Island Boy J Music hello friends.

Welcome to Activate, a podcast consisting of purposeful conversations aimed at encouraging listeners to embrace both the beauty and chaos of life.

I'm KB and I can't wait to share valuable insights on health, fitness, nutrition, aging, faith, family, and everything in between to help you level up and activate your life.

I'm a former network marketing hater turned top leader in my industry.

I'm a certified life and nutrition coach, helping women to break the same chains.

That once kept me stuck.

I'm so happy you're here.

Let's do this.

Hello friends.

Happy Monday.

How are we?

I hope you're great.

I am.

Good.

Good.

It is.

It is Wednesday evening as I record this.

It is deadline day and I told myself I cannot go eat my dinner that I really want until I get this podcast recorded for you.

So here I am, showing up, getting it done.

I'm always so proud of myself when I get it done on the day of deadline or before, which should just really be the lowest bar.

But sometimes, I don't know, my creative juices run dry and it's a challenge to get get it in by Wednesday.

But here we are doing it and I'm so glad you're here.

Today we're going to do a little.

A little Activate podcast.

State of the Union last week was so fun for me to record.

I so enjoyed the Q and A.

I want to keep that going.

I want to do that again.

So if you ever have a question for me, just DM me, text me, whatever, however we communicate so that I can keep a running list of listener questions and then we can circle back to a little Q A episode because that was actually very enjoyable for me.

And who knew you don't actually have to prepare for a podcast where you're just answering questions about yourself.

So that was also a blessing.

So thank you to everyone who submitted questions.

I hope that you got a chance to listen to that and that you found some value in it or just enjoyed it.

So let's talk.

Okay, so I've shared with you that I started this brand building coaching course, whatever you want to call it, at the end of March, I guess it was.

And it was a scary.

It was a big old leap of faith and a lot of money when I wasn't making any and just a little nerve wracking, I honestly, I had buyer's remorse like immediately after I pushed send on my payment because it was a scary number.

So the cool thing is that since then I've been really just plugging into what Brand builders has to offer.

And I've been pleasantly surprised and I've gotten a lot already out of, out of their offerings.

So I'm really excited about that.

My goal with doing this was to create a personal brand, number one, because even as I shared with you all recently about Modere just closing their doors after 23 years in business with no prior warning to their affiliates or to their corporate team, just they had a paycheck and then they didn't.

They ended up not getting paid for an entire month and a half of work that they did, product that they sold, no commissions were paid, and that's horrible.

So I don't ever want to back myself into a corner where one, that could happen to me and two, it's just so important to build your brand around yourself because like, I'm not going anywhere.

So if I build a brand around myself, I can, you know, change what it is that I'm doing.

The brand is me.

So I wanted to figure that out and I also wanted to make the things that I do cohesive.

So I have Activate podcasts, I have my nutrition coaching business and I have Make Wellness and then I have CrossFit coaching as well.

But I felt that they'd become so kind of like fragmented as Activate as, you know, has become all about Jesus.

And then my Instagram tend to air on the side of a little Jesus, but a lot of fitness, wellness, health, nutrition, things like that.

So, you know, I felt like none of these things really made sense together and I wanted to, to make them into a real life grown up business.

Because if you know me, I'm just someone who all these years I just been throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks.

I've not done anything like quote unquote, how you are supposed to do it.

Nothing has been done the right way.

I just, I just take messy action and then sometimes it stays messy, unfortunately.

And that's kind of what I've done with my businesses.

So for instance, Activate, I invite a guest on Activate, right?

And they might be a podcaster or someone who is on lots and lots of podcasts and they will send me back.

Absolutely.

Send me a calendar invite and I'll email you my media kit.

And I'm instantly like, do what?

Do what?

Like, my calendar is from Amazon and it's on my coffee table.

And what even is a media kit?

Like, I'm so unprofessional in all of this.

You have, you, you have no idea.

Um, so I wanted to become more professional.

So last Friday I signed up for this full day intensive podcasting workshop.

It was also Jonathan's 50th birthday on Friday.

So he.

He blessed me with the ability to be able to do this by being a person who literally does not care about their birthday and looks at it like any other day.

So, so I was able to sign up for this intensive training from 10 to 6 last Friday.

So I wanted to figure out how to, like, be like one of these people who wanted.

Who.

Who had a calendar link and a media kit and advertisers and a website, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, all the things that, like, professionals have.

I guess I was feeling insecure and like, I'm not good enough.

Surprise, surprise.

So the course ended up being five people plus one instructor, and the other people were either very new to podcasting or were working through their kind of concepts for what they wanted their new podcast to look like.

So as I listened to the instructor coaching the other podcasters, the Holy Spirit guys, the Holy Spirit gave me an idea and I immediately just started frantically writing all of these ideas down.

And when I tell you, you could not have wiped the smile off my face or extinguish the excitement that came out of me.

I was so filled with excitement and just.

I just.

It was so clear that this was not me, this was the Holy Spirit.

My goal here was to simply be more professional and run these things like a business, and God had other plans.

So, having said all that, I'm so excited to share with you that a full rebrand of Activate Podcast is currently in the works.

There's lots to share, and I'm gonna share a little of it today, and I'm gonna keep a little of it a secret, but there's going to be a new name, a new look, there's gonna be giveaways and a new theme song and more guests and swag.

We are going to have just all the things, a whole new life for this podcast.

Activate has served me so well, and hopefully you, because that's the whole goal.

I hope that Activate has served you well, but I feel like I've outgrown the concept of Activate your life and get unstuck from a less than life.

Right?

Like, these are what.

These are kind of the concepts that I built Activate around.

And so much has changed.

I do this on my own now.

No co host.

And the focus of what I share has changed.

And, you know, I think that is a really, really good thing.

I have felt a little scared.

I'm going off the notes here.

I'VE felt a little scared that I'm, I'm.

I'm pushing people away by how much I'm talking about God and salvation and the enemy and all of these things.

And I know for me, there are things where I don't.

I immediately, like, say it's a.

A tick tock pops up and it's about, like, maybe it's about your kids playing too many video games, like what that's doing or the dangers of YouTube for children.

And instead of, like, instead of.

Or that book, the Anxious Generation.

I bought that book because I think it would be so valuable, but it is so convicting to me because all of my kids have had this video game addiction and they've spent a lot of time online and I don't even want to hear it or read it because once you hear it, you can't unhear it.

And I feel so convicted and so afraid to hear all the things that maybe I've done wrong.

And I don't ever want you to feel that way about tuning into this podcast.

And so I feel like there's this fine line, but I also feel this calling on my life to share what the Holy Spirit is giving me to share with you all.

So I.

I feel so aligned with this new vision and I can't wait to share it with you because ultimately I do this for you and I also couldn't do this without you.

So ahead of this course that I took, I asked my producer, Jason to tell me the numbers.

I never ask about the numbers because ultimately I don't care how many people listen.

I don't care.

This has always been about.

This is a passion project of mine.

I show up because I love it and I love you.

And the feedback I've gotten is that you love it, too.

And so I just continue to show up.

It is truly just something in my life that I loved.

So I don't care about the numbers.

But I felt like it was a question I might get asked.

And in trying to look slightly professional, I felt like I should probably know.

So I literally braced myself for disappointment after I asked him that question.

And over a fear that, again, all my talk about Jesus had turned some of my audience away.

Well, to my surprise, the numbers have stayed the same.

So they have.

I have not grown.

I have not gotten smaller.

I've.

I've stayed the same, which was such a blessing for me to hear.

And the other cool thing to put that into perspective for myself was I asked my husband about our church and I'm like, how Many people show up each week to our church, and he told me the number, and I was just kind of awestruck because the number of people that show up here every single week is four times the number that, like, my pastor gets to preach to every single week.

And that is such a responsibility.

And.

And I feel so grateful.

And I look at all these things because this is what I do.

It's like me comparing my income to Jonathan's.

It's like, not comparable.

And so I do this too.

I'm like, well, Joe Rogan, like, dude, you don't gotta compare yourself to the number one podcast in the world.

Okay?

It's fine.

So it gave me really great perspective on really the impact that I can have.

And again, God showed me at the beginning of the year that my success is not in dollars.

It is an impact.

And.

And so that really, really excited me.

So I also looked up some stats.

So in 2025, there are 4.4 million podcasts and there are 505 million listeners of podcasts.

Like, that is incredible.

Imagine the opportunity a podcaster has to reach the masses.

That is absolutely wild to me.

But the even cooler part is that only 22,000, 542 now, all these numbers can change probably depending on where you're looking, but have over 200 episodes.

We are approaching 300 episodes here.

Somewhere around 600,000 of those have had new content in the last 90 days.

So we've had a ton of new content in the last 90 days.

I show up here every single Monday.

So that means that Activate is in the top 0.51% of podcasts for a number of episodes, and we're in the top 5% of all podcasts for monthly downloads.

What?

Top 5%?

That's an A.

That's 95%.

That is something I would never have known or absolutely never have thought was possible or that I could possibly be.

I don't know.

It's not a big deal.

I'm not, like, tooting my own horn, but that's so cool that you guys have sustained this for so long, and I'm so grateful and feel so blessed and even more so, just so excited for what's coming and what we're going to get to do here together.

So here's the other thing about me that you probably won't be surprised to hear.

So I have convinced myself that God has kept this community small because it's safe.

So even though I said I didn't say the number, I'm not.

I'm not Going to.

It's still a small number.

We are a small group of people.

However, it was cool to see what the statistics show, right?

So I convinced myself that God has kept this community small to really to keep me safe from mean people on the Internet because I do not do well with Internet hate.

It's like 9, 11 for me.

I still remember exactly where I was the first time a troll came after me on the Internet after a podcast episode.

It did not feel good.

It absolutely ruined my day.

Absolutely ruined my day.

It was so hard for me to deal with.

So I also know that I haven't done the work to grow the podcast out of this same fear.

Like, I'm like, what if like something goes viral, clip goes viral on TikTok and I'm not prepared for all these people to come after me.

But God has given me a powerful testimony and I feel, I truly feel a divine calling on my life to share.

And it means no more playing small because it's not for me anymore, it's for him.

It is such a bigger purpose than me.

In the Bible, Peter tells us to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night and day difference he he made for you.

I am to be a witness and share what God has done for me.

So as long as there's an unbeliever in my stratosphere, I will keep sharing.

I believe with all my heart that the eternal salvation of a single soul is more important than anything else I will ever accomplish in this life.

So I want to share something that.

It was actually in my email this morning, randomly.

I don't ever open these, but it was a devotion and I just want to read it to you.

So it starts that Sunday evening.

The disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders.

Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them.

Peace be with you, he said.

As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side.

They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord.

If we were feeling.

I'm sorry.

If we were telling the origin story of the Christian church, this would be a compelling first scene.

A handful of Jesus's followers hiding behind closed doors, shell shocked, confused and too scared to show their faces in public.

Suddenly, the risen Jesus miraculously appears in the flesh, victorious over sin and death, confirming the truth of everything he taught and promised them.

At some point, either while Jesus was in the room or after he left, the truth must have dawned on them.

If the one they served is more powerful than sin and death, then one they had nothing to fear.

And two, the world needed to know.

We see their newfound boldness and sense of purpose in the passages that follow.

That's the power of the resurrection.

Armed with that power, this small group of believers changed the world.

And most of them sacrificed their lives to do it.

According to church tradition, Peter took the Gospel to Pontus Galatia.

Just so you know, I don't know how to pronounce most of these words.

And that is not a prerequisite for sharing about Jesus.

Thank God.

Bithynia, Cappadocia and Asia.

He was crucified upside down because he told his executioners that he wasn't worthy of being crucified in the same manner as Jesus.

Andrew spread the Gospel through what is now Russia, Turkey and Greece.

He too was crucified.

Thomas wasn't present when Jesus first appeared to the disciples in John 20, and he doubted their story.

But when Jesus appeared again and Thomas saw him, his doubts disappeared.

He took the good news of Jesus's resurrection all the way to India.

He died after being impaled by the spears of four soldiers.

Philip spread the Gospel in North Africa, in Asia Minor, after he converted the wife of a Roman official.

The official had him put to death.

Matthew, the tax collector, traveled to Persia and Ethiopia to spread Jesus message.

He was stabbed to death.

Bartholomew accompanied Thomas to India and also shared the Gospel in Armenia, Ethiopia and southern Arabia.

He was crucified.

James, the son of Alpha Alphaeus, shared the good news of Christ throughout Syria.

He was stoned and then clubbed to death.

Simon took the gospel to Persia.

He was put to death there when he refused to make a sacrifice to the Son to the Sun God.

Matthias was the man chosen to replace Judas Iscariot.

He shared the Gospel in Syria, where he was burned to death.

John is believed to be the only disciple who died a natural death.

He was exiled to the colony of Patmos.

The Apostle Paul traveled extensively to share the Gospel.

He was beheaded in Rome.

The Apostle John ended his gospel with these words.

Jesus also did many other things.

If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.

Among the many other things was the impact Jesus had on a small group of ordinary people.

He changed their lives forever.

And in turn, they changed the world in his name.

As Jesus followers, we're still called to change the world one life at a time.

We have good news to share the best news.

In fact, if we're faithful to our calling, we can impact lives for eternity.

I felt like that summed up exactly what I've been feeling and exactly what I want this podcast to be and what I want the new and improved version.

I can't wait to share with you the name that the Lord gave me that the Holy Spirit put in my heart for this next iteration of.

Of this podcast.

So thank you for being here.

I truly, obviously could not do this without you.

I show up here for you and I show up here for me, too.

But I can't be afraid of persecution or judgment or, you know, Internet trolls, because all I'm doing, all I'm wanting to do is share the truth of what Jesus did and offer the gift, the free gift of salvation with every single one of you.

And if I could ask one thing of you, it would be that you would pick an episode that you loved that resonated with you or that made you think of someone else in your life and share that episode with them.

Share it.

You can share it in your stories on social media and tag the person.

You can text them the.

The link to the podcast.

It would.

It's just the most simple way that we can get the word out to more people.

And I just pray that you would.

You would take the time to share an episode of Activate.

Maybe it's my testimony.

I would love for you to share my testimony with anyone who could be moved by it.

I am so eternally grateful for all of you and I hope that one day we're all going to be in heaven together.

And I love you and I thank you.

I hope you have the most wonderful week.

Later.

That's a wrap on another episode of Activate.

Stay up to date by following Hristenleighballard on Instagram.

And if this episode made you laugh, offered value, or simply entertained you, please, like, share and give a five star review on itunes.

Thanks for being here.

Love y'all.