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JOY Unfiltered: Joy is the strategy
Joy Unfiltered is the podcast where joy gets real, grounded, and useful.
Hosted by Rachel Bents, author of Joy Is the Strategy, this show explores joy not as a reward you earn, but as a practical strategy for living, leading, and feeling better in real life.
Each week, you’ll hear honest conversations, solo reflections, and guest episodes that unpack how joy impacts leadership, wellbeing, resilience, mindset, and connection without bypassing hard things or pretending life is perfect.
This podcast is also the heartbeat of two growing movements:
📘 Joy Is the Strategy (the book)
A deeper exploration of how joy works, why it matters, and how choosing it can change your life and leadership.
✨ The Joy Project
A global, joy-first community built on connection, conversation, and collective momentum.
If you’re tired of hustle culture, burned out on forced positivity, or curious what changes when joy becomes the way forward, you’re in the right place.
Joy isn’t the reward.
It’s the strategy.
JOY Unfiltered: Joy is the strategy
From Lived Experience to Lasting Legacy with Dinah LaPrairie
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
What if the book inside you isn’t about becoming an author… but about becoming clearer, braver, and more impactful?
In this episode, I sit down with certified book coach Dinah LaPrairie, who helps everyday experts transform their lived and professional experience into big-hearted nonfiction and memoir. Dinah works with writers who feel called to share their wisdom, spark change, or leave something meaningful behind.
With a deeply reader-centered approach and rich editorial experience, Dinah guides writers from fuzzy idea to focused message, from scattered notes to solid structure. She helps authors clarify what they really want to say, shape it into something readers can receive, and stay accountable from first draft to final plan.
This conversation is for anyone who has ever thought:
- I think I have a book in me…
- Where would I even start?
- Does my story matter?
- How do I turn experience into something cohesive?
Dinah reminds us that writing a book is not just about publishing. It’s about purpose. It’s about contribution. It’s about possibility.
We also explore the practice of delight, creative courage, and what it means to write in the margins of real life.
In This Episode, We Talk About:
- Why “everyday experts” are exactly who the world needs
- The difference between having a story and shaping a message
- The power of accountability and structure in creative work
- The role of delight in sustaining long-term creative energy
- How to know if your book idea has the heart and heat to grow
Connect with Dinah LaPrairie
📚 The Book Case – Dinah’s Substack publication
One of her regular features is 3 Small Items of Great Delight, where she explores the practice of delight in everyday life.
(You can read her first post describing the inspiration behind this series there.)
✍️ Writing What’s Possible – A Skool community
A supportive space for nonfiction and memoir writers who are writing in the margins of real life.
🔥 The Book Spark Test – Free Downloadable Worksheet
Wondering if your book idea has the heart, heat, and purpose to grow?
This worksheet includes five coaching-style prompts to help you explore your idea and take your first step.
Why This Conversation Matters
So many people carry wisdom. Fewer feel qualified to share it. Dinah’s work sits at that intersection of courage and craft, helping thoughtful humans turn experience into impact.
If you’ve ever felt the nudge to write something meaningful, this episode may be the permission slip you didn’t know you were waiting for.
Connect with Rachel
