We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Diane Wyzga. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Diane below.

Hi Diane, thanks for joining us today. We believe kindness is contagious and so we’d love for you to share with us and our audience about the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?

Be very careful what you ask for. Some years ago I asked Grace for a clean slate. I got it. In the space of 9 months I lost my mom to a cancer mis-diagnosis, my marriage to my spouse’s betrayal, and my law firm position to a merger. That collective experience was enough to snap me like a dried twig. And I stayed that way for a good long while.

What changed? A friend of a friend heard that I was a storyteller. She needed a keynote speaker. We met for lunch. I felt I didn’t have it in me to be the keynoter she wanted. She saw something different.

Here’s what she told me: “I understand that you’ve been walking around in the Valley of Death; but that stops now. Scripture says we are supposed to walk through the Valley of Death. Scripture says nothing about building a brick house, adding a little picket fence and a garden. Starting now you are walking through. I’ll meet you on the other side.”

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Who Am I & Where Did I Come From: The arc of my professional career stretches from serving as US Navy nurse, corporate businesswoman, speaker, educator, lawyer, litigation consultant, podcaster, and storyteller. The other arc is that of a journeying woman who backpacked across Europe, mountain-climbed the Canadian Rockies, learned to fly a plane, walked the Camino de Santiago on a pilgrimage of 500 miles across Spain, and more.

For 30 years, I’ve helped professionals take their story from a message only they could hear to the publishing world, the courtroom, hospitals, board meetings, the airwaves, and more. Stories that swayed juries. Built markets. Spread ideas. Changed things.

Today I help women find the words they didn’t know they had to tell the most consequential story of their life: their Origin Story revealing how they got from There to Here.

Why? So you experience your journey in a tangible form, delve into Your Who before Your Why, summon your full potential, confidently connect with and engage your vision, create a roadmap to follow, and enliven your audience to action while transforming the lives of those you serve. When a woman learns to say, “Hear me! I know the truth!” we need to pay attention because women’s voices are creating new worlds we can thrive in as a community of belonging. This is the place where the story changes!

What problems do I solve: I help empower women to shape and share their Origin Stories through a mix of self-guided learning, personalized coaching and production assistance. For example:

“Are you a mid-career professional looking to build greater visibility and impact? My services help experienced women clarify ideas, shape their origin stories and amplify their messages/ voices.”

“With years behind you, imagine what’s still ahead when we unlock your personal brand. Let’s uncover your expertise and create platforms to share your wisdom.”

“This is the moment to recreate your career narrative – to rediscover your talents and rewrite your next chapter. My services will inspire self-reflection and bold action.”

“Take command of your reputation and ideas. My coaching and services will help you become the authoritative, magnetic speaker and leader you know you can be.”

“Picture your ideas transforming into powerful presentations, your story shaping your website, your voice resonating from stages. I’ll help manifest this vision.”

The key is focusing on inner potential and our partnership in bringing their desired future into reality; it’s a collaborative journey.

What sets me apart as a podcasting, storytelling origin story co-creator is this: No one can teach anyone how to be a storyteller; although there are many who claim to be able to do just that. But there are people who can teach you how to teach yourself to be a storyteller. I am one of them. I help women discover, create and deliver their Origin Story in their own words, their own voice, their own power, and most importantly the spirit of who they are.

What am I most proud of?

Quarter Moon Story Arts website (https://www.quartermoonstoryarts.net] is visually stunning and inviting creating a safe, imaginative place for women to work.

My Every Now and Again NewsAudioLetter [https://www.quartermoonstoryarts.net/hire-me/subscribe/] is distinctive because it’s an audio format only encouraging subscribers to slow down, listen, learn.

My podcast, Stories From Women Who Walk with daily 60 Seconds [https://www.stories-from-women-who-walk.simplecast.com/episodes] with over 1,000 episodes, a robust global audience, and meaningful messages served daily in a uniquely concise format

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Life handed me a 180-degree pivot from this to that. In the space of 9 months in the early 2000’s I lost my mom to a cancer mis-diagnosis, my marriage to my spouse’s betrayal, and my law firm position to a merger. That collective experience was enough to snap me like a dried twig. And I stayed that way for a good long while. I was barely making ends meet. I had no idea what to do or how to do it.

I was driving past a local farm stand with a Help Wanted sign out front. I knew I needed help so I applied for the job. Before I knew it I was working in a farm stand. Gaining some courage and confidence I applied to teach a semester-long storytelling course at a local university. Before I knew it I was teaching professionals the art and science of storytelling. Some of my students were trial attorneys who felt uncomfortable in the courtroom. Teaching them I learned that other trial attorneys suffered from the same thing: how to tell a heartfelt and effective story about their plaintiff client in the courtroom. Before I knew it I was teaching more trial attorneys.

Over time I became very good at what I did. So good that I founded a litigation consulting practice to help plaintiff litigators tell their clients’ stories to the triers of fact: judges and juries. My practice grew until it was nationally recognized. I served in that role for a dozen years.

You can say it’s a metaphorical rags to riches story. I believe that I was led to help good people do good work while healing myself. It took me 2 years to go from farm stand to litigation consultant; but along the way I learned how to be of use with a Servant’s Heart.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Building your audience is really simple: human connection and conscious marketing. Meet people. Ask them what they need. Ask them what problem they have. Find ways you can help. Build relationships. Remember to put people over profit.

My motto is Each One Lift One. It works. Guaranteed.

Find your own way of building an audience. Lots of options and platforms out there. You don’t have to do it all. Find the one(s) that resonates with you and build on that. I’m on LinkedIn. That’s it.

And, I created a podcast. I enjoy creative work, clarifying my ideas, amplifying my messages, and putting good words into the world. I have a global audience with over 170,000 downloads and I’m in the top 3% of podcasts worldwide.

Admit what you don’t know and ask for help, for a hand up.

Little by little. Enjoy what you do because life is shorter than you think.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.quartermoonstoryarts.net
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diane-f-wyzga-QMSA
• Youtube: in development
• Other: Stories From Women Who Walk podcast: https://www.stories-from-women-who-walk.simplecast.com/episodes

Image Credits
logo by Design: Eliza Young, Design Intense