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Written by JJ Barnes
I interviewed writer and podcaster Alise Saunders about her podcast, Tales From An Untamed Soul, what she talks about, and what inspired her to start podcasting.
Alise Saunders: Travel Blogger, Podcaster, Life Coach, Entrepreneur, Warrior
In 2018 Alise left her corporate life and six-figure salary, feeling like she wasn’t living life fully. She created her first business, a virtual bookkeeping company, serving small business owners, which she does today, from the road.
In 2020 Alise realized and embraced her dream of being a travel blogger. Alise and her husband Gregg let their apartment lease expire, sold or gifted most of their belongings, with no home to return to, and in April 2021 they set out on a transformational travel journey.
In their blog, Tales From An Untamed Soul, they provide FREE travel guides to small town gems that remain the heart and soul of America, with images that reflect their authenticity, and share lessons learned as they navigate life and travels.
Alise and Gregg are having the time of their lives traveling the country with plans to go international in 2023. Alise will continue to share the extraordinary stories of other Untamed Souls, people overcoming limiting beliefs to live their heart’s desires, that she meets along her travels in her podcast to inspire others to create their best life.
Immediately upon setting out on our epic journey as travel bloggers in April 2021, I had a vision that I would share the stories of regular people living extraordinary and inspirational lives, embracing their dreams and passions, and taking risks. I knew it would be in a video format but I never dreamed I would later call it a podcast. It wasn’t until months later that the Tales From An Untamed Soul Podcast was born.
As someone who is a multi-business owner, I found it difficult to step out of the corporate world into a business of my own creation because of the glorification of the extremely rich business owners and I felt like that was so intimidating, why should I even bother to try. I was stuck in a limiting belief of comparison and destination addiction, desiring to fast forward through the journey to the success.
As I worked through this limiting belief, I was able to understand the precious gift of getting started, in anything. The first step forward is a miracle. I felt that more people needed to hear the message of those getting started. So, it was no coincidence that at our first travel blog destination, on one of our first days navigating the world as travel bloggers in the tiny town of Humbolt, TN we would stroll into a cotton-candy pink candy store called the Kandy Bank and meet owners Scott and Kelli Keena. They were still putting up shelves, placing candy in patterned displays, while the city’s annual Strawberry Festival looming days away.
It was only minutes before I knew I wanted Scott and Kelli to be my first interview. They shared their story of selling their home, moving their children across the country, buying a 1900’s bank building with the original vault in place (thus the name Kandy Bank), even though they had no business experience, much less, candy business experience, simply because it was their dream; they thought it would be fun. When I asked them, “what if the business doesn’t work?” they each smiled, touched each other’s hands, and replied “then we’ll do something else”.
Is it really that simple, I wondered? If we don’t succeed, even with a building mortgage, a move, a sold house and life left behind, to just try something else? Yes… it is that simple if we want it to be. It was another life lesson from strangers that spoke to my heart, a message I didn’t know I needed to hear as I embarked on my own journey and new business. If life as a travel blogger doesn’t work out, I’ll just do something else.
Our podcast is called Tales From An Untamed Soul which is also the name of our travel blog, where we host FREE vacation travel guides, work from the road resources, and self-development courses.
I chose this name because I am sharing my own tales, as I untame my soul, and the tales of others. As I continue to heal trauma and replace limiting beliefs with beliefs that empower, I am more determined to really live.
I yearn to be wild and free like a horse running at full speed along the beach as the waves crash ashore. I spent so many years conducting myself according someone else’s moral code, caught in the daily routine of life.
I wanted so much more of the extraordinary gifts that life offers us each day. I wanted to plunge into the depths! Becoming wild meant expansion and swimming in daily change. Reality sometimes flickered in the yearning that I started to see bars of a cage appear around me. I was becoming… untamed.
You can find the Tales From An Untamed Soul Podcast on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, and iHeart RADIO.
We’ve met so many extraordinary people through our travels. The videos and podcast episodes tell the stories of untamed souls breaking limiting beliefs, being authentic, and creating a life wild and free.
It is my hope that these episodes of Untamed Souls will inspire you to make lasting change in your life that will bring you joy, inspiration, healing, and adventure.
Host alone.
I edit most on my own, but do have a person from Upwork that assists me if needed.
I chat as I go.
The first time I recorded, I was sweating, cried when I thought the film didn’t record properly, and stressed over every detail. I had prepared questions in case I couldn’t think of what to ask. That experience really helped me to let go of more perfectionism and control.
Now, I accept that technical challenges happen and there is a chance the interview won’t be published, I am learning to let go of expectations of what it will look or sound like (we record video and audio), I am unscripted now and leaning in to feel the rhythm of the conversation and ask what feels important in the moment, and I am still learning to accept how it turned out later and not second guess myself. I am still learning! It’s so much fun to be in the space of the novice, everything is new, with so much potential joy and experiences ahead.
I am still learning to accept the interview after it’s recorded. Whether I’m a guest or the host, I am learning to heal the “critical parent” in my mind that finds fault with what I said, how I said it, or what I didn’t say. The journey of self-love, self-acceptance and not seeking validation from others has been a challenging path filled with setbacks, self-doubt, and struggle. Being a blogger, a podcaster, and a TV guest, out there for all the world to see, receiving comments and judgements has been a valuable step toward standing powerfully validating myself regardless of the labels of others.
I don’t listen to podcasts. As a podcaster and podcast guest, I find that my energy is best used by focusing on finding my path, my wisdom, and the answers that lie within, then translating that energy into action that achieves my dreams and goals. This staves off the game of comparison wondering “am I doing this right”? Who’s to say what “right” is? This helps me manage preconceived expectations in my mind just living as I feel appropriate.
I have a page on my website dedicated the videos we record, the podcast listening and viewing buttons, and stories of untamed souls.
It is my hope that our podcast will be part of our journey to financial freedom but I also know that I am called to share these stories and that is a priceless honor.
I never expected to be a podcaster. In fact, when I started recording the videos someone told me I should make a podcast out of it and I expressed I had no interest. I laugh when I think about that moment. It was a limiting belief I had to work through.
I thought “who would want to listen to my videos, I’m not a professional interviewer, I’m not a professional editor, and I don’t know what I’m doing. How can I make it a podcast?”. The truth is I still don’t know what I’m doing, but I don’t need to. The lesson of going with the flow, figuring it out, and improving is part of the joy. Also, feeling deeply these stories are connected to my purpose in life is on another level of reward like the day we met 13-year-old race car driver Cheyenne Potter from Lake Helen, Florida.
Gregg and I pulled into the parking lot of a grocery store near our Airbnb, and a Volvo pulled into the spot next to us, at the same time. Everyone got out of the cars simultaneously and Gregg struck up a conversation with Sherri Potter, the Volvo driver and Cheyenne’s Mom.
By the time we all made it to the door, I was handing her my business card and asking for an interview. I was so inspired, standing in the vegetable section of the store, meeting Cheyenne and hearing her story. At 13 years old Cheyenne has a life wisdom about living and dying that keeps the present moment of life in my front window; only her front window is going 100 miles per hour.
My advice to new podcasters is BE YOU! Don’t get caught up in the statics of likes, comments, followers, it’s a hollow hole. The world doesn’t need a carbon copy of the trending podcast. The world needs the authentic YOU! You have gifts, talents, and a purpose that will shine through when you connect to your higher self, your heart, your intuition. Create your own definition of success. Stay true to yourself, what makes you happy and the rest of the pieces will fall into place.
We are a small but mighty podcast simply because we only interview people we meet during our travels, when I feel compelled to share their story. It’s not my goal right now to have 1,000 episodes; it’s my goal to have one episode inspire someone to make changes in their life. I believe it’s our purpose to be our best self and show others the way to do the same.
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