In this deeply personal episode of Unleash Your Voice, I’m sharing the story I’ve never told in full: How my so-called “dream job” as a TV anchor nearly broke me. From the outside, I had it all: a high-profile role, a steady voice on morning shows, and a path I’d worked toward since childhood. But behind the scenes? It was costing me my mental health.

If you’ve ever found yourself in a role you once wanted more than anything, only to feel drained, diminished, or disconnected—you are not alone. I walk you through my journey: from delivering newspapers as a kid to anchoring the news, enduring microaggressions and toxic leadership, and finally making the bold leap into a new chapter that aligned with my worth, values, and mental health.

This episode is for anyone questioning whether they’re meant for more and needing permission to choose themselves.

✨ What you'll hear:

• The behind-the-scenes truth of my newsroom career (and what finally pushed me to leave)
• How therapy, storytelling, and community helped me reclaim my power
• Why building a Power Story isn’t just about getting the next job, it’s about remembering who you are
• Why leaving a toxic job is not failure, it can be the start of your next chapter

This one’s for anyone who feels stuck in a job that’s draining their spirit. You’re not imagining it. You’re not alone. And you deserve better.

🔗 Plus, I’m sharing my free on-demand Power Story Masterclass here to help you start crafting a story that reflects your full power, potential, and voice.

Because no job is worth your peace. And your story? It’s the key to unlocking the future you deserve.

A Power Story is your unique story - it highlights how you're different. Your Power Story should include your passion, values, the themes from your life and career, and micro-stories.

You don't just need this story in job interviews or for your website or speaker bio. You need these stories in every day life - especially at work. Your personal brand is being built whether you're doing it intentionally or not (but if I'm being real...you should be doing it intentionally).

When you have this core story, it will lead to you being able to talk about yourself confidently and effectively. You'll build better personal and professional relationships and stand out in job interviews with ease.

If you're ready to build your Power Story and to learn how to use it in the professional world, you can join my FREE Power Story Codes Workshop next week. More info here: https://priya-sam.mykajabi.com/the-career-confidence-codes

If you've been listening to the pod for awhile - you'll remember Dr. Chika Stacy Oriuwa from episode 24. She's the first repeat guest we've had!

Chika was the only Black medical student in her class at the University of Toronto in 2016 and she became an advocate for more diversity and inclusion in healthcare.

Since then she has accomplished A LOT - she was her class valedictorian in 2020, named one of Time's Next Generation leaders in 2021, and now she's a Mom of two and a published author.

Chika's book Unlike the Rest: A Doctor's Story is a memoir that reads like a novel - it chronicles her childhood dream of going to medical school and the challenges and the successes she experienced along the way. It's raw, powerful, and insightful as Chika dives into topics including racism, disordered eating, body image, and finding her place when the odds were against her.

You'll get a behind the scenes look at how this book came to be in this episode.

You can find Chika's book Unlike the Rest: A Doctor's Story here: https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/unlike-the-rest-a-doctors-story/9781443466264.html

You have 7 seconds to make a first impression and what you wear is a big part of that.

In professional settings like conferences, events, and job interviews, dressing the right way for YOU can help calm your nerves and support your confidence.

You’re going to learn exactly how to do that in this episode of Unleash Your Voice.

We’ll get 4 Styling Tips to Elevate Your Professional Presence from wardrobe consultant Stephanie Dervishi.

Stephanie and I are both Fanshawe College Alumni and we are so thrilled to have Fanshawe Alumni as a sponsor for this episode.

If you're a Fanshawe College Alumni - make sure to follow @fanshawealumni on Instagram so you can enter their Five Days of Giveaways contest starting December 9th. The first giveaway is a wardrobe consultation with Stephanie and a $200 gift card!

Hey friend! If you've been a loyal listener here - you know we've been going through a transition at Turning Point in the past few months and I so appreciate you bearing with me.

I can now officially tell you that we're rebranding!! Turning Point started off as a stand alone passion project for me in 2020 - YES it's been FOUR years! During that time - I've gone through a lot of changes myself both personally and professionally.

Since I started my coaching and consulting business, I've been trying to figure out how Turning Point fits in to the picture. It's been tough - I'm so passionate about the in-depth turning point stories but I'm also being pulled in this new direction as I work with people on uncovering their uniques and learning how to use them to advocate for themselves in the professional world.

SO - welcome to Unleash Your Voice! This is the pod's new identity. The regular episodes will be focused on communication and how to stand out professionally AND you will still see Turning Point episodes in the feed - they'll be marked Turning Point so you can find them easily. Those episodes will still have the same format as what you're used to.

What I realized through this process is that I've really been helping people to unleash their voices through my Turning Point interviews so having this umbrella name for the pod aligns with both my original mission and my new direction.

I hope you continue to enjoy the interviews - and please feel free to share your feedback with me @priyasam on IG or Priya Sam on LinkedIn.

Everyone deserves to have self-confidence and to believe in their own unique value. When you have that, you can ask for what you deserve and advocate for yourself in professional settings.

If you're anything like the average person - you've struggled with confidence at tone time or another. If that time is now - this episode is for you.

My guest is Gazal Amin - a Sales Consultant for teams and a confidence Queen. She shares three actionable tips for building your confidence at work.

One of the analogies that really resonated with me is that building confidence is like building muscles at the gym - it can feel awkward, intimidating, and hard at first but after awhile it becomes routine, empowering, and rewarding. More on that and much more in this episode.

You can connect with Gazzy on IG here: https://www.instagram.com/authenticgazzy?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

In this episode, I speak with my guest Jennifer Trask about how hustle culture affects women and three steps we can take NOW to get out of it.

I'll be honest, I struggle with this one. It can be hard to set time boundaries around work for me. Sometimes I get an idea and I just want to run with it, even if that means working late. But in this episode - we get some tangible tips for setting boundaries and how to create a filter for making decisions (this was my favourite tip!)

Jennifer Trask is a Business coach who helps women create more ease, joy, and results. You can watch her workshop on closing The Abundance Gap here: https://www.jenniferltrask.com/abundancegap

In this week's episode, I'm joined by the lovely Joyel Crawford. Joyel is a leadership consultant and the author of the best selling book “Show Your Ask”. On our IG Live, Joyel shared her proven 4-step framework for advocating for yourself and it's SO good!

I have to say, she also has the best energy - that magnetic presence and the ability to tell compelling stories - she's definitely unforgettable.

Enjoy this week's episode and if you have any feedback on the series (other than the fact that we need some intro music, ha) send me a DM on Instagram or LinkedIn.

And don't forget to join us for the episodes live on Instagram at noon on Tuesdays!