Episode 195

full
Published on:

14th Jul 2025

EAP 195: Writing, Wellness, and Walking in Purpose with Venchele Saint Dic

In this heartfelt and empowering episode of the Early Accountability Podcast, host Kimi Walker is joined by Venchele Saint Dic, a writing brand strategist, public health advocate, and founder of Pathway Coach Writing. Venchele shares how her multicultural background and global experiences shaped her mission to help women of color and emerging thought leaders use writing as a transformative tool for healing, legacy, and impact. She and Kimi dive into the importance of reclaiming narrative power, navigating imposter syndrome, and staying grounded while balancing entrepreneurship, academic work, and personal growth.

Venchele offers listeners practical and reflective strategies, from setting micro-goals and practicing Sunday planning rituals to using Notion dashboards and the Pomodoro Technique. She emphasizes rest as a form of resistance and encourages others to stop waiting for perfection and start honoring their lived experiences now. Her message is clear: clarity comes through action, and our stories deserve to be told—even if our voice shakes. 

Topics Covered in This Episode:

  • Using writing as a tool for healing, advocacy, and legacy
  • Navigating imposter syndrome and reclaiming your voice
  • Creating sustainable habits with micro-goals and planning rituals
  • Practical tools like Notion dashboards and the Pomodoro Technique
  • Embracing rest, reflection, and mindful productivity
  • Knowing when “done is better than perfect” and acting with courage

About Venchele Saint Dic

Venchele Saint Dic, MPH, is a Writing Brand Strategist, author, and founder of Pathway Coach Writing. Born in the United States and raised in the Caribbean, she empowers individuals and brands to share their stories with clarity and impact. Venchele is pursuing a doctorate (DrPH) in Public Health Leadership. A recognized voice in writing, branding, and leadership, her work has appeared in outlets such as BLACKSTATE, DMV Daily, and Thrive Global. She has been featured on podcasts across all major streaming platforms.

Based in San Diego, Hopf also mentors writers and consults on publishing strategy. His work blends compelling narrative with deep insight, whether chronicling survival, mystery, or the unexplained.

Connect with Venchele Saint Dic

Connect with Kimi Walker:

·      Visit: earlyaccountability.com

·      LinkedIn: Kimi Walker

·      Facebook: Kimi Walker

·      Instagram: Kimi Walker

·      YouTube: Kimi Walker

Transcript
Kimi:

Okay, so welcome

Kimi:

back, Kimi Walker here.

Kimi:

Welcome to the next episode of

Kimi:

the Early Accountability Podcast.

Kimi:

Today we have a very

Kimi:

special guest, van Shell.

Kimi:

She is a writing brand strategist, a

Kimi:

public health advocate and founder of

Kimi:

Pathway Coach Writing, whose mission

Kimi:

is to empower others to tell their

Kimi:

stories with clarity and purpose.

Kimi:

But the voice shaped by resilience,

Kimi:

multicultural identity, and a

Kimi:

passion for equity, van Shell

Kimi:

helps individuals and organizations

Kimi:

navigate life transitions and personal

Kimi:

growth through the power of words.

Kimi:

So Elle, first off, thank you so

Kimi:

much for being here on the podcast.

Kimi:

We are happy to have you and

Kimi:

so grateful that you're here.

Venchele:

So much, Kimmi,

Venchele:

for having me on the show.

Kimi:

Absolutely been on the

Kimi:

street with riding here lately.

Kimi:

So why don't you first just tell

Kimi:

the audience about you about your

Kimi:

business and how what kind of got

Kimi:

you into doing what you do now,

Kimi:

those fields that you practice in.

Kimi:

I.

Venchele:

Yeah, so essentially when

Venchele:

we talk about my business and when

Venchele:

we talk about like my passion for

Venchele:

public health and writing these

Venchele:

are part of my mission, right?

Venchele:

This is the work that I do in the

Venchele:

world, and so my mission really is

Venchele:

to help people, especially I. Women

Venchele:

of color, but I work with everyone.

Venchele:

And emerging thought leaders

Venchele:

reclaim their narrative power and

Venchele:

then use writing as a tool for

Venchele:

healing, transformation, and impact.

Venchele:

And so through my business

Venchele:

pathway Coach writing, I guide

Venchele:

clients in turning their life.

Venchele:

Stories, expertise or advocacy work

Venchele:

into cohesive manuscripts, visionary

Venchele:

projects or for policy influence.

Venchele:

And so to me, in terms of like how I got

Venchele:

into the business it was really early

Venchele:

on, as a child where I was exposed to

Venchele:

the power of words through reading.

Venchele:

Because in order to be a great

Venchele:

writer, you have to be an avid reader.

Venchele:

I was born in the States, but I spent like

Venchele:

my foundational years in the Caribbean

Venchele:

specifically in Haiti because my family's

Venchele:

from Haiti and Martinique and France.

Venchele:

And so I think living there, definitely

Venchele:

shaped my understanding of resilience,

Venchele:

resourcefulness, and community care.

Venchele:

And so, with that, living between two

Venchele:

cultures, like really taught me how

Venchele:

to navigate differences with grace

Venchele:

and how to see, health, education

Venchele:

and justice through a global lens.

Venchele:

And then using those experiences

Venchele:

or those lived experiences to help

Venchele:

my clients shape their own stories.

Venchele:

Because like I said, at the intersection

Venchele:

of creativity and public health.

Venchele:

I really do support individuals

Venchele:

and organizations to bridge the gap

Venchele:

between intention and expression.

Venchele:

And so whether I'm coaching someone

Venchele:

through a book proposal or helping

Venchele:

them align their goals with like

Venchele:

systems change, my work really centers

Venchele:

around voice, vision and values.

Venchele:

And because I believe that writing

Venchele:

is not just about publishing, but

Venchele:

it's really about building a legacy.

Venchele:

So that's a little bit about

Venchele:

me and how I got into the

Venchele:

business, because I knew that.

Venchele:

When I was growing up, most of the

Venchele:

books that were available to me were not

Venchele:

written by people who looked like me.

Venchele:

And so that's the reason why when I came

Venchele:

to familiarize myself with the works

Venchele:

of Tony Morrison, yo, Maya Angelos.

Venchele:

I realized that.

Venchele:

It's incredibly important, to read

Venchele:

books that you know, that reflect

Venchele:

your own life stories and your own

Venchele:

struggles and your inner earnings,

Venchele:

for growth and development and

Venchele:

to find new perspectives that can

Venchele:

help challenge your own thinking.

Venchele:

And so that's the reason why I

Venchele:

decided to be part of the movement

Venchele:

of creating those spaces for people

Venchele:

who need folks who are going to

Venchele:

amplify their voices and encourage

Venchele:

them to show up as their true selves.

Kimi:

All right, so

Kimi:

let's go, let's dive in.

Kimi:

You've built venture.

Kimi:

So you've built a brand about,

Kimi:

guiding people in using their

Kimi:

stories and their voices.

Kimi:

What are some moments when you had

Kimi:

to hold yourself accountable to

Kimi:

do the same, especially if there

Kimi:

was a time you felt like you were

Kimi:

staying silent or playing small?

Venchele:

So that's a very good question

Venchele:

because I think playing small is,

Venchele:

we have to contextualize it, right?

Venchele:

Because it does show up.

Venchele:

It sometimes can be impacted

Venchele:

by, traumatic experiences.

Venchele:

Or, like I always tell myself, I'm

Venchele:

very mindful of who I surround myself

Venchele:

with because sometimes even the

Venchele:

people around us can, amplify that

Venchele:

experience too, like those challenges,

Venchele:

these inner struggles that we face.

Venchele:

And so to me, I think

Venchele:

one of the consistent.

Venchele:

Not necessarily challenges, but areas

Venchele:

of further exploration that I've faced

Venchele:

in the past is like imposter syndrome,

Venchele:

especially in academic policy or

Venchele:

entrepreneurial places where my identity

Venchele:

as a black woman as someone who comes

Venchele:

from an educated family and a bicultural

Venchele:

thinker wasn't always reflected.

Venchele:

And there were also seasons where

Venchele:

I had to juggle my business.

Venchele:

Full-time work.

Venchele:

And then now my current DRPH doctoral

Venchele:

program, all while navigating,

Venchele:

the financial and the emotional

Venchele:

stressors that come with it.

Venchele:

And so I think what helped me push

Venchele:

through was really the power of

Venchele:

community, which is very much aligned

Venchele:

with my business of creating a space

Venchele:

for community for my clients, right?

Venchele:

Knowing that they have

Venchele:

a cheerleader in me.

Venchele:

And yeah, so what helped push me

Venchele:

through was the power of community

Venchele:

mentors, spiritual grounding, and the

Venchele:

wisdom of just pausing when necessary.

Venchele:

That's why like earlier I was telling

Venchele:

you, we were talking and I said to

Venchele:

you that, I only preach to my clients

Venchele:

what I go through, and if I don't go

Venchele:

through it, I have enough gravitas and

Venchele:

wisdom to say, give me a moment, right?

Venchele:

Give me a few more months.

Venchele:

To try this out and then I'll

Venchele:

let you know how it went.

Venchele:

And so I've also learned to trust

Venchele:

my intuition and, treat failure as a

Venchele:

learning opportunity, not as a signal

Venchele:

to quit, but as feedback for refinement.

Venchele:

And so I think like each of these

Venchele:

challenges definitely sharpened my clarity

Venchele:

and reminding me that purpose sometimes

Venchele:

can stretch across multiple callings.

Kimi:

Okay.

Kimi:

Yes, that is, that's very true.

Kimi:

That's, that's a. Phrase within itself.

Kimi:

It really can go in a lot of different

Kimi:

directions and a lot of different sectors.

Kimi:

I never thought about it like

Kimi:

that, but that's definitely true.

Kimi:

So let's talk about you a little more.

Kimi:

You're a doctoral student,

Kimi:

you have a business, you're

Kimi:

entrepreneur, you're a writing coach.

Kimi:

That's a lot of roles, a

Kimi:

lot of demanding roles.

Kimi:

How do you stay consistent?

Kimi:

How do you manage, how do

Kimi:

you manage, overdoing things?

Kimi:

How do you avoid burnout?

Venchele:

I think for me first

Venchele:

things first is to remind

Venchele:

people and remind yourself that

Venchele:

you're only one person, right?

Venchele:

That, in helping people understand and

Venchele:

at the same time, they will help you

Venchele:

define, what emotional availability.

Venchele:

It looks like for them.

Venchele:

So I know for me, because I wear

Venchele:

different hats, I may not be the friend

Venchele:

who is able to attend every single

Venchele:

event, but I do show up in other ways.

Venchele:

And so I think that it's a question of

Venchele:

having grace, in order for people to

Venchele:

have grace, for me, I have to have grace.

Venchele:

I have to extend grace to myself and

Venchele:

understand that I'm only one person.

Venchele:

I'm not going to be able to be

Venchele:

everywhere doing everything.

Venchele:

However, I am going to be the friend.

Venchele:

I'm going to be the person you can

Venchele:

count on, when it's most needed.

Venchele:

And so for me, even when I think about

Venchele:

specific action steps that you know

Venchele:

can even help your listeners, take

Venchele:

today to help them reach their goals,

Venchele:

is really starting with your why

Venchele:

understanding why you're doing this work.

Venchele:

Because when times get tough when

Venchele:

you are at the end of the rope,

Venchele:

the why is gonna, pull you through.

Venchele:

And so for me, one of the first things I

Venchele:

typically suggest is create micro goals

Venchele:

based on the why, something that you

Venchele:

can ac accomplish in the next 15 minutes

Venchele:

that moves your project or dream forward.

Venchele:

I work with parents.

Venchele:

They usually will tell me, I have to

Venchele:

dedicate, like, when they explaining

Venchele:

their timeline, because during the

Venchele:

first two or three days of working

Venchele:

together, I send them like this list

Venchele:

of questions, like 10 questions to

Venchele:

really help them understand what is

Venchele:

it going to take for them to finish a

Venchele:

project and also for them to realize.

Venchele:

How realistically, like if they say

Venchele:

they want to finish a project in

Venchele:

six months how is that realistic

Venchele:

based on where they are right now?

Venchele:

And for me, I say instead of trying

Venchele:

to dedicate an hour to writing,

Venchele:

I. It could just be spending like

Venchele:

10 minutes jotting things down.

Venchele:

It doesn't have to be full sentences.

Venchele:

It could be as small as writing

Venchele:

a sentence, sending an email,

Venchele:

brainstorming a voice memo and really

Venchele:

committing to that each week because

Venchele:

that's just, for their vision.

Venchele:

It has nothing to do with multitasking.

Venchele:

There's no, that it has nothing to do

Venchele:

with comparing yourself, comparing your

Venchele:

beginnings with someone else's ending,

Venchele:

which is something that typically happens.

Venchele:

It's just really focusing, and again,

Venchele:

going back to this idea of community,

Venchele:

really surrounding yourself with people

Venchele:

who are going to champion your work.

Venchele:

Joining mastermind retreats.

Venchele:

Hiring a writing coach like myself

Venchele:

or finding thought partners who

Venchele:

hold you accountable and affirm your

Venchele:

worth, because your worth should

Venchele:

not be based on your performance.

Venchele:

You are inherently everyone is worthy.

Venchele:

Everyone has value.

Venchele:

And so to me that's very important

Venchele:

to remind folks when I work

Venchele:

with them because it's easy.

Venchele:

It's easy to start comparing yourself.

Venchele:

And saying to yourself, I know

Venchele:

this person in my circle, who had

Venchele:

their book won the pul surprise.

Venchele:

Like, how come I'm not getting?

Venchele:

You can't do that to yourself

Venchele:

Because then you're diminishing

Venchele:

your own worth and your own value.

Venchele:

You're diminishing your own

Venchele:

sense of purpose, and then

Venchele:

finally getting comfortable.

Venchele:

It's important to get

Venchele:

comfortable with iteration.

Venchele:

Because writing to me

Venchele:

is not a one day deal.

Venchele:

Sometimes you have to go back and revisit

Venchele:

certain memories, talk to a therapist

Venchele:

and realign yourself with what your why

Venchele:

was, and even writing that book and then

Venchele:

also don't wait until things are perfect.

Venchele:

There's no such thing.

Venchele:

Most progress is made by those who dare to

Venchele:

start messy and then they stay consistent.

Venchele:

my 2 cents on that.

Kimi:

Okay, that you led into what my

Kimi:

next question actually so I wanna talk

Kimi:

about consistency and like on your

Kimi:

website in many places you talk about,

Kimi:

you emphasize the power of habit formation

Kimi:

and mindfulness in both

Kimi:

writing and personal growth.

Kimi:

So what's one small, like daily habit

Kimi:

you would recommend to someone who

Kimi:

is trying to write more consistently

Kimi:

or they're trying to develop a

Kimi:

more let's say, focused mindset.

Venchele:

So when I was, so earlier,

Venchele:

I was alluding to just like my

Venchele:

meditation spiritual practice.

Venchele:

I think for me, like I stay motivated by

Venchele:

anchoring into my why and being deeply

Venchele:

intentional how I use my time and energy.

Venchele:

And so I practice for me,

Venchele:

like Sunday planning rituals

Venchele:

where I review upcoming task.

Venchele:

I align them with my long-term vision

Venchele:

and I make room for joy and rest.

Venchele:

I'm gonna stress rest very like 16 times.

Venchele:

I also use a personal dashboard

Venchele:

on this app called Notion

Venchele:

to track habits, project,

Venchele:

milestones, and even affirmations.

Venchele:

I like right now I think I have the book

Venchele:

I have this book called Lunar Abundance,

Kimi:

Oh wow.

Venchele:

Reflective journal.

Venchele:

I highly recommend it.

Venchele:

And that's the book that taught

Venchele:

me how to set intentions, right?

Venchele:

How to set intentions, which is very

Venchele:

much aligned with defining your why and

Venchele:

doing the things that align with that.

Venchele:

I'm trying to think of any other ones

Venchele:

that I do use the Pomodoro technique.

Venchele:

Tracker where you work for 15 to 20

Venchele:

minutes and then you take a rest,

Venchele:

you go and do something else and

Venchele:

then you come back to the writing.

Venchele:

So I do that with all of my tasks,

Venchele:

which has been very helpful.

Venchele:

And so again, most importantly,

Venchele:

I think the biggest tool that

Venchele:

you can change is your mindset.

Venchele:

So I've learned to view productivity, not

Venchele:

as how much I do, but how aligned I feel.

Venchele:

I really try to avoid

Venchele:

like the hustle culture.

Venchele:

By honoring my cues and

Venchele:

adjusting goals accordingly.

Venchele:

And that goes back to what I said

Venchele:

about making room for joy and rest.

Venchele:

And so the key would be sustainable

Venchele:

momentum and not burnout driven motion.

Venchele:

So I did talk about motion

Venchele:

the Pomo door technique.

Venchele:

The Sunday planning rituals and then,

Venchele:

before you even get into those logistics,

Venchele:

really sitting down with yourself and

Venchele:

defining your why, and aligning some micro

Venchele:

goals of, to this why, to achieve your

Venchele:

goals and stay motivated and productive.

Kimi:

Okay, so, the question I do have

Kimi:

is about, so I know when people may

Kimi:

wanna write a book or create a workbook

Kimi:

or do things of this nature, one thing

Kimi:

may be that I've heard a lot or people,

Kimi:

getting ready to start a business or

Kimi:

get a website out there or do this

Kimi:

or do that is not feeling it's ready,

Kimi:

Or already enough.

Kimi:

What do you tell, like your

Kimi:

clients is there a gauge where we

Kimi:

can see that this is not ready?

Kimi:

Is procrastination or mindset, or is it

Kimi:

that it is not ready, it needs more work?

Kimi:

What are some like things that you tell

Kimi:

people to gauge that of No, we need to.

Kimi:

There's, this is a situation when done

Kimi:

is better than perfect, or this is where

Kimi:

we need to go back to the drawing board.

Venchele:

I think when, that's a very

Venchele:

good question because it's also helping

Venchele:

me reflect on my role as a coach.

Venchele:

Even when I work with clients, I don't

Venchele:

know if I can assure them a hundred

Venchele:

percent whether or not they ready,

Venchele:

because remember, it's their product.

Venchele:

They're the ones going to be

Venchele:

critiqued and judged, and so to me

Venchele:

I think it's important for them

Venchele:

or for me to remind them that.

Venchele:

Other people are not expecting

Venchele:

them, to be perfect and then also

Venchele:

help them dig a little deeper as

Venchele:

to who they're trying to impress.

Venchele:

And I think that's very important because

Venchele:

sometimes when people say that to me, I

Venchele:

always ask myself I always ask them like,

Venchele:

what does your inner child want right now?

Venchele:

To help gauge what's the underlying

Venchele:

reason why they feel the need

Venchele:

that it needs to be perfect.

Venchele:

And that's where as a coach, like I'm

Venchele:

somewhat limited because I'm not a

Venchele:

therapist, I'm not medically trained

Venchele:

to go into those nitty gritty details,

Venchele:

but that's something I usually tell

Venchele:

them to share with their therapist

Venchele:

and let me know, what came out of

Venchele:

those sessions so that I can tailor.

Venchele:

My approach and tailor the assignments or

Venchele:

to I shouldn't even say assignments, but

Venchele:

tailor like the exercises that I give to

Venchele:

To reflect on the book, to reflect on

Venchele:

the chapters that they may be writing.

Venchele:

So that's my strategy.

Venchele:

And then really diving into the

Venchele:

self-care practices that they use,

Venchele:

to generate ideas and to create

Venchele:

a system of peace and healing, as

Venchele:

they continue to do this project,

Kimi:

that's great.

Kimi:

That's awesome.

Kimi:

So Michelle, how can the audience

Kimi:

like follow you, find out more

Kimi:

about you, find out more about

Kimi:

your services and your business?

Venchele:

so people can find me on my

Venchele:

LinkedIn profile just using my name

Venchele:

and then also visit me on Instagram.

Venchele:

And my website ww dot

Venchele:

pathway coach writing.com.

Venchele:

I know it will be in the notes.

Venchele:

And so they can find out

Venchele:

more about my mission.

Venchele:

There I am across all social media

Venchele:

channels, and I've been featured

Venchele:

on different podcasts, so they

Venchele:

can find me that way as well.

Kimi:

Okay.

Kimi:

And how does your name appear on.

Venchele:

It's just been Elle

Venchele:

Sinek, just the name, the full name?

Kimi:

Gonna have all of that in

Kimi:

the show notes so everybody can

Kimi:

make sure to follow you and stay

Kimi:

connected during your journey.

Kimi:

Like you said, still finishing

Kimi:

your doctorate and everything.

Kimi:

So what are some words that

Kimi:

you live by with some mantra or

Kimi:

anything that you use to keep

Kimi:

yourself focused in moving forward?

Venchele:

So I think the one mantra that

Venchele:

I return to often is rest is resistance.

Venchele:

Clarity is power.

Venchele:

And this reminds me that in a world that

Venchele:

often measures worth by output, that

Venchele:

choosing rest is an act of reclamation.

Venchele:

It's in those still moments that I

Venchele:

find the insight and the strength

Venchele:

to move forward with intention.

Venchele:

Clarity allows me to lead.

Venchele:

It allows me to write, it allows

Venchele:

me to serve from a place of

Venchele:

alignment rather than obligation.

Venchele:

And this mantra isn't

Venchele:

just a feel good quote.

Venchele:

I think this is the

Venchele:

foundation of how I live.

Venchele:

I lead and coach others and

Venchele:

it just reminds me that.

Venchele:

Being working slowly

Venchele:

can still be strategic.

Venchele:

And stillness, often births, like

Venchele:

stillness, often births the strongest

Venchele:

breakthroughs in my opinion.

Venchele:

And then also, to go back to the tip,

Venchele:

because there's one last tip that I

Venchele:

wanna give to people who are looking to.

Venchele:

Overcome something that they have launch,

Venchele:

something that they've accomplished

Venchele:

or achieve something within their

Venchele:

realm of expertise is really, you

Venchele:

don't need more credential, more time.

Venchele:

You just need more courage to trust

Venchele:

what you already know, because too

Venchele:

many people are waiting for perfect

Venchele:

conditions before they launch

Venchele:

their ideas or share their stories.

Venchele:

But clarity really often

Venchele:

comes through action.

Venchele:

So take the first step.

Venchele:

Even if your voice shakes, that's what

Venchele:

I'm, that's what I've been doing here.

Venchele:

Don't be afraid to be seen.

Venchele:

Starting small, the book, the brand, the

Venchele:

movement, it all begins when you honor

Venchele:

the spark within and you decide that

Venchele:

your lived experience is already valid.

Venchele:

So if fear is in the room, invited to

Venchele:

sit down, but don't let it drive the car.

Kimi:

Okay.

Kimi:

That's great.

Kimi:

Those, that was actually great words.

Kimi:

Elle, we thank you so much for coming and

Kimi:

being a guest on the Early Accountability

Kimi:

podcast and gifting us with all your

Kimi:

expertise and just your amazing talent and

Kimi:

everything that you've done to discipline

Kimi:

yourself and all that you've learned.

Kimi:

So thank you so much.

Kimi:

Thank you for being on the

Kimi:

guest and to the audience,

Kimi:

thank you so much for tuning in.

Kimi:

Until next time.

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About the Podcast

Early Accountability
The Early Accountability Podcast transforms Dreamers into Doers and Visionaries into Victors through goal activation strategies that abandon excuses, jumpstart motivation, and ignite results. Early Accountability Coaching is a specialty focused on helping those who are in the fragile beginning stages of a new endeavor, professional project, lifestyle change, or mindset shift.

About your host

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Kimi Walker