372: Justine Finocchiaro-Doles: From Breast Cancer to Dragon Boats: A Journey of Resilience

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Ever wondered how to turn your personal struggles into a powerful platform for change? Justine Finocchiaro-Doles, host of "Just Talk with Justine," shares her journey from cancer survivor to podcast host, inspiring others through stories of resilience and hope.

Justine, a four-time cancer survivor and dragon boat enthusiast, launched her podcast to give voice to breast cancer survivors and thrivers. With 20 episodes under her belt, she's created a safe space for sharing deeply personal stories of triumph over adversity.

In this episode, Justine opens up about her own battle with cancer, her mission to make guests feel at ease, and her plans to rebrand and grow her show. She discusses the challenges of podcasting, from technical hurdles to building self-confidence as a host.

Harry and Justine explore the art of holding space for difficult conversations, the importance of curiosity in interviewing, and strategies for podcast growth. They touch on topics like sponsorship, website creation, and the power of treating guests and sponsors "like gold."

Ready to be inspired by Justine's journey and gain valuable insights into podcasting with purpose? Listen now and discover how one woman's mission to share stories of survival is changing lives, one episode at a time.

Episode Sponsor

FullCast – https://fullcast.co/

5 Key Takeaways

1. Rebrand your podcast to better reflect its focus. Consider changing "Just Talk with Justine" to something like "Survivors and Thrivers: Living Your Best Life" to clearly communicate the show's purpose and attract your target audience.

2. Create a simple website using a tool like PodPage. Connect it to your RSS feed so new episodes automatically generate blog posts, giving you an easy-to-maintain online presence.

3. Develop a "dream 100" list of potential guests whose stories of surviving and thriving you'd love to feature. Use this as motivation and a guide for growing your show.

4. Improve your guest follow-up process. After publishing an episode, send your guest a package with links to the episode, social media copy, and graphics they can use to promote their appearance.

5. Focus on creating a safe space for guests to share vulnerable stories. Practice active listening, allow for pauses and silence, and remember there are three people in each conversation - you, your guest, and the listener.

Tweetable Quotes

"I view life as live life like you're dying. If I want to jump out of that airplane, I better do it. You're going to go one day, so it all depends on how you go. I want to just live like I'm dying."

"My goal is to make them feel at ease. I don't want anybody to feel nervous talking about personal stuff like their breasts are gone and they've got tattoos on their nipples. That's a hard thing to talk about sometimes."

"I'm a four time cancer survivor, so I know when I was going through all that, I didn't have somebody to chat with. Now with the camaraderie of my team, that has really helped me step out of my comfort zone and speak to others about their journeys."

Connect with Justine

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/justtalkwithjustine/

Website - https://justtalkwithjustine.com/

Resources Mentioned

Buzzsprout (podcast hosting platform) -