Your Odyssey Podcast

What if self-trust isn't something you lose, but something you can rebuild? Many of us spend years looking outside ourselves for answers, approval, and certainty. We second-guess our instincts, overthink our decisions, and wonder why trusting ourselves feels so difficult. In this episode, we're exploring how self-doubt often develops as an adaptation rather than a character flaw—and why rebuilding...

What if creativity isn't a talent reserved for a gifted few? What if it's part of what makes us human? In the final episode of our Joy & Aliveness series, Tara and Karen are joined by the founder of Stage & Spirit , Veronique MacRae ,   for a conversation about creativity, identity, and the courage to express what's already within us. Together, they explore how many adults slowly disconnec...

What brings you joy? For many people, that question is surprisingly difficult to answer. After years of responsibility, caregiving, achievement, and doing what needs to be done, it's easy to lose touch with what we actually enjoy, desire, or long for. We become experts at managing life while forgetting how to participate in it. In this episode, Tara and Karen explore the hidden cost of disconnecti...

As part of our June series, Joy & Aliveness, we're revisiting one of the earliest conversations from the Your Odyssey archives. What if joy isn't something you have to earn? Many of us have been taught to treat joy as a reward—something that comes after the work is done, after the healing happens, or after life becomes easier. But what if joy was never meant to be a prize waiting at the finish...

What if joy isn't something you earn, but something you need? In this episode, Tara and Karen challenge the belief that joy is frivolous, unproductive, or something to be put off until everything else is finished. They explore why play, curiosity, wonder, and delight are not distractions from healing but part of the healing itself. Through a thought-provoking conversation about our most essential...

What if the reason you feel disconnected isn't that you've lost your purpose, but because you've lost touch with what makes you feel alive? In this episode of Your Odyssey Podcast , Tara and Karen explore the quiet ways we drift away from ourselves through responsibility, achievement, survival mode, and the endless pressure to keep doing more. Together, they unpack why joy doesn't live at the end...

What if the future of leadership isn’t hopeless after all? In the final episode of this 3-part series, Tara and Karen continue their conversation with Merry about culture change, emotional intelligence, and the future of leadership, and why, despite the instability we see around us, she remains deeply hopeful about people. Together, they explore: Why most people are already doing the best they can...

Why does transformation feel so difficult, even when we know change is necessary? In Part 2 of this 3-part leadership series, Tara and Karen continue their conversation with Merry Graham, exploring why to explore why so many visionary leaders find themselves caught between outdated definitions of success and the need for deeper transformation. Together, they explore: Why transformation often feels...

What if the biggest gap in leadership today isn’t strategy, but self-awareness? In Part 1 of this 3-part series, Tara and Karen sit down with Merry Graham, who has spent over 30 years working with leaders around the world to explore a powerful idea: that emotional and spiritual intelligence are missing from how we develop leaders. Together, they unpack what it means to lead as a whole human being...

You’re allowed to take up space. But what happens after that? In this episode, we move beyond the idea of visibility into something deeper… capacity. Because taking up space isn’t just about being seen or heard. It’s about what you carry into the rooms, conversations, and relationships you’re part of. Your presence is not neutral. Whether you realize it or not, it shapes the emotional climate arou...

Who told you your voice was too much? In this episode of Your Odyssey Podcast, we unpack the message so many of us have internalized (that we’re too loud, too emotional, too intense) and what it’s been costing us. Because “too much” isn’t something you’re born believing. It’s something you learn. And over time, that belief shows up as self-editing, shrinking, and holding back before you’ve even ha...

What if you didn’t lose your voice? What if it just got quiet for a reason? In this episode of Your Odyssey Podcast , we explore what it looks like to reconnect with your voice after seasons of silence: without rushing, forcing, or expecting yourself to be where you used to be. Because for many of us, staying quiet wasn’t random. It was protective. And when your voice quiets to keep you safe, find...

What has your silence cost you? In this episode of Your Odyssey Podcast, Tara and Karen explore the quiet consequences of the things we didn’t say, and how silence, while often protective, can slowly erode our identity, relationships, and sense of peace. From second-guessing yourself to feeling unseen in your relationships, they unpack how what goes unsaid doesn’t disappear. It gets stored. But th...

What if you don’t need to feel ready before you speak? In this episode of Your Odyssey, we explore what it really means to find your voice, and why waiting for confidence might be the very thing holding you back. So many of us believe we need clarity before expression. But what if it actually works the other way around? What if your voice becomes clearer because you use it? Through honest reflecti...

In this early episode of Your Odyssey Podcast, Tara and Karen explore what self-love really means and what it truly requires. Not as a surface-level concept, but as a relationship. They reflect on self-love as the practice of meeting yourself with compassion, grace, and honesty, including the parts you’ve tried to hide, fix, or push away. The “icky bits” you’ve been taught to suppress are not sepa...

Two years ago, two women started a conversation. We didn’t know exactly what it would become. In this special anniversary episode, we pull back the curtain on the real journey behind Your Odyssey: the excitement of starting something, the quiet discipline it took to keep going, and the moments that stretched them in ways they never saw coming. This isn’t a highlight reel. It’s an honest look at wh...

Growth begins with courage, but the life you’re building can only flourish if you learn how to sustain it. In this episode of Your Odyssey Podcast, Tara and Karen invite you to pull up a chair for a warm, honest conversation about what really keeps us going. After exploring remembrance and stewardship in earlier episodes, they’re now asking: how do we actually sustain the life we’ve worked so hard...

Last week, we talked about the women who shaped us. This week, we explore what happens after the awakening. In this episode of Your Odyssey Podcast, Tara and Karen reflect on the quieter side of growth: stewardship. Becoming the woman you’re called to be may happen in a moment, but living aligned with that identity is a daily practice. Through honest conversation, they explore the discipline of id...

Before you became who you are, there were women who carried something for you. In this Women’s History Month episode of Your Odyssey Podcast, Tara and Karen reflect on the women who shaped their story. They talk about the ones they watched, the ones whose labor went unseen, and the mentors who stepped in at just the right time to break through their hesitation. Karen shares about the women in her...

Are you generous, dependable, and deeply loving with those around you, but struggle to offer that same care to yourself, especially when others might see? In this episode, Tara and Karen explore what it means to love yourself loudly, not through affirmations or self-focus, but through everyday choices that honor your needs, boundaries, and capacity. They talk about why self-love often feels safer...

In a world that prizes quick wit and fast reactions, kindness is often mistaken for weakness. But what if kindness is actually a form of courage? In this episode, Tara and Karen look at kindness through a new lens: not as a weakness, but as an act of courage. They talk about the kind of strength it takes to choose restraint over escalation and honesty over avoidance. Together, they untangle the di...

Growth is rarely neat and clean. It’s often slow, unfinished, and uncomfortable, and that’s where love can feel hardest. In this episode, Tara and Karen explore what it means to love what’s still in progress, without rushing it, fixing it, or abandoning it too soon. They discuss why we’re tempted to pressure ourselves and others toward clarity, how to tell the difference between staying with growt...

When we think about love, most of us imagine something warm and comfortable, something that feels easy, safe, and uplifting. But sometimes, the love that matters most is the love that makes us uncomfortable; the kind that pushes us to grow, even when we’d rather stay the same. In this episode, Tara and Karen get real about love as more than just a good feeling. They talk about the love that challe...

Episode 100 is a pause — not to summarize, but to honor. In this milestone episode, Tara and Karen reflect on 100 lessons from 100 conversations , highlighting key themes that have emerged again and again — reminders rooted in listening, honesty, and lived experience. Together, they celebrate the meaningful, heart-driven essence of their podcast journey and what these conversations have revealed a...

What if happiness isn’t something you chase — but something that follows? In this episode, Tara and Karen explore the happiness paradox —the idea that the harder we try to find happiness by chasing more success, clarity, or healing, the further it can feel. Together, they break down why getting more doesn’t always feel as satisfying as we hope, how being content isn’t the same as being complacent,...