Make Life Less Difficult

Send us a message! My guests today are Ben and Trudie Larrabee.  Ben and Trudie are husband and wife, artist and muse, friends, lovers, and inspirations to so many! In our conversation we talk about what it means to be artist and muse.  We hear stories of how they came to partner in their business, Ben Larabee Photography.  And we hear about the journey behind their recently published book, Trudie...

Send us a message! My guest today is Kyle Dietrich. Kyle is the founder of Grounded Idealist and co-organizer of the Coaching Collaborative, a powerful initiative supporting tens of thousands of displaced public servants with coaching, career transition support, and deep innovation work designed to empower changemakers to continue serving.  Grounded Idealist has mobilized nearly 3,000 credentialed...

Send us a message! My guests today are Sue Callaghan and Roberta Miceli. Sue & Roberta are leadership coaches and facilitators of the program, Designing Your Life. Here's what they say about the Designing Your Life workshops: Do you ever find yourself 'stuck' at work? Feeling overwhelmed? Wanting more meaning from your life?​ This eight week Designing Your (Work) Life * small gr...

Send us a message! My guest today is Sharoya Ham. Sharoya is a mother of three and wife of one!  She's also a behavior change specialist and parent coach.  She created Embrace Behavior Change to help families strengthen their relationships.  Her goal is for parents to spend less time focusing on problems and more time enjoying precious moments with their children. In our conversation today, S...

Send us a message! My guest today is Owen Marcus. Owen is the Co-Founder of Meld , a platform guiding high-performing men—founders, executives, creatives—through emotional development using somatic-based group work. With 50 years of experience in body-centered therapies and the original IP behind Everyman, Owen has helped thousands of men improve their relationships, emotional health, and overall...

Send us a message! My guest today is Lisa Krim. Lisa is an executive coach who works with organizations and senior leaders to meet the challenges of leadership in complex landscapes across a range of sectors.  She serves leaders who are committed to accelerating their own growth and navigating change, to help them meet individual goals and optimize their organization’s effectiveness.  Before we ju...

Send us a message! My guest today is Jim Brulé. Jim is a transformational storyteller, a death doula, a trauma chaplain, and so much more.   This is the 4-year anniversary of the Make Life Less Difficult podcast, so I'm especially delighted to share this conversation since it's all about storytelling, which is the heart of this podcast. Jim defines transformational storytelling as the ar...

Send us a message! My guest today is Dr. Sudha Kumar.  I was honored to meet Dr. Kumar through the kind introduction of her husband, Vinay, who has also been a guest here on the podcast. Dr. Kumar is a Board-Certified Physician with over 30 years of experience managing acute and chronic conditions.  At this point in her career, she focuses on helping her patients live healthier lives by making cha...

Send us a message! My guest today is Chris Lebrun.  Chris is a productivity coach and the creator of the Wholistic Productivity podcast, and he has one goal: to empower you to be happier and more fulfilled by achieving your professional, personal, and purpose-driven goals. Chris's work around productivity came out of his personal experience, which is why he’s so passionate about helping other...

Send us a message! My guest today is John Schuhart. John is an executive leadership coach. He spent 17 years as an Intelligence Community Senior Executive, including:  Chief Financial Officer of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Deputy Chief Financial Officer, Office of the Director of National Intelligence Deputy Executive Director of the Central Intelligence Agency’s Community Manageme...

Send us a message! My guest today is Doug Tilstra. As I introduce Doug, I’ve debated which title to share first and I think I’ll share that he’s my father-in-law!  And I’m honored to share another podcast with a family member! Doug has more than 44 years of experience as a pastor, professor, mentor, coach, and university administrator.   In the six years leading up to his retirement in 2023, Doug...

Send us a message! My guest today is Jessica Vogt. Jessica is a holistic leadership development coach who supports people with a foot in many worlds - culturally, professionally, or personally. She works with those who often feel like they belong everywhere and nowhere all at once. With warmth, empathy, curiosity, and a good measure of humour, Jess helps them reconnect with their voice, their wort...

Send us a message! My guest today is Sava Riaskoff. Sava is a Performance & Wellbeing Coach, TEDxSpeaker, and Associate Professor at the ESADE MBA in Barcelona. Over the past seven years, he’s worked with leaders and next-gen talent through 1:1 coaching, in-company trainings, and immersive retreats in Europe and Patagonia. His work is deeply shaped by his own journey — from following a path th...

Send us a message! My guest today is Nicole Anderson. Nicole is a seasoned professional with over 20 years of experience in driving organizational success through human-centered change management. As a Partner at The Kaler Group, her unique ability to integrate people, processes, and technology has made her a pivotal force in enhancing organizational effectiveness and fostering positive culture an...

Send us a message! My guest today is Linda Hoopes.  Linda helps organizations, teams, and individuals thrive in turbulence.  She’s a writer and speaker on the topics of resilience, change, and employee well-being.  Linda is a returning guest, having been on the podcast a couple of years ago with Kris Burbank, where they talked about their co-authored book, Embracing Another Normal: Resilience Stor...

Send us a message! My guest today is Elif Malmqvist. Elif is an executive coach who is currently studying cognitive neuroscience so she can better understand the why behind human emotions and connections.   Elif is passionate about helping people understand neuroplasticity, specifically around understanding negative thoughts or baggage from the past and how to create more positivity and happiness...

Send us a message! My guest today is Jules Kuroda. Jules’s life passion is helping people get past the ideas they have of themselves to unlock more fulfillment. Our minds are wonderful and dangerous tools, she says, depending on how we wield them. Jules loves complexity and strives for simplicity and believes the world is more interesting with our paradoxes explored. Her aim is to bring more joy a...

Send us a message! Welcome back to Make Life Less Difficult. My guest today is Michael Ulrich. Michael is a contemplative psychotherapist based in Copenhagen, Denmark, with a background in clinical practice, systems thinking, and integral development. His work bridges traditional therapeutic modalities with emergent, self-organizing ways of relating and healing. In our conversation today, Michael...

Send us a message! My guest today is Andra Davidson. Andra is a collaboratively trained Certified Divorce Coach and mediator who created the Better Than Before Divorce™ Program to provide emotional support to men and women navigating divorce. Her clients benefit from her 25+ years of experience in crisis communications, branding, and marketing, as well as my calm strength and commitment to tangibl...

Send us a message! My guest today is Debra Kiva.  Debra is a certified grief educator and coach who works with, and is trained by, renowned grief expert, David Kessler.  Debra facilitates loss groups for Kessler's online grief community, Tender Hearts, and co-facilitates loss groups for grieving complex relationships. And she supports people facing anticipatory grief, the grief of losing a lo...

Send us a message! My guest today is Milena Trevisani. Before becoming a coach, Milena worked for 20 years in the corporate world , and which took her to many different countries.  Along the way, she met lots of extraordinary people who opened her eyes to the possibilities that we all hold within us.  During her 10 years at The New York Times as a Director of Business Development and Sales, Milena...

Send us a message! My guest today is Maura Lightfoot. Maura is a leadership and culture coach with a wealth of experience and knowledge.  From human resources in the Middle East to financial services management consulting in London to nonprofit organizational culture in Washington D.C., Maura’s experience equips her with a unique perspective that is both grounded and global. In our conversation to...

Send us a message! My guest today is Mikaela Seligman. Mikaela is the Founder of the company, Lumin/Us, which offers tailored leadership coaching and education, facilitation, and organizational consulting.  Mikaela brings her 30+ years of experience leading in and also coaching/consulting for mission-driven organizations and leaders. At the heart of her work, Mikaela helps leaders have impact with...

Send us a message! My guests today are Tommy Jiang and Kevin Harrington. I met Tommy and Kevin while traveling in Patagonia last year.  It was one of those connections that permeate great international travel.  My husband and I were at the end of our month-long excursion and got to enjoy a 35+ hour ferry ride filled with hours of great conversation with them.   Learning about their passions and ex...

Send us a message! My guest today is Steve Whearty. Steve is a certified executive coach and learning & development specialist with over 30 years of experience in leadership and learning professional roles. He began his career as a Naval Flight Officer, serving on active duty in the U.S., Italy, and Japan.  Steve continued to serve as a civilian employee of the Federal Government in various ro...