The Alignment Show

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what it means to succeed. I’ve noticed that the things we can measure aren’t always the things that matter most, which is one of the reasons we even do The Alignment Show. After all, our motto is, “Where what matters meets real life.”

The numbers matter, of course. Salespeople have quotas. Athletes have statistics. Businesses have revenue targets. Writers have word counts and book sales. There’s nothing inherently wrong with any of those measurements. The trouble comes when we let the numbers become our entire definition o...

When I started reading Jami Albright’s Running from a Rock Star, I laughed out loud four times in the first three pages. Janet noticed. Apparently, I was making enough noise to attract attention.

That seemed like a good reason to invite Jami onto The Alignment Show. I’d also been listening to her Wish I’d Known Then… For Writers podcast for years, and I’d come to appreciate her willingness to talk about both the successes and struggles of being an author.

What I didn’t fully appreciate until our conversation was how much laughte...

Have you ever finished something that occupied your life for weeks or months, felt genuinely happy about the accomplishment, and then wondered what to do with yourself?

I’ve been experiencing that lately. I recently published my first romantic comedy and finished the draft of the second. What started as a little experiment in writing fiction has grown into a series of six, possibly seven, books. And I’ve discovered that finishing a story brings an emotional experience I hadn’t quite anticipated.

There’s satisfaction, certainly. There’s excitement about what comes next. But there’s al...

What happens when we pay attention differently?

Note: for folks who prefer to read instead of watch or listen, an article version is at the end of this. If you’re watching or listening on a podcatcher, you can find the original article at DonnKing.com/113.

I went looking for a bench and came home with a question about how we experience the world.

I hadn’t been to Ijams Nature Center in Knoxville for years. But I’m writing a novel that includes a scene along the Tennessee River, and I wanted to get...

[Note: this post contains the podcast and its show notes along with the article version. Enjoy whichever one connects with you best. If you’re listening on a podcatcher and want the article version, head over to DonnKing.com/112.]

One of the things I enjoy about talking with Kevin Tumlinson is that I can start with a question I think I understand and discover that I was actually asking something bigger.

That happened again in this third installment of Kevin on Kraft.

“Kevin on Kraft?” you ask. If you don’t know about it, here...

Lately, I’ve been looking forward to getting to my desk.

That may sound like an ordinary thing for a writer to say. But after struggling with anhedonia, the absence of pleasure even in things I knew were worthwhile, that eagerness means something to me.

Writing fiction has been bringing it back. I want to find out what my characters will do next, even though I’m supposedly the person in charge. Apparently, nobody has explained that arrangement to them.

In this solo episode, I explore discovery writing, the feeling of being absorbed in c...

Note: I realized that since I’m making all material available to all subscribers, free and paid, it makes sense to just include the article version in the “show notes.” If you’d rather read than watch a video or listen to audio, the Article Version is below the Resources.

This one is a little different.

I recorded most of this episode in the car while Janet and I were on our way to The Morning Cup Toastmasters 10th Anniversary Summit. (Janet was driving. I promise.)

It had been one of those weeks when eve...

I missed an episode last week.

I could offer excuses, but the truth is more interesting: I’ve been writing. A lot.

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been almost embarrassingly absorbed in The Chemistry Between Us, the first romance novel I’ll publish as Devon Marin. Riley and Leo, the two people at the center of the story, have been carrying on conversations in my head while I’m trying to do other things. I’ve forgotten to eat. I’ve awakened early because I needed to capture something they were saying. I’ve even fo...

What Are We Amplifying?

Note: read the article version of this podcast at DonnKing.com/108Art.

I use tools to externalize parts of my brain.

That sounds more dramatic than it is. A grocery list does it. So does an address book, a mind map, a voice memo, or a conversation with a friend. They let me move something outside my head so I can remember it, examine it, rearrange it, or think about it differently.

Artificial intelligence can do that, too. These days, that raises all sorts of questions about...

[Note: if you would rather read an article instead of watching or listening, you can read such here.]

Sometimes the best conversations start because somebody says something almost in passing.

I was listening to Kevin Tumlinson on The Word Slinger Podcast when he mentioned that, for all the talking he does about writing and publishing, he doesn’t get to talk about the actual craft of writing as often as you might expect. Maybe, he suggested, he just needed somebody to ask him questions.

Well, I can ask questions.

That led to...

Hi, friends.

It’s been a while since we’ve had an episode of The Alignment Show, but we’re starting it back up again.

We’ve been on hiatus for a few months as we experimented with different ways of connecting. While Substack Live is a perfectly viable channel, it just wasn’t working well for me.

So we’re coming back to our usual format, and we’re starting off really well, I think.

This coming Friday, what we intend to do is have a conversation between me and one of our “St...

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect going into this conversation with Matthew Check, but I knew it would be interesting.

What I didn’t expect was just how layered it would be.

Matthew is a musician-turned-author whose memoir, What Would Philip Roth Do?, weaves together love, identity, creativity, and a fair amount of humor. But what stayed with me after our conversation wasn’t just the story itself. It was the process behind it—the discipline, the vulnerability, and the willingness to tell the truth even when it would be easier not to.

We...

Some conversations stay with you long after the recording ends. This was one of them.

In this episode of The Alignment Show, I talk with Mia Godfrey—life coach, speaker, and author of Buried, Not Broken: A Memoir of Survival, Sisterhood, and Starting Over. Mia grew up in Romania during the communist regime, immigrated to the United States, and later walked through the devastating loss of her sister.

What began as a promise between two sisters eventually became a memoir about resilience, healing, and the courage to reclaim your voice.

We talk about gr...

Editor’s note: We’re grateful for all our listeners. We’ve been offering some added “perks” for paid subscribers, and we have realized that most if not all of those subscribers pay because they want to support our work, not because they get exclusive access to content. So we are experimenting with making all of our content here available to all subscribers. Thank you, thank you, thank you, and if you find value in what we do, please share us with others and upgrade your subscription as you see fit with our deepest gratitude. We are making this change as...

We’ve all had that moment.

You walk away from a conversation thinking, How did that blow up so fast? Or worse, That’s not what I meant at all.

In this episode of The Alignment Show, I sit down with Dr. Patricia Timerman Barbosa da Silva (known simply as Dr. T) to talk about what really happens between intention and perception.

We recorded this conversation some months ago, and while a few references are time-stamped, the insights are anything but. What she shares here is timeless and deeply practical.

Dr. T in...

I’ve learned over the years that the most meaningful conversations often start with shared experience rather than shared credentials. This one did.

In this episode of The Alignment Show, I sit down with Steve Friedman, an author, speaker, and longtime corporate leader who spent decades navigating professional life as an introvert before reinventing his work around writing, speaking, and supporting families affected by Down syndrome.

Steve and I talk about masking, energy management, leadership, caregiving, and what it means to stretch your comfort zone without losing yourself in the process. We explore why introversion is...

This is the first episode of The Alignment Show for 2026, and it’s a solo one.

I wanted to start the year by speaking honestly about why consistency broke down over the past year, what that cost, and what it’s taken to begin rebuilding. This isn’t an episode about productivity hacks or polished plans. It’s about grief, caregiving, creative identity, and what it means to keep choosing alignment when control turns out to be mostly an illusion.

In this episode, I talk about why I shifted the show to an audio-first rhythm, how I’m...

Rachael Herron returns to The Alignment Show, and as always, she brings a mix of honesty, wisdom, and grounded joy to the conversation. We talk about her new novel The Seven Miracles of Beatrix Holland and how writing it pulled her deeper into a long-running personal theme—letting go of control. We explore what happens when a story arrives before the plan does, why “mission” matters more than “goals,” and how creative work shifts when you stop writing to please the market and start writing from alignment.

Along the way, we get into traditional vs. indie publishing, the surpri...

What does it take to stand out in a noisy world without becoming a caricature of yourself? In this conversation, marketing expert and bestselling author David Newman, CSP, joins me to talk about the real work behind visibility, credibility, and building a business rooted in who you actually are. We dig into why personal brands now matter more than company brands, how to double down on your human strengths in the age of AI, and why the most successful people aren’t chasing every opportunity—they’re aligning with their values.

If you’ve ever wondered how to be se...

What happens when we stop trying to master technology and start learning with it?

In this episode of The Alignment Show, I sit down with Joshua Hale — a self-taught “holistic tech wizard” who helps creators and entrepreneurs build businesses that serve life instead of consuming it. Joshua’s journey runs from the intensity of restaurant kitchens to the freedom of leading his own AI-driven strategy practice. Along the way, he’s learned that the most valuable skill in a changing world isn’t technical expertise — it’s curiosity.

We talk about his “teach-by-doing” approach, the mindset of an autodi...

Listen here or watch video on YouTube:

In this episode of The Alignment Show, I sit down with returning guest Jeff West, one of our “stars in alignment,” to talk about his newest book, The Hidden Heist, co-authored with Bill Cates.

Jeff has built a reputation for crafting business parables, stories that don’t just explain principles but draw you in through characters and plot. The Hidden Heist may be his boldest yet: a personal finance parable set entirely during a bank robbery. With humor, tension, and unexpected twists, Jeff and Bill tackle the money myths...

Ever had one of those moments where a “five-minute fix” with technology turns into two hours of hair-pulling? In this solo episode of The Alignment Show, I share a recent run-in with Photoshop that pushed me right to the edge of giving it all up—computers, creative work, even publishing.

But behind the exasperation was something deeper:

* What do you do when the tools you depend on start draining the joy out of the work?

* How do you know if it’s just a temporary frustration—or a sign it’s time to lay somethin...

Jennifer Pierce spent decades climbing the corporate ladder—investment banking, HR, and commodities trading—before realizing she wasn’t living true to her values. Burnout and loss pushed her to recalibrate her life and eventually find her calling as a leadership coach.

In this conversation, Jennifer shares her honest reflections on imposter syndrome, the difference between therapy and coaching, and why true alignment comes when we stop just naming our values and actually live them. She also reveals how a painful personal turning point helped her embrace authenticity, service, and connection.

If you’ve ever wondered...

Editor’s Note: We are setting up a new publishing workflow, which means we may have a few glitches in the next few episodes. Thanks for bearing with us, and email [email protected] with any problems or issues you have.

What happens when a global supply chain strategist, author, and TEDx speaker turns his focus from corporate success to soul-deep purpose? In this inspiring conversation, Andy Bhattacharyya—founder of AI-driven sustainability firm Amplo Global—shares his journey from engineering and ESG compliance to mentoring vulnerable youth and writing fiction that champions resilience.

Andy reveals:

...

Andrea Waltz doesn’t just teach people to embrace rejection—she embodies it. In this episode, we sit down with the co-author of the enduring bestseller Go for No! to explore the bold mindset shifts behind her work, the 25-year legacy of a powerful little parable, and what compelled her and husband Richard Fenton to finally write a sequel.

This isn’t just a conversation about sales. It’s about risk, courage, creativity, and the emotional grit it takes to do work that matters. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a writer, a solopreneur, or a professional in transition...

Next Tuesday, I'm offering two separate opportunities to learn about the power of Substack.

If you're seeing this—or reading this—on Substack, there's a good chance you already use it. Not a 100% chance, of course. You can read free material on Substack without ever logging in or subscribing to anyone. But still, a pretty good chance.

Even if you're already using it, you might not realize just how much potential Substack has to help you get your message out to a world that needs to hear it.

I figured the best way to g...

We live in a time of deep division—politically, culturally, even generationally. But what if the path to healing isn’t another argument or another angry post… but service?

In this powerful and hope-filled episode, Chip Webster shares how national service, volunteerism, and small acts of human connection can rebuild trust in our communities—and in each other. Drawing on his leadership background and life experience, Chip offers both a compelling vision and a practical invitation.

If you’re disheartened by the current state of the country (or the world), this episode will rekindle your belief in...

From interviewing Middle Eastern dignitaries and riding the waves of international journalism, to revolutionizing how modern franchises share knowledge, Penny Hopkinson’s journey is nothing short of remarkable. In this wide-ranging conversation, Penny shares how she turned a love of words and systems into a career that reshaped an industry.

Whether you're a writer, business leader, or someone exploring what it means to live with integrity and purpose, this episode offers real-world wisdom from someone who’s done just that, across borders, generations, and platforms.

We also get a special live update from Penny about her...

What happens when the wheels come off the wagon, the train jumps the track, and everything melts into a puddle of nope?

In this raw, deeply personal solo episode, Donn King pulls back the curtain on life as a caregiver in crisis mode. With honesty, humor, and hard-won wisdom, he offers seven ways to keep going when stopping isn’t an option, and the finish line is nowhere in sight.

Whether you're caregiving, grieving, exhausted, or simply overwhelmed, this episode will remind you: you are not alone, and your next small step still matters.

...

Dan Janal thought he was the picture of health, working out regularly, feeling fine, living fully. So when a routine checkup turned into a life-threatening diagnosis, everything changed… and so did his mindset.

In this powerful and deeply personal conversation, Dan shares how he went from shocked patient to hopeful guide, using his skills as a writer and speaker to reframe what it means to live with cancer. What begins as a health crisis becomes a life mission and a lesson in hope, presence, and purpose for all of us.

If you’ve ever faced some...

What if grief could become a gateway to transformation, not just sorrow?

In this powerful episode, Donn talked with grief educator Suzanne Jabour, who shared her moving journey after the loss of her 22-year-old son, Ben. Suzanne doesn’t offer platitudes; she offers permission. Permission to grieve differently. Permission to support others more meaningfully. And permission to be curious even in the darkest places.

Whether you’re walking through your own loss or want to better support someone who is, this conversation will change the way you think about grief and connection.

Resources we d...

What does it take to follow your passion—responsibly?

In this episode of The Alignment Show, I sat down with Ahuva Gruen, founder of AG Financial CPA, to explore her inspiring journey from corporate CFO to independent business owner. Ahuva shared how she aligned her career with her lifelong entrepreneurial spirit, even in the face of major life transitions. We discussed the difference between a CPA and a CFO, why businesses need strategic financial leadership, and how individuals can responsibly pursue their dreams without sacrificing stability. Whether you're considering a leap toward your own business or looking to...

When the pandemic shook up our routines, many people didn’t just quit their jobs. They realigned their lives. That’s why I called it the Great Realignment rather than the Great Resignation. But now, five years later, is that sense of realignment still alive?

In this solo episode, I reflect on the origins of The Alignment Show and explore whether it’s time to pause and ask: Am I still living in alignment with what matters most to me?

We unpacked the difference between goals and mission, the trap of chasing the merely urgent, and ho...

Note: I’m running a little behind posting the show notes and audio podcast for this episode. My grandson wound up needing emergency surgery (he is OK now), and so I just now have time to get it posted. But Kevin is worth waiting for!

I’m thrilled to welcome back one of our "Stars in Alignment"—Kevin Tumlinson. Kevin is a bestselling author, entrepreneur, podcaster, and one of the most values-centered creatives I know. He’s also someone I personally fanboy over a bit (you’ll hear why).

In this rich, wide-ranging conversation, we talked abo...

🎙️ The Alignment Show with Donn King welcomed Todd Payne, founder of Konnectfully, emotional intelligence coach, and former Lutheran pastor with a powerful origin story.

🔥 From being told he had "none of the gifts for ministry" to helping couples rediscover empathy and joy in their relationships, Todd brings a refreshing take on transformation, resilience, and the surprising role of the Enneagram in fostering real connection.

Oh—and did we mention? He now lives in Portugal, after losing his home to a wildfire and choosing to start over with intention. Talk about falling upward!

💬 Whether you're naviga...

Note: For the past few weeks, I’ve been uploading a video version of the podcast to Substack, but I’ve noticed a few things: (a) most listeners aren’t using Substack for video (at least, for this podcast), (b) we already provide links to the live video replays, making this redundant, and (c) splitting my focus between video and audio has likely affected the audio quality.

So, I’m shifting back to our original approach—prioritizing high-quality audio on Substack (and podcast platforms) while directing video learners to our existing video channels. If I’ve misread what works b...

Thank you for your patience! We broadcast the episode as scheduled last Friday, but we’re just now posting the show notes and feeding the audio to those outlets. But this was a conversation worth waiting for!

The Alignment Show welcomed back Lizbeth Meredith, a writer, speaker, and resilience advocate whose journey has inspired audiences worldwide. You may remember her from Episode 76, where we explored her compelling memoir and the strength it takes to reclaim one’s life. In this episode, she returned with exciting news—her latest book, Tilka Faces the Odds, is soon available in audiob...

We had a great conversation this week with Joanna Penn, despite challenges facing your host.

We originated the podcast from my daughter’s hospital room, and so the audio quality of the intro and outro isn’t up to our usual standards. Plus, although the promo went up on our video channels, our subscribers did not get the notice of the upcoming episode, for which I apologize! Plus again, stutters in the video feed led to a less-than-optimal experience on the video channels.

I’m going to re-edit the video and post it on the video...

What drives a leader to keep serving, even after an accomplished military career? Meet Dennis LaRue—Air Force veteran, leadership coach, and a man dedicated to helping others rise to their full potential.

Thanks for reading The Confidence Cultivator! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

I’ve had the privilege of getting to know Dennis through The Go-Givers Success Vault, the thriving community built around The Go-Giver principles. From the start, he has impressed me—not just with his deep leadership knowledge, but with the way he teaches it. He...

For over 30 20 years, Lois Creamer has shaped the professional speaking industry more than almost anyone else—yet most people outside the business have never heard her name. This week on The Alignment Show, I sit down with Lois, a longtime friend and mentor, to explore her incredible journey of helping speakers book more business, maximize their impact, and thrive in a constantly evolving industry.

Unlike many of my guests who have made bold career shifts to align with their values, Lois is a rare example of someone who has always known her values and has built a le...