Born without a choice

What happens when the relationship you thought would last forever doesn’t? In this episode of Born Without a Choice , I’m joined by Debbie Engle, a three-time award-winning author whose personal journey through three broken engagements taught her powerful lessons about relationships, faith, patience, self-worth, and trusting the path ahead. Debbie shares what it was like to walk away from relation...

What happens when you realize the life you’re living may have been shaped by expectations, habits, and beliefs that were never truly yours? In this episode of Born Without a Choice , I’m joined by Samantha Kane, founder of Roots Wings Wellness, Conscious Guide, and Certified Holistic Life Coach. Samantha shares her journey through different careers and life experiences and explains how those chapt...

What happens when we realize we’ve been living on autopilot—repeating habits, beliefs, and patterns without consciously choosing them? In this episode, Brittany Peeler explores what it means to wake up, become more aware of ourselves, and start making intentional choices. As a yoga and fitness instructor, speaker, and coach, Brittany helps high-achieving women reconnect with themselves and move be...

What happens when a chapter of life you never would have chosen becomes the beginning of something meaningful? In this episode, Xenia Ioannidis shares a deeply personal journey through entrepreneurship, creativity, spirituality, reinvention, and a period of homelessness in Miami. Rather than allowing that experience to define her, Xenia reflects on how it became part of a larger journey toward fai...

In this episode of Born Without a Choice , we explore what it means to find happiness and stability when life doesn’t unfold the way we expected. Dr. Leslie Newman, author, speaker, educator, and guide, joins us for a conversation about relationships, transitions, emotional overwhelm, personal growth, and learning to meet life with greater awareness. Leslie’s work is shaped by both professional ex...

In this episode of Born Without a Choice , we explore the space between knowing something needs to change and actually becoming ready to change it. Peg O’Connor, PhD, professor of philosophy and nationally recognized voice on addiction, recovery, identity, and meaningful living, joins us for a deeply reflective conversation about finding your way back to yourself. With more than 30 years of teachi...

In this episode of Born Without a Choice , we explore what happens when constantly pushing forward starts costing us our peace. Dr. Melanie Gray, PhD, RN, joins us to talk about burnout, boundaries, trauma-informed leadership, and the importance of learning to regulate before we lead. With more than 20 years of experience in healthcare leadership and higher education, Dr. Gray has dedicated her wo...

What happens when the dream you’ve believed in for years starts feeling impossible? In this episode of Born Without a Choice , I’m joined by Greig Watts, a songwriter, producer, publisher, mentor, and entrepreneur who has built an international career in the music industry despite facing rejection, setbacks, and moments when he considered walking away from music altogether. Greig discovered his pa...

What happens when you’re born into a political system you never chose—and eventually begin questioning whether that system is actually working? In this episode of Born Without a Choice , I’m joined by Evan Jaqua, an international business development specialist, entrepreneur, and founder of the Solutions Party. With a career spanning computer engineering, international consulting, information tech...

What happens when financial stress becomes more than just a money problem—and starts affecting the way you see yourself, your future, and your purpose? In this episode of Born Without a Choice , I’m joined by Dwight Heck, a financial coach, speaker, bestselling author, and host of the Give A Heck Podcast . As a single father of five, Dwight experienced years of financial pressure and what he descr...

What does a lifetime of competition teach us about discipline, failure, resilience, and the determination to keep going? In this episode of Born Without a Choice , Michael Kelly joins the conversation to explore the mindset behind decades of wrestling and grappling at the highest levels. A world champion grappler, longtime wrestler, coach, and Team USA competitor, Michael has competed internationa...

What happens when a generation grows up alongside social media, only to find itself entering an entirely new world shaped by artificial intelligence? In this episode of Born Without a Choice , Justin Cale II joins the conversation to explore creativity, technology, politics, and the changing way we connect with one another. As a leatherworker, creative entrepreneur, activist, and political campaig...

What happens when stress affects more than just your mind? In this episode of Born Without a Choice , I’m joined by Dr. Steve McGough, a neuroscience researcher, educator, inventor, author, and cofounder of Women and Couples Wellness. Steve has spent more than sixteen years working with women and couples around nervous-system regulation, wellbeing, relationships, and health. His background include...

What if the way you think about money isn’t entirely your own? In this episode of Born Without a Choice , I’m joined by Amanda Cassar, a financial adviser based on Australia’s Gold Coast with a Master of Financial Planning and specialist expertise in aged care, self-managed superannuation, estate planning, and succession. We talk about the financial lessons and patterns we inherit from our familie...

What happens when the life you planned for isn’t the life you end up living? In this episode of Born Without a Choice , I’m joined by Todd A. Krause, a CPA, MBA, TEDx speaker, author, and founder of Silversun Consulting. Todd spent two decades in institutional finance before taking an unexpected turn into entrepreneurship, purchasing a struggling cleaning company in 2020 and growing it from $1.6 m...

What do we inherit from the generations that came before us? In this episode of Born Without a Choice , I’m joined by Martin Bodek, author of Zaidy’s War , a remarkable story based on his grandfather’s experiences during and after World War II. We talk about survival, family history, identity, migration, memory, and the importance of preserving stories that might otherwise disappear. Martin shares...

What happens when life takes you somewhere you never expected to go? Dr. Monique Lewison is an integrative veterinarian, author, and lifelong adventurer whose journey has taken her across continents, cultures, and challenging seasons of life. In her memoir Grab Life by the Horns , she reflects on growing up between worlds, building a career in a male-dominated field, living in northern Israel, nav...

What happens when the child who once told you everything suddenly stops talking? In this episode of Born Without a Choice, I’m joined by Dr. Elizabeth R. Henry, better known as Dr. Liz—a board-certified pediatrician, bestselling author, speaker, and youth advocate with more than 25 years of experience working with young people and families. We talk about the communication gap between parents and t...

What happens when you stop trying to become the person everyone else expects you to be? In this episode, Sarah Duncan, a florist turned life coach, joins me for a conversation about perfectionism, self-trust, identity, and the courage to make your own choices. Sarah shares how a powerful personal realisation helped her break free from the pressure to play a role in someone else’s story and become...

What happens when politics starts shaping not only what we believe, but who we are? In this episode, Brian Drinkwine—pastor and author of Kingdom Over Empire: Recovering the Gospel from Political Captivity —joins me for a conversation about faith, political identity, fear, outrage, tribalism, and what it means to stay grounded in your beliefs in a deeply divided world. Brian shares his personal jo...

What happens when you realise that the person you’ve become isn’t necessarily the person you were meant to be? In this episode of Born Without a Choice, I sit down with Leah C. Gardiner, an Obie Award-winning theatre and film director, writer, actor, producer, transformation practitioner, and founder of QSLHealing. Leah has spent decades helping people uncover what is true beneath the surface. Fro...

What happens when something as natural as connection starts to feel complicated? In this episode of Born Without a Choice, I sit down with Dr. Lori Davis, a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner, AASECT Certified Sex Counselor, and sexuality counseling instructor at the University of Michigan. Dr. Lori brings together medical, body-based, and relational perspectives to help people understand i...

What if some of the things we believe about Scripture have meanings we’ve never stopped to question? In this episode of Born Without a Choice, I sit down with Dror Ben Ami, author of The Vineyard and The Final Jubilee , to explore Biblical metaphors, language, faith, and the possibility of seeing familiar Scripture through a completely different lens. Dror shares insights from decades of studying...

What happens when success starts to cost you your peace? In this episode of Born Without a Choice, I sit down with Dr. Cynthia Coy, Founder and CEO of Uncaged Solutions, retired U.S. Air Force officer, certified John Maxwell Coach, and leadership strategist. We talk about the pressure to achieve, leadership fatigue, self-worth, boundaries, authentic communication, and what happens when you spend s...

What happens when experiences from our past shape parts of us we never fully understood? In this episode, I sit down with Carolyn Sherrow, author, speaker, survivor, and founder of Cords of Grace, to explore healing, identity, faith, emotional health, and the journey toward becoming whole. Carolyn brings a unique perspective from both her personal experience and her 23 years as a physician assista...