For our inaugural episode The Empower Podcast, it may seem strange that we’d interview someone known more for cooking than for budgeting. Yet, as soon as you start listening to Kenji’s story, you’ll see the connection. Kenji López-Alt had a start in cooking that is probably similar to what many of us face when we’re put in charge of our own financial lives. In his award-winning cookbook, The Food Lab, Kenji describes his early culinary mishaps, “The one time I did exert myself in the kitchen, I produced a batch of what I thought were some pretty awesome almond tuiles coated in chocolate and filled with raspberry preserves. Being the incurable romantic that I am, I’d slaved over them for my high school girlfriend for Valentine’s Day, see? Turns out she wasn’t as into romantic nerds as I thought she was. I got dumped on Valentine’s Day, her dad ate the tuiles, and my fledgling cooking career was put on hiatus.” He spoke too soon. Kenji’s path from that point in high school, through his time at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and various cooking jobs, to where he is now is a story that will resonate with everyone who has struggled to do what they believe they’re meant to be doing.

A Dinner Table Chat with J. Kenji López-Alt

Agnieszka Pilat is a groundbreaking Polish-American artist based out of San Francisco who has made her mark with time-deconstructing conceptual art. Starting out in comics and illustration, which in her words, "a very honest art", Agnieszka hit her stride conceptualizing the cult of technology, often painting in the space of high-tech companies themselves. Her works can be found in private and public collections around the world and she's represented in numerous galleries throughout the US. In this episode, we talked with Agnieszka about her dream to paint a rocket, the dichotomy of fear and inspiration in the creative journey and how her disbelief in the dogma of talent led her to a career in fine art. We also discuss her interest in visiting the site of one very notable nuclear disaster, Chernobyl. Find out why in this week’s episode.

Art, Creation, and Inspiration with Agnieszka Pilat

Michelle redefined success when she traded in her house for an RV and took her life and career as a financial blogger on the road. She’s inspiration for anyone looking to pursue their own definition of success, find unconventional ways to earn an income, and live the independent life so many of us dream about. Who knew that you can earn over $100K per month just from a blog?