The Art and Science of Joy

Andrew Cannon

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We are on a mission to empower people to live more joy-filled lives. Through a mix of inspirational stories and hard facts, our aim is to empower people to make positive changes in their lives. So, if you’re seeking a bit more joy in your own life or seeking to bring some more joy to the lives of others then this podcast could well be for you!

Sep 23

The Power of Creativity

Episode summaryWhat happens when creativity becomes a pathway back to joy, belonging, and ourselves? In this episode of the Joy Superpowers series, Andrew speaks with international bestselling author Holly Ringland about creativity, imagination, storytelling, safety, and the inner “house” we can build for joy. Holly shares how losing her sense of belonging and joy eventually led her back to the books, gardens, stories, and imagination that had lit her up as a child — and why creativity belongs to all of us, not only those who call themselves artists. About HollyHolly Ringland is an international bestselling author of The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding, and The House That Joy Built. She is also a writer, storyteller, TV presenter, and creator of the bestselling Substack The Joy Rise. Holly lives and writes on Bundjalung Country in southeast Queensland, Australia. In this episodeHolly reflects on reaching her own personal “ground zero” at 29 after leaving cycles of violence and realizing she had lost her sense of joy, belonging, and connection to herself. She shares how childhood memories became a pathway back — from her grandmother’s storytelling and Queensland gardens to learning to read with her mother at three years old and deciding she wanted to become an author. Andrew and Holly explore the relationship between light and darkness, and Holly’s belief that joy and grief are not opposites but experiences that can exist alongside one another. Holly tells the story behind The House That Joy Built and how conversations with readers about fear, trauma, and creativity inspired her first nonfiction book. She shares the simple question she placed on her office wall while writing it: “What if I can?” The conversation explores the power of stories to connect us across generations and help us remember parts of ourselves we may have left behind. Holly describes the idea of creating an inner house of joy — a safe place within ourselves where imagination can be accessed and creativity allowed to grow. She challenges the belief that some people simply are not creative, pointing instead to the imagination already present in everyday acts of cooking, caring, humour, music, daydreaming, and connection. Holly reflects on the fear that once prevented her from writing and how confronting the reality of mortality helped her recognize how limiting that fear had become. The episode closes with the reminder that our inner creative world is not fixed: we can change what is not working and become the builders of our own imagination. Key takeawaysCreativity, joy, and belonging are deeply connected. Childhood sources of joy can offer clues to parts of ourselves worth rediscovering. Creativity is not reserved for artists; imagination is an innate part of being human. Safety can provide an important foundation for creativity, self-expression, and joy. Fear can protect us, but it can also prevent us from creating. Small “what if?” questions can open the door to possibility and action. Memorable lines“What if I can?” “We are born with imagination.” “There are some kinds of beauty that can only be found in the darkness.” “We get to be the boss of our own imaginations. What a thing.”
Sep 23

The Power of Empathy in Parent-Child Relationships: Living From the Heart with April Bell

Episode summaryWhat does it mean to lead from the heart in one of our most loving — and sometimes most challenging — relationships? In this final episode of the Leading from the Heart mini-series, Andrew speaks with April Bell about empathy in the parent-child relationship. Together, they explore how parents can create emotional safety, listen without immediately correcting, guide without controlling, and stay connected even when emotions run high. It is a deeply personal conversation about presence, repair, agency, emotional awareness, self-empathy, and the importance of understanding not only what a child is feeling, but what may be happening within ourselves as parents. About AprilApril Bell is a researcher who listens for a living. In 22 years and more than 18,000 hours of empathy interviews, she has helped some of the world’s biggest brands discover what their customers feel beneath what they say. She founded Made With Empathy to bring that listening discipline inside organizations, working with leaders on innovation, culture change, and the craft of leading from the heart. April is the author of The Fire Starter: Igniting Innovation with Empathy. In this episodeApril reflects on why empathy can be harder with the people we love most: unlike a detached conversation, family relationships involve ongoing rhythms, expectations, growth, exhaustion, and our own emotional history. She explains why empathy matters even when there is no conflict. Everyday moments — including car journeys and simple questions about a child’s day — can help parents understand what matters to their child and create a foundation of connection before difficult moments arise. Andrew and April explore the balance between listening and guiding. April shares how asking questions about the emotion underneath a behaviour helped her better understand what her daughter was seeking, moving the conversation from criticism toward connection and practical choices. The conversation examines what happens when parents are tired or depleted, and why repair can be as important as getting the response right in the moment. Sometimes leading from the heart means pausing, breathing, returning later, and choosing connection over perfection. April and Andrew discuss the deep human need to feel seen, and why responding to a child’s “bid for connection” can sometimes require less talking and more genuine presence. They also explore agency: giving children meaningful choices, helping them build confidence in decision-making, and distinguishing between validating an emotion and approving every behaviour that may follow from it. April describes emotions as information — data that can help reveal the deeper need or problem beneath an emotional reaction — and explains why stepping back from blame, shame, worry, and guilt can help parents stay present with difficult realities. The conversation ultimately returns to self-empathy. Parents cannot control every family dynamic, but they can deepen their understanding of who they are, how they want to show up, and which inherited patterns they want to continue or change. Key takeawaysEmpathy is valuable before conflict happens; everyday connection creates a stronger foundation for difficult moments. Children need to feel seen and heard, even when parents need to set boundaries or challenge behaviour. Listening and guiding are not opposites; thoughtful questions can help children understand what sits beneath their emotions and actions. Parents will not always respond perfectly. Repair, reconnection, and trying again matter. Giving children appropriate choices helps build agency, self-trust, and decision-making skills. Emotions are information. Understanding the feeling beneath a behaviour can help reveal the real need. Self-empathy matters because the relationship we have with ourselves shapes how we show up for our children. Memorable lines“Do you see me? Do you see who I am?” “Emotions are just information.” “Can I stay in this moment enough without needing it to be different?” “You cannot change a family dynamic by yourself.” “The only thing that you can actually ever change… is the relationship that you have to yourself.”
Aug 21

Aging With Purpose: Finding Meaning | Robin Kencel

Episode summary What does it mean to live with purpose as we grow older and our circumstances change? In this episode of the Joy Superpowers series, Andrew speaks with Robin Kencel about purpose, aging, spirituality, mindset, and making meaningful use of the time we have. Robin explains why changes such as retirement, children leaving home, loss, divorce, or changing relationships can prompt deeper questions about who we are beyond our roles and achievements. Together, Andrew and Robin explore how curiosity, reflection, service, and attention to what brings us deep joy can help us discover and live our purpose through different seasons of life. About Robin Robin Kencel holds a certificate in spiritual direction in the Ignatian tradition from Fairfield University and a BA in philosophy from Georgetown University. Through her spiritual ministry, Sacred Space, she works with individuals and groups through spiritual direction and contemplative practices. Robin was crowned Miss Connecticut Senior America 2025 and has used her platform to encourage women to find greater purpose, peace and joy. She is also a lifelong dancer and high-level competitive ballroom dancer. In this episode Robin begins by asking some fundamental questions about purpose: What were you made for? Why are you here? And who are you inside, beyond your résumé? She explains why these questions can become particularly important later in life, when familiar roles and circumstances begin to change through retirement, children leaving home, divorce, bereavement, or other transitions. Robin describes purpose as the central point toward which our values, beliefs, choices and use of time should ultimately lead. She reflects on the importance of noticing whether how we actually spend our time aligns with what we say matters most. The conversation explores Robin’s spiritual journey and the Ignatian Examen, a daily reflective practice that helps her notice moments of grace, review her choices and consider how she wants to live differently the next day. Andrew and Robin discuss the power of pausing and resetting rather than simply falling into habitual reactions. Robin also shares how improvisational acting has helped her become more open and responsive in everyday life. Robin explains how her own purpose, rooted in her relationship with God, provides a foundation for joy even when life itself is difficult. She also reflects on the importance of slowing down and savoring ordinary experiences rather than always searching for something profound. For people unsure of their purpose, Robin suggests looking back to childhood and noticing the activities and experiences that brought a sense of joy, meaning or connection to something larger than themselves. The conversation also explores purpose through changing relationships and circumstances. Robin argues that whether someone is single, married, divorced or widowed matters less than what they choose to do with the life in front of them. Robin shares how an open and curious mindset helped transform the final eight weeks of her mother’s life into a deeply meaningful period together. Finally, Robin offers three practical starting points for exploring purpose: spend a little time in quiet each day, regularly do something for someone beyond yourself, and identify the things that bring you a deep sense of joy and meaning. Key takeaways Purpose asks us to look beyond our roles and achievements toward who we are and what matters most. Changing circumstances can create an opportunity to rediscover purpose rather than simply a loss of what came before. How we spend our time can reveal whether our everyday lives are aligned with our deepest values. Childhood interests and experiences of deep joy can offer clues about what gives our lives meaning. Purpose does not depend on a particular age, relationship status, career or set of circumstances. Quiet, reflection and service to others can create space for purpose to become clearer. Memorable lines “What were you made for?” “What am I being invited into?” “It’s not the words. It’s the experience.” “I dance with the body that I have.” “I can do what I want to do. I just have to do it differently.”
Aug 21

The Power of Empathy in Relationships: Living From the Heart with April Bell

Episode summary What does it mean to live in alignment with your heart in a partner relationship? In this episode of the Joy Superpowers series, Andrew speaks with April Bell about empathy, emotional truth, repair, needs, boundaries, and the stories we create about one another in love. April explains why empathy in a long-term relationship is different from empathy in a single conversation, and why closeness can activate old wounds, protective patterns, and the temptation to build walls instead of healthy boundaries. Together, Andrew and April explore how couples can move from control, projection, and misunderstanding toward clearer agreements, shared purpose, mutual support, and more heart-wise ways of asking for what they need. About April April Bell is a researcher who listens for a living. In 22 years and more than 18,000 hours of empathy interviews, she has helped the world’s biggest brands discover what their customers feel beneath what they say. She founded Made With Empathy to bring that listening discipline inside organizations, working with leaders on innovation, culture change, and the craft of leading from the heart. Her work spans research, facilitation, and coaching, because the leaders who could read consumers best kept asking her how to read themselves. April is the author of The Fire Starter: Igniting Innovation with Empathy and holds an Executive MBA from SMU. In this episode April begins by defining empathy as experiencing the reality of yourself or another person. She clarifies that empathy is not taking responsibility for someone else’s feelings, people-pleasing, agreement, rescuing, or fixing. She describes leading from the heart as leading with warmth and wisdom — allowing the heart to be part of the process rather than relying only on knowledge or logic. April explains that empathy in a relationship is different from empathy in a single conversation because relationships require consistency, reciprocity, repair, and the ongoing negotiation of needs over time. A central theme of the episode is meaning-making: April reflects that what breaks many relationships is not the difference between two people, but the meaning each person makes of that difference. Andrew and April explore how old wounds can create protective patterns. April describes how people can begin armoring themselves against giving and receiving love, until what once felt like a boundary becomes a wall. April shares how she has come to understand some of her own protective parts, including the controller, and how empathy helps her move from judging those parts to stewarding them with more acceptance. The conversation explores different kinds of relationships, including mutualistic relationships built on reciprocity, asymmetrical relationships such as parent-child or mentor relationships, and more one-sided relationships that can become draining. April discusses how shared agreements and a bigger relational purpose can help couples hold their differences with more acceptance. Andrew and April also explore balance in relationships, with April noting that balance is not only about money, but also time, energy, attention, space, and emotional resources. The episode touches on how men and women may struggle to understand and express emotional complexity in different ways, and why empathy requires learning to speak in ways the other person can actually hear. April identifies a powerful relationship practice: notice, name, and need — noticing what you feel, naming it honestly, and communicating what you need with clarity. Key takeaways Empathy in relationships requires consistency, repair, and reciprocity over time. Differences do not have to break relationships; the meanings we attach to those differences often do. Healthy boundaries protect connection, while walls can block love and understanding. Shared purpose helps couples move beyond individual needs into a larger “we.” Balance includes time, energy, attention, space, money, and emotional support. It is okay to ask for what you need clearly, especially when grounded in self-empathy. Memorable lines “Empathy is simply experiencing the reality of someone.” “The thing that breaks most relationships isn’t the difference between two people.” “Empathy is not agreement.” “Notice, name, and need.” “It’s okay to ask for what you need in a relationship.”
Jul 14

The Power of Love

Episode summary What is love — and what is it not? In this episode of the Joy Superpowers series, Andrew speaks with Dr. Colleen Quinn about love as an action, an energy, a healing force, and a way of living more fully aligned with the soul. Colleen explores why love must include ourselves, how childhood wounds and self-sabotaging patterns can block our capacity to give and receive love, and why control, attachment, people-pleasing, and misaligned words and actions are not true love. It is a rich and expansive conversation about inner child healing, boundaries, breathwork, spiritual growth, and the possibility of living a life filled with more love, joy and presence. About Colleen Dr. Colleen Quinn is a psychologist, breathworker, mystic and author of the spiritual memoir Essence Merging. She has taught psychology at The Ohio State University and other institutions, and has published research in top-tier journals. In her private practice, she has worked with approaches including Somatic Experiencing and Internal Family Systems, using breathwork to help people go inward, feel what was once too painful to feel, and bring wounded parts of the self into greater love, awareness and integration. In this episode Colleen defines love as a consistent greater-good action that uplifts the whole — and emphasizes that the whole must include ourselves. She explains why love is not only a feeling or a word, but an action shaped by energy, intention, thoughts and emotions. Andrew and Colleen explore what happens when words and actions do not align, and how this can create confusion, mistrust and emotional pain. Colleen discusses why people-pleasing is not the same as love, especially when it involves abandoning our own needs, worthiness and inner truth. The conversation explores childhood wounds, self-sabotage and the protective patterns the ego creates when parts of ourselves were rejected early in life. Colleen explains why inner child healing matters: when we reject, judge or control parts of ourselves, this can be reflected outward in our relationships. She offers a simple boundary practice: allowing others the freedom to choose their path while calmly standing in the truth of what we are choosing for ourselves. Andrew and Colleen discuss attachment and detachment, including the danger of expecting another person to fill what can only be healed from within. Colleen reflects on her own spiritual journey, including breathwork, mystical experience, love, marriage, and the deepening of trust and safety in her primary relationship. The episode explores practices that can help people raise their vibration toward love, joy and presence, especially conscious breath and breathwork. Colleen closes by describing joy as an ongoing conversation with the beloved — a way of experiencing life as sacred, precious and filled with love. Key takeaways Love is not passive; it is expressed through aligned action, energy and intention. True love must include self-love, not self-abandonment. Control is not love, and attachment is not the same as love. Inner child healing can help us release old protective patterns and relate with more openness. Healthy boundaries allow both people freedom and truth. Conscious breath can bring us back into presence, where joy and love are most available. Love expands when we bring it back into our relationships, communities and daily life. Memorable lines “Love is the consistent greater good action that uplifts the whole.” “That includes you.” “Control is not love.” “Love and healing is an inside job.” “Conscious breath is the gateway to presence where all joy is.” “Love begets love.”
Jul 14

The Power of Self-Empathy – Leading Oneself from the Heart

Episode summary What happens when we turn the power of empathy inward? In this episode of the Joy Superpowers series, Andrew speaks with April Bell about self-empathy, living in alignment with your heart, and why the way we relate to ourselves shapes the way we relate to everyone else. April explains why empathy is not about fixing, solving, agreeing, or judging, but about being moved by emotional truth with presence and acceptance. Together, Andrew and April explore self-criticism, people-pleasing, emotional suppression, body awareness, self-acceptance, and the small daily practices that help us return to alignment, purpose, and joy. About April April Bell is a researcher who listens for a living. In 22 years and more than 18,000 hours of empathy interviews, she has helped the world’s biggest brands discover what their customers feel beneath what they say. She founded Made With Empathy to bring that listening discipline inside organizations, working with leaders on innovation, culture change, and the craft of leading from the heart. Her work spans research, facilitation, and coaching, because the leaders who could read consumers best kept asking her how to read themselves. April is the author of The Fire Starter: Igniting Innovation with Empathy and holds an Executive MBA from SMU. In this episode April begins by revisiting what empathy is and is not, emphasizing that empathy is not fixing someone’s emotional experience, solving it, agreeing with it, or judging it. She explains why self-empathy deserves its own episode: people who are highly empathetic toward others can sometimes find it hardest to offer that same acceptance to themselves. Andrew and April explore the link between self-empathy and people-pleasing, especially when caring for others is not balanced by healthy boundaries and inner alignment. April reflects on her own journey, including the realization that the empathy tools she used professionally also had to be turned inward through therapy, self-acceptance, and reduced self-judgment. The conversation explores why constant criticism may drive achievement, but does not create the same kind of sustainable growth as acceptance, allowance, and compassion. April describes empathy as a catalyst for allowing emotions to surface without judgment, creating the possibility of release, lightness, and joy. Andrew and April discuss the importance of detachment: recognizing that we experience emotions, but are not defined by them. The episode explores the difference between self-esteem and self-compassion, including the trap of measuring worth through external judgment, achievement, or self-talk. April shares the idea of inner alignment across different parts of the self — mind, heart, body, and spirit — and how empathy helps those parts work together. She offers practical self-empathy practices, including journaling, recording yourself speak, breathing through fear, scheduling time for yourself, noticing the body, mirror work, self-hugging, sunlight, Yoga Nidra, and short reset alarms during the day. The episode closes with a reflection on grace, emotional truth, purpose, and the possibility that the more we allow ourselves to feel all our feelings, the more joy we may be able to experience. Key takeaways Self-empathy is essential because empathy for others is harder to sustain when we are harsh, critical, or judgmental toward ourselves. Self-acceptance can create more meaningful change than constant self-criticism. We are not our emotions; we are human beings experiencing emotions. Self-compassion helps us move from judgment toward worthiness, wholeness, and alignment. Living in alignment with the heart requires listening to the mind, body, heart, and spirit. Small practices — breathing, journaling, pausing, scheduling time, and offering ourselves grace — can help build self-empathy over time. Memorable lines “Empathy is not fixing someone’s emotional experience.” “Self-acceptance is a more beneficial way for change to occur than constant criticism.” “You are not your emotions.” “I am worthy because I exist.” “The more you can feel all of your feelings, the more joy you will experience.”
May 20

Creativity through Storytelling

Episode summary What does creativity really look like in everyday life — and how does storytelling help us connect more deeply with ourselves and with others? In this episode of the Joy Superpowers series, Andrew speaks with Danielle Krischik about creativity, vulnerability, empathy, authenticity, and the power of story. Danielle shares why great storytelling is never just about polish, why creativity belongs to everyone, and how listening, presence, and self-understanding can help us live, lead, and communicate with more humanity. About Danielle Danielle Krischik is a master storyteller, executive advisor, and Partner at Knight Agency. With a background in story strategy and corporate communications, she has worked with Fortune 500 companies and rising entrepreneurs alike. She is the creator of The Story Effect, an award-winning podcast and framework that helps leaders communicate in ways that create connection and elevate performance. In this episode Danielle introduces herself not through achievements, but as an introvert, a deep listener, a wife, a dog mom, and a recent author who believes we need human connection more than ever.She explains why authenticity and vulnerability are central to powerful storytelling, especially in a world where polished words are easy to produce but harder to truly feel.One of her most memorable distinctions is that good vulnerability is like sharing a scar, not an open wound — something real that offers value rather than anxiety.The conversation explores the importance of getting clear on your own story, your values, and the identities you may have outgrown.Danielle also shares a practical view of empathy: listen more deeply, reserve judgment, and ask better follow-up questions.She defines creativity as tapping into a joyful, artistic side of yourself without worrying first about perfection or outcome.Danielle challenges the idea that some people are simply “not creative,” arguing instead that creativity exists in everyone, though it may show up in very different ways.One of her most practical suggestions is to “write it ugly” — start messy, stop judging, and let creativity flow before trying to refine the result.Later in the episode, she traces her storytelling journey from advertising into leadership and culture work, where she discovered how stories help teams connect, believe, and act.In a personal closing reflection, Danielle says she believes she is here to help people feel seen, heard, and understood, often in small moments that matter more than we realize. Key takeaways Great storytelling is not just about sounding polished. It is about creating trust and connection through authenticity and emotional truth.The stories we tell ourselves matter, but they can also be rewritten as we grow.Empathy starts with listening well and asking thoughtful questions.Creativity is not reserved for artists. It can be practiced through problem-solving, play, writing, curiosity, and presence.Presence itself is a source of joy. When we are fully in the moment, creativity and connection become easier to access. Memorable lines “We’re not asking you to share an open wound. We’re asking you to share a scar.” “I am holding the pen.” “Write it ugly.”
May 20

The Power of Empathy – Leading from Your Heart at Work

Episode summaryWhat does it really mean to lead from the heart at work — and why is empathy a strategic leadership skill, not a soft extra? In this episode of the Joy Superpowers series, Andrew speaks with April Bell about empathy, safety, presence, and heart-led leadership in the workplace. April shares how more than two decades of listening deeply to people shaped her understanding of empathy, why leaders often struggle to stay connected under pressure, and how curiosity, self-awareness, and shared meaning can help teams move from chaos into connection, alignment, and action. About AprilApril Bell is a researcher who listens for a living. In 22 years and more than 18,000 hours of empathy interviews, she has helped some of the world’s biggest brands discover what their customers feel beneath what they say. She founded Made With Empathy to bring that listening discipline inside organizations, working with leaders on innovation, culture change, and the craft of leading from the heart. April is also the author of The Fire Starter: Igniting Innovation with Empathy and holds an Executive MBA from SMU. In this episodeApril reflects on how her relationship with empathy changed when she realized that, although she practised empathy professionally, she was struggling to offer it in the same way to herself and in her closest relationships. She defines empathy as an internal knowing: knowing and accepting the experience of yourself or others with acceptance. Andrew and April explore the difference between empathy and sympathy, including April’s view that empathy involves presence, detachment, curiosity, and understanding without trying to control. April explains why safety matters so deeply: when leaders feel safe within themselves, they are more able to access play, curiosity, presence, and empathy. The conversation explores how leaders can create safety for others, including through simple practices such as pausing, breathing, and helping a group reconnect around shared meaning. April shares a story from a research project where a tense moment was transformed when a leader paused, breathed, and asked the group what success looked like for each of them. She describes heart-led leadership as a result of empathy: when heart and mind are integrated, leaders are better able to make wise, holistic decisions. Andrew and April discuss the challenges of leading empathetically in virtual environments, where people can more easily wear masks and leaders may miss signals they would notice in person. April offers two practical questions leaders can ask before a meeting or engagement: how do I want people to feel afterwards, and who do I need to be for them to feel that way? The conversation reframes empathy as strategic, not soft, with April arguing that strategic empathy helps leaders take people with them rather than dominate, control, or become overwhelmed. April identifies loneliness and perfectionism as major barriers to heart-led leadership, especially when people isolate, fear asking for help, or believe they must get everything perfect before connecting with others. The episode closes with April’s view that empathic intelligence is a requirement for this day and age, especially as leaders guide people through uncertainty, fear, and change. Key takeawaysEmpathy begins with internal knowing: understanding and accepting the experience of yourself or others. Heart-led leadership grows from empathy when heart and mind are integrated. Safety helps leaders become more present, curious, playful, and empathetic. Strategic empathy helps leaders build connection, shared meaning, alignment, and action. Loneliness, perfectionism, pressure, and fear can block empathy at work. Heart-led leadership helps people move together toward a shared vision rather than simply complying with tasks. Memorable lines“Empathy is an internal knowing.” “How do I want the people I’m talking to to feel after this engagement?” “Strategic empathy is the defining difference between leaders who can take their teams along with them.” “Empathic intelligence is a requirement for this day and age.”

We are on a mission to empower people to live more joy-filled lives. Through a mix of inspirational stories and hard facts, our aim is to empower people to make positive changes in their lives. So, if you’re seeking a bit more joy in your own life or seeking to bring some more joy to the lives of others then this podcast could well be for you!

Creator

Andrew Cannon
Years Active

2021 - 2026
Episodes

118
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© Copyright 2021 Valo Foresight Services
Show Website

The Art and Science of Joy