We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Liv James a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Liv thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Oh, man…risk taking can be so scary, but when you’re being called to step out, you have to follow that prompting. For me, that came in 2019 after a major surgery that had me totally bedridden for over 3 months with another 9 months of recovery to follow. I took those few months to truly seek the Lord on what to do next with my life. I had been working as a Social Media Marketing Manager (plus the other 5+ hats you wear when you work in Social) since 2014 and I felt like there was more, but I didn’t know what that was. That period of time where I was totally out of commission was used to grow me in ways I never could have imagined and that’s when I felt God calling me to start the podcast.

I didn’t know what this podcast would look like, how it would get done, if anyone would listen, etc., but I knew that I needed to take the risk and do what was on my heart. Since then, so much has happened that I never could have seen coming; I’ve interviewed some dream guests, gotten some amazing opportunities, learned new skills, and so on. Now LIV, LAUGH, WHAT? (formerly DUDE, I LOVE THAT) is over 100 episodes in and I’m so excited to see where the podcast will be in another 100!

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?

Yes, of course! My name is Liv and I’m the host of LIV, LAUGH, WHAT? I started my podcast in 2019 and since then, I’ve been diving into common struggles we face as 20-somethings and how to deal with those struggles, conducting interviews with subject matter experts as part of my “WHOA, YOU’RE QUALIFIED” series, and breaking down personality type psychology via popular TV shows and movies as I type the characters from those projects.

I think what I’m most proud of with LIV, LAUGH, WHAT? is that throughout all of the peaks and valleys in my life over the last 4 years, the podcast has been the one thing I loved to do no matter what and is that thing I feel 100% called to do in this season of life. Growing up, I did professional voice acting and later started up my YouTube channel, which I loved, but neither of those arenas felt like “mine,” if that makes sense? Podcasting allows me to enjoy such an expansive creative process, while having the opportunity to share information that encourages and educates listeners, no matter what stage of life they’re in.

As to your question about what sets me and LIV, LAUGH, WHAT? apart, I believe that this show provides a little something for everyone through the interviews, while also going deep when it comes to the hallmark aspects of what the show was built on, like culture and faith. As much as I love to have fun, I also take myself and this show seriously. As a personality types expert (certified in 2022, practicing since 2019), I bring a unique view to the table when it comes to addressing hot topics and looking at popular TV and film characters through personality psychology. Lastly, my goal really is to allow listeners to be championed in their current walk of life, which is why I love guest/interview episodes! Not only do I personally reach out to each guest, but I spend time cultivating an array of topics to dive into (that they haven’t dug into before in previous interviews) that will encourage the listeners and make them say “wow, if they walked through all to get there and came out okay, I can too.”

The podcast has definitely been through some ebbs and flows over the last few years, but every time I sit down in front of the mic (and usually camera) to record, it’s like I’m getting to hang out for the next 30 minutes with my friends who are just as obsessed with these topics as I am!

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

This is such a good question! One thing that may be difficult to understand if you aren’t working in a creative space is that it can feel like once you’ve decided on “x,” you have to stick with it, but that’s a total farce! In a lot of scenarios, YOU are your brand. It would be silly if a human never changed as they learned more and got older, right? That’s the same way it is for their brand!

For example, I recently changed my podcast name from DUDE, I LOVE THAT to LIV, LAUGH, WHAT?, which I felt was a more accurate “brand name” for where I’m headed with the podcast. I started the podcast when I was 21 (almost 22) and now I’m 26. I have certainly grown a lot as a person since I started this journey and I know my listeners have, too. If I’m being honest, when I first started out, I wanted to do a brand like this, but was nervous to interject my name for fear of sounding conceded. What I ended up finding out years later was that in reality, people wanted to have a connection between my name and my project.

Sometimes you need to throw out the imaginary “rule book” and learn to trust your instincts.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Yes! My goal is always to have valuable conversations that leave the listener more energized and encouraged than when they clicked “play.”

Sharing about struggles, lessons learned, and my takeaways from those experiences have actually been some of the most downloaded episodes. Knowing that what I’ve walked through can impact someone outside of myself is beyond worth the difficult times. The other thing that’s really fun about the podcast is that by having guests on, they can share impactful stories on their success journey, walking through highs and lows, shifting their mindset, etc., that I’ve never gone through, but very well may be exactly what someone listening is experiencing and it totally speaks to them. That’s what this whole thing is about!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @heyitslivjames and @livlaughwhatpod
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@livlaughwhatpod/videos
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/3qG79KyMRPJGaB2vum9ArM https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/liv-laugh-what-culture-personality-types-and-faith/id1473078142 https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/livlaughwhat