“Early on in that we noticed that there are so many people in the blind and visually impaired community that are underrepresented in the respect of entertainment, both as an entertainer and as the consumer. The only products they have are descriptive videos on Netflix or something like that. And so they can’t get the exact same experience as the sighted world when they’re dealing with forms of entertainment. So we shifted our focus to the blind and visually impaired market, both as people who could assist us in making these audio dramas, our stories, more original, as well as sound-designing these things in a 360-degree or surround sound way so that those whose world is nothing but sound, they really could enjoy it in a way that was meant just for them.” -- Micah Thomas

This episode’s guest is a twenty-plus year content creator, armed with a Master’s Degree in Internet Marketing and a BA in Media Communications who’s found the right content to pour his energy into…sound. This father of six and husband of one has worked as a jack-of-all-trades in media but has become a master of audio and storytelling with his company Storymore. As a person with low vision, he has a passion for telling great stories in the best way he can, which led him to form a global group that’s disrupting the audio entertainment industry with its accomplishments. Chief among them is providing a platform that equalizes the playing field for those with visual disabilities.

His name is Micah Thomas, and our discussion covers a variety of topics, from audio dramas and music to how AI is changing both those industries. I think you’ll really enjoy his insights!

As always, if you have questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find a lot of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available and what the newest audio chats will be about. If you’re getting some value from listening, the best ways to show your support are to share this podcast with a friend and leave an honest review. Both those things really help – and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts.

(0:00:00) – The Power of Audio Entertainment

We start things off with a trip down memory lane as Micah recalls the radio plays and adaptations that helped inspire his career in sound. “The stories captivated me,” he tells us, “because of the voice actors and how real they sounded, and I think that’s the first time via audio that it actually brought tears to my eyes.” We talk about how Storymore uses sound production to bring stories to life for blind and visually impaired listeners, and we listen to a clip from the Storymore original suspense tale Barley. “We had one guy that said the sound was so good,” he says, “that ‘I had to literally turn my head. I thought someone was entering the room because I heard a door open behind me.’”

(0:12:47) - AI Impact on Audio Entertainment

The conversation turns to AI and how it’s opening up new creative possibilities while leaving room for a human touch at Storymore, and Micah shares with us both the cover art and a sound clip of the Storymore original mystery Alibi. “There’s just no way,” Micah explains, “at this point in time, especially, that AI can reach the levels and depths of emotion and her mental state that she’s in to provide this type of performance.” We also discuss the difference between audible dramas and traditional audiobooks, and the storytelling power of sound. “It allows you the opportunity to point your own cameras,” he tells us,...

“It’s definitely an important aspect of our lives, and we can start with a small thing, just, like, when you feel that something’s odd, just pause for a second and ask yourself what exactly is off. Is it the music? Is it the feeling? Is it, is there a physical need? Like, literally just pause it for a second and ask yourself this question. And it’s important, but not a lot of us are used to it.” -- Anna Bohuslavska

This episode is the second half of my conversation with transformation coach and inner guide Anna Bohuslavska as we discuss how both positive and negative emotions can be contagious, her experience with music’s healing power, and how sound can help restore our connection to nature.

As always, if you have questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find a lot of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available and what the newest audio chats will be about. If you’re getting some value from listening, the best ways to show your support are to share this podcast with a friend and leave an honest review. Both those things really help – and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts.

(0:00:00) - Power of Music and Voice Healing

The second half of our talk begins with Anna’s reflections on how music can spread emotions and connect us to one another. “The same happens at the concert,” she explains, “because, like, there’s a crowd and everyone really is in their emotions and you pick up on this emotion, and it’s like becoming one huge human being instead of every single one.” We also talk about the surprising impact vocal exercises can have on everything from building confidence to overcoming negative thought patterns, and her firsthand experience with its benefits. “Most of our way,” she says, “how we talk, our intonations, our high or low, everything is connected to the people around us, and it’s basically the habits that we picked up early in childhood and that we carry on in the life.”

(0:06:01) - Finding Connection Through Sound & Music

Anna also shares how her own experience with music and dance has guided the way she helps clients reconnect with themselves. “I took the dance classes,” she recalls, “I did all the moves, but when I now look at those old recordings, I see that I didn’t feel the music.” She explains how the power of sound can help guide our lives. “Ask yourself what exactly is off,” she explains. “Is it the music, is it the feeling? Is there a physical need? Literally, just pause it for a second and ask yourself this question.”

(0:18:35) - Inner Potential

Our discussion comes to a close as Anna shares her upcoming projects and community developments, and how we can get in touch with her. “I’m focusing on building my community,” she says, “and I’m working on launching my group program because I know that one-on-one is important for a lot of people, but there are a lot of people who need this sense of community.” She also tells us how sound can help us become our best selves: “I’m a strong believer that every single one of us has this inner potential to be the best person they dream of, and all it takes is to create the right surroundings.”

Episode Summary

• How music and voice can influence our emotions and help foster deeper relationships.
• Connecting with ourselves through voice training and discovering our inner music.
• Sound’s link to the natural world, and some of Anna’s current and upcoming...

“If you play on an instrument for a while, for example, every day for a week, for example, or something like that, you will start noticing that you have your own melody that you will play over and over again. And it could be that the melody changes while your emotion changes. It can be that, just the speed of the melody will change. But basically, you will have your own melody, and it’s interesting to see how it evolves through the time.” -- Anna Bohuslavska

This episode’s guest is a transformational coach and inner guide who’s helping women bring joy and fulfillment to their everyday lives. She’s a mother of two, a craft maniac, and a dance lover. She’s been passionate about psychology for as long as she can remember, and she’s been fortunate enough to learn from some of the greatest minds of our day while employing her own holistic approach to well-being. She seamlessly blends together coaching techniques, art therapy, mindfulness, and more.

Her name is Anna Bohuslavska, and our conversation is all about using sound for healing. If this is an interest of yours, I hope you’ll give this one a listen – it’s a very inspirational discussion!

As always, if you have questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find a lot of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available and what the newest audio chats will be about. If you’re getting some value from listening, the best ways to show your support are to share this podcast with a friend and leave an honest review. Both those things really help – and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts.

(0:00:00) - Inner Work and Music Therapy Evolution

As our discussion starts, Anna talks about how the birth of her son inspired her to learn more about the psychology of sound, and how her work led to a community of like-minded women. “That’s why I started searching for other sources of information,” she explains, “and I was happy to find an online community that was all about parenting, and I felt like this is what will help me.” We discuss sound’s ability to tap into our deepest emotions and memories, and music therapy’s role in boosting our mood and broadening our perspective. “It’s about listening,” Anna says, “it’s about moving under the sound, it’s all this spectrum. But it helps a lot, and the simplest thing that I advise every single of my clients is to just, like, know what different types of music move you in different directions.”

(0:16:44) - Musical Evolution and Personal Expression

We continue with the story of Anna’s journey from Ukraine and around the world to her home in Texas, and her secret to getting in touch with our own inner melody. “If you play on an instrument for a while,” she tells us, “you will start noticing that you have your own melody, that you will play over and over again, and it could be that the melody changes while your emotion changes... basically, you will have your own melody, and it’s interesting to see how it evolves through the time.”

Episode Summary

• Music’s influence on our lives, and how it can help us overcome past traumas.
• Anna’s journey from Ukraine to Texas, and the cognitive impact of creating music.

Tune in for part two of my conversation with Anna as we discuss how background sounds, even the sound of our own voice in our ears, can influence our daily lives, how vocal exercises can help forge a deeper connection with ourselves, and her advice for...