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

What began as a tribute to my dad has unexpectedly become part of my healing journey, transforming from purely business and entrepreneurship to learning through storytelling. 

How I Built My Small Business recently won a 2025 Communicator Award of Excellence as an educational series, validating the creative endeavor of hosting, editing, and producing this show.

• Season One focused on business creation and growth while Season Two explores guests' expertise and perspectives beyond business
• Learning through storytelling was deeply valued by my dad, who believed one must never stop learning
• Overcoming autoimmune conditions through diet, lifestyle changes, proper exercise, quality sleep, nervous system rebalancing, and the surprising way podcasting filled a missing puzzle piece
• Podcasting itself has been healing by providing space to express my authentic voice after years of people-pleasing
• Moving away from rigid question preparation to allow for more authentic, flowing conversations
• Finding the balance between "doing" and "being" - a lesson learned from New Zealand culture

As we head into the second half of this season, I'll keep following the joy and leaning into alignment. I wish you less pressure, less stress, and less rushing.

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Website: https://www.annemcginty.com/

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:08):
Hi everyone.
This show started as a tributeto my dad and it's unexpectedly
become part of my healing, whichI'll get into later.
We're midway through season twoand I wanted to share some
behind the scenes, both in mythought process and what it's
like being a host, and the planfor the second half of season

(00:30):
two.
One exciting bit of news isthat how I Built my Small
Business won a 2025 CommunicatorAward of Excellence as an
educational series.
I told my sister that it feltlike I received an A in art
class, because that's truly howit felt.
Hosting, editing and producingthis show is a creative endeavor

(00:51):
, so thank you to the Academy ofInteractive and Visual Arts for
the recognition, which isvalidating.
As you know, I started thispodcast to honor my dad and help
others navigate whatentrepreneurship is and what it
can do for you, but it's turnedinto much more than I imagined.

(01:12):
Sometimes an episode is amasterclass and other times it's
an honest, heart-openingconnection between two strangers
happening in real time.
There's always curiosity andthere's always learning through
storytelling.
In speaking with other hosts,one common thread is that, as a
host, you may eventually getbored of the original topic.

(01:36):
If you've been following along,you likely have noticed that
the focus of the episodes hasopened up to more than just
business.
The connecting thread is thatall of my guests are founders,
but often we're learning fromtheir stories, expertise or
perspective, sometimes aboutbusiness and sometimes about

(01:58):
life.
Continued learning is deeplypersonal and meaningful to me
because it was so meaningful tomy dad.
He was adamant that one mustnever stop learning, and if
you're like me, you rememberlessons more when they're
attached to stories.
One of my best friends wrote insaying the older I get, the

(02:21):
more I realize the differencebetween wisdom and intelligence,
and I think it's one of thereasons your show resonates with
so many it unearths wisdom.
Thanks, sarah.
Season one has much morecontent focused on the actual
creation and growth ofbusinesses, and in season two

(02:43):
I've found myself wanting toexplore the knowledge and
perspectives of my guests beyondbusiness, with a sincere
curiosity about their chosenfield of expertise and
understanding more deeply whythey think, how they think, the
type of wisdom their kids wouldget by growing up in their

(03:04):
household, the advice they'dgive to those they love the most
.
I'm evolving as a host andtrying to stay true to what
fills me up, and that islearning through storytelling.
I love stories, probablybecause of my dad, who would

(03:27):
capture a room's attention withthe joy he found from telling
stories Like the one about alittle boy selling trinkets at a
market.
He said, my goodness, hecouldn't have been older than
five, did you see him?
He was barefoot and had histrinkets so neatly arranged in
that old cigar box, hangingopen-faced from a string around
his neck.
He walked two miles to sell atthe market today.

(03:48):
I only had nine quarters, butthat was worth more than
everything in his box.
So I gave them to him and saidin Tagalog what are you doing?
Working at the market?
You should be in school orplaying.
Go home and tell your parentsyou made nine quarters today.
Then my dad paused the boy, didyou see him?
He hid behind the pallets ofgoods and wiped tears from his

(04:11):
eyes, and as he tells this, hisvoice cracks and his own eyes
start tearing.
His lesson was a reminder tofeel deep gratitude for the
things we often take for granted.
Reminder to feel deep gratitudefor the things we often take
for granted School coins in ourpockets and the simple freedom
to be a child.
That little boy wasn't askingfor pity, he was just doing what

(04:34):
he had to do, but in his tearswe see the weight he was
carrying and it reminds us toappreciate what we have.
I believe lessons are easier tohold when they come with
details and emotion, and that isthe magic of a story.
So back to the podcast.
Earlier this season I wasn'tsure if I wanted to continue,

(04:58):
and that was solely because Iwas drowning in pitches.
Most of them felt templated andimpersonal.
It made me realize howimportant alignment and
sincerity are to me and to theshow.
Instead of going into that toodeeply here, I think I might
actually put together a miniepisode on how to pitch yourself

(05:19):
authentically to a podcast host.
So stay tuned for that ifyou're trying to get on podcasts
.
I shared my experience of thenoise that I was having
difficulty filtering throughwith another podcaster who was
experiencing the same problem,and we both have ADD to layer on
top, which can make filteringthrough noise just extra

(05:39):
challenging.
He helped me narrow down a fewguiding principles, which are I
only want to do this if I'mhaving fun.
I believe people will onlyenjoy episodes if they hear my
sincere curiosity.
I want to connect with coolpeople.
I'm looking for stories,knowledge, learning and real

(06:00):
connection, because what I loveabout the process is that the
learning feels so good for thebrain.
I've been able to chat withdoctors who have helped me
deepen my understanding of myown health.
For over 13 years I battled acouple autoimmune conditions and
during that time I was told bymore than a dozen

(06:21):
endocrinologists that I wouldnever 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 outevery book I could find on
thyroid disease and autoimmuneconditions and did a deep dive
into understanding the rootcause and helping my body find

(06:45):
its way back to equilibriumwithout medication.
I started learning,experimenting and listening to
my body and thankfully you canorder your own blood test now.
So I ordered my own thyroidpanels to check on my progress.
It took years and a combinationof dietary changes, lifestyle
changes, getting the right kindof exercise, not too little, not

(07:06):
too intense quality sleep,herbal support and breathwork
and meditation to retrain mybody 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 fightor flight.

(07:27):
What surprised me the most isthat podcasting itself, this act
of using my voice, has played areal role in my healing.
It's hard to describe how andwhy to somebody who hasn't been
on this exact journey, but Ibelieve for years that I never
truly expressed my voice,opinions or thoughts out of fear

(07:49):
that doing so may come acrossas confrontational or too bold
or rude.
This is why I truly admire howauthentic Prof G is with how he
speaks and shares his opinionsso frankly and unapologetically.
That is really something toaspire to.
I think I grew up in Atlantaand there is a Southern

(08:12):
politeness that I adore, but itcan also mean that people can
withhold true feelings oropinions to avoid offending
others.
So that's how I've felt foryears that it's better to be
gracious instead of blunt smileand avoid confrontation and use
soft language or euphemisms toexpress disagreement.

(08:32):
It's truly cultural.
I don't believe there'sanything wrong with that, but
for me, I think it resulted inme becoming what is now a
recovering people pleaser.
Podcasting has given me thespace to practice saying what I
think out loud and on record,and I'm focusing on choosing

(08:54):
authenticity over approval.
I truly want to choose who Italk with and why the act of
connecting with people, findingpurpose, being myself and
creating something that feelsaligned has turned out to be
this huge missing puzzle piecein my autoimmune healing journey

(09:15):
.
Five years ago, if you put meon air in an interview, my voice
would have quivered and myhands would have shaken because
I wasn't living and operating inalignment.
I don't think we talk enoughabout how powerful alignment and
joy is for our physical health.
I've also connected with guestsover shared grief and the

(09:38):
impact that's had in our lives.
There's a quote by FrancisWeller 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 personis to carry grief in one hand
and gratitude in the other andto be stretched large by them.

(09:58):
It's an invitation to wholeness, to allow both grief and
gratitude to shape one intosomeone deeper, more
compassionate and more alive.
Another change I've made thisseason is that I stopped rigidly
pre-preparing questions.
That was a bit nerve-wrackingfor me because at first I was

(10:22):
nervous that I wouldn't get theinterview to flow or that I'd
get brain fog and stumble on mywords and embarrass myself.
But I found that if I insteadtake handwritten notes during
the interview.
It's much easier for me to gowith the flow and pull out key
points that I want to dig intofurther.
Interviews are still mostly 45to 60 minutes because I've found

(10:45):
that building a real heartconnection and trust with my
guests takes at least 15 minutesand as they get more
comfortable with my approach,they go deeper in the next 30 to
40 minutes.
I tried to do 30 minuteinterviews and while I know
that's probably easier forlisteners to digest when
commuting, the length feelsrushed and thus more surface

(11:07):
level for me as the host.
So thank you for bearing withme and I hope you make it to the
end of the episodes, becausethat is where it gets the
deepest.
And a note on rushing I spend agood part of my life in New
Zealand because I'm married to aKiwi.
I love the way I feel when we'rein New Zealand and it's like

(11:28):
medicine for the soul.
Many years ago my in-laws askedme Anne, what do you like to do
to relax?
I started answering that I liketo go hiking or go to a yoga
class or, and they said butthat's not relaxing, that's
doing.
And it made me realize that Ididn't know how to just be.

(11:50):
Over the years I've heard Kiwissay 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 meand it's something I try to

(12:10):
embody in life and in this show.
So, heading into the secondhalf of this season, I'll keep
following the joy and leaninginto alignment.
I'm not sure yet if there willbe a season three.
We'll have to see how thisunfolds.
But for now, thank you forlistening, for sharing and for
being here, and I wish you lesspressure, less stress and less

(12:35):
rushing.
Have a great day.