Brad's Corner Episode #5: The Women Who Raised Me
Brad Walsh is an International Speaker, Soul Visibility Guide, podcast host/producer, photographer, and #1 International Best-Selling Author who helps women step into their power and men become compassionate leaders. Through Empowerography, a Top 1.5% Globally Rated Podcast, he has held space for 80p0+ conversations with extraordinary women, creating a movement to EMPOWER, ELEVATE, and EDUCATE voices around the world.
I would like to personally welcome you to Brad's Corner, a new series under the Empowerography Podcast umbrella, a space where I share raw reflections, personal insights, and the lessons I've gathered from the incredible women I've had the honor of interviewing.
In Episode 5 of Brad's Corner, I share the most personal story I've ever told, the story of the two women who saved me, shaped me, and taught me what real strength looks like long before I ever picked up a microphone. My mom. My Nana. When I was 10 years old, my mom made the hardest decision of her life. She left my biological father after 15 years of marriage, after he had an affair. She packed up what little we could carry, just the clothes on our backs and moved us into a one-bedroom apartment across the street. She slept on the couch every single night. My brother and I shared a bedroom with bunk beds. And she didn't complain. She just did what needed to be done. She got a job as a part-time cashier at a grocery store after not working for 10 years. She raised two boys on that salary. She didn't just survive, she rebuilt. She modeled what true courage looks like. Not the loud, performative kind, but the quiet, relentless kind that gets you through the darkest days. My Nana didn't have to step in. She'd already raised her own kids. She'd earned her rest. But when my mom needed her, she showed up without hesitation, without complaint. She watched us while my mom worked. She held space for her daughter while her daughter rebuilt her life. That is what true love looks like, not grand gestures, but steady, consistent, unwavering presence.
This episode explores:
- The courage my mom showed (leaving, starting over, sleeping on a couch for years)
- The love my Nana gave (showing up without being asked, holding space, raising us alongside my mom)
- What they taught me about strength (it's not about never struggling—it's about getting up every day anyway)
- The permission they gave me to be human (at home, I could cry, feel, talk—I was allowed to be myself)
- The two worlds I lived in (at home = human, everywhere else = performing masculinity)
- Why I started Empowerography (to honor women like my mom and Nana who never had platforms)
Key Insights:
- Real courage isn't loud, it's the quiet, relentless kind that gets you through the darkest days
- True love isn't grand gestures, it's showing up even when it's hard, inconvenient, and you get nothing in return
- Strength isn't about never struggling, it's about doing what needs to be done even when you don't feel like it
- Empowerography exists to honor women like my mom and Nana who carried invisible labor and quiet strength that no one ever acknowledged
Key Message:
Honor the women who raised you, not just with words, but with actions. My mom and my Nana didn't just raise me. They taught me what strength actually looks like. Everything I do, this podcast, the work as a photographer, this mission, this platform, it's all because of them. They are my heart. They are the foundation for the entire Empowerography vision. If you were raised by women who fought for you, who sacrificed for you, who loved you unconditionally, honor them. Show up. Be present. Be honest. Above all else, be human. That is how we honor the women who raised us.
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