Make Life Less Difficult

Send us a message! My guest today is Nickie Foley. Nickie and I met in January 2021 here in Sri Lanka.  We are both married to US Diplomats and the connection through the Foreign Service community is an immediate point of connection.  For Nickie and I, however, the first time we spent any time together in person it was on a 4-hour drive to a yoga retreat.  As I remember, there wasn't a minute...

Send us a message! My guest today is Melinda Grafton. Melinda is the founder and principal of 3D Renew.  She provides executive coaching, leadership development programs, and individualized wellness programs. Melinda's story includes leaving home at 12 years old, serving 26 years in the United States Air Force, journeying through injury and PTSD, and through it all always returning to her lif...

Send us a message! My guest today is Amanda Elo'Esh. Amanda is the founder and president of Living Wisdom Church, a dogma-free plant and energy medicine based community in the San Francisco Bay area. Amanda is a Spiritual Success Mentor who found and began using her spiritual gifts from an early age.  She has a masters in counseling psychology and expressive arts therapy.  She's an inter...

Send us a message! My guest today is Mary Kay Campbell.  Mary Kay is a speaker, storyteller, and connector. After more than 25 years of corporate experience in strategic marketing and communications, Mary Kay is applying this knowledge and her skills to her passion: storytelling -- and helping others tell their stories with impact! Mary Kay share how a life-threatening car accident led her to take...

Send us a message! My conversation today is with Brian Levenson, the founder of Strong Skills and author of the book, Shift Your Mind . Brian and his team at Strong Skills   provide executive coaching and mental performance coaching, speaking and consulting to elite organizations, performers and leaders.  He has been fortunate to work with CEO’s, professional athletes and with teams in the NBA, NH...

Send us a message! Russ Watts joins me again today as we discuss our personal journeys and experiences with EMDR -- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.  EMDR is known as an effective treatment for PTSD.  What Russ and I have both learned, however, is that there are significant benefits to be gained from Reprocessing even seemingly insignificant memories from earlier in life. We are not...

Send us a message! Before closing the door on 2021, I like to reflect on the year.  I've developed a four-step reflection process and I share that in today's podcast. The steps: Acknowledge you regrets Identify ONE thing you're proud of accomplishing Shift your focus to PROGRESS, not perfection Be kind to yourself! Listen to the full podcast for examples and explanations of how this...

Send us a message! Many times when I talk about stories, people say to me, "I don't have a story to tell."  My response is, "You don't have A story to tell, you have a MULTITUDE of stories to tell!!" Every single human has amazing stories.  You may not think so (about yourself), but I promise, it's true!  You may not realize how amazing your stories are because y...

Send us a message! My guest today is Matthew Thomas-Malani.  Matt and I went to high school together and reconnected a few years ago on Facebook when I shared a recommendation for the movie, Boy Erased , staring Lucas Hedges. Matt and I both grew up in religious communities that taught being gay was  wrong -- a sin.  As I have declared I no longer subscribe to those teachings, I've had people...

Send us a message! My guest today is Rashmi Zimburg. Rashmi is a Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach .  Drawing on her education and experience, Rashmi helps her clients make lifestyle changes and choose health-promoting ways that produce real and lasting results.  Rashmi shares pieces of her story from growing up in India, moving to the USA for university, working in NYC, and moving arou...

Send us a message! My guest today is Jennifer Adams Murtaugh. Jen and I went to high school together and reconnected a few years ago, both amazed at the crazy, difficult experiences life tossed our way since becoming adults. Today, Jen is happily married to Jonathan and lives in southern California.  But it's been a long and at times extremely difficult journey that has led to this point. Ple...

Send us a message! My guest today is Paula Widerlite.  Her story reminds us that we never know what someone has been through on their journey to success.  You can't judge a book by its cover... and you can't know people by their titles. Paula   is the former Chief Strategy Officer of Luminis Health, a $1.2 B not-for-profit integrated health system. Prior to that, she was the Vice Preside...

Send us a message! My guest today is Matthew Gamble.  Matthew is an Inner Alignment Coach.  He holds a doctorate degree in Transformational Leadership and is passionate about helping others find spiritual alignment. Matthew and I met around 2007/2008 when we were both working as pastors.  We pop into each other's lives every few years and it's always fascinating to see how life unfolds f...

Send us a message! My guest today is Julie Salganik of Avance Global Consulting.  In our conversation Julie shares parts of her story of immigration from the prior Soviet Union to the United States of America when she was four years old.  She shares how that journey shaped her and her work, the generational differences in the immigration experience, and the deep impact of stories -- both the tradi...

Send us a message! My guest today is Arianne Rice. Arianne is an Episcopal priest, Certified Daring Way Facilitator, and Leadership Coach. She tells me she used to live by the mantra "You are always the problem you are trying to solve." Then she decided she was a person, not a problem. Now she supports herself and others by cultivating and enriching our capacities to "Love who you a...

Send us a message! What comes to mind for you when you hear the word, Conflict? For many, it's things like: avoid, fear, stress, war, anxiety, arguments, etc.  A few think about some positive aspects like resolutions, problem solving, innovation. No matter what your perspective on conflict, this episode can help you use your go-to response effectively plus learn to stretch into new ways of re...

Send us a message! Today I talk with Anna Sparks about the book, Professional Troublemaker:The Fear-Fighter Manual by Luvvie Ajayi Jones. I love reading and I love discussing the books I'm reading and hearing what others think.  So, when I told Anna about my idea of including conversations about books on my podcast, she volunteered and suggested this book. In addition to discussing Profession...

Send us a message! My conversation today is with Kelly Kienzle , the founder of Open Circle Coaching .  Kelly shares pieces of her journey including the loss of her father in the midst of COVID, the deep challenges that exist within long term healthy relationships, and learning to be fully present with herself and be attentive to her own self-care so she can truly be there for others. Kelly  provi...

Send us a message! “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” – Maya Angelou (from Shannon's website) My guest today is Shannon Cochran-Yzquierdo of  Coaching Courage .  Coaching Courage works with leaders, teams, and organizations to reframe the way they see themselves.  Its services include leadership, career, & mentor coaching, strategic communications consult...

Send us a message! My guest today is Darcie Milazzo, Founder of the Penn Cannon Group, an Executive Coach, and an Agent of Transformation. Darcie Milazzo is dedicated to developing leaders with a commitment to make a positive difference in the world.  As a coach, consultant and higher education executive, she supports higher education institutions, its innovators and creatives in the successful pu...

Send us a message! In this episode I share about my journey of learning about self-compassion.  Beginning to practice self-compassion has changed my life more than all the other self-help books, seminars, conferences, and workshops I've attended (and there have been a lot!).   I share two main ideas: Introduce the idea of self-compassion and how it can help us be more compassionate with other...

Send us a message! Susie Csorsz Brown is my guest today.  Susie and I met in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where we both live as part of the US Foreign Service Community. Susie, a Parent and Wellness Coach, has a wealth of knowledge and experience  helping families focus on healthy living and managing transitions.  In addition,  she's got expertise in moving around the world, handling medical emergenci...

Send us a message! Evelyne Fallows joins me today for a great exploration of personal growth, relationship management, and finding oneself in the midst of the demands of others. Evelyne and I met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2014, thanks to our dogs, Ruby and Sierra.  Our friends has spanned multiple international moves and continues to grow and expand even though we live on different sides of the g...

Send us a message! My guest today is Michaela Lawrence Jeffery.  Michaela and I met in 2007 and I unknowingly prophesied both our futures!  Michaela shares her wisdom and insights on life and the journey of becoming a mother, including having two miscarriages and what helped make those losses a little less difficult.  Michaela finds great contentment sipping a warm beverage in a local coffee shop...

Send us a message! Brenda Harrington is the CEO and founder of Adaptive Leadership Strategies, LLC. Her reputation for helping clients navigate both obvious and obscure leadership challenges has resulted in leaders throughout the country and around the world contacting her to help them: Increase influence across their organizations  Boost productivity and engagement Develop creative solutions to c...