Anne McGinty — Finding My Voice: Lessons from Season 2 (So Far)

One exciting bit of news is that how I Built my Small Business won a 2025 Communicator Award of Excellence as an educational series . I told my sister that it felt like I received an A in art class , because that's truly how it felt .

Hosting , editing and producing this show is a creative endeavor , so thank you to the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts for the recognition , which is validating . As you know , I started this podcast to honor my dad and help others navigate what entrepreneurship is and what it can do for you , but it's turned into much more than I imagined .

Sometimes an episode is a masterclass and other times it's an honest , heart-opening connection between two strangers happening in real time . There's always curiosity and there's always learning through storytelling . In speaking with other hosts , one common thread is that , as a host ,

you may eventually get bored of the original topic . If you've been following along , you likely have noticed that the focus of the episodes has opened up to more than just business . The connecting thread is that all of my guests are founders , but often we're learning from their stories , expertise or perspective , sometimes about business and sometimes about life .

Continued learning is deeply personal and meaningful to me because it was so meaningful to my dad . He was adamant that one must never stop learning , and if you're like me , you remember lessons more when they're attached to stories .

One of my best friends wrote in saying the older I get , the more I realize the difference between wisdom and intelligence , and I think it's one of the reasons your show resonates with so many it unearths wisdom . Thanks , sarah .

Season one has much more content focused on the actual creation and growth of businesses , and in season two I've found myself wanting to explore the knowledge and perspectives of my guests beyond business , with a sincere curiosity about their chosen field of expertise and understanding more deeply why they think , how they think , the type of wisdom their kids would get

by growing up in their household , the advice they'd give to those they love the most . I'm evolving as a host and trying to stay true to what fills me up , and that is learning

through storytelling . I love stories , probably because of my dad , who would capture a room's attention with the joy he found from telling stories Like the one about a little boy selling trinkets at a market . He said , my goodness , he couldn't have been older than five , did you see him ?

He was barefoot and had his trinkets so neatly arranged in that old cigar box , hanging open-faced from a string around his neck . He walked two miles to sell at the market today . I only had nine quarters , but that was worth more than everything in his box . So I gave them to him and said in Tagalog what are you doing ? Working at the market ?

You should be in school or playing . Go home and tell your parents you made nine quarters today . Then my dad paused the boy , did you see him ? He hid behind the pallets of goods and wiped tears from his eyes , and as he tells this , his voice cracks and his own eyes start tearing .

His lesson was a reminder to feel deep gratitude for the things we often take for granted . Reminder to feel deep gratitude for the things we often take for granted School coins in our pockets and the simple freedom to be a child .

That little boy wasn't asking for pity , he was just doing what he had to do , but in his tears we see the weight he was carrying and it reminds us to appreciate what we have . I believe lessons are easier to hold when they come with details and emotion , and that is the magic

of a story . So back to the podcast . Earlier this season I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue , and that was solely because I was drowning in pitches . Most of them felt templated and impersonal . It made me realize how important alignment and sincerity are to me and to the show .

Instead of going into that too deeply here , I think I might actually put together a mini episode on how to pitch yourself authentically to a podcast host . So stay tuned for that if you're trying to get on podcasts .

I shared my experience of the noise that I was having difficulty filtering through with another podcaster who was experiencing the same problem , and we both have ADD to layer on top , which can make filtering through noise just extra challenging . He helped me narrow down a few guiding principles , which are I only want to do this if I'm having fun .

I believe people will only enjoy episodes if they hear my sincere curiosity . I want to connect with cool people . I'm looking for stories , knowledge , learning and real connection , because what I love about the process is that the learning feels so good for the brain . I've been able to chat with doctors who have helped me deepen my understanding of my own health .

For over 13 years I battled a couple autoimmune conditions and during that time I was told by more than a dozen endocrinologists that I would never be able to cure my autoimmune conditions . But I knew it was possible . I knew I could . I just needed to figure out how , and now I have .

Three years ago , I checked out every book I could find on thyroid disease and autoimmune conditions and did a deep dive into understanding the root cause and helping my body find its way back to equilibrium without medication . I started learning , experimenting and listening to my body and thankfully you can order your own blood test now .

So I ordered my own thyroid panels to check on my progress .

It took years and a combination of dietary changes , lifestyle changes , getting the right kind of exercise , not too little , not too intense quality sleep , herbal support and breathwork and meditation to retrain my body into having the parasympathetic nervous system , which is the rest and digest system , as the default state , instead of the sympathetic nervous system , which

is fight or flight . What surprised me the most is that podcasting itself , this act of using my voice , has played a real role in my healing .

It's hard to describe how and why to somebody who hasn't been on this exact journey , but I believe for years that I never truly expressed my voice , opinions or thoughts out of fear that doing so may come across as confrontational or too bold or rude .

This is why I truly admire how authentic Prof G is with how he speaks and shares his opinions so frankly and unapologetically . That is really something to aspire to . I think I grew up in Atlanta and there is a Southern politeness that I adore , but it can also mean that people can withhold true feelings or opinions to avoid offending others .

So that's how I've felt for years that it's better to be gracious instead of blunt smile and avoid confrontation and use soft language or euphemisms to express disagreement . It's truly cultural . I don't believe there's anything wrong with that , but for me , I think it resulted in me becoming what is now a recovering people pleaser .

Podcasting has given me the space to practice saying what I think out loud and on record , and I'm focusing on choosing authenticity over approval .

I truly want to choose who I talk with and why the act of connecting with people , finding purpose , being myself and creating something that feels aligned has turned out to be this huge missing puzzle piece in my autoimmune

healing journey . Five years ago , if you put me on air in an interview , my voice would have quivered and my hands would have shaken because I wasn't living and operating in alignment . I don't think we talk enough about how powerful alignment and joy is for our physical health .

I've also connected with guests over shared grief and the impact that's had in our lives . There's a quote by Francis Weller that I heard Rangan Chatterjee mention on Live More , feel Better , which really resonated with me . Really resonated with me .

The work of the mature person is to carry grief in one hand and gratitude in the other and to be stretched large by them . It's an invitation to wholeness , to allow both grief and gratitude to shape one into someone deeper , more compassionate and more alive . Another change I've made this season is that I stopped rigidly pre-preparing questions .

That was a bit nerve-wracking for me because at first I was nervous that I wouldn't get the interview to flow or that I'd get brain fog and stumble on my words and embarrass myself . But I found that if I instead take handwritten notes during the interview . It's much easier for me to go with the flow and pull out key points that I want to dig into further .

Interviews are still mostly 45 to 60 minutes because I've found that building a real heart connection and trust with my guests takes at least 15 minutes and as they get more comfortable with my approach , they go deeper in the next 30 to 40 minutes .

I tried to do 30 minute interviews and while I know that's probably easier for listeners to digest when commuting , the length feels rushed and thus more surface level for me as the host . So thank you for bearing with me and I hope you make it to the end of the episodes , because that is where it gets the deepest .

And a note on rushing I spend a good part of my life in New Zealand because I'm married to a Kiwi . I love the way I feel when we're in New Zealand and it's like medicine for the soul . Many years ago my in-laws asked me Anne , what do you like to do to relax ?

I started answering that I like to go hiking or go to a yoga class or , and they said but that's not relaxing , that's doing . And it made me realize that I didn't know how to just be . Over the years I've heard Kiwis say Americans don't know how to relax . When I asked what they meant , they said no pressure , no stress and no rushing .

That mindset has stayed with me and it's something I try to embody in life and in this show . So , heading into the second half of this season , I'll keep following the joy and leaning into alignment

. I'm not sure yet if there will be a season three . We'll have to see how this unfolds . But for now , thank you for listening , for sharing and for being here , and I wish you less pressure , less stress and less rushing . Have a great day .