Author: Paul Gichia

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When Nerves Collide

Jennie Eriksen:

When Nerves Collide

A persistent twitch in Jennie’s face set her on a years-long journey that would challenge her identity, visibility, and resilience. What began as a small annoyance turned into a deeply personal battle with self-perception and courage.

Bio

📍 Experienced Co-Founder | Virtual Event Specialist | Professional Voiceover Artist | Networking Enthusiast

🌐 Co-Founder, EventRaptor

Co-created EventRaptor, an innovative Virtual Event Management system designed to simplify hosting global virtual events.

Committed to helping clients expand their reach to global audiences by sharing their message, knowledge, and wisdom.

Supports speakers in finding more opportunities to speak while assisting event hosts in discovering ideal speakers for their platforms.

 

🎙 Professional Voiceover Artist

Over 15 years of experience delivering professional voiceover projects for clients in 70+ countries, connecting with global audiences through educational materials, explainer videos, and corporate presentations.

Renowned for versatility, professionalism, and precision in producing engaging work, including elevator voice announcements and airline entertainment systems.

Adapted seamlessly to the virtual space to serve a diverse, international client base.

🤝 Global Connector & Networker

A passionate networker with over two decades of experience fostering global connections, meaningful communication, and lasting collaborations.

Actively builds and engages with diverse communities for personal and professional growth, embodying the ethos of “connection and continued conversations.”

✨ Personal Milestones & Values

After overcoming personal health challenges, including a neurological condition and life-changing brain surgery, Jennie transitioned from behind the mic to an active role on-camera as a speaker and mentor, inspiring resilience and adaptability.

Founded EventRaptor alongside her husband, Steve, in her late 50s, proving that it’s never too late to “refire” instead of retire!

 

Passions & Hobbies

  • Enjoys traveling, exploring global cuisines, and playing board games (especially with the Eriksen family).
  • Values simple joys in life and approaches every opportunity with gratitude.
  • Jennie’s Motto: “Visibility is your responsibility”

 

📌 Key Achievements

  • Supported hundreds of clients in hosting successful virtual events, streamlining complex processes like speaker management, landing pages, affiliate links, and meeting logistics.
  • Helped create a global community for speakers and event hosts to connect, collaborate, and grow.
  • Championed accessibility and ease-of-use in virtual event technology, ensuring inclusivity and simplicity for all users.

And finally….

Jennie Eriksen embodies resilience, transformation, and dedication—whether she’s helping clients streamline virtual events, forging meaningful relationships, or voicing projects that reach international audiences. Together with her husband Steve, Jennie invites you to be part of their thriving global EventRaptor community

Topics

  • Living with a rare nerve disorder (hemifacial spasm)
  • Invisible challenges and public perception
  • The emotional toll of facial asymmetry
  • Relearning how to smile after trauma
  • Navigating the medical system across countries
  • The power of visibility and self-expression
  • How chronic conditions impact identity and confidence
  • Taking brave steps despite risk
  • Finding self-worth beyond appearance
  • Supporting others in reclaiming visibility and voice

Guiding Questions

  • Can you take us back to when you first noticed something was wrong with your face?
  • What was it like living with a condition that was both invisible and incredibly visible?
  • How did your condition affect your ability to express yourself publicly and privately?
  • What ultimately pushed you to consider surgery after so many years?
  • Were there moments where you doubted your decision to go through with the operation?
  • What was the recovery process like—physically and emotionally?
  • How did your children and family respond during your journey?
  • What did you learn about self-worth and visibility through this experience?
  • How do you support others now who struggle with being seen or heard?
  • If your condition returned, how would you handle it differently today?

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Influencing the Influencers

LeRon Barnes:

Influencing the Influencers

LeRon grew up believing his words didn’t count—until a turning point launched him on a journey to help others find meaning in theirs.

Bio

LeRon Barnes is a dynamic motivational speaker, speaker trainer, and life coach. His mission is to motivate, inspire, and empower individuals to overcome the doubts, fears, and limiting beliefs that hold them back from achieving true success.

Labeled with ADHD and ADD, and placed in special education, LeRon faced his own battles with self-doubt, fear, and insecurity. But through perseverance and a deep belief in himself, he rose above the labels and limitations that once defined him.

Today, LeRon is transforming lives by helping others break through their mental barriers, embrace their authentic selves, and step boldly into the success they were meant to achieve.

Topics

  • How childhood words shape identity
  • Healing generational trauma through personal growth
  • Turning rejection into motivation
  • The power of mentorship and recognition
  • Vision casting and becoming who you want to be
  • Speaking life into others
  • Discovering purpose through pain
  • Using personal development to transform your future
  • Coaching high-profile clients with authenticity
  • Influencing the influencers: impact at scale

Guiding Questions

  • Can you take us back to the moment when your mother said, “You talk too much”?
  • What did your grandfather’s response teach you about the power of belief?
  • How did your second-grade teacher’s words impact your self-worth?
  • When did you first realize your story had value?
  • How did Les Brown’s words affect you, and why did they hit so deeply?
  • What role has vision played in shaping your path?
  • How do you help others discover their purpose?
  • What have you learned about healing emotional wounds from childhood?
  • Why do you say your mission is to “influence the influencer”?
  • What advice would you give to someone who feels like their voice doesn’t matter?

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Losing Her, Finding Me

Dr. Terri Levine:

Losing Her, Finding Me

After two devastating losses in one week, Dr. Terri Levine was forced to confront the truth she’d been avoiding—her career and lifestyle were making her miserable. What followed was a radical life pivot that redefined her purpose.

Bio

Known as the business mentoring expert with heart, Terri is one of the world’s top business and marketing strategists. Terri is known for consulting with business owners to help them move from ineffective traditional sales, marketing and operational methods into effective, authentic and transparent people centered communication models.

Terri has over 44 years of business, sales and marketing experience, and has helped over 7,200 business owners reach revenue goals they never thought possible. She is one of the world’s foremost experts on how to market a coaching business. She has built and sold several multi-million dollar companies. She is a best-selling author of over 40 books, and a highly requested keynote speaker at events and conventions throughout the world.

Topics

  • The emotional toll of living out of alignment
  • How grief can initiate life transformation
  • Creating a life plan after loss
  • The myth of “having it all”
  • Recognizing burnout in high-achievers
  • Finding spirituality after emotional numbness
  • Transitioning from corporate to purpose-driven work
  • Reverse marketing and working less with more impact
  • Building a business that supports your life—not the other way around
  • The power of community in healing and growth

Guiding Questions

  • What was going through your mind in the days after your mother and friend passed away?
  • You were incredibly successful in corporate leadership—what made you realize it wasn’t working for you?
  • Can you take us to that pivotal moment with your friend Marnie and how it shifted your path?
  • How did grief impact your day-to-day functioning before your pivot?
  • What did you discover at the Mind Body Spirit conference that changed everything?
  • What does it mean to “live your life by design,” and how did you apply that to your own journey?
  • Why do you believe creating a life plan is more important than just a business plan?
  • What are some early signs someone might be out of alignment in their career or life?
  • Can you share what “reverse marketing” is and how it transformed your business?
  • How has your understanding of spirituality evolved since that moment of crisis?

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Obedience Unlocks Purpose

Wendy Melrose:

Obedience Unlocks Purpose

Wendy’s story begins with a verse and ends with a reawakened calling. Along the way, she rediscovers the power of obedience, the weight of forgotten gifts, and the joy of helping others birth their own stories.

Bio

Wendy Melrose is a faith-fueled author, creative visionary, and founder of In The Zone, where she helps aspiring authors write, publish, and launch books that create real impact. After selling her successful insurance agency in 2023, Wendy answered God’s call to restore her gift of writing and guide others in boldly sharing their stories. Whether you’re a coach, speaker, or someone called by God to write, Wendy equips you with the clarity, strategy, and support to bring your book to life—and into the hands of those who need it most.

Topics

  • Rediscovering long-lost creative gifts
  • Transitioning from business ownership to faith-driven purpose
  • The spiritual importance of obedience and timing
  • Co-writing and ghostwriting with integrity
  • Helping authors birth their books with God’s guidance
  • Navigating the publishing world with transparency
  • Creating books from interviews and existing content
  • Supporting terminally ill clients to finish their life’s work
  • Identifying and walking out divine assignments
  • Walking others through fear at the finish line of big dreams

Guiding Questions

  • What was it about that specific verse that shifted your entire perspective?
  • Can you take us to that moment in the revival service—what did you feel when you saw the poetry book?
  • How did it feel to realize you’d thrown away a gift God had given you?
  • What did the process of rediscovering your writing voice look like?
  • How do you walk people through the “pain to promise” method you mentioned?
  • What was it like helping someone finish a book while they were facing a terminal illness?
  • How has your faith influenced your approach to publishing and writing?
  • What red flags have you seen in the traditional publishing world?
  • What advice do you give to someone who feels stuck or unsure if their story matters?
  • What’s the most rewarding part of the work you do now?

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Rebooted by Honesty

Joshua Jones:

Rebooted by Honesty

In the middle of a fast, a prayer, and a breakdown, Joshua heard a hard truth: he was still lying to himself. What happened next led to healing, restoration, and a new way of living.

Bio

Joshua Alan Jones – Apostolic Leader, Kingdom Coach, and Founder of goChrist.

Joshua Alan Jones is an apostolic voice for this generation—a leader forged through the fires of faith, fatherhood, and relentless pursuit of truth. As the founder of goChrist, a Kingdom-driven movement, Joshua is committed to awakening men and women to their true identity in Christ, restoring the broken, and calling believers back to the foundational disciplines of prayer, fasting, obedience, and fellowship.

With over 16,000 hours of deep scriptural study and more than two decades of personal spiritual transformation, Joshua speaks from a well of lived experience. His life is a testimony of radical obedience, shaped by both trials and triumphs, and marked by an unwavering passion to see God’s people rise into their Kingdom calling.

Joshua doesn’t just teach truth—he lives it, breathes it, and calls others to rise into a life of power, purity, and purpose. His message is a clarion call to return to the Father, embrace integrity, and walk in true authority as sons and daughters of God.

As a speaker, podcast guest, and mentor, Joshua brings a unique blend of spiritual fire and real-world grit, inspiring audiences to shed religious performance and step boldly into a transformative relationship with God. His core message centers around the Seven Core Tenets of goChrist, which challenge believers to awaken, repent, return, renew, reconnect, cultivate, and commit to a life fully aligned with God’s will.

Joshua’s heart beats for men—to raise them up as spiritual leaders, husbands, fathers, and kingdom builders. His approach is direct, authentic, and deeply rooted in scripture, calling out the identity confusion and spiritual apathy that plague modern believers.

Through goChrist, his Men’s Weekly Fellowship, and his emerging IGNITION movement, Joshua is leading a charge to restore God’s design for individuals, families, and communities in these critical times. —

Key Topics Joshua Speaks On:

  • Identity in Christ: Reclaiming Sonship in a Confused World
  • Spiritual Disciplines: Returning to Prayer, Fasting, and Obedience
  • Apostolic Leadership: Building on the Foundation of Truth
  • Fatherhood & Manhood: Raising Men of Integrity and Power
  • Awakening the Church: From Religious Routine to Kingdom Living —

Book Joshua to Speak If You Want

Raw, honest, and deeply scriptural insights that challenge and ignite.

A call to action that drives spiritual transformation, not just inspiration.

A leader who understands the balance of spiritual authority and real-life struggles.

Topics

  • Parental alienation and emotional reconciliation
  • The hidden wounds men carry from their fathers
  • The intersection of addiction and identity
  • How religious performance can mask inner chaos
  • Breaking generational cycles of emotional harm
  • Radical honesty as a spiritual breakthrough
  • Fasting and its unexpected revelations
  • What it means to truly “fall forward”
  • Healing relationships after long-term estrangement
  • Confronting inner fear through surrender

Guiding Questions

  • Can you describe the moment you realized your biggest wound wasn’t healed?
  • What was it like being alienated from your children for 10 years?
  • How did your experience with your father shape your own parenting?
  • What was revealed to you during your 30-day fast?
  • How did your identity as a “truth-teller” clash with what was actually true?
  • What happened during those 15 minutes on New Year’s Day 2023?
  • How has your definition of masculinity changed since then?
  • What role did fear play in your inability to heal?
  • How do you approach your relationship with your children today?
  • What does “falling forward” mean to you now?

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Swinging Through the Storm

Steve Gamlin:

The Thunderstorm Catalyst

A hot August afternoon found Steve barefoot in wet grass, swinging away his pain under power lines. That wild, emotional release would crack open a path to the stage, where he would begin helping others reframe their rock-bottom moments into redemptive stories.

Bio

As The Motivational FirewoodÂŽ Guy, Steve Gamlin blends back-to-basics Positivity, Visualization & Humor, teaching his clients to SEE their desired outcomes, understand their WHY, and build ACTION PLANS to achieve them.

He delivers this as a Keynote Speaker, through his Vision Board Mastery program, 1-to-1 and Group Coaching, plus Live and Virtual events.

Bottom line: Steve teaches the necessary MINDSET to identify what your goals LOOK like, FEEL like, SOUND like, SMELL like and even TASTE like.

Topics

  • Turning breakdowns into breakthroughs
  • Using humor as a tool for healing
  • The power of storytelling in personal growth
  • Visualization and vision boards for meaningful goals
  • Why vulnerability builds deeper connection on stage
  • Lessons learned from burnout and life collapse
  • Transitioning from comedy to motivational speaking
  • Surviving and growing through sudden grief
  • Honoring a loved one through service
  • Finding meaning and mission after tragedy

Guiding Questions

  • What led you to that defining thunderstorm moment with the golf balls?
  • Looking back, how did that moment become a turning point for your life?
  • How did humor and self-deprecation help you process your pain?
  • What role did vision boards and visualization play in your transformation?
  • Can you share the impact your first speaking engagement had on you?
  • How did you move from stand-up comedy to motivational speaking?
  • What did the loss of your wife teach you about grief and resilience?
  • How are you using your own grief journey to help others?
  • What does it mean to “stay in your seat” during the hard moments?
  • If someone listening feels like they’re in their own storm, what would you tell them?

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Saving the Children

Sheryl McBride:

Saving the Children

Sheryl McBride made a life-altering decision to escape emotional abuse and protect her five sons. With no job lined up and only faith and family support, she started over in a new state.

Bio

After raising five boys and working in the schools for 45 years I am now teaching financial education. My purpose is to raise financial literacy by teaching how money works one on one and in a group setting. I listen to their specific needs and design a plan to meet those needs. I feel this will bring the joy and freedom financial literacy gives to individuals and families.

Topics

  • Navigating emotional abuse as a mother
  • What “saving the children” really meant
  • Rebuilding from scratch after escape
  • The emotional weight of starting over
  • The role of faith and divine guidance in hard decisions
  • Parenting through instability and recovery
  • Emotional healing after long-term stress
  • Creating structure for children amidst chaos
  • Financial survival as a single mother
  • The long-term impact of brave choices

Guiding Questions

  • What was the final moment that convinced you it was time to leave?
  • How did your faith and spiritual practices help you during that time?
  • What were your greatest fears as you planned your escape?
  • Can you describe what it was like living in your cousin’s basement with five children?
  • What impact did that transition have on your children at the time?
  • How did you emotionally and physically recover from the toll of the abuse and medications?
  • What were the biggest challenges you faced trying to become financially independent?
  • Were there any unexpected moments of grace or support that helped you keep going?
  • Looking back, how do you feel about the way you handled that chapter of your life?
  • What advice would you give to someone today who is afraid to take that first step?

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Rebel in Ripped Jeans

Rachel Lee:

Rebel in Ripped Jeans

Raised to be the good girl who followed all the rules, Rachel Lee lived for the approval of others—until that life no longer fit. Her journey from silent suppression to full-spectrum self-expression is both wild and freeing.

Bio

Rachel Lee is the Co-Founder and Chief Creative Unicorn of Neo Genesis, a personal branding agency for creatives & misfits who are sick of hiding and are finally ready to show up online exactly as they are.

As an artist, designer and (recovering) creative entrepreneur who’s helped over a hundred brands across North America ditch the boring and glow it up while still keeping it classy, Rachel has mastered the art of making ‘professional’ and ‘fun’ play nice together — all without scaring off clients or looking like a hot mess.

Whether you’re starting fresh, levelling up, or just figuring it out as you go, Rachel’s got your back with her signature, 1-week brand transformations that will help you show up confidently and attract those dream opportunities you’ve been dying to get!

When Rachel’s not saving brands from themselves, you’ll probably find her doodling on her iPad, blasting EDM on a run, or getting cozy with her cat.

Topics

  • The hidden cost of people-pleasing
  • Identity suppression in culturally conservative families
  • Personal branding as an act of rebellion
  • How conformity kills creativity in business
  • Finding your voice after decades of silence
  • The moment you realize “playing it safe” is actually risky
  • Why standing out is a business strategy
  • Navigating cultural guilt and personal freedom
  • Creating a brand that reflects you, not the industry
  • What it really takes to “be yourself” in public

Guiding Questions

  • What was the first moment you realized you were living for others and not yourself?
  • How did your upbringing shape your beliefs around success and approval?
  • Can you take us back to the ripped jeans incident—why was it such a turning point?
  • What fears did you have around being fully yourself in your business?
  • What finally pushed you to say, “I’m done hiding”?
  • What was the reaction from your community once you showed up as the real you?
  • How does your background inform your approach to branding today?
  • What advice would you give to someone afraid to show their true self?
  • What does “authenticity” look like in your day-to-day now?
  • Have you found peace with the parts of yourself you used to suppress?

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Becoming My Own Boss

Michael Fritzius:

Becoming My Own Boss

He thought security meant climbing the corporate ladder—until a health scare and a layoff forced him to rethink everything. Michael’s story is about what happens when you’re pushed to build something of your own.

Bio

After a life spent chasing career success and working 50-60 hour weeks, I was hit with a cancer diagnosis that changed everything. For years, I had tied my identity to my work, but facing cancer made me realize the importance of balance. With faith and resilience, I learned to shift my focus to what truly matters—family, growth, and purpose. I left a high-stress job for something that would challenge me in new ways, and now I regularly push past boundaries I once thought were impossible. My faith in God deepened through the process, teaching me that life’s challenges aren’t accidents but opportunities to grow and glorify Him.

Topics

  • The emotional and mental shift from employee to entrepreneur
  • How fear shows up when starting something new
  • The role of intuition in making life-changing decisions
  • Stress and its connection to physical health
  • Overcoming the illusion of job security
  • The psychological side of launching a business
  • Navigating the instability of contract work
  • Mindset tools for staying grounded as an entrepreneur
  • Lessons learned from managing and growing a solo business
  • How personal identity evolves through professional transformation

Guiding Questions

  • What was going through your head the moment you decided to start your LLC?
  • How did your early tech background shape your approach to entrepreneurship?
  • What role did fear play in your transition, and how did you manage it?
  • Can you describe what changed in you after that first client said “yes”?
  • How did being laid off serve as a catalyst rather than a setback?
  • What’s been the hardest mental adjustment in working for yourself?
  • How did your health experience influence the way you think about work and stress?
  • Looking back, what do you wish you knew before starting your own business?
  • How do you balance staying flexible with staying true to your vision?
  • What advice would you give someone who’s afraid to take the leap?

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Eight Days to Clarity

John Lombard:

Eight Days to Clarity

Facing the heaviest questions of identity, worth, and pain, John spent eight days in total stillness—and what followed changed everything.

Bio

John Lombard is a transformational storyteller, sales coach, and author who brings a rare blend of raw honesty, emotional depth, and strategic brilliance to every conversation. Less than a year ago, John was suicidal—wrestling with chronic pain, gender identity, bipolar disorder, and the weight of a life marked by trauma, disability, and deep emotional isolation.

Born with hereditary spastic paraparesis, a degenerative neuromuscular condition, John has navigated life with limited mobility, incontinence, and the eventual transition to a wheelchair. Following a period of homelessness after COVID and a near decision to pursue aid-in-dying, he spent eight days in silence that would reshape everything. Through confronting lifelong pain, rewriting his inner narrative, and asking himself two pivotal questions—“What the f** is wrong with me?”* and “Why do I want to die so badly?”—John experienced a profound transformation.

Out of that darkness came not only survival, but clarity. He began taking personal responsibility, processed 44 years of pain, and started writing the book that would thank the people who saved his life—and hopefully, help others save their own. Today, John combines that lived experience with his expertise in sales and personal branding to coach others toward purpose, authenticity, and impact.

Clients describe him as magnetic, fierce, and deeply empowering. Whether he’s breaking down a sales strategy, challenging a limiting belief, or holding space for personal growth, John shows up all in. His mission? To help people stop hiding, start healing, and turn their truth into transformation—for themselves and the people they serve.

Topics

  • How hitting rock bottom can become a catalyst for healing
  • Reclaiming masculinity after identity deconstruction
  • Writing as a tool for emotional processing
  • Living with hereditary spastic paraparesis
  • Suicide ideation and what comes after
  • Unpacking identity after medical transition
  • The spiritual/psychological weight of chronic pain
  • Taking personal responsibility after trauma
  • Learning to feel lovable again
  • Building a new narrative through storytelling

Guiding Questions

  • Can you take us back to those eight days and what was going through your mind?
  • What were the two questions that began your transformation—and why were they so important?
  • How did your experience with disability shape your sense of self growing up?
  • You mention feeling “unqualified” your whole life—can you unpack that?
  • What did masculinity mean to you before and after your transition?
  • What role did writing play in your healing journey?
  • How has your relationship with your body changed since then?
  • Can you share a specific moment from those eight days that shifted everything?
  • What message do you hope someone listening who’s struggling will take away from your story?
  • What does life look like for you now, compared to before?

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