In this episode of The Underlayer, host David Young sits down with LinkedIn strategist and writer Allison Ditmer to explore the quiet pull for something more, and what happens when successful careers stop matching who we’re becoming.

Allison shares her journey from behind-the-scenes corporate marketer to visible creator and business owner, unpacking the emotional signals that pushed her toward reinvention. Together, David and Allison examine how identity shifts, fear, and misalignment often surface long before people make a career change, and why so many high performers ignore those signals for years.

This episode explores: What to do about that persistent whisper for “more.”

If you’re a mid-career professional or solopreneur navigating uncertainty, visibility, or the discomfort of putting yourself out there, this conversation will help you rethink branding, content, and career growth, not as tactics, but as expressions of alignment.

Topics covered:

• The emotional signs it’s time for a career shift
• Leaving corporate and the identity shock that follows
• Building a clear, credible personal brand on LinkedIn
• Why emotional connection matters more than clever content
• Writing in public as a path to authority and trust
• Newsletters as a long-term relationship-building tool
• The realities of solopreneurship: decision fatigue, sales discomfort, and resilience
• Why many service professionals eventually move toward scalable creator models

This episode is an invitation to listen more closely to what your discomfort is telling you, and to build a career, brand, and body of work that actually fits the season you’re in.

Allison's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonditmer/

Allison's Website: allisonditmer.com

The Underlayer YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/@the_under_layer

The Underlayer Podcast Website: https://www.theunderlayerpodcast.com/

David's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-young-mba-indy/

Ever feel anger rise up and wonder, “Where did that come from?”

Explore why anger isn’t the problem, and what it’s been trying to protect all along.

In this episode of The Underlayer, host David Young is joined by Carolyn Warsham for a deep, honest conversation about anger, emotional health, and personal growth, especially in midlife.

Together, they unpack why anger is one of the most misunderstood emotions, how cultural and corporate conditioning teaches us to suppress it, and what happens when unexpressed feelings quietly accumulate beneath the surface.

Carolyn shares personal stories and professional insight to reframe anger not as something to fix or avoid, but as a signal, often pointing to crossed boundaries, unmet needs, or unprocessed experiences.

The conversation also explores:

• Why anger often resurfaces more intensely in midlife
• How corporate culture and social norms discourage emotional expression
• The “pressure cooker” effect of suppressed emotions
• The difference between healthy anger and toxic outbursts
• How therapy, coaching, and curiosity can help us process emotions safely

If you’ve ever felt surprised by your own anger or wondered why it shows up when life looks “fine” on the outside, then this episode will help you understand what’s really going on beneath the surface.

Carolyn's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolyn-alburger-warsham/

Meet with Carolyn, https://calendly.com/carolyn-warsham-coaching/intro-with-caro?month=2025-12

Subscribe to her Substack, Awake at Work

The Underlayer YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/@the_under_layer

The Underlayer Podcast Website: https://www.theunderlayerpodcast.com/

David's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-young-mba-indy/

In this solo episode of The Underlayer, host David Young explores how childhood fear, especially around visibility and public speaking, quietly shapes our lives well into midlife.

David shares personal stories from growing up as the quiet kid in the back of the classroom, including a painful public speaking experience at age 14 that influenced how he used (or avoided) his voice for decades.

Through reflection and storytelling, this episode explores a powerful realization:

The thing that terrified you as a kid may be what you’re meant to heal as an adult.

If you’re a mid-life professional who looks successful on the outside but struggles with fear, anxiety, or self-expression on the inside, this conversation will help you see fear differently, not as something to eliminate, but as information pointing you forward.

Topics covered:

• Childhood fear and adult behavior
• Public speaking anxiety and fear of visibility
• Personal growth and finding your voice
• Why fear evolves instead of disappearing
• How storytelling helps us heal and move forward

This episode is the foundation of David’s keynote, The Fear That Formed Me, and an invitation to stop letting fear quietly run the show.

The Underlayer YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/@the_under_layer

The Underlayer Podcast Website: https://www.theunderlayerpodcast.com/

David's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-young-mba-indy/