Bring Your Big Energy Podcast

What if the life you’re supposed to want isn’t actually the life you want at all? ✨ In this powerful episode of Bring Your Fierce Energy , Stacey Kulongowski turns the conversation inward to explore what happens when you stop living by the expectations, rules, and “shoulds” that society has placed on you—and start listening to what you truly want for yourself. From the pressure to follow a certai...

What if the different chapters of your life aren’t separate stories—but invisible strings connecting you to where you’re meant to go next? In this powerful episode of Bring Your Fierce Energy, Stacey Kulongowski sits down with bestselling author, preservationist, and storyteller Sharon Virts to explore the unexpected connections woven throughout her life—and how every chapter has helped shape the...

What if burnout isn't a sign that you're failing—but a signal that something needs to change? In this powerful episode of Bring Your Fierce Energy, Stacey Kulongowski sits down with board-certified doctor of nursing, leadership coach, TEDx speaker, and founder of Empowered Moms, Dr. Emily Jacobs, to talk about what happens when successful women stop running on empty and start leading with...

What if the thing that feels like a career setback is actually the beginning of the work you were meant to do? In this powerful episode of Bring Your Fierce Energy, Stacey Kulongowski sits down with Emmy-nominated producer, storyteller, speaker, and founder of 1 Girl Revolution, Kate Milligan, to talk about what happens when you stop waiting for someone else to create the opportunity you wish exis...

Candice Wilmuth’s journey to founding Tahoe Dog Co. didn’t begin with a perfectly mapped-out business plan. It started with an unexpected career transition, a little more time to reconnect with what mattered to her, and a growing realization that the life she loved in Lake Tahoe could become something bigger. After being laid off from Google, Candice spent time volunteering in her community, foste...

What happens when you stop waiting to feel qualified and start saying yes to the opportunities that intrigue you? In this episode of the Bring Your Big Energy Podcast, I sit down with Dana Ayers, former White House staffer, Navy reservist, national security professional, Afghanistan veteran, and bestselling author of Confessions of an Unlikely Runner . Dana’s incredible journey began with a White...

What happens when you realize you've spent years encouraging everyone else to dream bigger… while quietly shrinking your own dreams? Stacey sits down with entrepreneur, speaker, community builder, and BADE movement creator Monica Curtis for an honest, energizing conversation about choosing yourself, finding fulfillment, and having the courage to go after more. Monica shares the story behind Be...

What if confidence starts before you ever say a word? In this episode, Stacey Kulongowski sits down with personal stylist Jessica Renee to uncover the surprising connection between what we wear, how we feel, and the opportunities we create. Together, they explore why investing in yourself isn't vanity—it's leadership. From overcoming decision fatigue and decluttering your closet to dressin...

Carol Lin spent decades telling the world's biggest stories—from breaking the news of 9/11 on CNN to reporting from war zones across the globe. But the most important story she would ever tell became her own. In this deeply moving conversation, Carol opens up about navigating grief, losing her husband to cancer, becoming a mother, walking away from a prestigious career, and redefining what suc...

Grief isn't just about losing someone you love. Sometimes it's the loss of a dream, your health, your identity, or the future you thought you'd have. In this heartfelt conversation, Stacey welcomes grief counselor Peggy Haymes to explore what grief really looks like—and why there's no right way to experience it. Peggy shares her own journey through childhood trauma, how grief shape...

What is life really like as a military spouse? How do you navigate grief, mental health, resilience, and finding your identity when life keeps asking more of you? In this episode of the Bring Your Big Energy Podcast, host Stacey sits down with Allison Burton—author, military spouse, advocate, and speaker—for an honest conversation about grief, military family life, mental health, resilience, perso...

What if the biggest thing standing between you and the life you want isn't your circumstances—but what you believe about yourself? In this deeply moving episode of  Bring Your Big Energy , Stacey sits down with Mishkin Cyr, whose life has taken him from surviving childhood trauma in Africa, to homelessness, addiction, and rock bottom, before rebuilding a life filled with purpose, family, and m...

What if the story you've been telling yourself isn't the truth—and it's the very thing keeping you stuck? In this deeply moving conversation, Stacey sits down with bestselling author, speaker, and narrative coach Carrie Casey West to explore how the stories we inherit, absorb, and repeat shape every aspect of our lives—from relationships and self-worth to career choices and personal gr...

What if the conversations you're avoiding today could become the greatest gift you ever give someone you love? In this heartfelt and deeply moving episode, Stacey sits down with author, storyteller, and end-of-life conversation advocate Yvonne Caputo to discuss the unexpected journey that transformed her relationship with her father—and forever changed the way she thinks about life, death, and...

What happens when the career that looks successful on paper no longer feels right? In this episode of  Bring Your Big Energy , Stacey sits down with branding strategist and founder of Flower Buds Creative, Nikki Holbrook, to explore the journey from corporate burnout to building a business rooted in purpose, authenticity, and personal values. After spending nearly a decade climbing the corporate l...

What happens when life forces you to start over — and you never saw it coming? In this powerful episode of Bring Your Big Energy , Stacey sits down with author and speaker Amy DeAnne to talk about healing, reinvention, and the courage it takes to choose yourself. After the end of a 29-year marriage and finding herself living alone for the first time during the pandemic, Amy faced a crossroads: sta...

She went back to the place that broke her… to heal the version of herself she left there. 🇮🇹✨At 20 years old, Mari was studying abroad in Florence, Italy when her life completely changed. Pregnant, alone, heartbroken, and overwhelmed, she spent months in deep despair before eventually returning home and building what looked like the “perfect life.”Fast forward 20+ years later:✔️ Married for 20 ye...

In this heartfelt episode of Bring Your Big Energy , Stacey sits down with author, musician, and retired clinical social worker Jeanine M. Jones for a deeply honest conversation about burnout, healing, faith, and second chances. With over 38 years in mental health, Jeanine shares the powerful personal story that changed the course of her life — a terrifying health scare in her late 20s that forced...

This episode is a live coaching session, not a polished interview. Listeners are brought directly into the coaching process as Stacey guides Lisa Van Slyke through the real-time unpacking of limiting beliefs, emotional triggers, identity shifts, and the hidden patterns keeping her stuck. Through powerful coaching questions, reflection exercises, mindset reframes, and honest breakthrough moments, S...

In this episode of Bring Your Big Energy, Stacey sits down with Rozanne Pilbeam , an outdoor confidence guide , writer, adventurer, and retreat facilitator who helps women build confidence in the outdoors and deepen their self-trust. Rozanne shares her incredible journey hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, summiting Mount Kilimanjaro, sleeping under the open sky, and learning what happens when we move...

What if the life you’re living… isn’t actually the one you would choose? And what if the only reason you’re still in it is because it makes sense on paper, meets expectations, and feels safer than asking for more? In this episode of the Bring Your Big Energy podcast, Stacey sits down with Ayla Den Hartog , who quite literally said “what if”… and answered it by uprooting her entire life and moving...

130 MPH crash. 14 surgeries. Rock bottom… and a second chance at life. In this episode of the Bring Your Big Energy Podcast, Stacey sits down with Christian Struthers, whose life changed in an instant after a devastating high-speed crash that left him with 17 major injuries and fighting just to survive. But this isn’t just a story about hitting rock bottom. It’s about what happens after. Before th...

A 2.16 GPA was never supposed to lead here. But for Dr. Alan Mueller, that number didn’t define the outcome—it disrupted the path. In this episode, we unpack how what looked like a limitation became the starting point for something far more aligned, energized, and meaningful. Instead of following the traditional trajectory, Alan found himself on a nonlinear path —one shaped by curiosity, second ch...

What if one moment changed everything? Greer Cooper was driving across a seven-mile bridge—no exits , no shoulder—when her body started to shut down. Her hands began tingling. Her chest tightened. She couldn’t breathe. And in that moment, she truly believed she might die. That experience became the Intensity Point that forced her to confront what was really happening beneath the surface, because w...

⚠️ Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of domestic violence, sexual abuse, and trauma. Please listen with care. What happens when the person you believed was your soulmate at 14 slowly becomes someone you no longer recognize—and nearly 20 years later, you realize staying is no longer an option…because leaving is the only way to survive? In this deeply powerful and courageous conversa...