Stories of Change: Helping You Navigate What's Next

Sometimes the thing we struggle with can lead us somewhere we never expected.
In this encore episode of Stories of Change, I’m revisiting my conversation with Kelly Engram, founder of Prairie Fire Hair.
Kelly had done a lot of different things in her life, but she never felt like she had found her passion. Then she began losing her hair.
Hair loss affected Kelly’s confidence and the way she saw herself. She tried wearing a wig, but at first she felt uncomfortable.  She was convinced everyone could tell.
Then something changed.
One day Kelly caught her reflection in a grocery store freezer door and realized she had forgotten she was wearing a wig. She looked at herself and thought, I look really cute.
That small moment opened the door to something much bigger.
Kelly got curious. She started learning more about wigs and eventually discovered a passion she never expected—helping other women dealing with hair loss.
One of my favorite stories in our conversation is about a woman in her 60s who had stopped going out because of her hair loss. After connecting with Kelly and finding a wig that helped her feel more like herself, she went to dinner with a friend she hadn’t seen in two years.
Kelly’s story isn't really just about hair. It's about identity, taking action and giving yourself a chance to discover what might be next.
In this episode, we talk about:
Hair loss, confidence and identity
Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable
How curiosity can lead to an unexpected passion
Taking action before you have everything figured out
Giving yourself a chance
About Kelly Engram
Kelly Engram is an educator and entrepreneur whose own experience with hair loss led her to create Prairie Fire Hair, a business that helps other women facing similar challenges. What began as a personal search for confidence became an unexpected source of purpose.

Stories of Change: Helping You Navigate What’s Next
Hosted by Judy Oskam
Navigating a change or wondering what comes next?
Hear real stories from people who have faced unexpected turns, made important choices, and figured things out along the way.
A little wisdom to help you find your own way forward.
Explore more at StoriesofChangePodcast.com.

What happens when the life you planned doesn’t happen?
Sara McDaniel knows what it means to start over. After infertility and a devastating divorce changed the future she had imagined, she eventually moved home to Louisiana and began rebuilding her life. Along the way, she pursued a neglected 1926 cottage that wasn’t even for sale. Restoring that house became part of her own healing — and helped lead her toward a completely different life and career.
Today, Sara is the creative force behind Simply Southern Cottage and the author of The Bright Side of the Other Side, a memoir about resilience, faith and second chances. In this conversation, we talk about starting over, grieving the life you expected and taking risks before you feel ready
Sara also shares how her background as a teacher and her lifelong love of old houses helped shape an unexpected entrepreneurial path.  Watching her friend and fellow entrepreneur Wendy Conklin take a leap gave Sara permission to imagine a different path for herself.
Her story is a reminder that if Plan A doesn't work out — there's always another path forward.

In this Episode, you'll hear about
·       Starting over after divorce and infertility — and grieving the life you thought you would have
·       How restoring a 1926 cottage became part of Sara’s healing and a metaphor for rebuilding her life
·       The role of mentors in giving us permission to pursue a new direction
·       Why Sara believes you sometimes have to take the risk before you feel completely ready
·       How mistakes can become opportunities to “monitor and adjust” rather than reasons to quit
Memorable Quotes

“My Plan A did not work out the way I wanted it to.” — Sara McDaniel
“You just have to do it scared.” — Sara McDaniel
“If there is a dream in your heart, just do it. And if it doesn’t work, another door will open. But what if it does work?” — Sara McDaniel
Guest Bio:
After a devastating divorce, Sara McDaniel moved to Minden, Louisiana, and walked away from her corporate career to rebuild her life. Restoring a dilapidated 1926 cottage became a powerful metaphor for her own healing—each nail and brushstroke echoing the faith and hope that guided her forward. Sara now shares this journey of resilience and transformation online, inspiring people to embrace second chances. Beyond renovating homes, she founded Phillip’s Cottage, a transitional haven for women and children in recovery, and opened Purvéy, a vintage and reloved clothing emporium in historic downtown Minden.  Her story proves that from broken foundations, new beginnings can rise.
Links:
Website. https://simplysoutherncottage.com/
IG: @simplysoutherncottage

Stories of Change: Helping You Navigate What’s Next
Hosted by Judy Oskam
Navigating a change or wondering what comes next?
Hear real stories from people who have faced unexpected turns, made important choices, and figured things out along the way.
A little wisdom to help you find your own way forward.
Explore more at StoriesofChangePodcast.com.

What does it mean to come home—to a place, a culture, or even to yourself?
In this encore episode of Stories of Change, I revisit my conversation with Navajo designer and entrepreneur Amy Denet Deal.
Amy was adopted as a child and grew up in Indiana, far from her Navajo culture. After a successful career in the fashion industry and with her daughter heading off to college, Amy found herself asking a familiar question: What’s next?
Her answer was to sell what she had in California and move to New Mexico to reconnect with her Navajo roots.
What followed became much more than a move. Amy began learning about her culture and finding ways to use the skills she had developed during her career to serve her community.
Through her work with 4KINSHIP and Indigenous Futures 4EVER, Amy has focused on creating opportunities for Native youth and giving back to Navajo Nation. She also shares what returning home has taught her about identity, empathy, healing, and purpose.
In this episode, we talk about:
Why becoming an empty nester led Amy to ask, “What’s next?”
Amy's decision to leave California and return to her Navajo homelands
Adoption and reconnection
Why service became an important part of coming home
Her work creating opportunities for young people on Navajo Nation
What Amy thinks about the next chapter of her life
Amy says returning home gave her something she had been searching for much of her life: a sense of calm and clarity about where she belongs.
And maybe that’s the question at the heart of this conversation:
What helps you quiet the noise and get clearer about where you belong—and what matters next?

Learn more about Amy Denet Deal and her work through 4KINSHIP and Indigenous Futures 4EVER.
About Stories of Change: Helping You Navigate What's Next 
Life doesn’t come with a roadmap. We’re all figuring it out as we go.
I’m Judy Oskam, and on Stories of Change, I talk with people about the changes and unexpected turns that have shaped their lives—and what they’ve learned along the way.
Sometimes someone else’s story gives us a little wisdom, a new perspective, or just what we need to help us figure out what’s next.

Stories of Change: Helping You Navigate What’s Next
Hosted by Judy Oskam
Navigating a change or wondering what comes next?
Hear real stories from people who have faced unexpected turns, made important choices, and figured things out along the way.
A little wisdom to help you find your own way forward.
Explore more at StoriesofChangePodcast.com.

What does it take to leave a secure career, start a creative business and bet on yourself?
Wendy Conklin was a successful teacher, writer and educational consultant. Then an upholstery class sparked a new creative interest.  That small experiment eventually became Chair Whimsy.
In this encore episode, Wendy shares how she became a creative entrepreneur and what gave her the courage to leave her established career.
Making a midlife career change to pursue a creative business full time required Wendy to take a calculated risk. She realized that staying in an unfulfilling career had become harder than facing the unknown.
In this episode
• What happens when misery becomes greater than the fear of the unknown
• Why Wendy left a secure career to start her own business
• How mistakes helped her become a stronger designer and entrepreneur
• Two practices that helped Wendy keep growing
• Why creative entrepreneurs need mentors and supportive communities
Wendy’s story reminds us that betting on yourself doesn’t always begin with a big leap. Sometimes it begins with curiosity and one small step in a different direction.

Stories of Change: Helping You Navigate What’s Next
Hosted by Judy Oskam
Navigating a change or wondering what comes next?
Hear real stories from people who have faced unexpected turns, made important choices, and figured things out along the way.
A little wisdom to help you find your own way forward.
Explore more at StoriesofChangePodcast.com.

Life doesn’t come with a roadmap. And sometimes change comes whether we’re ready for it or not.
Linda Fogg-Phillips, M.S., is a behavior-change expert, author, and co-founder of the Tiny Habits Academy, where she works alongside her brother, Dr. BJ Fogg, creator of the Tiny Habits method. But Linda’s understanding of change isn’t just professional. It’s deeply personal.
In this encore episode of Stories of Change, Linda shares how she learned to navigate those changes and find a way forward—one small step at a time.
Over a period of years, she faced the loss of her son, the collapse of her family’s home-building business, bankruptcy, and her husband’s battle with early-onset Alzheimer’s.
We also talk about Tiny Habits, Linda’s idea of “Pearl Habits,” and how reframing difficult moments can help us respond differently to the changes we didn’t choose.   You can find out more about Pearl Habits here. 
In this episode:
Navigating loss and unexpected change
Why small steps can make a difference
Moving from “Why me?” to “What can I learn?”
Using Pearl Habits to reframe difficult moments
The importance of celebration 

Stories of Change: Helping You Navigate What’s Next
Hosted by Judy Oskam
Navigating a change or wondering what comes next?
Hear real stories from people who have faced unexpected turns, made important choices, and figured things out along the way.
A little wisdom to help you find your own way forward.
Explore more at StoriesofChangePodcast.com.