Known Through Connection

Known Through Connection Presence-driven conversations. Real people. Worth connecting.
🎙️ Hosted by Jess Collicott

04/16/2026

Erin Clark lost her husband of 30 years unexpectedly in 2021. Out of that grief, she built How's the Weather -- a movement that replaces "how are you?" with a gentler, more honest question.

What I kept coming back to in this conversation was Erin herself. The grief is real, missing her husband is real -- and yet there's a genuine playfulness and life to her that comes through in everything she's created. She holds both at once.

That's what this clip captures. Episode 12 of Known Through Connection.

https://youtu.be/Ue3epRDJWP4

04/03/2026

Jason Hamer thought he was just sore from moving. Out of shape. Nothing new.
He tried physical therapy. Chiropractic care. Nothing helped. The pain got so bad he couldn't roll out of bed.

Then the MRI call came back.

"You've got multiple myeloma cancer and multiple compression fractures in your spine. That's why you're in so much pain."

That phone call changed everything.

What he did next is Episode 17 of Known Through Connection.

Full episode link in the comments.

04/01/2026

"Find the people that are on your team and lean into them. Because you're gonna need them."

Jason Hamer said this at the end of a conversation about cancer, running a business from a hospital bed, and what it looks like to keep going when life keeps adding to the pile.

Simple answer. But it comes from someone who lived it.

Clip from Episode 17 of Known Through Connection. Full episode link in the comments.

03/30/2026

"When I'm trying to do five things at once, I'm doing none of them well."

Jason Hamer learned this after a cancer diagnosis landed in the middle of building his business. He had to get clear on what actually mattered and how to show up for it.

His answer: if it's not on the calendar, it's not happening. And if it is, block everything else out. Because nothing's more important than being present for the people making time for you.
Clip from Episode 17 of Known Through Connection. Full episode link in the comments.

03/29/2026

"Work me. Home me. Dad me. Husband me. Church me."

Jason Hamer said this on Episode 17 of Known Through Connection and I think a lot of people are going to recognize themselves in it.

He spent years being different versions of himself depending on the room he was in. Not fake, just fragmented. And eventually that fragmentation became something he had to reckon with.

This short clip is from our conversation about how his core values of authenticity and understanding weren't chosen from a list. They came from lived experience. From hard seasons. From finally deciding to figure out who he actually was.

Watch the full clip and then listen to the full episode. Links in the comments.

Episode 17 of Known Through Connection is live.Jason Hamer spent nearly two decades in banking before walking away to bu...
03/29/2026

Episode 17 of Known Through Connection is live.

Jason Hamer spent nearly two decades in banking before walking away to build something of his own. Three years into running Hamer Business Toolbox with his wife Katie, a multiple myeloma cancer diagnosis arrived and changed everything about how he had to show up, for his clients, his daughters, and himself.

This is a conversation about what it looks like to keep going when life keeps adding to the pile, and what values actually do when they get tested by real hardship.

Listen on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. Links in the first comment.

Excited to share that our next episode of Known Through Connection features Jason Hamer.Jason spent nearly two decades i...
03/28/2026

Excited to share that our next episode of Known Through Connection features Jason Hamer.

Jason spent nearly two decades in banking, ran a barbecue food truck for twelve years on the side, and then launched Hamer Business Toolbox with his wife Katie to help business owners build something sustainable and values-driven.

Last year, in the middle of building that business, Jason was diagnosed with High Risk Multiple Myeloma. He faced spinal surgery, thirty-two days in the hospital, and a stem cell transplant, all while trying to keep his business going and stay present for his family.

In this episode, Jason talks honestly about the sequence of hard things that shaped him, the core values that guided him through it, and what he would tell someone who feels like the hard things just keep coming.

It's a good one. Stay tuned.

03/28/2026

We talk about learning. We talk about growing. We rarely talk about the unlearning that has to happen first.

Deion Wells-Ross said it plainly in our conversation. You cannot just press a button and rewire yourself. It is a process and it is painful. It took him years to separate himself from bad habits, bad relationships, and bad patterns before he could rebuild.

That is the part of the growth story that usually gets left out.

Clip from Episode 16 of Known Through Connection. Leave Nothing to the Grave.

Full episode on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

03/27/2026

Deion Wells-Ross created what he calls the adversity equation: E plus P equals R.

Experiences plus Perspective equals Results.

The experience, whether good or bad, is often out of your control. The perspective is not. And according to Deion, that is what determines your results.

He used his MS diagnosis as the live example. Horrible experience. He chose a positive perspective. And positive results followed.

Clip from Episode 16 of Known Through Connection. Leave Nothing to the Grave.

Full episode on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

03/26/2026

A coach told Deion Wells-Ross he was not good enough to play college basketball.

Deion quit that team. He sent hundreds of emails to coaches with no response. Then in August 2015, days before school started, he walked into a coach's office as a complete stranger and asked for one shot.

The coach said yes. Deion was sleeping in his car at the time. That team went on to win a national championship at Nebraska Wesleyan.

Sometimes it only takes one person saying yes.

Clip from Episode 16 of Known Through Connection. Leave Nothing to the Grave.

Full episode on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

03/24/2026

Deion Wells-Ross was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis on January 1st, 2024. He went from being a college athlete and national championship co-captain to losing function on the left side of his body.

He had read a quote that said the richest place in the world is the graveyard, because too many people take everything they had to give with them when they go.

Deion decided he was leaving nothing behind.

Full episode is live on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

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