Living in 3D Power Podcast

Dr. Amber M. Sessoms
  • 5.0 (7)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Weekly

Discover how to live authentically and lead courageously with Dr. Amber M. Sessoms on the Living in 3D Power podcast. Explore transformative questions, liberatory storytelling, and heartwarming insights her 10-year-old daughter, Emma, to uncover your power through Discovery, Discernment, and Determination. New episodes every week! 

  1. 4d ago

    Am I the Only One Who Thinks This Is a Problem? (Episode 67)

    Send us Fan Mail What happens when something feels wrong—but you’re not sure whether anyone else sees it? In the final episode of our three-part Shine series, we move into Discernment and explore how individual experiences can sometimes reveal something larger. Amber shares why she asks, “Is it just me?”—not simply for validation, but to understand whether other people are noticing or experiencing the same thing. She and Emma talk about the importance of speaking up in real time, echoing someone else’s concern when you agree, and recognizing when what appears to be an individual problem may actually reflect a larger pattern.  Emma then revisits a lunchroom experience from elementary school. After hearing classmates voice similar frustrations, she asked others what they thought, wrote a letter on behalf of the group, and requested a class meeting so her peers could share their perspectives and possible solutions.  The conversation turns toward what leaders do after people speak: Do they become defensive? Dismiss concerns as complaining? Simply say “thank you for sharing”? Or do they remain open enough to listen, learn, and change?  Emma closes with this week’s Chicken Nugget Wisdom: “Don’t let your silence make you not shine.”  Chapters 02:50 Is It Just Me? 04:16 Speak Up in Real Time 06:12 Summarizing the Takeaways 07:03 Lunchroom Leadership Story 09:57 From Feedback to Action 13:09 Class Meeting Reality Check 17:14 When Leaders Dismiss Concerns 20:51 Closing Nuggets and Shine  Connect with Me: Instagram: @natural_inclination Youtube: @naturalinclination TikTok: Amber Sessoms LinkedIn: Dr. Amber M. Sessoms, NCSP Bluesky: @ambersessoms.bsky.social Facebook: Natural Inclination Website: www.aninclination.com Like, Comment, Share, Engage If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who would love these conversations. Engage with the Curiosity Cards and ask the youth in your life about their experiences because you might be surprised by what you learn. Share your thoughts and reflections in the comments or on social media using #LivingIn3DPower. And, don’t forget to subscribe and stay tuned for next week’s conversation!

    Am I the Only One Who Thinks This Is a Problem? (Episode 67)

  2. Sep 23

    Why Does Someone Else Being Better Make Me Feel Worse? (Episode 66)

    Send us Fan Mail What happens when somebody else being good at something starts making us question ourselves? This week on Living in 3D Power, Amber and Emma continue modeling a shorter way to use the developing 3D Curiosity Cards: one question, one conversation, followed by witnessing. This time they choose Discovery. Amber traces comparison back to childhood experiences with school competition, public performance, attention, and the early lesson that someone being “better” can somehow mean someone else must be worse.  Emma offers another perspective: she sees people being compared, but she can recognize both her strengths and the things that take more work without letting either determine her worth.  Together they get curious about praise, achievement, growth mindset, and how easily “I’m good at this” can become “I have to be good at this.” This Week’s Curiosity Ask an older person: When you were growing up, when did you first feel like there wasn’t room for everyone to shine? Ask a young person: Have you ever felt like someone else getting attention meant there was less attention for you? Then practice reciprocal reflection: “One story I heard underneath your answer was…” Chapters 00:59 Substack Comment Spotlight 02:49 One Question Framework 04:11 Discovery Question Begins 04:26 School Competition Stories 07:06 Over Complimenting Talk 12:26 Discovery Reflection Wrap 13:24 Strengths, Confidence, Praise 19:41 Cast Iron Cooking Detour 20:39 Middle School Growth Mindset 24:41 Closing Reflections Nugget 27:44 Guitar Sign Off Outro Connect with Me: Instagram: @natural_inclination Youtube: @naturalinclination TikTok: Amber Sessoms LinkedIn: Dr. Amber M. Sessoms, NCSP Bluesky: @ambersessoms.bsky.social Facebook: Natural Inclination Website: www.aninclination.com Like, Comment, Share, Engage If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who would love these conversations. Engage with the Curiosity Cards and ask the youth in your life about their experiences because you might be surprised by what you learn. Share your thoughts and reflections in the comments or on social media using #LivingIn3DPower. And, don’t forget to subscribe and stay tuned for next week’s conversation!

    Why Does Someone Else Being Better Make Me Feel Worse? (Episode 66)

  3. Sep 16

    What Kind of Leader Are You When Someone Else Shines? (Episode 65)

    Send us Fan Mail Why does someone else’s shine sometimes feel like a threat? This week on Living in 3D Power, Emma and Amber model a shorter way to use the 3D Curiosity Cards: one question, one round, and Reciprocal Witnessing. Their Devotion question asks: What kind of leader do you want to be when someone else shines in a way that is different from you? The conversation moves through leadership, scarcity, comparison, envy, and the idea that there is room for more than one person to be talented, successful, or recognized. Emma shares an honest example from art: sometimes seeing someone who is better at something she loves can sting—but it doesn’t mean she is suddenly less talented. Together, they explore how comparison can become curiosity, how someone else’s strengths can teach us something, and why good leadership isn’t about being the best at everything. Their family practice: One way we will make room for our own shine and someone else’s is… Emma’s answer brings it back to something simple: give people space to speak and be heard without immediately comparing them. And in Chicken Nugget Wisdom, she offers a strategy for those moments when someone else’s shine makes you forget your own. Chapters 03:06 Why Shine Matters 06:05 Leading When Others Shine 08:50 Reframing Envy 12:16 Family Practice Listening 13:29 Witnessing and Honesty 20:31 Chicken Nugget Takeaway Connect with Me: Instagram: @natural_inclination Youtube: @naturalinclination TikTok: Amber Sessoms LinkedIn: Dr. Amber M. Sessoms, NCSP Bluesky: @ambersessoms.bsky.social Facebook: Natural Inclination Website: www.aninclination.com Like, Comment, Share, Engage If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who would love these conversations. Engage with the Curiosity Cards and ask the youth in your life about their experiences because you might be surprised by what you learn. Share your thoughts and reflections in the comments or on social media using #LivingIn3DPower. And, don’t forget to subscribe and stay tuned for next week’s conversation!

    What Kind of Leader Are You When Someone Else Shines? (Episode 65)

  4. Sep 9

    The Power of Radical Confidence: Who Are You When Nobody Is Clapping? (Ep. 64)

    Send us Fan Mail What does confidence look like when you are still nervous? When the degrees, accomplishments, appearance, relationships, influence, and applause are stripped away—what remains? This week on Living in 3D Power, Emma and I explore radical confidence, inspired by my sister-friend Hattie B., Founder and Editor of The Lead Up Magazine, and the powerful conversation she moderated at She Belongs Here. Hattie describes radical confidence as standing ten toes down, being unapologetically yourself, taking up space without permission, and being fearless. But that last word gave us something to get curious about. Because sometimes confidence does not look like fearlessness. Sometimes it looks like doing the thing afraid. Using our 3D Power Tools framework, Emma and I reflect on what made us feel confident—or question ourselves—at age eleven, how community can help us take off the armor, and what happens when our sense of worth becomes tied to what we produce or accomplish. The conversation also takes us back to one of my own sixth-grade experiences with racism and school discipline, and Emma does what Emma does best: asks the question underneath the story. By the time we reach Devotion, the conversation turns toward practice: What do we do when we doubt ourselves or keep waiting until we feel completely ready? Emma’s answer? Dance. And her Chicken Nugget Wisdom becomes a challenge for all of us: “Be radical somewhere.” In other words: Be you. Chapters 01:18 Lead Up Magazine Framework 03:36 Defining Radical Confidence 06:27 Round One Discovery 09:03 Confidence and Community 13:04 Racism and School Systems 14:53 Round Two Discern 21:38 Round Three Devote 27:20 Witnessing and Nuggets 30:41 Be Radical Somewhere Connect with Me: Instagram: @natural_inclination Youtube: @naturalinclination TikTok: Amber Sessoms LinkedIn: Dr. Amber M. Sessoms, NCSP Bluesky: @ambersessoms.bsky.social Facebook: Natural Inclination Website: www.aninclination.com Like, Comment, Share, Engage If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who would love these conversations. Engage with the Curiosity Cards and ask the youth in your life about their experiences because you might be surprised by what you learn. Share your thoughts and reflections in the comments or on social media using #LivingIn3DPower. And, don’t forget to subscribe and stay tuned for next week’s conversation!

    The Power of Radical Confidence: Who Are You When Nobody Is Clapping? (Ep. 64)

  5. Sep 2

    Black Hair, Identity & Generational Healing | What Our Kids Don’t Have to Unlearn (Episode 63)

    Send us Fan Mail What did you already believe about your hair at 11? In honor of Emma’s five-year locaversary, we use the 3D Curiosity Cards to explore Black hair across two generations. Amber reflects on growing up with relaxers and messages about “good hair,” while Emma shares what it’s like growing up with locs in a generation where natural Black hair is increasingly part of her everyday world. Along the way, we get into tender-headed childhoods, hair as identity, swimming and freedom, touching Black hair, beauty standards, choice, discrimination, Amber’s doctoral research on Black women and natural hair, and the question underneath it all: What happens when something one generation had to reclaim becomes ordinary for the next? Plus Reciprocal Witnessing and Emma’s Chicken Nugget Wisdom: “Love your hair even if you don’t have hair—because you’re awesome.” Chapters 02:51 Why We Chose Locs 04:52 Doctorate Storytime 10:15 bell hooks and Hair Politics 19:28 Emma’s Locs Core Memory 23:40 Length Standards and Cutting Talk 27:10 Unlearning Hair Shame 29:06 Loc Curiosity and Boundaries 34:19 Natural Hair and Liberation 35:38 Ancestral Strength and Choice 40:03 The CROWN Act and Hair Discrimination 42:49 Speak Up and Shut It Down 44:08 Reciprocal Witnessing 50:31 Hair, Health and Beauty Standards 52:34 Chicken Nugget Wisdom Connect with Me: Instagram: @natural_inclination Youtube: @naturalinclination TikTok: Amber Sessoms LinkedIn: Dr. Amber M. Sessoms, NCSP Bluesky: @ambersessoms.bsky.social Facebook: Natural Inclination Website: www.aninclination.com Like, Comment, Share, Engage If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who would love these conversations. Engage with the Curiosity Cards and ask the youth in your life about their experiences because you might be surprised by what you learn. Share your thoughts and reflections in the comments or on social media using #LivingIn3DPower. And, don’t forget to subscribe and stay tuned for next week’s conversation!

    Black Hair, Identity & Generational Healing | What Our Kids Don’t Have to Unlearn (Episode 63)

  6. Aug 26

    Back to School: How Do We Belong Without Losing Ourselves? (Episode 62)

    Send us Fan Mail Emma is starting middle school. Maya is starting her senior year. And we’re getting curious about what it means to belong without losing yourself. In this back-to-school episode, Emma and I use our 3D Curiosity Cards to explore the stories we learn about belonging, why being heard matters, how we find and create environments where we can be ourselves, and what parts of ourselves are worth protecting as we grow. Then we slide over to Maya for a special sister-to-sister Chicken Nugget Wisdom exchange about friendship, finding your people, middle school, and senior year. The moment I can’t stop thinking about? When I ask Emma what she doesn’t want to lose as she gets older: “Me.” May all of our young people have spaces where becoming more of themselves doesn’t require leaving themselves behind. Chapters 02:06 Early Start Adjustments 03:53 Round One Discovery 04:05 Mom’s Belonging Story 09:13 Emma’s Belonging Moment 11:38 Round Two Discernment 13:22 Voice and Safety at School 18:06 Final Round Devotion 20:24 Witnessing and Reflections 22:37 Slide to Maya Segment Connect with Me: Instagram: @natural_inclination Youtube: @naturalinclination TikTok: Amber Sessoms LinkedIn: Dr. Amber M. Sessoms, NCSP Bluesky: @ambersessoms.bsky.social Facebook: Natural Inclination Website: www.aninclination.com Like, Comment, Share, Engage If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who would love these conversations. Engage with the Curiosity Cards and ask the youth in your life about their experiences because you might be surprised by what you learn. Share your thoughts and reflections in the comments or on social media using #LivingIn3DPower. And, don’t forget to subscribe and stay tuned for next week’s conversation!

    Back to School: How Do We Belong Without Losing Ourselves? (Episode 62)

  7. Aug 19

    The Sound of the Genuine (Episode 61)

    Send us Fan Mail What happens when someone sees something in you and helps you find a place where it can grow? After spending a week at WITF learning sound engineering, podcasting, visual storytelling, music production, interviewing, and website design, Emma reflects on what made the experience feel so aligned with who she already is. Amber and Emma explore how community can help us recognize our gifts, why making music makes Emma feel most like herself, and what it means to give our curiosity somewhere to grow. Through the 3D Curiosity Cards—Discovery, Discernment, and Devotion—they also reflect on the people who have seen something in them before they could fully name it themselves. The conversation ends with reciprocal witnessing and Emma’s Chicken Nugget Wisdom: “Do something that is calling to you…just do it.” If you’ve lost touch with what calls you, Emma has a suggestion: go back to what you loved as a child. In this episode: curiosity, creativity, youth voice, community, belonging, authenticity, Howard Thurman, podcasting, music, reciprocal witnessing, and helping young people cultivate what is already inside them. Chapters 00:25 Camp Overview 03:16 Building a Canva Website 05:27 Beats and Making Music 14:24 Caffeine Episode Research 18:45 Round One: Discovery 24:58 Podcast Fan Moment 29:47 Round Two: Discernment 32:52 Bass Impromptu Demo  40:20 Round Three: Devotion 45:05 Reciprocal Witnessing 49:24 Chicken Nugget Challenge  Connect with Me: Instagram: @natural_inclination Youtube: @naturalinclination TikTok: Amber Sessoms LinkedIn: Dr. Amber M. Sessoms, NCSP Bluesky: @ambersessoms.bsky.social Facebook: Natural Inclination Website: www.aninclination.com Like, Comment, Share, Engage If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who would love these conversations. Engage with the Curiosity Cards and ask the youth in your life about their experiences because you might be surprised by what you learn. Share your thoughts and reflections in the comments or on social media using #LivingIn3DPower. And, don’t forget to subscribe and stay tuned for next week’s conversation!

    The Sound of the Genuine (Episode 61)

  8. Aug 12

    The Practice of Presence: What Mister Rogers Taught Us About Listening to Kids

    Send us Fan Mail What might children teach us if we listened long enough to be changed by them? After watching A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood during a family trip to Pittsburgh, Amber and Emma reflect on Fred Rogers’ extraordinary practice of presence: slowing down, honoring silence, remembering people, and treating children as people worth listening to. Using the 3D Curiosity Cards, they move through Discovery, Discernment, and Devotion to explore childhood grief, adult joy, play, deep listening, curiosity, and what helps another person feel truly seen. Emma offers a simple lesson when Amber asks how she knows an adult is really listening: “They don’t interrupt.” That opens a conversation about listening to understand instead of listening to respond, Amber’s tendency to stack questions, when curiosity can feel like interrogation, and why being present sometimes means resisting the urge to fix someone’s pain. They also practice reciprocal witnessing, explore what it means to be “too much” and still belong, and consider how speaking life into another person can help them see something in themselves differently. And Emma’s Chicken Nugget Wisdom? Go outside. Sometimes presence begins by returning to the world right in front of us. In this episode:  Mister Rogers, intentional living, and the meaning of 143  The ten-second gratitude practice  What adults forget about childhood  Play as joy  Childhood grief and the need to be witnessed  Listening without interrupting  Listening to understand instead of rebut  Curiosity versus interrogation  Allowing silence instead of stacking questions  Helping others feel seen, heard, and loved  Reciprocal witnessing and speaking life  Too muchness and finding your people  Emma’s “Go Outside” Chicken Nugget Challenge Episode Chapters  00:17 Pittsburgh Trip Talk  02:20 Movie and Article  04:19 Childlike Wonder  07:30 Ten Seconds Gratitude  09:55 Being Seen and Love  11:48 Childhood Wishes  15:27 Play and Joy  21:07 Listening as an Adult  27:07 Devotion Practice Ideas  31:19 Witnessing and Speaking Life  35:43 Too Muchness and Belonging  36:37 Go Outside Challenge Reflection question: What helps you know that someone is truly present with you—and what might change if we listened to children long enough to be changed by what they say?  Connect with Me: Instagram: @natural_inclination Youtube: @naturalinclination TikTok: Amber Sessoms LinkedIn: Dr. Amber M. Sessoms, NCSP Bluesky: @ambersessoms.bsky.social Facebook: Natural Inclination Website: www.aninclination.com Like, Comment, Share, Engage If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who would love these conversations. Engage with the Curiosity Cards and ask the youth in your life about their experiences because you might be surprised by what you learn. Share your thoughts and reflections in the comments or on social media using #LivingIn3DPower. And, don’t forget to subscribe and stay tuned for next week’s conversation!

    The Practice of Presence: What Mister Rogers Taught Us About Listening to Kids
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

Discover how to live authentically and lead courageously with Dr. Amber M. Sessoms on the Living in 3D Power podcast. Explore transformative questions, liberatory storytelling, and heartwarming insights her 10-year-old daughter, Emma, to uncover your power through Discovery, Discernment, and Determination. New episodes every week! 

Information

  • Creator
    Dr. Amber M. Sessoms
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    67
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Living in 3D Power Podcast
  • Show Website
    Living in 3D Power Podcast