Live Your Best Life

From psychotherapist to fashion stylist, my guest has risen above a traumatic childhood, to learning how to trust herself and live her best life. When I learned about Tara West’s story, I knew I wanted the world to know more about her because of her courage to transform her life and create a next chapter. “There’s a lot of psychology that comes to play when I’m working with people, whether it’s hi...

Growing up in the Netherlands, Celine Charlotte was told by her parents to live a “normal life,” which meant marry a rich man, stick to the rules and follow the status quo. But that is not what she wanted. Instead, she left everything behind, moved to America and went from no money in the bank to becoming a self-made millionaire and she wants to show others how they can do it too. “I choose the ca...

From the Peace Corps to pizza, that was the pivot Conor Cudahy made during the pandemic and followed his passion. Conor is the founder of Lala’s Neopolitan-ish Pizza, first as a mobile, pop-up pizza food truck to his first brick and mortar establishment. “It was really just a hobby for me at the beginning…it never seemed like…a stable way to make a living. I think the pandemic really just showed e...

If you fear that you have stayed in a job too long, but you’re not clear on what to move on to, you are not alone. Tammy Gooler Loeb says it is possible to find your way to greater career satisfaction, and she can help you put a plan in place. After years of her own unfulfilling professional career chapters, she found her calling by working from the inside out. “…I’m not suggesting that people thr...

Gabriela Salas is a former figure skating champion who represented her home country of Mexico. Upon moving to the United States, she not only shared her competitive skating skills as a coach, but she has gone on to her next chapter as a Latina entrepreneur, aviation strategist, and a global PR brand developer. “I decided to create a culture around branding…15-20 years ago, the emotional marketing...

What do two brothers—who happen to both be former professional football players—do once they’ve hung up their cleats? Besides giving of their time and talents to their favorite charities, Rob Gronkowski and his brother Chris have created their next chapters by becoming entrepreneurs. In fact, it’s an all-around family affair with a number of different business ventures. “…The hard work that you le...

What does a national journalist do when she’s simply tired of feeling like all she ever does is report on bad news? Michelle Figueroa knew exactly what to do and created her own movement of good news stories. “…I pitched good news stories, and they were amazing. I was thinking people need to know these stories and they would get turned down to many hard news stories…I was sick of getting kicked to...

After more than a decade on the radio, Jack Lepiarz left his safe job as a well-known news anchor in Boston to become a full time circus performer. “…Being on stage since I was six years old, it has made me very comfortable with things not necessarily going according to plan and things going awry…and so when I was a reporter for WBUR, I basically became our breaking news guy…if you need someone to...

My guest knows what it’s like to hit rock bottom. He’s a former US Marine Corps veteran who upon returning home, lost everything and was living out of his car. Today he’s risen from homelessness to being a renowned fitness trainer for some of Hollywood’s elite. “…It’s pretty surreal to be where I am now because growing up as a normal kid, you always watch the movies, you see the iconic movie, movi...

Lisa and Benjamin Shield say there are five essential shifts that you can make to attract the right partner into your life and find the guardian of your soul. Their proof? They have been happily married for more than 20 years. “… ‘Guardian of your soul’ is a verb. ‘Soulmate’ is a noun, it’s a thing, it’s an objective, but a ‘guardian of your soul’ is a way of being with each other, a way of treati...

Jeffrey Shaw has never ever had a “real job” nor a traditional paycheck. From selling eggs door-to-door at the age of 14 to becoming a renowned portrait photographer, today he is considered the “go to” expert for the self-employed, helping small business owners get the results they want. “I think we have to pay attention to what’s the energy of these titles that we give ourselves and what are in t...

It’s never too late to create a second chapter and Trisha Pérez Kennealy has done just that. She had a successful career in the finance industry only to give it all up after 9/11 and follow her passion. Today, she is an innkeeper, a chef and culinary educator who shares her proud Puerto Rican culture and Jewish heritage to all of her guests. “I always knew that I wanted to be an entrepreneur. My f...

“Never allow life’s challenges to stop you from reaching for the stars.” That is the mantra Vanessa Yakobson lives by. After battling and beating childhood cancer, Vanessa believes it gave her a new sense of drive and determination to chase all of her dreams. One of those dreams: Running her own business someday. “I just had this deep sense of knowing that this was an experience that I was meant t...

Andrea Isabelle Lucas was once a broke, single, teenage mom, a former stripper and a victim of domestic violence who relied on food stamps for groceries. Today she runs her own business that brings in millions of dollars a year. How’d she do it? She took ownership of her life. “I think ultimately what it means is owning what it is that you really want for yourself, and then refusing to let anythin...

As a former CEO, now turned entrepreneur, Luke Iorio knew he was burned out. He went in search of what matters, and in the process, found himself. “I just recognized that I had strayed far from what I considered to be the center of who I really was, and that I was going to do whatever I needed to to take that road back again…” Luke left his role as CEO, and gave himself the space and clarity, he s...

“Be authentic, get behind something you love and are passionate about.” That is the mantra  Kristen Standish lives by. She is an accomplished leader in driving sales for a variety of media ventures over her entire career. But in 2021, she recreated herself with her next chapter, and started her own business. Her passion for female founders was the impetus behind the launch of RazHer collaborative....

Some of the most successful people in the world have a superpower. It’s not their expertise, nor their experience. In fact, it’s something that we can all create to live a meaningful life: deep connections and partnerships. For 15 years, Jean Oelwang had a ringside seat into how partnerships create success. She interviewed dozens of world leaders and influential people, Nelson Mandela, Archbishop...

For my 100th episode, I’m inviting you to celebrate this milestone with me in a special way. Scott Harrison, founder and CEO of Charity: Water, is here to tell you that redemption is possible and together, we’re following his journey of second chances which now involves saving millions of people’s lives all around the world. “…I wound up selling everything I owned, and deciding to kind of give one...

Jen Royle is a former Emmy award-winning sports reporter-turned-chef and restaurateur, a former contestant on ABC’s “The Taste” and Food Network’s “Beat Bobby Flay.” Today she is having tremendous success running what’s been called one of the best Italian restaurants in Boston’s North End. But as much as she loves cooking, her memories of her first dream job as a sports reporter have helped to gro...

Mitzi Perdue is living one of the most fascinating lives. Besides being a hotel heiress, Mitzi has made a name for herself as a businesswoman, an award-winning author of 27 books, and a speaker. And in case her last name brings up any word association, her late husband, Frank Perdue, founded the Perdue Chicken company and her father co-founded the Sheraton Hotel chain. “I’m so grateful because a l...

Do you know what your purpose is? Have you thought much about it? Patrice Tanaka has and she is on a mission to help people discover their own purpose to live a more joyful life. The unexpected, personal and professional journey she has taken her from the depths of depression, to living a life of joy and how she got there might surprise you. “It’s important to have clarity about our life and leade...

An award-winning journalist and best-selling author who went back to college in her 60s to become a psychotherapist, Ann Dowsett Johnston is writing her next chapter with authenticity and raw honesty. But that’s only a piece of her story. She also outed herself to the world as a recovering alcoholic after years of feeling like a failure despite outward success. “…It wasn’t until I wrote my book, ‘...

Andrea Owen says that after hitting rock bottom, she believed that life was tapping her on the shoulder and asking something more of her. And she went in search of that “more”. Today, she’s a certified life coach, best-selling author, podcast host and speaker. “…At the end of the day, the thing that I walked away with was that I had for decades been hoping that I could find my happiness and my con...

What do a reconstructive cosmetic surgeon and an earthquake construction specialist have in common? Besides being best friends and in their 60s, they are on a mission to inspire and help men over the age of 50 with everything from marriage, divorce to health, exercise, and yes, even sex. “…We just thought, you know, “I don’t think enough people know about this. Let’s try and bring it to men over 5...

Angela Hofmann is all about living her best life and helping others do the same through healthy eating. She believes making a commitment to your health doesn’t mean skipping dessert. This former architect turned entrepreneur has created a plant based food company called “Nüssli 118”. “…everybody’s body is different. So what works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for another person…I always...