It's All Poetry

In this episode, Nicole welcomes back her very first repeat guest (🥳), Cleoniki Kesidis, copywriter extraordinaire and fellow funnel-skeptic. The two dig into the uncomfortable origins and metaphors behind the word funnel, asking why such a common marketing term so often feels…well, kinda icky.

What starts as a conversation about email sequences and sales paths becomes a beautifully winding journey into ethical marketing, customer autonomy, and a whole lot of metaphors.

Let’s talk about the words we use in the marketing systems we build.

In this episode, you’ll discover…

• Why “funnel” might not be the best metaphor—and a few alternates
• What cows, tornadoes, and Temple Grandin have to do with marketing
• The overlooked power of sequencing and why your audience deserves an exit

• Why the best funnels feel more like ecosystems (and how to start designing yours)
• What to do if you find yourself IN a funnel as a business owner (which you will, like, all the time)

A few quotes:

• “It doesn’t feel like a friendly place to exist. It’s like you’re Dorothy and your house has been picked up and you’re being tossed around inside a tornado.”

• “You want the sand to leave. You’re not trying to catch everybody.”

• “When we talk about optimizing, it’s not about making every number as high as it can go.”

• “When you’re an entrepreneur, you are always in a funnel.”

Connect with Cleo:

What does it really mean to write? Is it an act or a process? And can AI truly replicate it? In this episode, writer, editor, and book coach Katie Wolf joins Nicole to break down the layers of the word write—from its ancient roots to the modern fear of simply getting started.

Katie shares her personal journey with writing, how self-doubt held her back for years, and the unexpected ways she overcame it. The two also discuss AI (of course) and the psychological tug-of-war between writing in private and sharing our work publicly.

In This Episode, You’ll Discover…

The surprising, ancient origins of the word write (hint: it wasn’t always about, well, writing)

Why writing feels both deeply personal and inherently performative

How our biological fear of being seen still affects writers today

How ancient storytelling was closer to performance art than private reflection (and what that means for writers today).

Whether AI-generated writing is “real” writing—and how it’s already reshaping the creative process.

A Few Quotes:

"The writing process is loaded with moments of absolute joy—and absolute frustration." – Katie Wolf

"The fear of being seen keeps us from even doing the behind-the-scenes work of writing." – Nicole

"If you want to write a book, you want to write a book. AI can't do that for you." – Katie Wolf

"Writing is just telling the truth—over and over again, in different ways." – Nicole

Ways to Connect with Katie:

Have you ever wondered if you even had an intuition? Or if it was buried under years and years of people-pleasing, shoulds, etc? That’s how I felt …. before this conversation. But not after.

Lauren Levine—a movement teacher, psychic medium, and someone whose intuition practically glows—opened my eyes to what intuition really is: a skill.

In this episode, we unpack what it means to connect with that quiet knowing inside of us, how to tell the difference between intuition and fear, and why your messy, beautiful life experiences might actually be sharpening your ability to hear it.

Tune in to learn…

• Why intuition isn’t something you’re born with—it’s something you can grow.
• What intuition feels like when it’s real.
• How movement and mindfulness can help you hear your inner voice more clearly.
• Why your past experiences might be helping, not hindering, your intuition. (This blew my mind).

Resources & Links:

What does “design” truly mean, and how does it shape more than just our screens? Sarah Jutras, founder of Huzzah Studio and creator of the "Freelance for Life" Substack, joins Nicole to take a deep dive into the expansive world of design—from user experience and app development to designing a fulfilling freelance life. With a journey rooted in childhood crafts and inspired by mentors and Italian art, Sarah reveals her unique philosophy of design as both a creative process and a plan for living with purpose.

In This Episode, You’ll Discover…

• How Sarah’s early inspirations in design shape her approach to lifestyle design today
• What it means to "design" a freelance career and why it’s about more than just aesthetics
• The philosophical roots of design—from crafting family experiences to creating UI with impact
• Insights into life-centered design and how it challenges traditional UX/UI for broader, meaningful outcomes

A Few Quotes:

• “Everything is design. Everything.” — Paul Rand, echoed by Sarah Jutras
• “Design is at the intersection of art and plan—it has life in it.”
• “Freelancing is a creative practice; everything is an experiment.”
• “Ultimately, all problems of design merge into one great problem: design for life.”

Further Research: