Write the Story That Sets You Free

Lisa Cooper Ellison [00:00:00] 

Welcome to this week’s episode of the Writing and Resilience Podcast. I am so glad to be here with you today. And if you are new to the podcast, I want to say welcome. My name is Lisa Cooper Ellison. I am your transformational and trauma-informed writing coach, and I am the host of this podcast.

Today we’re going to talk about pivoting—specifically, how I am pivoting in my business in order to claim more of my writing life, and how you can use this process either to clarify what you’re trying to do or to navigate your own pivot if you’re feeling that call.

Lisa Cooper Ellison [00:01:34] 

So many of us are in that space right now. You can use this process to pivot in your writing life so you can claim all of who you are. I’m also going to share one of my biggest worries. This is going to be a really heartfelt—and I can feel it right now, right in my chest—vulnerable episode, because I’m sharing behind-the-scenes truths about my business and my life.

Lisa Cooper Ellison [00:02:04] 

I’m going to share ways that I’m changing. And oh my gosh, I’m excited about it, but it also feels a little scary. So, we’re going to get into all that in today’s episode. But first, I want to begin with a quote that will serve as the foundation for this conversation.

This is a quote by Mother Teresa: “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”

I would add that our efforts aren’t just the stone—we are the stone. So, we want to think about the pond we’re in and the ripples we’re creating in the world. And that’s where this need to pivot comes in.

Let me give you a little history. For a while, I’ve known I’ve been doing too much. Some of you may have wondered: Lisa, how in the world do you do all these things? Part of it is that I have a lot of energy. Truly—I sometimes feel like I have unlimited energy. Of course, it’s actually finite, and I learned that very clearly this summer. But often, I do have a lot of energy.

I’m also a person who gets excited about life. I love to learn new things. And here’s where it gets vulnerable: I’ve been trying to prove myself—to you, to others, maybe even to myself—for so long. I’ve wanted to prove that I’m valuable, prove that I’m smart enough, prove that I have what it takes.

And in the process, I’ve run myself ragged. I wonder—have you ever done that? Are you doing it right now? Are you running yourself ragged trying to prove your worth?

It’s hard for me to admit this, but it’s true. And the only way we can change the truth is to first admit it and then do something about it. So yes, I’ve been doing too much. I’ve also experienced shifting priorities, new interests, and changes in the projects I’m working on.

One of those projects is a memoir about near-death experiences—specifically, what it means to grow up with your life predicated on a near-death experience that happened at birth. I don’t talk about this often, but I died a few hours after I was born. And I had two other profound near-death experiences early in life. They shaped the way I’ve lived, the things I’ve had access to, and the things I sometimes denied or hid because I didn’t know how to talk about them.

Lisa Cooper Ellison [00:05:21] 

This memoir is an opportunity to explore that. To claim the truth that I am someone whose life was predicated on a near-death experience. I’m trying to figure out what that means. I’m also claiming the strengths and opportunities that come with it—the things I’m actually good at but didn’t trust.

One of those gifts is intuition. I am a highly intuitive person. For so long I discounted it. I’m not doing that anymore. Instead, I wanted to go through an intuitive process of reevaluating my business and everything I’m doing.

If I’m honest, I probably started sensing the need to pivot late last year, but it really hit me around March of this year. I realized: I’m in the right pond, I’m aligned with my soul’s purpose—but maybe the stone I’m throwing, or the way I’m throwing it, isn’t creating the ripples I want. Some ripples, yes—but not all of them.

That’s what pushed me to explore different ways of creating impact. And I also realized something else: AI is changing everything. It’s changing business, creativity, the world itself. And as David Bowie said, “Turn and face the strange.” Time will change me, but I can’t change time.

I can’t change the times we’re in, but I can think about how they’re changing me and how I want to be part of it. And no, this isn’t an episode about AI. But if you’re in business—or really in any creative endeavor—you need to ask: How can I lean into my humanness? How can I offer something no one else can—something AI can’t replace?

Lisa Cooper Ellison [00:07:41] 

Those questions pushed me deeper into this pivot. By March and April, I knew change was necessary. So, I asked myself: What will guide me?

I got an answer in a podcast episode by Amelia Ruby, host of Off the Grid. She had an episode on pivoting, and in it she shared the three guiding principles she was using: Simple. Specific. Spiritual.

The moment I heard them, I knew they were right for me.

So, what does that look like? For me, it means simplifying what I offer and how I offer it. More than one person has told me my website feels like “the kitchen sink”—that it’s hard to tell exactly what I do. So, simplification and specificity are key.

Specificity also applies to how I spend my time each week. I need to identify what brings me joy, what supports my creativity, what feels light and energizing—and what drags me down.

And you know what? Having a near-complete rupture of my MCL, which forced me to sit on the couch for weeks, gave me the perfect opportunity to reflect. I spent July engaged in a spiritual practice to guide this process.

Lisa Cooper Ellison [00:10:14] 

And I want to pause here and define what I mean by “spiritual.” I know some of you listening have experienced religious trauma. You’ve been harmed by organized religion. Please know I am sensitive to that. I will never impose belief systems on you.

When I talk about spirituality, I mean making meaning—how we make sense of our lives, where we find hope.

So, part of this pivot has been asking: How can I align my work with the ways I make meaning right now? How can I be of highest service to the people I work with? How can I offer more hope? How can I empower others more deeply?

And honestly—how can we have more fun?

As a trauma-informed writing coach, I often work with people navigating really tough material. That work will continue. But I’ve learned over time that projects carry the energy we put into them. And when we release them into the world, that energy spreads.

So, part of this pivot is ensuring that the energy I infuse into my projects—and help my clients infuse into theirs—feels nourishing, hopeful, and of highest service to both the writer and their audience.

That’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to help you hold the right energetic vibration in your work and within yourself so that you feel like you can fully claim who you are. That you can walk your authentic path, speak your truth in a powerful and clear way, and pursue your goals—whatever those goals may be.

Lisa Cooper Ellison [00:12:36] 

Just saying those things out loud excites me. I feel it in my bones. That’s what I want to offer people. That’s why I went through this process, and that’s what I mean by spirituality.

So, I went through a spiritual inquiry process, asking myself: What am I going to do? How does it feel in my body? Am I claiming all of who I am? Where are my biggest yeses right now?

I also asked, how can I help other people really tap into and understand their yeses? Because here’s what I’ve found in working with clients: especially for trauma survivors, when you’ve been told that how you feel is wrong—or that you’re making it up, or that your experience of the world isn’t real—it can skew your sense of what feels good to you. It can blur your sense of your true yeses and your nos.

Some of the most profound growth I’ve experienced—both in my own writing journey and in watching my clients—comes when they can say no, and when they can own their yeses. Sometimes that has meant clients saying no to me. Maybe they’ll say, I know you want me to do this activity, but I’m not going to. I want to try something else.

Or they’ll say, you gave me this prompt, but I did it another way. And I love it when that happens, because that’s someone claiming their agency. I want to give people more ways to do that. Because this is how we serve the world—not only by writing our stories, but by claiming the power in them, and sharing that power with others.

That’s what I wanted to lean into. I also thought about what symbols I could draw from to help me get clear. And I had to revisit my tagline, because I’ve had one for a long time—and if you’re in business, you know you need one. A tagline is simply the shortest, clearest version of what you do.

And I’d invite you—if you’re a writer, come up with a tagline for yourself. And even if you’re not a writer and you’re listening to this podcast to connect with resilience, think about what the tagline for your life might be—and how you can live into it.

Of course, I also had to ask myself the scariest question: What am I willing to give up?

Lisa Cooper Ellison [00:15:09] 

So, I thought about all these things—through the lens of simple, specific, and spiritual.

I want to start with claiming your truth—claiming all of who you are. Because when you, as a writer, do this, you set a clear path. You align with your inner compass. You use that inner wisdom to chart an authentic direction for yourself.

Let me give you some examples.

One is Tia Levings, a client of mine. She wrote A Well-Trained Wife, which became a New York Times bestseller. I am so proud of her and so excited for all she’s accomplished. She’s worked incredibly hard. Here’s how she describes her work: I shine light on the abuses of Christian fundamentalism and offer contextual insights into the true horrors of religious trauma.

Her tagline? Be Foxy, Not Fundie. (Fundie being short for “fundamentalist.”) It’s clever, and it ties beautifully into her logo—a fox. Everything works together. It’s about living into your foxy magnificence.

Another is Jeannine Ouellette, who writes the Writing in the Dark Substack and authored The Part That Burns, an award-winning memoir. Here’s her tagline: Writing saved my life, so I teach writing as if it might save yours.

So clear. So powerful.

I encourage you to think about this in your own work. What’s the clear, true, aligned statement you can make about what you do? What are your yeses?

When I looked at these examples and reflected on my own journey, here’s what I realized: I’m an alchemist.

Alchemy is transformation—turning metal into gold, one thing into another. That’s what I’ve been doing all along.

I help people transmute pain. I help them transform tough stories into art so they can live more authentically and more freely. I do this by helping them make new meaning through their writing as they shape their stories into beauty.

As a trauma-informed writing coach and as an alchemist, I care deeply about how writing changes you. I care about whether you are different as a result of telling your story. I care about that even more than whether your story gets published—though of course, I care about that too. I know publication is your goal, and it’s mine too. But what I’ve seen is that when this deeper transformation occurs, you become your most powerful self. And when that happens, you don’t just chase your goals—you achieve them.

Lisa Cooper Ellison [00:18:26]

This clarity mattered to me because, like Jeannine, I believe writing saves lives. It has saved mine many times over. But here’s the most important piece: writing has also set me free.

Free from the things that hurt me. Free from the limitations I placed on myself.

Once I got clear on all this, I asked myself: What’s my symbol?

And this was so powerful—just opening to the idea that a symbol was out there for me allowed me to recognize it when it appeared.

That symbol is the Phoenix.

I started hearing the word Phoenix a few weeks before it appeared everywhere—online, in books I was reading, in little synchronicities. The Phoenix resonates because, if you know the story, it burns, turns to ashes, and is then reborn.

It’s about fiery rebirth. About rising as your strongest, most powerful self.

This speaks to me as someone who is a triple fire sign—Aries sun, Sagittarius moon, Sagittarius rising. Fire is my element. Rising from the ashes, claiming resilience, stepping into power—that’s me.

So, the Phoenix is my new symbol. My new logo. And I love it.

With that clarity, I turned back to my tagline. My old tagline was Teaching writers to write stories that change lives—especially their own. And that’s true. That’s what I’ve been doing for years.

But I wanted to deepen it. To make it more specific, more spiritual, more liberating.

Lisa Cooper Ellison [00:20:27] 

So, here’s my new tagline: Write, and live, the story that sets you free.

It opens everything up in a new way. It feels expansive and alive.

So, here’s my invitation to you: if you’re beginning a project, or in the middle of one, could you choose a symbol? A logo? It doesn’t have to be fancy—just an image that grounds you and brings clarity to your work. And could you create a tagline? A compass that points toward the story you’re here to tell and the life you’re here to live.

And if you’re pivoting—what does that look like for you? Either way, you can work with these tools. But if you are pivoting, this can be a particularly powerful way to do it. And honestly, it’s also a lot of fun.

For example, I used Canva to play around with my new logo and tagline. So, use the tools you have.

Once I got clear about my new logo and tagline, I started thinking about the why. Why am I changing these things? I also asked, what will that look like?

Here’s what happened next—moments of synchronicity I didn’t realize would change me as much as they have.

Back in January, Amy Robeson—an Akashic Records master teacher—reached out about being on my podcast. I immediately felt a yes, even though I wasn’t sure how we would connect Akashic Records to writing. Because as you know, I try to keep this podcast focused: everything here has to further your resilience, your writing, or ideally both.

When Amy and I met, we discovered a deep clarity and connection. I enjoyed her so much that I took her class. Now, I’m a certified Akashic Records reader, and by the end of 2025, I’ll also be certified as an Akashic Records healer.

Lisa Cooper Ellison [00:22:44] 

This work has been fun, transformational, and surprising in the best ways. What I love about the records is that they’re always true and always surprising—holding that both/and quality that makes them such a joy to work with.

Around March, another moment of serendipity came through my inbox. Like many of you, I get a ton of emails and can’t read them all. But one stood out—from Mindy at Fairytale Social. She shares great tips about content creation for social media, and I had followed her for a while. This particular email was about how she used ChatGPT and Human Design to plan her year.

Something nudged me to open it, and through that email, I was introduced to Human Design.

Learning about my Human Design changed my life. It also changed my relationship with my husband by giving us a new framework for both our strengths as a team and the areas where we sometimes clash. Because let’s be honest—every relationship has both.

What I loved about Human Design is that it’s concrete. The Akashic Records are more ethereal—true, but less tangible. Human Design, on the other hand, offers visuals, charts, and specifics. And I love marrying the two.

Lisa Cooper Ellison [00:25:09] 

Here’s one of the most transformational insights I gained: I’ve spent so much of my life trying to prove myself—trying to prove my value. When I studied my Human Design, I discovered something huge. Some charts include channels where people can successfully prove their worth in specific ways. I don’t have those channels.

My chart literally says: You can’t prove yourself. It’s not in your design.

Instead, my work is to claim my worth every single day. To trust that what I put into the world has value. To stop overworking and over-worrying about whether I’m worthy—or whether my work is. Just claim it. Every day.

Of course, that’s easier said than done. But embracing that truth has helped me relax. It has helped me release so much striving and self-doubt.

So now, I’m excited to bring together everything I know: my expertise in trauma, mental health, and writing; my training in Human Design; and my certification in the Akashic Records. My goal is to offer these in a way that is simple, specific, and spiritual.

And the most important reason for this? To reclaim my time.

Lisa Cooper Ellison [00:27:41] 

I’ve been giving away too much time—proving myself, overcommitting, frittering it away. Now, I want to protect more of it, especially for my own writing.

A wise friend, Brett Will Taylor, said to me: If you’re going to carve out more time for yourself, you need to know what you’re going to do with it.

His invitation was to devote more of that time to my writing. And that’s my plan.

As a coach, I need to walk my talk. I can’t ask you to do what I’m unwilling to do myself. So, this pivot is about modeling what I teach. Because when I set myself free, I also set you free in the process.

So how will this work?

First, I’ll be offering Akashic Records readings for writers. Together, we can play in the records to explore your story. I did this recently with a writer, and together we discovered a fun and exciting book structure we might not have thought of otherwise.

We can also use the records to identify writing blocks, explore what’s holding you back, and open new pathways forward.

Second, I’m creating a course called Human Design for Writers. I’m thrilled about this because it allows me to customize coaching in an even more specific way.

By understanding someone’s design, I can tailor strategies to fit them. Not just what works for me, but what works for their unique way of operating.

Lisa Cooper Ellison [00:30:35] 

This has been a revelation for me—realizing that sometimes the strategies I love may not work for someone else. With Human Design, I can say, here’s what might work for you, even if it would never work for me.

Third, I’ll continue building safe and sacred containers where writers can do transformational work. I’ve been holding these spaces for years, and they bring me so much joy. I’ve watched writers bloom in ways I couldn’t have predicted.

This work is magical. It’s life-giving. And if you’ve been in one of these classes, you know what I mean. If this work has changed your life, I’d love for you to share your experience—whether in a YouTube comment or a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Finally, I’m excited to share that I have a collaboration coming up with Jane Friedman in 2026. I won’t say more now—you’ll hear about it later this year and next. But I’m thrilled, because I know my audience is diverse.

Some of you will be drawn to Akashic Records, Human Design, or other spiritual tools. Others may just want the nuts and bolts.

Lisa Cooper Ellison [00:32:43]

Some of you may just want the writing expertise I’ve built over the years, and I’ll be sharing that in fun and interesting ways next year. I’m really excited about that too.

So, those are some of the things I’m up to right now and will be working on in the future. But in order to do this—and this was one of the scariest parts—I had to ask myself: What am I willing to give up? What am I committed to letting go of?

Just saying that back in May made my whole-body tense. Saying it now still makes me tense. But I’m trusting it’s the right move—because deep down, I know it’s in alignment with my soul’s purpose and with the best way I can serve you.

So, number one: I’m giving up whole manuscript evaluations.

Instead, I’m training two highly capable trauma-informed writing coaches to do this work under my supervision. I’ll continue to offer them feedback and guidance, but I’m handing over manuscript evaluations so that I can focus on bigger-picture work.

I’ll still be doing book proposals—I love book proposals—but the way I approach manuscript evaluations is shifting. There are other ways I can serve you that, honestly, feel like better ways.

And if you’re looking for feedback, keep an eye out for what I’ll be offering through Jane Friedman, because that will be a wonderful opportunity.

I’ll also be bringing my supervisees onto the podcast for roundtable discussions on writing. I’m not going to reveal all the ways this could serve you just yet, but I think you’ll be excited by the opportunities for more interaction and engagement on the podcast.

And here’s another shift: while I have loved every single interview I’ve done with the wonderful writers I’ve met and supported, I’ll be limiting how many interviews I take on. Instead, I’ll be doing more solo episodes.

Here’s why. Preparing for an interview is a huge investment of time. I read the entire book, I research my guest, and I create questions. Each interview requires eight to ten hours of preparation. It has been a passion project, and I will continue to do some of them—but I now know that doing a new interview every week is not sustainable.

Lisa Cooper Ellison [00:35:44] 

So, I’ll be spacing those out, and you’ll be hearing more directly from me.

And because I want these episodes to truly serve you, I’d love to know: what topics would you like me to cover? What are you curious about? Please share your ideas with me—leave a comment on YouTube or send me a message. That way, I can shape this content to meet your needs.

So, that’s what I’ve been up to. That’s the story of my pivot. Let me wrap this up with a final note.

At the beginning of this episode, I talked about being the stone—about how the stone creates ripples. That’s the change we each make in the world. As Mother Teresa said, sometimes you’re the stone in the right pond. And sometimes you’re not.

Sometimes you’re tossing that stone into the water in a way that doesn’t create the ripples you want.

So, I invite you to pause and reflect: Where are you right now? Are you in the best-aligned place? Or is it time to pivot?

And if it’s time to pivot, how will you do it?

Lisa Cooper Ellison [00:37:15] 

Ask yourself: Are you working on the right project? If not, why not? Don’t bring judgment into it—just curiosity.

If you haven’t clearly defined what you’re doing as a writer, now might be the best time. It can strengthen your author platform, inspire articles you might write, and support every part of the writing process.

My guiding principles are simple, specific, spiritual. You might love those, but if not—what three words could serve as guiding principles for your own work?

And if you know it’s time to pivot, how can you use those principles to support your course correction, so it feels intentional and empowered?

Claim who you are in the biggest possible way. Be brave about what you’re willing to give up so that you can align with your truest purpose and the highest vision of yourself.

Think, too, about a logo or symbol that could serve as an external version of your inner compass. Create a tagline to keep you grounded in your path.

And as you do this, hold space for the fears that will naturally arise. Because change is scary. It takes us into the unknown—and our brains crave certainty. But the unknown also holds the incredible, the amazing, the unexpectedly beautiful.

I’ll be sharing a bonus article for my paid Substack subscribers with more details about my process. So, if you’d like to dive deeper, you can subscribe at lisacooperellison.substack.com—the link is in the show notes. Paid subscribers will also receive other exciting bonuses over the coming year.

I began this episode vulnerably, admitting my tendency to prove myself. And as I wrap up, I want to return to that heart-centered truth.

This change excites me, but it also stirs up fear—the urge to keep proving myself. And honestly, not changing feels safer. Easier. Because the status quo has worked externally, even if it hasn’t worked for my time or energy.

Lisa Cooper Ellison [00:40:49] 

But here’s what I know: if I don’t follow my own path, I won’t be happy. I won’t be my full self.

And being out of alignment doesn’t just hurt my time or my mental health—it impacts my body. I know this from experience, because when I had Lyme disease, Epstein-Barr, and mold illness, I learned just how deeply misalignment can affect health.

So now, as I recover from my MCL injury, I’m paying attention. This is my opportunity to course correct. Because I don’t have anything to prove. My only responsibility is to be of highest service—to you, and to myself.

And I’ve learned that when I serve myself well, I serve the collective even more powerfully.

Lisa Cooper Ellison [00:43:09] 

So, here’s my final word: It has been an absolute joy to have so many of you on this journey with me. I look forward to serving you in new and exciting ways. Thank you for all the support you’ve given over the years—some of you for five, six, even seven years or more. It has been such a gift.

My deepest wish is that the work we’ve done together, and the work yet to come, will set you free.

Peace, love, and blessings to you, my friends. Until next week, know this: you are worth it. And I see all of who you are.