In this warm and heartfelt conversation, we meet business owner and orange-obsessed powerhouse Kerri-Ann Hooper, founder of Carnelian Projects - a woman who has carried courage with her through joy, loss, rebuilding, and reinvention.

From getting braces at 51 and continuing to show up online despite the self-consciousness, to returning to the stage to dance after decades away, to leaving toxic workplaces, launching her own business, navigating miscarriages, watching her family lose everything in the GFC, surviving a contractor collapse, enduring public backlash and more - Kerri-Ann’s story is one of grit wrapped in heart, and hard-earned wisdom.

You’ll hear how her childhood passions quietly shaped her destiny, how she moved through the heartbreak of watching her parents’ world fall apart, and how she keeps building through the setbacks, detours, and unexpected turns.

This episode is a celebration of courage in all its colours and a reminder that courage doesn’t fade with age; it only gets stronger.

Key takeaways:

o Why courage sometimes looks like survival.

o The surprising places courage hides when you think you’ve outgrown it.

o How one simple decision can change your confidence at any age.

o What building (and rebuilding) through crisis teaches you.

o The unexpected link between childhood passions and adult purpose.

o How to keep showing up when the universe tries to stop you.

o Why your fifties are not the time to hold back, but to keep going.

Get in touch with Kerri-Ann:

Instagram: @carnelianprojects

LinkedIn: Kerri-Ann Hooper

Facebook: Carnelian Projects

Website: Carnelian Projects

Where to find me:

Website: Kim Payne

LinkedIn: Kim Payne

Instagram: @iamkimpayne

Facebook: KimPayneBiz

Want to make the impact you know is possible without having everything figured out?

Tune into The Courageous Shift – a FREE 90 min audio mini-series to work out your next move.

Get access now.

Want to get clear on your next steps in your business or career?

Book a FREE 45 min Call to Action to help you get to the starting line.

In this episode, I open the door to the emotional rollercoaster of coming close to something you’ve wanted for years, and the surprising mix of excitement, doubt, resistance, and raw courage that shows up right alongside it.

From writing 80,000 words of the “wrong” book to the turning points, the wobbles, the whispers, and the exact moment I realised why my manuscript sat unfinished for so long…

I share the inner journey that unfolds when a long-held dream suddenly becomes inevitable.

I unpack how the fear of success quietly sneaks in, why we suddenly start procrastinating at the finish line, and what it really means to take your own medicine when every insecurity decides to show up.

I get honest about my editing ‘meltdown’ in a car dealership, the emotional “oh my goodness” moment of seeing my publishing page for the first time and why getting close to something that matters deeply can feel both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.

This is a conversation for anyone who has ever stood on the edge of their next chapter and thought, “Who am I to do this?”

If you’re getting close to launching something, creating something, or sharing something that truly matters to you… this episode will feel like a deep exhale and a hand on your back reminding you to keep going.

Key takeaways:

o Why the closer you get to a dream, the louder the doubts become.

o What makes us consider abandoning something we’ve wanted for years.

o How to recognise when the fear of success quietly slips in.

o Why the “wrong” version of your dream may lead you to the right one.

o The surprising shift when you move from your head to your heart.

o How to tell if you’re procrastinating… or protecting yourself from being seen in a new way.

o The lesson in asking about the alternative to keep pursuing an important milestone.

COURAGEOUS SHIFT

Want to make the impact you know is possible without having everything figured out?

Get access now to The Courageous Shift – a FREE 90 min audio mini-series to work out your next move.

Where to find me:

Website: Kim Payne

LinkedIn: Kim Payne

Instagram: @iamkimpayne

Facebook: KimPayneBiz

Want to get clear on your courageous next steps in your business or career?

Book a FREE 45 min Call to Action to help you get to the starting line.

What happens when the life you’ve built suddenly falls apart… and then, against all odds, you rebuild it again?

In this breathtaking, emotional, and deeply vulnerable conversation, I chat with author, former attorney, and certified grief coach Stephanie Duran - a woman whose life reads like a novel filled with courage, devastation, reinvention, and the rare kind of love that changes you forever.

Together, we trace some of Stephanie’s journey from an idyllic marriage that slowly eroded, to the courage it took to walk away when the world didn’t understand, to rediscovering her confidence after 15 years out of the courtroom.

Then comes the love story that stops you in your tracks, the magnetic poolside meeting in Las Vegas, the whirlwind connection, the interstate move, the business, the dreams, and the unimaginable twist that followed.

Stephanie opens up about fighting for more time, what it means to love someone through terminal illness, the devastating courage of saying goodbye, and how she found her way back to herself, and eventually, to love again.

This episode asks big questions:

What do we do when life breaks our heart?

How do we rebuild when the story changes?

And what does courage really look like when everything is on the line?

If you need a reminder that life can take everything from you and still offer new beginnings - this conversation will stay with you long after you listen.

Key takeaways:

o How childhood moments can unknowingly plant seeds of courage.

o Why “good enough” can be the most dangerous place to settle.

o How to know when it’s time to leave something the world thinks you should stay in.

o What happens when you start over from scratch - career, identity, confidence etc.

o How an extraordinary love story can begin with one bold statement.

o The unimaginable courage it takes to let go when your heart wants to hold on.

o How opening your heart again can start a whole new chapter in your life.

Get in touch with Stephanie Duran:

Website: Stephanie Duran

Instagram: @stephanieduranofficial

LinkedIn: Stephanie Duran

Facebook: Stephanie Duran

Podcast: Weaving Happiness through Grief with Stephanie Duran

Get her book:

Because I Loved You: Surviving the Unthinkable by Stephanie Duran – updated version released 20 Jan 2026. See all places books are sold.

Audio version available now on all platforms. ie. Audible

Where to find me:

Website: Kim Payne

LinkedIn: Kim Payne www.linkedin.com/in/kimpayne9rok/

Instagram: @iamkimpayne

Facebook: KimPayneBiz

Want to make the impact you know is possible without having everything figured out?

Tune into The Courageous Shift – a FREE 90 min audio mini-series to work out your next move.

Get access now.