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A Joyful Rebellion

A Joyful Rebellion

By: James Walters
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This is a joyful rebellion. The podcast that explores the moment you realize the life and success you worked so hard to create didn’t come with all of the fulfillment you thought it would. Each week, we attempt to inspire bold answers to the question, “What do I do now to create a life I love?” If you are ready to start answering that question for yourself, you’re in the right place. Let’s start A Joyful Rebellion.Copyright 2024 All rights reserved. Exercise & Fitness Fitness, Diet & Nutrition Hygiene & Healthy Living Social Sciences
Episodes
  • It's Gonna Get Messy- Becca Eve Young on Intuition, Grief, and the Courage to Stop Performing

    It's Gonna Get Messy- Becca Eve Young on Intuition, Grief, and the Courage to Stop Performing
    Jun 27 2026

    Most of us are really good at looking like we've got it together. Becca Eve Young decided to stop pretending.

    She's a coach, author, and former corporate climber who did all the things — MBA, corner office, company going public — and watched it all collapse in the same year her dad died, stranded alone in rural Mexico during a global pandemic. What came out the other side was a book called It's Gonna Get Messy.

    She helps people stop performing their lives and start actually living them.

    We talk about the societal scripts we never agreed to, the inner knowing we keep ignoring, what it really costs to keep the mess hidden, and why the connections we're all looking for are on the other side of being honest about the hard stuff.

    If you've ever had the nagging feeling that the life you've built doesn't quite fit, this one's going to hit.
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    58 mins
  • Your Focus Determines Your Reality- with Author Aaron Ryan

    Your Focus Determines Your Reality- with Author Aaron Ryan
    Jun 18 2026

    Aaron Ryan didn't wait for someday. He left a steady career, burned the bridges behind him, and started building something entirely his own. Nearly 50 books later, he's watching the two creative industries he's devoted his life to — voiceover and fiction writing — get quietly dismantled by AI. And he's got thoughts about it.

    Aaron is a prolific sci-fi author, voice actor, and dual storyteller whose catalog includes the Dissonance Saga, the Talisman series, Blood Echoes, and dozens more. He narrates his own audiobooks, designs his covers before he writes the stories, and has kept a daily journal for his sons since the oldest was two months old. In this conversation, we talk about AI and the creative economy, the moment he intentionally shot himself in the foot to escape a toxic community, how a quote from the worst Star Wars movie became the operating system for his entire creative life, and why a creative who stops creating doesn't just stall — they detonate.

    This one is for anyone who has a story in them and keeps saying someday — and for every creative wondering whether there's still a point.

    Show Notes with Chapters

    00:00 –Creative industries are rapidly changing as AI begins replacing human-made work across multiple fields.

    03:36 –AI voice tools are lowering opportunities and reshaping the future of professional voice acting.

    07:35 – Perfect-looking content is making authentic human creativity feel more valuable than ever.

    10:47 – AI-generated books are flooding online marketplaces and making discovery harder for real writers.

    11:30 – Walking away from traditional work can open the door to a more meaningful creative life.

    15:30 – Sometimes growth only happens after completely leaving behind what no longer serves you.

    21:50 – The most meaningful legacy often comes from preserving memories and personal stories for family.

    23:55 – Creativity can feel less like a hobby and more like something you are called to do.

    31:02 – Finishing creative projects requires structure, discipline, and showing up every single day.

    35:29 – Learning how to balance inspiration without losing focus is essential for long-term creative work.

    40:17 – A single powerful idea or visual moment can become the foundation for an entire creative universe.

    43:18 – The only way to become a writer is to stop waiting and start creating consistently.

    44:41 – What you choose to focus on daily can completely shape the direction of your life.

    54:27 – AI is beginning to impact far more industries than people initially expected.

    57:22 – Creative success depends more on persistence than on praise, reviews, or outside approval.

    Resources Mentioned:

    Website: https://authoraaronryan.com/
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    1 hr and 1 min
  • Seeing the World from Four Foot Two- Identity, Access, and Advocacy with Jenna Udenberg

    Seeing the World from Four Foot Two- Identity, Access, and Advocacy with Jenna Udenberg
    Jun 11 2026
    Most people move through the world without thinking about how they move through the world. The door opens. The bathroom fits. The seat is reachable. For Jenna Udenberg, none of that has ever been a given. And after nearly four decades navigating life from a wheelchair, she has stopped waiting for the world to catch up — and started educating it. Jenna is an educator, author, and founder of Above and Beyond with You, a nonprofit dedicated to accessibility education in its fullest sense. Her memoir, Within My Spokes, traces a life shaped by juvenile arthritis, identity crises, the pandemic's invisible toll on disabled workers, and the hard-won freedom that comes from building a community instead of just surviving one. In this conversation, we talk about what the ADA actually means (and doesn't), the difference between compliance and genuine inclusion, the emotional exhaustion of constantly educating others, and the small but radical act of asking someone how they want to be described. This one is for anyone who has never had to think about whether they can get through the door — and for everyone who has. Show Notes with Chapters 00:00 Cold open — the ramp and the button aren't enough: accessibility beyond the front door 01:06 James introduces Jenna: educator, author, wheelchair user, founder of Above and Beyond with You 02:04 The view from four foot two: Jenna's perspective on perspective 03:23 Diagnosed at seven, in a wheelchair by eight — and the ginger snap she lost before all of it 03:46 The Firefly attachment, paved trails, and finding the biking community during the pandemic 04:46 The bikers looked her in the eye — why that was a profound and unusual experience 08:06 Why James wanted this conversation: the invisible design of everyday life 09:02 Self-advocacy from childhood — and the parents who made Jenna the decision-maker about her own body 10:28 "Leave places better than you found them" — the family ethos that became a life philosophy 11:30 The Journey Award, the superintendent, and the moment Jenna climbed on her soapbox 12:27 Not seeing herself within disability community until the last three years — and why rural isolation makes it harder 13:05 The ADA myth: the largest unfunded mandate in U.S. history 14:27 The Blandin fellowship, the identity cost of leadership retreats, and navigating access needs in unfamiliar spaces 15:47 The pandemic strips the superwoman persona — invisible disabilities become visible for the first time 17:00 The district, the lawyers, and the identity crisis of not getting to say goodbye to her students 18:17 Being given the words "accessibility educator" — and the aha of a new identity forming 19:04 The Bush Fellowship, the memoir, and how Above and Beyond with You was born 21:12 What the work actually looks like: speaking, paneling, partnerships, and the long-game "with you" model 22:26 "Nothing about us without us" — the consulting firm with no disabled employees 24:59 Creating safe spaces to make mistakes — and why Jenna still says "handicap parking" even though she hates it 26:15 Advice for new caregivers and newly disabled families: the grief cycle, community, and not rushing 28:26 Medical model vs. societal model vs. disability culture — and the moment Jenna caught herself diagnosing strangers 30:44 "I have scars, but not open wounds" — what it means to be a veteran disabled person 33:19 Finding community online — Facebook groups, information overload, and discernment 35:42 Accessibility in real spaces: James shares the Weymouth Center renovation story 39:46 The Carnegie Library transformation — from inaccessible bathrooms to the first adult changing table in the region 42:19 Stop trying to be ADA compliant. Be committed to the spirit of why it was written. 43:52 We gave you a ramp and a button — the gap between entry and true belonging 45:41 How to interact with disabled people: humor, curiosity, and the no-BS detector 47:32 Learning by osmosis — hang out in the rooms where this is the work 49:34 The exhaustion of managing other people's awkwardness — and when enough is enough 51:19 Practical tips for talking to someone in a wheelchair: eye level, space, and just asking 53:39 "How would you want me to describe you to someone else?" — restoring dignity and agency with one question 55:09 Talk to the disabled person, not over them to their caregiver 56:03 The memoir Within My Spokes: who it's for and what Jenna wanted to put in the world 58:46 Family reactions, vulnerable stories, and the tapestry of interconnection 1:00:36 Why she wrote it: 5,000 coffees vs. 500 — the book as the fastest way to get real 1:01:30 Final invitation: take inventory of who you surround yourself with — and prepare 1:04:25 Where to find Jenna and Above and Beyond with You Resources Mentioned Above and Beyond with You: https://www.aboveandbeyondwithu.org/ Jenna's book — subtitle: A Tapestry of Pain, Growth and Freedom. Available via the...
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    1 hr and 6 mins
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