In this episode of Lead with Storytelling, I sit down with Rufina Ajalie to talk about her beautiful and expansive book, Open Roads, Open Hearts.

This conversation explores what it means to travel not just across geography, but across identity, memory, and belonging. Rufina shares the deeper story behind the book — the moments of uncertainty, discovery, and human connection that shaped its pages.

We talk about:

• The emotional landscape of movement and migration

• How travel changes the stories we tell about ourselves

• The courage it takes to remain open in unfamiliar places

• Writing as a practice of reflection and return

Open Roads, Open Hearts is ultimately about curiosity — about meeting the world (and ourselves) with attention and generosity.

If you’ve ever felt transformed by a place, a journey, or a conversation with a stranger, this episode will resonate.

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📖 About the Book

Open Roads, Open Hearts is a deeply reflective exploration of travel, connection, and the stories we carry with us. Rufina invites readers to see movement not as escape, but as encounter — with landscapes, cultures, and the inner self.

What do our myths remember that history forgets?

In this powerful and expansive conversation, I’m joined by Helen Nde—researcher, writer, cultural historian, and the brilliant mind behind Mythological Africans, one of the most respected platforms devoted to African folklore, mythology, and cultural memory.

Born in Cameroon and now based in Atlanta, Helen brings both personal experience and deep scholarship to her work. Her upcoming book, The Watkins Book of African Folklore, is a sweeping, beautifully curated tapestry of creation stories, trickster tales, ancestral memory, moral wisdom, and the rich diversity of Africa’s oral traditions.

Together, we explore:

🌍 Why African folklore matters now more than ever

🔍 How oral traditions preserve identity, history, and possibility

✨ The role of trickster figures as moral teachers and mirrors of human complexity

🔥 How colonial interpretations distorted many African myths—and what reclamation looks like today

💭 Folklore as history, knowledge, resistance, and prophecy

🎭 What the unseen world (spirits, ancestors, divination) reveals about our shared humanity

📖 How myths continue to shape imagination, belonging, and the African future

This episode is a feast for anyone curious about culture, spirituality, identity, storytelling, and heritage.

❤️ If you enjoyed this conversation…

🔔 Subscribe for more episodes on storytelling, memory, creativity, and cultural imagination.

👍 Like this video to support the channel.

💬 Share a comment: Which African myth or folktale has shaped your imagination?

📌 Listen on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/6c10NeL5nPg3fEgDoDhLT5

📌 Follow Helen Nde & Mythological Africans:

https://www.helennde.com/projects

What if the secret to better leadership — and better storytelling — lies not in having all the answers, but in asking the right questions?

In this episode of Lead with Storytelling, I’m joined by J.R. Briggs, founder of Kairos Partnerships, coach, consultant, and author of The Art of Asking Better Questions. Together, we explore how curiosity shapes our conversations, our leadership, and even the stories we tell about ourselves and others.

With warmth and wisdom, J.R. shares practical ways to cultivate a questioning mindset, why good questions build trust and transformation, and how leaders can rediscover wonder in their everyday work.

✨ In this episode, we talk about:

✅ Why asking better questions makes us better listeners and leaders

✅ How curiosity strengthens communication and storytelling

✅ The difference between “fixing” questions and “forming” questions

✅ How to foster open dialogue in teams and communities

✅ The spiritual discipline of curiosity and not knowing

If you’ve ever wondered how to create space for authentic connection, deep reflection, and better conversations — this episode will leave you inspired to lead with curiosity.

🔗 Get J.R. Briggs’ book The Art of Asking Better Questions → https://www.ivpress.com/the-art-of-asking-better-questions