Edie Galley | Courage Champion

Courtesy of Edie Galley

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Edie Galley learned early on that she had a knack for the gift of gab and found herself getting in trouble for it more often than being praised for it as a young girl growing up in Indiana. But she was never really sure how to turn this talent into a career after she and her family relocated to Florida during her teenage years.

“I always got in trouble as a kid, because I talked too much. And I’ve always loved to learn, too, but I was one of those people who couldn’t see that this was what I was meant to do. If you’re a musician, it’s obvious, but it wasn’t really obvious to me. It took me a long time to get there,” she says. “It really is hard to realize what you’re good at, what your talent is but when it starts to come together you realize, wow, that’s what I’ve always done, it’s what I love and it really is what I can do for a living and how I can make an impact and a difference.”

Edie is host of a long-time online radio show Courageous Voices, which listeners can tune in for regularly at her website, www.ediegalley.com. She describes the show as an opportunity to empower others and encourage them to discover their own courage – personally or professionally – and live it boldly. She admits her own path was a winding one that brought her to many roads that simply weren’t right for her. In the end, she did eventually discover her passion for radio and storytelling but it wasn’t until looking back later that she could see signals had flagged where her real talents and interest lay, even when she was pursuing mismatched career paths that seemed like prudent decisions at the time. From banking to telecommunications, she found that while she loved the customer interaction and communication, and particularly the challenge of transforming irate customers into happy ones, it wasn’t the industries themselves that kept her interest – but the human interaction. A role as a teaching assistant for Dale Carnegie courses helped her to see that her real goal when working with others was simply to help them.

“I think that it takes courage to follow the path that you really want to follow in your life. One day, I went in and just quit. I said I’m not going to do this anymore. I have no idea what I’m going to do but I’m not going to stay here 20 years so I can be vested,” she says. Edie went home and made a pros and cons list of what she wanted and didn’t want in a job and transitioned into a sales track leading her to an opportunity to work for an AM radio talk show to help its co-host put together a successful sales strategy. She began immersing herself into the world of radio, filling in as guest host occasionally, recording commercials and learning more and more about the medium. By this time, she has married, moved and begun to build a family. Time with her kids had become a priority and she was looking for something that would allow her more flexibility and a less traditional office environment, which this new direction supported. When the current radio host decided not to renew her contract, Edie knew that she wanted to continue working on the radio show and that she had found her true passion. In 2005, she began producing her own archived radio show online and hasn’t looked back since.

“I first started out just doing it for myself to impact women. Then I realized not only can I do it for myself, I can help others do it too,” she says.

In addition to hosting and producing her online radio show, Edie works closely with business professionals to help them develop their own on-air programming to reach target audiences and educate them.

“The biggest part of the work for a radio show is up front –planning and getting it started. Once it’s up and running, it flows on a schedule very easily,” she says. On her show Courageous Voices, Edie frequently spotlights best-selling authors, business and life coaches and career transition specialists as well as individuals who have turned personal experiences into a means to support or educate others who may be going through similar circumstances.

“Part of courage is learning not to downplay it, so you can inspire and teach others. By not downplaying, it’s really using it in service to others but learning that fine line between the two is really difficult,” she says. “The reason I do it is because these messages really need to be shared. Not just to create awareness but to create an impact.”

Edie lives just north of the Tampa Bay area with her two kids and can often be found at the beach or attending local seminars and self-development workshops, which she says continues to inspire her to become a better person every day. She offers a few words of wisdom for those readers who may be currently searching for their true passion or shifting paths in their life personally or professionally.

“Know that it’s going to be an exciting time for you. A lot of times when we’re working things out, it can be really frustrating and we wonder is there something wrong with me? Don’t struggle. Be comfortable with the journey and know that it will come,” she says. “Really look for your strengths and things that you like, and even if you do find it, it’s sometimes difficult to find out how it fits into a career. Look for other people who have taken your strengths and made them into a career. Once you stop struggling, opportunities do show up.”