True Stride

I love the change of seasons, especially when fall starts giving us those first chilly mornings. After months of being outside, making plans, and staying busy, I'm usually ready to slow things down. I notice it when I take the dogs out and can't wait to get back inside where it's warm. Spring and summer have always been my more active seasons, and I enjoy everything that comes with them. But I don...

It's hard to believe that this month marks six years since we launched this podcast. When I started True Stride, I was focused on what I could bring to each episode. I wanted our Wise Walks to be useful, and I put quite a bit of pressure on myself to make sure there was something worthwhile in every conversation. What I didn't think about was how showing up every week might change me. Now I catch...

Early in my sales career, I found myself teaching sales new hires (who were struggling to get up to speed) about our products, services, and systems. I'm a teacher and healer at heart, so helping them came naturally, even though the time I spent supporting them was time away from earning commission. What I couldn't see then was that making those small deposits would eventually lead me into sales t...

I have a wonderful chiropractor who always has availability when I unexpectedly hurt my back. He makes time for his patients and emergency appointments when they are in critical need, and I loved this idea of how he honors time. He intentionally leaves space in his schedule for the unexpected, which means he doesn't have to rush through the patients who are already there. He can give them his full...

Have you ever gone back to something you haven't done in a while and immediately wondered if you still know how to do it? It's funny how quickly that doubt can creep in. We can have years of experience and plenty of proof that we're capable. Somehow, we can still convince ourselves that too much time has passed or that we've forgotten everything we once knew. Then we step back into it and realize,...

I like to think of emotions a lot like waves in the ocean. Some roll in gently and barely disturb us, while others seem to come out of nowhere and knock us off our feet. Lately, I have been experiencing some of those heavier waves. With the 25th anniversary of September 11, memories from when I was living and working in New York have surfaced in ways I did not necessarily expect. Grief can be tric...

I've always loved the idea of trying something on a small scale before going all in. In my corporate days, we did this all the time with pilots. We would test a new idea, product, process, or system with a small group, see what worked, notice where things started to crack, and then decide what needed to change before taking it any further. That same approach has helped me in so many other areas of...

A friend of mine is doing some really exciting things right now. She is building a new business, speaking at fashion events, and stretching herself in all kinds of new ways. When we were talking recently, one of the things she focused on was the fact that she has not been exercising. I remember thinking, why are we so quick to notice the thing we have not done instead of everything we have and hav...

Sometimes life gives us a lesson we already know, but apparently need to learn again. I recently tweaked my back while moving an extremely heavy piece of furniture, and I knew immediately that I had to stop. There was a time when I might have tried to push through the pain and finish what I started, but experience has taught me that ignoring what my body is telling me usually makes things worse. T...

Years ago, I spent some time studying Ayurveda and learning more about how food can support the body. One thing I remember really liking was the idea of bringing different tastes into a meal. Instead of eating something that hits only one note, you include a mix of flavors so the meal feels more satisfying and complete. I started thinking about that again recently, only this time in terms of life....

One of the messages I heard over and over growing up was simple: if you start something, you see it through. My mom taught us to keep going, push through the hard parts, and trust that we could get to the other side. That lesson gave me a lot of confidence, but I also remember one time in high school when she completely surprised me. I was struggling with a situation that had become hurtful, and i...

Sometimes you do not realize how much your life has changed until something makes you stop and look at it. New interests emerge. Our priorities change. Everyday experiences begin to feel natural even though they would have surprised an earlier version of us. A recent conversation with my sister gave me a chance to see my own transformation through her eyes. While she was excited about business mee...

Sometimes you can think you know exactly what you want, but actually experiencing it tells you something completely different. In backpacking, a shakedown gives you a chance to test your gear on a shorter trip before heading out on a bigger adventure. I love that idea because we do the same thing in everyday life, whether we realize it or not. I have test driven cars that looked great on paper, bu...

Bravery is easy to admire when we see someone do something extraordinary. Lately, though, I have been noticing it in much quieter moments. It shows up when someone learns new skills because their career is changing. It is there when a friend tries online dating again or takes on an adventure that feels a little beyond their comfort zone. They may still feel nervous or unsure. They are simply choos...

There is a big difference between being taught something and actually feeling like you are learning it. I was reminded of that recently when I signed up for an eight-week line dancing class. Although I had tried line dancing before, this class felt different almost immediately. Rather than introducing the music and expecting us to follow along, the instructor broke each dance into smaller pieces....

It can be humbling to realize how much energy a new chapter asks of us, even when it is something we wanted. A new job, a new home, a new business, a relationship, a move, or any fresh beginning can bring possibility and purpose, but it can also bring pressure. Suddenly there are more doors open in the hallway, more decisions waiting, more people offering opinions, and more distractions trying to...

It seems like everyone I talk to right now is carrying a lot. We have the normal responsibilities of work, home, health, relationships, and family, but then summer arrives and somehow adds even more. More plans, more projects, more people needing support, more things blooming in the yard, and more opportunities that sound wonderful but still ask for time, energy, and attention. I have been thinkin...

I'm so excited to be celebrating episode 300 with you, my listeners and fellow Striders. Today, we are looking back at how True Stride began, how it has grown, and how much can change when we keep showing up with honesty, curiosity, and a willingness to listen to what feels aligned. When this podcast started nearly six years ago, I had just left corporate America, I was writing a book, and I was b...

When I was growing up, asking for what you wanted was not seen as a good thing. It was considered impolite, as though you were putting somebody out or being an imposition. If someone offered something to you, then you could say yes, but asking directly was different. It felt as though you were putting someone on the spot. I am not really sure what that mentality or belief system was about, but it...

Adversity has a way of showing us where we need support, even when we think we should be able to handle something on our own. Since moving to the farm, I have had plenty of moments that stretched me in new ways. Some have been exciting, some have been overwhelming, and some have involved learning more than I ever expected about chickens, weeds, acreage, and all the little surprises that come with...

Pressure has a way of getting our attention. I don't always love how it feels in the moment, but I can't deny that it often brings me into sharper focus. When there's a deadline or a real sense of urgency, I start to see what matters most and what I can let go of. The extra noise gets quieter, the mission-critical pieces become clearer, and somehow that pressure can turn into momentum. Lately, I'v...

I have been feeling waves of exhaustion, waves of energy, and honestly, a little out of rhythm as I settle into my new home. I'm only about 10 days into this move, and even though I'm excited and grateful, I've also had moments where I feel disoriented, tired, and unsure of what needs my attention first. When I shared that with my aunt, she reminded me of the Rule of 3s: three days to decompress,...

Sometimes the smallest misplaced thing can stir up the biggest reminder. A set of keys on a walking path, a phone left behind in a restroom, or eight tiny screws tucked away in a "safe place" can all feel like inconveniences at first. But I've been thinking about how these moments also invite us to slow down, pay attention, and notice what life may be trying to show us. After my recent move, I fou...

Life has a way of reminding us that we are not meant to carry everything alone. This past weekend brought that lesson into focus for me as I coordinated a big move from St. Augustine to Georgia, with belongings spread across storage, family, my van, and the pieces of a life that had been in transition for months. It was exciting, exhausting, emotional, and full of moving parts, which meant there w...

I was recently reminded how hard it can be for some of us to receive, especially when we are used to being the giver. A young woman I love shared a story about borrowing a dress from her cousin, only to have her cousin offer it to her as a gift. Her first instinct was to say no because it felt like too much, but I could see so clearly that the dress was meant for her, and that accepting it would a...