Coherence Podcast

Melissa Wong
  • 5.0 (15)
  • ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Get up close and personal with people who created their own custom job to fit their unique skills and life story. Whether running they're running their own business or weaving together a patchwork of different income streams, hear from go-getters who are skillfully designing a non-traditional career path according to their sensibilities.

  1. The Ingredients for Grounded Striving

    JAN 20 · BONUS

    The Ingredients for Grounded Striving

    At the top of 2026, I am inundated with prospective clients signing up to do 1:1 coaching. What are they all looking to find? To solve? I’ll tell you what I heard.  For anyone feeling both a tug to strive and a pull to stay under the covers, this episode will remind you of the main ingredients that go into having enough clarity, enough confidence, and enough hope to move forward in your life with grace.

    21 min

  2. 08/18/2025

    Give it to me easy: Season 3 cliff notes for a quick dose of insights

    Give me the Coherence Podcast cheat sheet. What are the things you need to know from this past season?  In this cherry-on-top, Season 3 finale, I’ll walk you through the five essential takeaways from six months of weekly episodes. I didn’t need no ChatGPT to help me distill all of the good conversations into five key takeaways. I lived the conversations!  For both newcomers and those who have been with me along the way, this episode will give you a primer on the biggest themes that came up in my conversations with self-employed creatives creating their own custom jobs. I’ll share why I am especially proud of this season, and give you a hint about what’s coming next.  I’ll be taking a couple months off to regroup and gear up for Season 4. If you miss Coherence Studio in the meantime: Dip back into the archive to listen to past episodes Subscribe to my newsletter Reach out for an intro call to explore 1:1 coaching or take my signature program - Coherence  You can also find Melissa at:  Coherence Studio Website: https://www.coherence.studio/ FREE GUIDE: Career Crossroads: From Confusion to Confident Action in 30 minutesFREE TRAINING: Work that Works: Design your next career move with confidence

    30 min
  3. "So You're Having an Existential Crisis. Good." AI, Soul Work, and the Future of Creative Careers with Kat Koh

    08/11/2025

    "So You're Having an Existential Crisis. Good." AI, Soul Work, and the Future of Creative Careers with Kat Koh

    What does it mean to create "exquisite work" when machines can mimic human output in seconds? In this special episode of Coherence Podcast, my friend and collaborator, creative career coach Kat Koh and I pull back the curtain on the urgent questions that we coaches are grappling with as artificial intelligence reshapes the creative landscape.  Kat describes herself as a "career therapist" (though she's quick to clarify she's not actually a therapist) who celebrates existential crises because they signal growth and aliveness. Drawing from her decade of coaching and deep background in art history, she introduces the concept of “exquisite work”—her thesis for how creatives can not just survive but thrive in the AI era by returning to what makes us fundamentally human. We wrestle openly with the real dilemmas their clients face: Should a podcaster become a therapist for job security? Can idealism coexist with pragmatism when AI threatens traditional creative roles? We explore the tension between wanting to encourage our client’s artistic souls while understanding that financial worry kills creativity faster than anything else. I hope you can feel the unscripted, emergent nature of this conversation and our belief that self-trust becomes more crucial than ever during times of rapid change and uncertainty.  You can find Kat at:  Website: Kat Koh Coaching Substack: https://katkoh.substack.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katkoh/ IG: @katkoh You can find Melissa at:  Coherence Studio Website: https://www.coherence.studio/ FREE GUIDE: Career Crossroads: From Confusion to Confident Action in 30 minutes FREE TRAINING: Work that Works: Design your next career move with confidence

    1h 4m
  4. How Do You Want People to Feel?: Creative Structure and Intentional Chaos with Olivia Vagelos

    08/04/2025

    How Do You Want People to Feel?: Creative Structure and Intentional Chaos with Olivia Vagelos

    How do you create a custom career that feels good in practice (and not just recreate the subpar working conditions you intentionally left behind?) Olivia Vagelos runs a creative agency called Design for Feelings Studio where she does everything from coaching couples designing their weddings to consulting on the experience of "people pooping in space on commercial space travel." With a background in product design and years at IDEO.org, Olivia has crafted a unique practice centered around one deceptively simple question: "How do you want people to feel?" In this conversation, we explore how Olivia left IDEO during peak COVID days only to accidentally recreate all the same structures she'd purposefully wanted to leave with her corporate job. And how she course corrected to build a business that actually lets her take time to stare at trees and research magic tricks. She shares practical wisdom about playtesting early and often, designing time itself as an experience, and how she's building her latest creative sandbox, The Good Chaos Club.  Listen to find out why Olivia thinks that the best creatives often fall prey to burnout (it has to do with being radically uninspired!)  You can find Olivia at:  Website: Design For Feelings Studio The Good Chaos ClubSubstack: https://designingforfeelings.substack.com/

    1h 6m

  5. 07/28/2025

    You're Doing Better Than You Think

    Your relationship with acknowledging yourself might feel more… non-existent than it needs to be. The skill of recognition has a way of getting overlooked in our daily lives, especially when we're so busy focusing on what we haven't accomplished yet! In this solo pep talk episode, I break down why being seen and acknowledged brings up so much emotion—and remind you that you can give yourself credit right now, no major accomplishments required. This episode will hopefully feel like you just got a good hug.

    12 min
  6. Creative Ecosystems Not Career Ladders: Multi-Project Mastery with the Ferocious Kaitlin Carpenter

    07/21/2025

    Creative Ecosystems Not Career Ladders: Multi-Project Mastery with the Ferocious Kaitlin Carpenter

    Kaitlin Carpenter runs her freelance company under the name "BattleCat"—inspired by her family's first cat and the perfectly fierce energy she brings to her work. From a small town in rural Idaho to working on projects like NASA Earth Sciences and heading up CreativeMornings Portland, Kaitlin embodies what it looks like to build a career around values rather than a predetermined strategy.  In this conversation, we explore her journey from being discouraged by a dismissive creative writing professor in college to now pursuing her MFA while maintaining a rich ecosystem of meaningful work. Kaitlin opens up about the bridge-building potential that comes from understanding both rural and urban perspectives, her seven years leading CreativeMornings Portland with intentional attention to justice and representation, and why she created a literal punch card to reward herself for saying no to social invitations.  We dive into the benefits and challenges of having multiple professional identities—from the cross-pollination of ideas between projects to the constant juggling act of competing priorities. Kaitlin shares practical wisdom about templatizing what you can while accepting what you can't predict, the importance of talking through decisions with trusted friends, and why she believes deciding is more important than making the perfect decision.   You can find Kaitlin at:  https://kaitlincarpenter.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaitlincarpenter/

    1h 2m
  7. When Secret Passions Go Public: From Post-it Note to Publishing House with Krystie Yen

    07/14/2025

    When Secret Passions Go Public: From Post-it Note to Publishing House with Krystie Yen

    The moment you make a big life change—quitting your job, ending a relationship, moving across the country—you might expect to feel immediately transformed. But usually your internal world doesn’t change as fast as the external structure of your life.  Coach and founder of Slant’d, Krystie Yen shares about how learning how to pause has often been the key to getting through the "structural lag," that disorienting gap between outer change and inner alignment. From chasing the quintessential Asian American dream in corporate America to building her own freelance branding business, Krystie shares her journey of saying goodbye to prestige and comfort for something more authentic.  You'll hear how a simple post-it note idea evolved into a nonprofit publishing house and how Slant'd continues to capture her attention years later.  Whether you're contemplating a leap or finding yourself in the messy middle of transition, this conversation offers practical wisdom for honoring both the courage to change and the patience to let transformation happen at its own pace.  You can find Krystie at:  Substack: https://burnthegoodcandle.substack.com/ Website: krystieyen.com IG: @createwithkrystie

    1h 16m

  8. 07/07/2025

    Three Money Moves That Will Change How You Sleep at Night

    Your relationship with money might feel more… tense than it needs to be. Anxiety about money has an insidious way of creeping into how we run our lives, especially during uncertain times when the world feels unstable and we grip our resources tighter.  In this solo episode, I break down three concrete exercises that can quickly shift how you feel about your finances—no complicated jargon required.  I'll walk you through creating a financial snapshot that gives you clarity on how to assign a job to every dollar you make, understanding the financial order of operations so you know what to prioritize first, and optimizing your savings to work harder for you.  Whether you're drowning in decision paralysis about debt versus emergency funds, or you're ready to move beyond survival mode into intentional abundance, this episode offers practical steps you can take immediately after listening. To be notified about future Savvy dates, add your info here: https://coherence-studio.myflodesk.com/getsavvy Coherence Studio - Savvy Financial Snapshot Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qu3MWeV-YEdOQQUHxp1vugps86BRxPgehBeGPz6UURU/edit?usp=sharing  External Resources mentioned on the episode:  https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/investing-for-beginners/ https://moneyguy.com/guide/foo/

    50 min
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5
out of 5
15 Ratings

About

Get up close and personal with people who created their own custom job to fit their unique skills and life story. Whether running they're running their own business or weaving together a patchwork of different income streams, hear from go-getters who are skillfully designing a non-traditional career path according to their sensibilities.

Information

  • Creator
    Melissa Wong
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    45
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Melissa Wong
  • Show Website
    Coherence Podcast

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