Find Your Voice, Change Your Life

#174 From Disfigurement to Discovery: Building Real Confidence

Today, I interview John Kippen who spent years hiding after a surgery left half of his face paralyzed. His story is one of deep courage, transformation, and learning what it really means to be seen. As a child, John grew up in a successful family and learned how to perform, achieve, and seek approval. But beneath that confidence was a longing to be understood for who he truly was. When a brain tumor led to facial paralysis, everything he knew about identity and worth was shaken. What followed was a long season of silence and isolation that eventually became a doorway to rediscovery. Through his love for magic and storytelling, John began to connect with others again. The stage became a space where he stopped hiding, shared his truth, and turned what once felt like a limitation into a powerful message of authenticity. Today, John uses his voice to help others find theirs. As a speaker and empowerment coach, he reminds us that real confidence isn’t about appearance or perfection. It begins with self-acceptance, compassion, and the courage to show up exactly as we are. __________________ John Kippen is an entrepreneur, professional magician, speaker, resilience and empowerment coach, and published author. In 2002, he was diagnosed with a large benign brain tumor that, while successfully removed, left him with permanent facial paralysis. The experience stopped his forward momentum and led him into hiding for more than twelve years. During that time, John rediscovered his childhood love for performing magic and storytelling. What began as a way to cope slowly became his source of healing. With renewed passion and hope, he came to see that his facial difference was not a limitation but his greatest superpower. Today, John lives with joy and purpose, helping others rise above self-doubt and fear. As a resilience and empowerment coach, he teaches people to get out of their own way and step into a life of confidence and connection. His guiding mottos are simple yet profound: Being different is your superpower and Feed your heart with your art. __________________ Find John here: https://www.johnkippen.com/ https://www.facebook.com/kippen/?_rdr https://www.instagram.com/johnkippen/?hl=en https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnkippenspeaker/ Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1751770/support] I’m Dr. Doreen Downing and I help people find their voice so they can speak without fear. Get the Free 7-Step Guide to Fearless Speaking https://www.doreen7steps.com .

#173 Unraveling the Layers to Remember Your Truth

Today, I interview Robin Humphreys, who once felt her voice caught in her throat and her body tense with fear. She shares how creative expression became her lifeline, helping her release what she couldn’t say out loud. Growing up sensitive and full of imagination, Robin later faced experiences that taught her to hold back her voice. Years of silence led to a deep disconnection from her own safety and expression, until art and body-based healing began to show her another way to live and speak. Now, Robin helps others find that same freedom, guiding them to calm anxiety, reconnect with their bodies, and rediscover their authentic voice. Her work reminds us that healing and self-expression often rise together, leading us back to what is most true within. __________________ Robin Humphreys is the visionary Founder and CEO of Phoenix Heart Healing. She is a true catalyst for transformation, guiding individuals to experience radiant shifts by aligning the body, heart, mind, and spirit. Her holistic mastery weaves together energy healing, meditation, breathwork, and movement, helping clients dissolve anxiety, depression, and overwhelm while nurturing a deeper connection to themselves and the world around them. As a trained international and TEDx speaker, Robin’s mission to transform lives has touched hearts across the globe. Her empowering presence inspires others to take a soulful leap on their journey homeward. __________________ Find Robin here: https://www.facebook.com/phoenixhearthealing https://www.instagram.com/phoenixhearthealing/ 3 Tips to Reduce Anxiety in 2 Minutes or Less - https://phoenixhearthealing.org/  Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1751770/support] I’m Dr. Doreen Downing and I help people find their voice so they can speak without fear. Get the Free 7-Step Guide to Fearless Speaking https://www.doreen7steps.com .

#172 Finding Safety in the Body and Freedom in the Voice

Today, I interview Heidi Fischbach who grew up in a strict, high-control environment where fear and rules shaped how she learned to speak and exist. From an early age, she carried the weight of right and wrong, heaven and hell, and learned to stay small to stay safe. As she grew older, this constant vigilance became anxiety and self-silencing. Her turning point came when she began to understand how the body holds old fear-based patterns, and how healing the nervous system can restore a sense of safety and calm. Through curiosity and self-friendliness, she learned that safety isn’t just emotional, it’s physical, and that when the body feels safe, the voice naturally begins to emerge. Today, Heidi helps others reset their nervous systems and rediscover what it feels like to be calm, connected, and expressive. She teaches that healing happens in small, steady increments, not through force, but through gentleness and presence. __________________ Heidi Fischbach is a nervous system coach and writer who helps people reset after high-control environments, whether that’s a fundamentalist religion, a rigid family system, or chronic survival mode. With training in Focusing, Polyvagal Theory, and body-based trauma healing, she helps clients feel safe, connected, and at home in their bodies. She is currently finishing her memoir, Missionary Kid: How My Body Saved My Mind from High-Control Christianity, and offers a program called The Nervous System Jumpstart. __________________ Find Heidi here: https://www.instagram.com/heidifischbach/ https://www.heidifischbach.com Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1751770/support] I’m Dr. Doreen Downing and I help people find their voice so they can speak without fear. Get the Free 7-Step Guide to Fearless Speaking https://www.doreen7steps.com .

#171 Turning Breakdown Into Breakthrough: A Journey of Awakening

Today, I interview Catherine G. Lucas who opens up about losing her voice in the midst of a painful breakdown. In her late teens she was already standing on stage for public speaking competitions, but by the time her parents divorced during her university years, the weight of family wounds caught up with her. Instead of enjoying summer with friends, she found herself in an acute psychiatric ward, her world shattered and her voice silenced. Her breakthrough came much later, when she discovered that what had been called a breakdown could also be seen as an awakening. It took years of reframing and deep inner work to see her experience not as illness, but as a turning point with the potential for healing. Through mindfulness, patient advocacy, and writing her first book, In Case of Spiritual Emergency, Catherine began to speak from her whole self rather than hide in shame. Today she helps others step into their deeper calling, showing that finding your voice is not about perfection but about expressing the truth of who you are in a way that heals and uplifts. __________________ Catherine G. Lucas is the author of four books on how to move successfully through crisis and harness the transformational power it holds. A former university professor, Catherine left her academic career behind to step into her soul’s deeper calling, following a profound crisis of awakening. She went on to set up a UK charity and now helps people step into their deeper calling. Her media appearances include BBC Radio 4 and TimeWarner TV, and she regularly speaks internationally. More recently, Catherine has convened the highly acclaimed Birth the New Earth summit. __________________ Find Catherine here: https://www.youtube.com/user/CatherineGLucas https://www.catherine-g-lucas.com/ https://www.co-creatingourfuture.world/ https://www.co-creatingourfuture.world/free-gift-download/ Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1751770/support] I’m Dr. Doreen Downing and I help people find their voice so they can speak without fear. Get the Free 7-Step Guide to Fearless Speaking https://www.doreen7steps.com .

#170 Finding Freedom in Letting Go of Perfection

Today, I interview Liz Sweet, who spent years feeling the pressure to be polished and perfect, even when it left her exhausted. Growing up in Los Angeles, she was encouraged to use her voice, but only her polished side was welcomed, while her vulnerable self was seen as “too much.” As she built her career leading trainings around the globe, Liz created a confident persona that looked successful on the outside but drained her on the inside. Her turning point came when she discovered a presence-based approach and realized that real confidence comes not from performance, but from connection. In this conversation, Liz shares what it meant to drop the mask, move through discomfort, and find the deep freedom of being seen as her whole self. She shows how presence—not polish—is what allows your true voice to shine. __________________ Liz Sweet is the founder of Connected Speaking, where she helps professionals find real confidence in their voice and leadership. With over a decade of experience training nonprofit and philanthropic leaders, she knows how easily the pressure to prove yourself can take over—no matter your role. Liz also knows this struggle personally. For years, she battled speaking anxiety, relying on performance and polish to get by. Her turning point came when she discovered a presence-based approach that helped her move beyond fear and perfectionism into genuine confidence and ease. Today, Liz leads supportive group programs and coaching that go deeper than surface-level techniques. She guides people to feel at home in their voice, connect more authentically, and lead with greater impact. __________________ Find Liz here: www.ConnectedSpeaking.com  https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethasweet/  Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1751770/support] I’m Dr. Doreen Downing and I help people find their voice so they can speak without fear. Get the Free 7-Step Guide to Fearless Speaking https://www.doreen7steps.com .