.

Kim shares about how he arrived at his current mission and purpose of helping people pursue their passions and some of the top challenges he sees creative entrepreneurs facing (hint: it’s not a tactic, it’s a mindset)

He knows the impact of laying intentional infrastructure as a self-employed creative and shares his tips on how to know what mode of operation to be in based on what your creative business needs.

This conversation is not just relevant to business owners but really anyone who is looking to sustain a flexible, self-directed work life.

** At the end of the episode Melissa breaks down one of the topics from the conversation and offers up a personal challenge you can try.

Learn more about Kim:

IG: @kimrobinsonjr

Newsletter: 3pts.co

Rachel Smith is a content designer and artist who runs the Words of Mouth newsletter and Repair Shop. 

Rachel shares about how she balances her part-time consulting work for non-profit design agency Civilla with her longstanding newsletter for creatives looking for compelling jobs, and somehow still finds time to run a textile repair shop and sustain her own art practice.

We investigate the power of having a unifying thread that ties your work together as a multi-hyphenate person and the times where it’s beneficial to ‘screw the thread’ and just let yourself be free to operate without a pressure to be consistently one thing.

Rachel illuminates how creating an offering with a simple structure and resisting the pressure to grow or evolve it can lead to an effective formula for success.

** At the end of the episode Melissa breaks down one of the topics from the conversation and offers up a personal challenge you can try.

Learn more about Rachel:

website: www.rachelmeadesmith.com

IG: @stormcloudsmith

repair shop IG: @rrepairsshop

newsletter: www.wordsofmouth.org

Maggie Hayes is a painter, movement instructor, and a DJ who spreads joy as Miss Paradise.

Throughout all of her mediums, she tries to hold a torch to invite others to envision what a world would truly look like if we could be in paradise together.

In this episode, Maggie shares about her healing journey with cancer and how it’s impacted the way she relates to her art and a sense of what’s possible.

If you want to hear about the path from just scraping by to getting to a place of financial stability and valuing your work, this is the episode for you!

** At the end of the episode Melissa breaks down one of the topics from the conversation and offers up a personal challenge you can try.

Connect with Maggie:

IG: @paradisevitalitystudio

Website: https://www.paradisevitalitystudio.com/

Art website:  https://www.maggie-hayes.com/

Stevie, aka ‘Spaghetti Witch’, runs her own casting company, co-hosts a popular astrology podcast, she is a writer, producer, friend, lover, carb-queen, the list goes on!

Melissa interviews Stevie about her freelance journey of working for bad bosses, starting side projects in her spare time, launching her own business, and learning how to ride the waves of the freelancer’s work cycle - boom times and bust times.

Stevie shares about how she’s found power in collaboration trios, and how to find a structure to help produce consistently. Listen in to hear how she articulates what she does and how it all fits together.

** At the end of the episode Melissa breaks down one of the topics from the conversation and offers up a personal challenge you can try.

Connect with Stevie:

personal IG: @spaghetti_witch

podcast IG:  @whatsyoursignpodcast

Website: https://stevies.world/

Melanie Kahl is the founder of Meld Strategy, a design, strategy, and experience practice that works with purpose-driven organizations to craft new programs, services, and visions for the future. I wanted to interview her because of the impressive range of companies that she has worked for and with — from building public schools to leading innovation programs within Meta, from coveted design agencies like Dalberg to sustainable brands like Patagonia and The Design Gym. 

An innovation leader, strategist, storyteller, and experience designer, Melanie walks us through her career journey, starting with early dreams of working with primates (and a cold email to the Jane Goodall Institute!), turning down Yale, and finding herself building her own design studio after a pandemic sabbatical.

For anyone who has struggled with being “too well-rounded” and wanted to integrate all your interests under one career home, Melanie’s story will remind you that it’s possible. She’ll also share her ‘plate’ metaphor and how it helps her know how to balance and select her client load. 

 You can find Mel at:

 🔗 https://www.melaniekahl.com/

 🔗https://www.linkedin.com/in/melaniekahl/

Kaylene is channeler, tarot reader, and astrologer who also makes music under the name “Krystal Visions”.

Melissa interviews Kaylene about her path to graphic design and social media curation through her music and how she’s grown in her confidence to charge what she’s worth as she’s acquired more and more experience and truly stepped into the role of a teacher.

Kaylene presents a healthy view of how to relate to social media and shares how having a creative alter-ego or moniker can open up portals to creativity on a regular basis.

** Listen until the end of the episode for a digest where Melissa breaks down one of the main pieces of advice and offers up a personal challenge you can try.

Connect with Kaylene:

IG: @krystal_visions

email: krystalvisionstarot@gmail.com

Melissa interviews Isaac Green Diebboll, an artist and filmmaker who has learned how to sustain several film projects while also run a non-profit and still carve out time for his friends, family, and dog Alaska.

We talk about how to balance time, money, and relationships as he finds a sustainable rhythm producing multi-year film projects.

** Listen until the end of the episode for a digest where Melissa breaks down one of the main pieces of advice and offers up a personal challenge you can try.

Learn more about Isaac:

website: www.greendiebboll.com

non-profit: www.engncntr.com

email: greendiebbol@gmail.com

Melissa interviews Brooklyn-based artist and cultural curator Molly Surno.

Molly gets real about how being on early teams at companies like TED and Kickstarter helped her find the security she needed to support her creative practice and live a lifestyle she knew she wanted. We explore how she leveraged her network and mentors to find herself exhibiting at institutions like the Getty Museum, Essl Museum, Salzburg Museum of Modern Art, Suzanne Geiss, and Anat Ebgi Gallery.

Hear about how Molly is currently reimagining domesticity as part of her pandemic processing and balancing life as an artist and mother.

** Listen until the end of the episode for a digest where Melissa breaks down one of the main pieces of advice and offers up a personal challenge you can try.

Learn more about Molly:

website: https://www.push-projects.com/

IG: @missmolinga

In this episode, Melissa interviews Paige Polk, a wellness facilitator, Emmy award winner, and podcast host. 

Paige shares about their winding path to an entrepreneurial life, the practices that create stability through up and down times, and advice on how to build a day-to-day life full of people you actually like being around.

**Listen until the end of the episode for a digest where Melissa breaks down one of the main pieces of advice and offers up a personal challenge you can try.

Learn more about Paige:

website: www.paigepolk.com

podcast IG: @NotYetSeries

personal IG: @PaigePolk

TikTok: @paige.polk

Ever feel lost in the messy middle of a major life transition? When you're questioning your career path or contemplating a big change, it's easy to feel disoriented without a map.

In this solo episode, I share a powerful framework for understanding the four distinct stages of personal renewal—release, heal, explore, and launch. Through the story of client "Ester," I illuminate how each phase has its own unique energy, emotional landscape, and aligned activities.

You’ll learn why (literally or metaphorically) pushing yourself to train for a marathon when your body craves restorative yoga creates unnecessary friction and does not set you up to feel like you’re doing anything right.

If you've ever felt the void of meaning in work you once loved, wondered who you are without your old identity, or felt the stirrings of excitement about a new direction, this conversation offers practical wisdom for navigating change with more self-understanding and tactical tips.

Resources mentioned in the episode:

• Coherence Course

• Release 8 week email series
• Heal 8 week email series

Enter the code “COHERENCE4EVER” to get the email series for free.

Ritesh Gupta is the founder of Useful School, a pay-what-you-can creative school for overlooked talent, and a multi-hyphenate kind of creative. On any given day you might find Ritesh in the midst of a design client feedback round, coaching a rising design leader, or deciding what outfit to sport at a vintage clothes event. 

In this episode, Ritesh shares about navigating a season of doubling down on what brings them joy —  making room for texture, fragrance, and cultural heritage— and asking better questions. We talk about his philosophy of expanding scope, why he wears the same outfit to build trust, and how being unafraid of numbers has made him a stronger, more intuitive designer.

If you’ve ever wrestled with balancing wealth and values, questioned when to let others into your creative process, or wondered how to do an audit of all of your work activities to figure out what is worth keeping, give this one a listen! 

You can find Ritesh at:

•  usefulschool.com
• ritesh-gupta.com

What shifts in your life when you stop asking “What should I do?”—and start asking “What feels most true to me?” Relationship coach Alice Turpin-Johnson bravely quit her teaching job (and the encroaching burnout) to return to her core value: Wilderness. 

I wanted to interview Alice because so many people claim to want a job that fuels their life, but they are still working the grand majority of their waking hours and not truly letting their values guide their business design. I have been so impressed by how Alice truly gets rigorous in the amount of time she lets her work take up (and she loves her work!) so that she can spend more time with nature, adventure, and the people she loves.  

Alice shares how she restructured her life from the ground up to honor what matters to her most. From two years living on the road to building a coaching practice that supports people through the heartbreakingly tender decision of whether to stay or leave a relationship, Alice reminds us that we get to choose how to work. (Maybe your weekdays and weekends could all feel the same so that there was no such thing as a ‘workday’?)

To access the free personal values exercise that is mentioned at the end of the episode: https://www.coherence.studio/personal-values-exercise

You can find Alice at: 

Website: https://www.alicetj.com/

How can Coherence help you move your personal story forward? 

In this episode, I'm making the connection between how our current crisis of collective meaning-making and absence of shared stories impacts our ability to know how to make confident decisions in our life.

Developing personal coherence can become your navigation system in a world of endless options but few trusted sources of wisdom. I'll break down five powerful narrative patterns—from the “Wound-Gift Transformation” to becoming the Guide you once needed—that can help you understand your own life themes.

If you've ever felt lost trying to make sense of your next chapter or wondered how your past experiences might actually be guiding your future, this episode offers a framework for seeing your life as a meaningful story unfolding with a specific pattern.

If you want to check out Coherence Course go to: https://www.coherence.studio/coherence-course

Victor Saad is an entrepreneur, coach, and talent leader who helps people through transitions. 

After deciding against traditional grad school and instead creating his own successful masters program “The Leap Year Project”, Victor founded Experience Institute, a new type of higher education rooted in real-world experience. But that was over a decade ago.

Victor recently transitioned from being the full time CEO of the company he had started to advising on the board and stepping into a new full time role at another company in a different industry. 

In this episode, Melissa gets curious about what it takes to make a transition away from a business that you’ve built. And what does it feel like to start in a new role after being the leader and expert of your own thing for a long time? 

Victor shares about the entrepreneurial “tick” that shaped his early career, the creation of his self-designed “Leap Year”, and how to transition without losing the core of who you are. 

If you’re navigating your own leap—whether it’s career, identity, or a more quiet shift in direction—this conversation offers a crash course in how to change your life.

You can find Victor at:

Website: victorsaad.com

IG: @victorsaad

Feel like everyone else has found their perfect career fit while you're still searching? When you're stuck in work that doesn't align with your talents or passions, it's easy to believe you're simply not destined to find that elusive "click" so many others seem to have. But what if the roadblocks to your career change are simply myths you've unconsciously internalized as truth?

In this episode, I dismantle five common myths that I see keep talented professionals trapped in unfulfilling careers. Through real client stories—from a digital marketer turned Bachata instructor to a creative soul who found her calling in medicine—I reveal how our self-limiting narratives about linearity, identity, planning, age, and finances create artificial barriers to transformation.

If you've ever thought "it's too late," "I need the perfect plan first," or "my background is too different," this conversation offers liberating perspective on how shifting your mindset can open doors you never knew existed. Discover why your past doesn't dictate your future and how embracing a different mindset might be the most powerful career move you'll ever make.

>>> FREE OFFER: If you want more support on how to create custom work that really makes sense for you, I host a free training on how to get started with your own career transition that you can attend by signing up here: coherence.studio/work-that-works-training