A Joyful Rebellion

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 website.

Most of us spend our careers trying to become important. We perform, we climb, we accumulate — and somewhere along the way we confuse being needed with actually being useful. Chip Scholz has spent decades coaching leaders through exactly that confusion, and he'll tell you plainly: the freedom you're looking for is on the other side of not needing to matter quite so much.
Chip is a leadership coach, author of Every Dog Has Its Day, and president of the North Carolina Woodturners. He's coached hundreds of executives across industries, survived a stroke that redirected his life onto what he calls the second mountain, and found in a humble wood lathe a set of lessons that no boardroom had taught him. In this conversation, we dig into hubris and self-awareness, how the best leaders find touchstones, why delegation is almost universally broken, and how to tell the difference between building an asset and building a legacy.
This one is for anyone who's been chasing the next promotion without stopping to ask what they actually want — and for any leader who suspects their biggest blind spot might be hiding in plain sight.
Show Notes and Chapters
00:00 — Welcome, Guest Introduction & Show Overview
02:47 — "Every Dog Has Its Day" Philosophy Explained
05:09 — Surviving a Stroke, Living on Bonus Time
08:00 — The Water Cure Poem & Humility Lesson
11:44 — Woodturning, Leadership, and Life on the Lathe
18:13 — The Second Mountain: Meaning Over Success
25:48 — Black Swan Events & Building Self-Awareness
30:55 — Hubris: The #1 Leadership Blind Spot
38:13 — Phases of Leadership Growth Over Time
43:45 — How to Find the Right Business Coach
49:05 — Legacy vs. Asset: Succession in Family Business
57:00 — Self-Leadership, Clarity, and What You Want
Resources Mentioned:
Chip Scholz's website:  http://scholzandassociates.com/ 
Chip's current book — available on Amazon, Audiobooks, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Walmart

What if the only way to save the planet was to kidnap the world's billionaires and dose them with psychedelics? That's not a joke — that's Diana Colleen's debut novel. But here's what makes it more than just a wild premise. Diana is a trained psychedelic facilitator. She's lived through the kind of trauma these medicines are designed to help heal. And she genuinely believes billionaireism is a pathology — not a success story. This conversation goes deep. Into the medicine, the inequality, and the hope she refuses to let go of.

After spending decades performing at the highest levels of classical music, Kate Kayaian did something almost unthinkable in her industry: she walked away.
In this episode of A Joyful Rebellion, Kate shares the deeply personal process of untangling herself from an identity she had carried since childhood and learning how to build a life that actually reflected who she was becoming — not just who people expected her to be.
We talk about creativity, career pivots, burnout, external validation, the trap of “potential,” and why so many high achievers secretly feel stuck inside lives that look successful from the outside. Kate also shares practical insights from her book Beyond Potential about reassessing old stories, redefining success, and taking action toward a more aligned future.
If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re allowed to want something different, this conversation will hit home.
 
Show Notes & Chapters
00:00 — When your success no longer feels like your life
01:08 — The rebellion of walking away from a dream career
03:18 — The podcast story that changed Kate’s trajectory
04:55 — Realizing the version of herself she wanted to become
07:15 — Choosing the cello because of a childhood crush
09:08 — Why classical musicians “aren’t supposed” to quit
10:26 — The sunk cost trap high achievers struggle with
11:32 — The relief Kate felt when concerts were canceled in 2020
14:13 — Helping creatives reinvent themselves during the pandemic
16:08 — Why so many people secretly want permission to pivot
17:34 — The stories that keep people trapped in old identities
20:42 — “Rocking chair tasks” and fake productivity
22:18 — Why more people are creative than they realize
26:32 — Expanding your identity beyond one label
30:04 — Why successful people struggle to leave successful careers
33:37 — Generational shifts in work, purpose, and reinvention
36:15 — Elite careers and the hidden cost of mastery
39:35 — The real meaning behind “Beyond Potential”
41:37 — Designing your own version of success
44:45 — When hobbies accidentally become businesses
48:19 — The awkwardness of introducing the “new” version of yourself
52:06 — Why friends sometimes resist your evolution
55:46 — Small action steps that help you reinvent your life
Resources Mentioned
Kate Kayaian Official Website
 
 

At 20 years old, Kenneth Kunken broke his neck during a college football game at Cornell University and was told he likely wouldn’t survive the week. Doctors warned his family that even if he lived, he’d spend the rest of his life in a nursing home with little hope for independence.
They were wrong.
In this episode of A Joyful Rebellion, Ken shares the long road from catastrophic spinal cord injury to earning multiple graduate degrees, becoming an assistant district attorney, raising triplets, and writing his memoir, I Dream of Things That Never Were.
This conversation dives into resilience, identity, disability, expectations, purpose, and the quiet danger of letting other people decide what your future should look like. It’s also a deeply human conversation about grief, adaptation, love, fatherhood, and why hope sometimes starts with simply refusing to quit.
Show Notes & Chapters00:00 — The prosecutor nobody expected to see in court02:21 — The football tackle that changed Ken’s life forever05:48 — Doctors tell his family to “let him go”07:17 — Reading the pamphlet that predicted a hopeless future10:32 — Returning to Cornell less than a year after paralysis13:05 — Rejection, job hunting, and mailing 200 resumes14:06 — Discovering purpose through helping others with disabilities18:16 — From introvert to public speaker and advocate19:54 — Navigating inaccessible campuses before the ADA24:36 — Why Ken decided to become a lawyer26:08 — Becoming an assistant district attorney despite enormous barriers30:10 — The danger of low expectations33:16 — Why Ken refused sympathy from juries35:02 — How to talk to people with disabilities without fear37:10 — Choosing growth instead of despair after trauma39:02 — “Dream of things that never were”42:16 — Writing the book that his sons would one day read44:40 — Marriage, IVF, and becoming the father of triplets49:00 — Advice for someone newly facing spinal cord injury53:33 — Retirement, public speaking, and continuing to inspire others56:05 — The award named in Ken’s honor
Resources Mentioned
Ken Kunken Official Website
 

Most people think they need a new idea to make more money—but what if they’re just overlooking what’s already there?
Bart Merrell helps people create financial security by monetizing what they already know, already do, and often completely ignore.
From building a DJ business at 15 to working internationally and turning everyday skills into income streams, Bart’s built his life around one simple question: can this be monetized?
We talk about why money really means options, how to spot opportunities hiding in plain sight, and the mindset shift that turns side hustles into something much bigger.
If you’ve ever felt like you should be doing more—but don’t know where to start—this one will get your gears turning.

Why do so many people say they want change—but keep repeating the same patterns? In this episode of A Joyful Rebellion, James sits down with Kristan Swan to unpack the uncomfortable truth behind personal growth, identity, and self-awareness.
Kristan shares her journey from business coaching entrepreneurs to helping people reconnect with themselves through journaling, group conversations, and spiritual autobiography work. Together, they explore why success means something different at every stage of life, how many people confuse identity with roles like career or parenthood, and why some people would rather stay stuck than face the unknown.
They also dive into practical tools like journaling prompts, defining your own version of success, and creating space for deeper connection in a distracted world.
If you’ve ever felt like something in your life needs to change—but you can’t quite name what—this conversation may be exactly what you need.
Show Notes with Chapters
00:00  Why many people don’t actually want to change00:52  Introduction to Kristan Swan02:22  From business coaching to deeper life work05:00  Patterns, awareness, and why journaling matters07:23  How journaling became a transformational tool11:12  Working with entrepreneurs and redefining success15:00  Living someone else’s version of success17:58  Losing identity through work, parenting, or caregiving21:24  Desired outcomes vs needing to be right22:25  What is a spiritual autobiography?29:17  The shift from business goals to life fulfillment33:20  Loneliness, superficial connection, and modern life38:03  Gen X toughness vs self-compassion46:36  Vulnerability as leadership48:39  Blind spots, complaints, and personal responsibility52:17  Why staying stuck can feel safer than changing52:40  New journal: Heart Mapping55:54  Raising adults and modeling healthy behavior
Resources Mentioned
KristanSwan.com
Kristan’s journals: Spaghetti on the Wall and Heart Mapping

What kind of conviction does it take to begin a nearly 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail hike at 72 years old?
For Rand Timmerman, the answer is layered in grief, sobriety, brotherhood, faith, and unfinished business.
A Vietnam veteran, longtime attorney, and recovery advocate, Rand set out on the Appalachian Trail with his brother shortly after overcoming alcoholism and while processing decades of emotional weight—including war trauma, addiction, and the lingering pain of loss. What began as an ambitious physical challenge quickly became something deeper: a spiritual reckoning in the wilderness.
In this conversation, Rand shares what pushed him to attempt one of the world’s most grueling hikes in his seventies, the near-death moments that tested him on the trail, and the spiritual encounters that changed the way he sees life, God, and suffering. He also opens up about his battle with alcoholism, the role faith played in his recovery, and why he believes it is never too late to pursue something bold.
His book, Spiritual Passage, documents the entire journey—and serves as a reminder that some of life’s most meaningful adventures begin when most people think their best years are behind them.
 
Show Notes & Chapters
[00:00] Starting the Appalachian Trail at 72 years old[02:30] The sheer scale of hiking 2,200 miles and 465,000 feet of elevation[05:00] Sobriety, addiction, and the emotional reasons behind the hike[06:30] How grief and Vietnam trauma shaped the journey[07:00] Two brothers, two very different hiking mindsets[08:30] The hilarious origin of Rand’s trail name: “Rambo”[10:20] How many shoes it takes to hike the Appalachian Trail[12:00] Their leapfrog hiking strategy with two vehicles[17:00] “I thought we’d last two weeks max”[19:00] His brother nearly quits after a traumatic nightmare[22:00] The spiritual experience that changed his brother forever[25:00] Maintaining sobriety on the trail through mental meetings[27:00] Coyotes, bears, and wilderness encounters[28:00] Surviving a terrifying storm on the mountain[31:00] Falling down a rockslide and severe injury[35:00] The heartbreaking moment Rand had to stop hiking[37:00] Why he wrote Spiritual Passage[40:00] How the book began helping people struggling with addiction[42:00] His philosophy on faith, higher power, and surrender[47:00] Why it’s never too late to start something epic[50:00] Advice for anyone considering the Appalachian Trail
 
Resources Mentioned
Book: Spiritual Passage by Rand Timmerman
Website: https://www.randtimmerman.com/
Recovery Program: 12-Step Alcohol Recovery Program (Referenced throughout episode)
 
 

Burnout doesn’t show up when it’s convenient. It shows up when you can least afford to slow down.
In this episode, Garrett Wood breaks down what burnout actually looks like—not the Instagram version, but the real, physiological, day-to-day experience of it. From sleep disruption and irritability to chronic pain and identity collapse, Garrett walks us through the five stages of burnout and why high achievers are especially vulnerable to repeating the cycle.
We dig into the difference between managing symptoms and addressing root causes, and why your nervous system—not your willpower—is often the missing piece. Garrett also shares how beliefs like “I have to prove I’m enough” quietly drive burnout, and how success built on sacrifice can backfire over time.
This conversation flips the script: what if sustainable success isn’t built at the expense of your wellbeing—but because of it?
If you’ve ever told yourself to “just push through,” this one might stop you in your tracks.
Show Notes & Chapters
[00:00] The myth of sacrifice and success[01:00] What burnout really looks like (and why it repeats)[03:00] Symptoms vs. root causes of burnout[05:30] The dangerous “runway” game high achievers play[06:50] Garrett’s first burnout: promotion, isolation, and chronic pain[08:30] ER visit and the wake-up call[09:30] The moment that changed everything: a colleague’s suicide[11:30] Identity, work, and the slippery slope[13:00] The 5 stages of burnout explained[16:00] When burnout becomes your identity[18:30] Why burnout spreads in workplaces and relationships[20:00] Loving your work—and burning out anyway[22:30] The role of boredom, ADHD, and misalignment[25:00] Cynicism as a major burnout signal[27:00] When burnout isn’t work—it’s life outside of it[30:00] Managing stress vs. changing stressors[33:00] Nervous system regulation and the relaxation response[36:00] Why quick fixes don’t work—and what actually does[40:00] Serial burnout and starting over (again and again)[43:00] Hypnotherapy explained (without the hype)[48:00] When to get help (hint: earlier than you think)[50:00] Rethinking success: wellbeing vs. sacrifice[52:00] Social media, hustle culture, and the burnout trap
 
Resources Mentioned
Website: Gnosis Therapy | Transform Your Burnout into a Breakthrough
Approach: A3 Framework (Assess → Accommodate → Align)
Modality: Hypnotherapy + nervous system regulation
 

A joyful rebellion isn’t reckless—it’s intentional.
In this conversation, novelist Cinda Gault breaks down a truth most people avoid: the hardest part of living on your own terms isn’t courage—it’s clarity. Because if you don’t know what you actually want, every decision becomes harder.
Cinda’s path wasn’t linear. She helped start a women’s crisis center in the 1970s, worked in a men’s prison, earned advanced degrees, raised two kids, and only then fully committed to writing. Along the way, she learned that meaningful work isn’t about prestige—it’s about alignment.
We talk about writing bold female characters who refuse to stay small, why historical fiction is really about bringing interior lives back to the surface, and how every generation wrestles with autonomy in its own way. She also shares a powerful distinction: there’s a difference between wanting to write a book and wanting to be a writer—and knowing which one you want can save years of frustration.
This episode is a challenge: stop waiting for permission, get brutally honest about what you want, and start building a life that actually fits.
 
Show Notes & Chapters
[00:00] “A rebellion still needs a plan” — clarity vs chaos
[01:00] From feminism to fiction: early career and crisis center work
[04:00] Prison guard experience and studying power dynamics
[06:00] The “joyful rebellion” moment: realizing she hated her dream job
[08:00] Writing romance to pay the bills
[10:00] Going back to school and building craft intentionally
[13:00] Historical fiction: facts vs the invisible inner life
[17:00] Discovering real women in history and rewriting their stories
[22:00] Building fictional worlds from real historical figures
[25:00] Why she writes women who refuse to stay small
[28:00] “You don’t need to quit your job to rebel”
[30:00] The importance of knowing what you actually want
[32:00] Writing about the 70s: memory, emotion, and selection
[36:00] How different generations respond to her work
[41:00] Wanting to write vs wanting to be a writer
[45:00] What’s next: contemporary fiction + children’s book
 
Resources Mentioned
Website: Cinda Gault
Free genre-history webinar series (via her website)
Historical fiction novels + upcoming children’s book (Beak the Clown)