Control or Be Controlled

Susan Eileen spent more than 30 years as an educator before turning her attention to another kind of teaching: sharing what she learned through sobriety, healing, and the inner work of recovery. On this episode of CONTROL OR BE CONTROLLED , Susan and Darlington explore the connection between childhood trauma, addiction, toxic relationships, emotional patterns, and the ways unresolved experiences c...

Susan Schleppegrell thought she was building a real relationship. Instead, she became the target of a sophisticated romance scam that left her facing devastating financial and emotional losses. And then it happened again. When someone came along promising to help her recover what she had lost, Susan discovered that the nightmare wasn’t over. The person she believed was coming to her rescue was act...

What if healing isn’t about getting back to who you were? What if it’s about learning how to move forward from where you are? Haley Elise Ridgel is an author, speaker, mother, mental health advocate, and creator of the Begin Again Framework , built around one powerful belief: the middle is where we heal. On this episode of CONTROL OR BE CONTROLLED , Haley and Darlington explore what happens when t...

What if the thing keeping you stuck isn’t your circumstances—but the identity you’ve built around them? Leo Dulay spent 22 years at AT&T building a stable career and an identity around work that felt predictable and secure. Then, in 2019, he was laid off. Overnight, the role he had known for more than two decades disappeared. After eventually finding another job in the same field, Leo discovered s...

What happens when the numbers in your business start making decisions for you? For many founders, money is one of the most uncomfortable parts of running a business. They know they need to understand their finances, but spreadsheets feel overwhelming, financial conversations feel intimidating, and avoiding the numbers can seem easier than confronting them. Barbora Red believes it doesn’t have to b...

Why do so many people keep setting goals, falling behind, and promising themselves they’ll start again on Monday? For busy women—especially working mothers—the problem often isn’t a lack of ambition. It’s trying to build a successful life without the structure, boundaries, and systems needed to actually sustain it. Alicia Dupree knows this firsthand. After building a successful career in corporate...

What happens when you stop following the itinerary everyone else expects you to follow? Bill Mullen spent years building a successful career in corporate leadership and training. Then he made a decision that would completely change the direction of his life: he traded the predictability of corporate life for adventure. Now known to thousands of travelers as “Bangkok Bill,” Bill lives in Thailand a...

What happens when life takes away almost everything you thought you could depend on? Dr. Oluwole “Wole” Babatunde knows what it means to face unimaginable adversity early in life. He lost his mother at just seven years old and his father at thirteen, becoming an orphan before he had even reached adulthood. But instead of allowing tragedy to define the rest of his story, Wole chose to pursue purpos...

What happens when you refuse to let adversity, fear, financial pressure, or complacency decide the direction of your life? In this powerful conversation, Cindy Rand , affectionately known as The Busy Woman’s Cheerleader , joins CONTROL OR BE CONTROLLED to talk about what it really means to take ownership of your growth, leadership, purpose, and personal well-being. After nearly 30 years as a certi...

What if some of the patterns controlling your life today were formed long before you were old enough to understand them? In this powerful conversation, Dr. Christopher Barker , clinical psychologist, speaker, author, and host of the Holding Space podcast, joins CONTROL OR BE CONTROLLED to explore how childhood experiences, complex trauma, and attachment wounds can continue influencing the way we t...

What happens when anxiety starts making decisions for you? When fear keeps you awake, overthinking controls your choices, and your mind constantly prepares for something to go wrong, it can feel as though you’re no longer in control of your own life. In this episode of CONTROL OR BE CONTROLLED, Darlington sits down with Elke Scholz, MA, RP, REACE, a registered psychotherapist, internationally regi...

What if the biggest threat to your team’s performance isn’t technology, strategy, or even the market—but the leader in the mirror? In this episode of CONTROL OR BE CONTROLLED , Darlington sits down with Pamela Marion , leadership strategist, executive advisor, speaker, author, and recovering corporate executive, to explore what happens when leaders lose alignment with themselves and the people the...

What if taking control of your health isn’t about waiting until something goes wrong—but making different choices long before it does? In this episode of CONTROL OR BE CONTROLLED, Darlington sits down with Barbara Kvelstein, CEO of Nordic Clinic and founder of Norderm, for a fascinating conversation about preventive health, longevity, confidence, leadership, and building a purpose-driven life. Bar...

What happens when the success you worked so hard to create starts controlling you? In this episode of CONTROL OR BE CONTROLLED , Darlington sits down with Felicia Brown , a trauma-informed speaker, licensed professional counselor, emotional regulation expert, and self-trust coach who helps high-achieving women break free from burnout, overthinking, perfectionism, people-pleasing, and productivity-...

What happens when your own body gives you a warning you can no longer ignore? In this episode of CONTROL OR BE CONTROLLED , Darlington sits down with Hipolito Montero , whose health journey began with a frightening diagnosis that forced him to confront the direction his life was heading. In 2019, Hipolito weighed 130kg, struggled with confidence, wasn’t exercising consistently, and wasn’t taking c...

For 16 years, Toni LaMotta lived under a vow of obedience in a convent. But years later, she discovered that religious vows aren’t the only things that can determine how we live. We can become obedient to family expectations, corporate culture, perfectionism, relationships, fear, and the constant need for external validation—until we wake up and realize that our own voice has become almost impossi...

How much of what you buy, wear, and believe about yourself is actually your choice? In this episode of CONTROL OR BE CONTROLLED , Darlington sits down with Courtney Barriger , award-winning artist, published author, sustainable fashion designer, and multidisciplinary storyteller, for a conversation that goes far beyond clothing. Courtney explores the intersection of fashion, psychology, sustainabi...

What if the biggest threat to your future isn’t a lack of knowledge but the choices you keep avoiding? In this episode of CONTROL OR BE CONTROLLED , Darlington sits down with Charlie Sheppard , Professor of Leadership, entrepreneur, author, systems thinker, and founder of World Bridge University, for a conversation about leadership, behavior, responsibility, and the systems that quietly shape our...

What happens when you stop looking at problems as limitations and start seeing them as opportunities? In this episode of CONTROL OR BE CONTROLLED , Darlington sits down with David Sauers , entrepreneur, CEO, brand builder, and overland adventurer, to explore what it takes to build businesses, take calculated risks, and create a life that goes beyond work. David is the co-founder and CEO of Royal R...

What happens when your life is taken from you—but you refuse to let your circumstances determine who you become? In this powerful episode of CONTROL OR BE CONTROLLED , Darlington sits down with Tammy Corwin , an author, inspirational speaker, television producer, entrepreneur, and founder of the I Am Dragonfly movement. At just 22 years old, Tammy was convicted and sentenced to 60 years in prison...

How much of your life is actually yours—and how much of it is shaped by the need to look like you have everything together? In this episode of CONTROL OR BE CONTROLLED , Darlington sits down with Amarely Quintanilla , author and journalist, for an honest conversation about authenticity, faith, adversity, purpose, and the courage to stop pretending. Amarely has spent her career searching for truth...

What happens when you stop simply living through your experiences and begin using them to understand who you are becoming? In this episode of CONTROL OR BE CONTROLLED , Darlington sits down with Nancy Jasin Ensley , author, legal nurse, hospice specialist, teacher, and storyteller whose writing has been shaped by a lifetime of service, observation, family, faith, and lived experience. Nancy has wo...

Most high performers don’t burn out because they can’t handle pressure. Sometimes, they burn out because they’ve spent too long living a life that no longer aligns with who they are becoming. In this episode of CONTROL OR BE CONTROLLED , Darlington sits down with Richard Jack III , military leader, Alignment Coach & Strategist, and creator of the CEI Ecosystem — Clarity, Execution, Impact . Af...

Money can create freedom—or it can become one of the biggest sources of fear, stress, and uncertainty in our lives. In this episode of CONTROL OR BE CONTROLLED , Darlington sits down with Aryana Charise , Wealth & Legacy Strategist, speaker, and financial educator, to explore what it really takes to build, protect, and pass on wealth with purpose. Aryana’s perspective was shaped by witnessing the...

What happens when something you once used to cope with life slowly becomes the thing controlling your life? In this episode of CONTROL OR BE CONTROLLED , Darlington sits down with Mark Ehrenkranz , Certified Peer Recovery Specialist, author, filmmaker, and recovery advocate, for an honest conversation about addiction, healing, shame, trauma, and reclaiming personal agency. Mark’s journey bridges t...