Life Story Episodes

1,273 | Heidy De La Cruz on Why Immigrant Stories Matter Now More Than Ever Heidy De La Cruz is a podcaster, speaker, and podcast coach passionate about amplifying immigrant voices and empowering Latina women to share their stories. She is the host of the two-time award-winning podcast “The American Dream in the Eyes of Immigrants,” where guests reveal their powerful journeys to the United States. Heidy also hosts Digital Marketing 101 for Latinas, helping women master online business and digital marketing with confidence and clarity. Drawing from her own experience managing PTSD, she speaks openly about mental health, encouraging others to find strength in vulnerability. Whether she’s behind the mic, coaching busy moms, or inspiring audiences on stage, Heidy’s mission is to educate, empower, and elevate every voice. When she’s not creating, she enjoys reading, listening to podcasts, and making lasting memories with her family. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎧 Love our show? Sho…

1,271 | From Violence to Vision: Matt Mizerek’s Journey of Healing Matt Mizerek is an artist, musician, entrepreneur, and two-time stroke survivor whose life is a testament to resilience and purpose. Despite growing up in an abusive environment, becoming entangled in a violent scene in post-9/11 New York City, and surviving two strokes at the age of 33, Matt has continued to rise above every challenge and move forward with courage and optimism. He is the author of Revelations Through Resilience, founder of Built For Better Apparel, and creator of the nonprofit Art Always, which promotes creative expression and community healing through art. A proud father of two boys, Matt also coaches and mentors others, helping them find strength and meaning through adversity. Throughout his career, he has collaborated with numerous Fortune 500 companies and high-profile individuals, earning awards and recognition for his artistic and marketing achievements. Beyond his professional su…

1,270 | How Eleanor Shell Turned Pain Into Purpose Through Resilient Magnolia™ Eleanor Shell is a speaker, advocate, and founder of Resilient Magnolia™, a movement dedicated to helping women rise when life turns upside down. A Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE), Presbyterian minister, and mother of three, Eleanor’s life changed in an instant when she survived a traumatic brain injury after being hit by a car in 2024. Still actively recovering after reaching what doctors called “maximum medical improvement,” she has turned her pain into purpose by using her experience to inspire and empower others. Eleanor’s long and often invisible road to recovery demanded a new kind of resilience—one built on grace, humor, and faith. Through Resilient Magnolia™, she helps women rebuild from the inside out, creating a community for those navigating grief, identity shifts, and life-altering transitions. With more than 20 years of experience in leadership, fundraising, and community str…

1,264 | From Pain to Purpose: Melissa Lujan’s Story of Healing Melissa Lujan is a 44-year-old mother of three sons, a survivor of domestic violence, and a passionate advocate for healing and hope. Through the power of storytelling, she uses her voice to reach both survivors and those currently navigating difficult relationships, offering encouragement, empathy, and strength. Since 2009, Melissa has worked in the medical field, where her heart for service truly shines. She holds certifications as a CHT, CCHT, CNA, phlebotomist, and OSHA safety officer. Her compassion and ability to care for others are not just professional skills; they are gifts shaped by life’s hardest battles. Melissa believes that through every painful moment, God was refining her purpose. Today, she stands as a testament to resilience, empowered by faith, and driven to help others discover their own strength. Her mission is simple: to help every reader or listener feel seen, understood, and reminded that t…

1,260 | Maryanne Wood on Adaptability, Growth, and Following Your Calling Maryanne Wood is a retired professional dog trainer. She trained dogs for 15 years before deciding to move on to her next life adventure, becoming a children's book author. The Randall and Hunter Go with the Flow series invite children to become open, adaptable and resilent in the face of change and new situations. These are important life lessons for not only children but adults as well. Now in her 60's Maryanne sees clearly that it is never too late to begin a new career, hobby or whatever your heart is calling you to do or become. When she is not writing or promoting her books Maryanne enjoys spending time in the Vermont countryside with her faithful companion Willow, the chocolate lab. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎧 Love our show? Show some love! 👉 Check out today’s guest: https://www.maryannewood.com 🎬 Need stunning videos, clean audio, or scroll-stopping designs? Check out our media services at…

1,255 | The Art of Turning Pain Into Power with Wendy Babcock Wendy Babcock is proof that a story can build an empire. She started as a girl scribbling songs to survive trauma, hiding her words in notebooks no one ever saw. Decades later, those same words became the backbone of WHEN Stories™, the powerhouse platform transforming women entrepreneurs into visible, credible leaders through branded stage talks amplified into books, podcasts, and video. Her work has earned her national recognition, including a Forbes Entrepreneur of Impact nomination, the Small Business of the Year Award, and a Hollywood Independent Music Award for her songwriting because whether on stage or in song, Wendy knows how to move people. But she doesn’t measure success in trophies. She measures it in women who once thought their stories were “too messy” or “not worthy” and now stand under theater lights, delivering talks that ripple into clients, impact, and legacy. Wendy Babcock is bold in fuchsia, …

1,248 | The Power of Self-Worth: Deborah Weed’s Inspiring Story Deborah Weed is a creative whirlwind and motivator. As the Founder of the Self-worth Initiative, her mission is to foster self-worth through creative IP’s and to elevate our world with stories that have a message. Deborah's raison d'etre came out of a personal crisis. After working on a 26 million dollar pavilion with Disney and Universal consultants for KIA Motors, then being the Director of Development for Citibank, 19 branches, she was misdiagnosed which left her bedridden for three years. Her self-worth plummeted. Especially from going to the top of her game in corporate, to being unable to function. Then, she heard about a 1943 pure copper penny that was worth $250,000. $250,000! How could that be?! A penny, which is perceived as worthless was more valuable than a house, car or the most amazing vacation. The penny became Deborah’s personal hero. The reason it was so valuable was because it was made by m…

1,241 | Lessons in Reinvention and Purpose with Andreia Poston I'm Andreia, I started studying English at age 13, by 15 I spoke English fluently, I ended up helping a friend at the time open up an English course in Brazil called “Magic English.” I found that learning another language opened up broader horizons and decided to be part of an exchange program in 2003. Since then I have traveled to several cities in Europe, US and in Brazil, being exposed to different cultures and different ways of life, I decided to write a book “Create a Great Brand New Life” to share the thought processes I have learned along the way. I am now getting geared up to write a second book “ Next Level Up” the idea is to continue growing and achieving higher levels in my personal and professional life, to positively impact the lives I come in contact with. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎧 Love our show? Show some love! 👉 Check out today’s guest: https://amzn.to/3ynqFfZ 🎬 Need stunning videos, clean audio,…

1,235 | Through Pain Came Peace: Ashmita Arora’s Story I'm Ashmita Arora, my work is lived. It comes through years of profound transformation spiritual awakening loss and deep remembering I have walked through seasons of dismantling and reassembly each one refining how I perceive and transmit energy. Mentally emotionally and physically this journey has took me through excruciating pain Then it gave me sheer bliss just absolute euphoria And after that it made me numb. The meaning of everything dissolved suddenly But what followed was Nirvana a stillness that became the core of how I now live. This path has blessed me as much as it “broke” me… I say broke but what truly unraveled was the illusion I once called perception, it brought me home. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎧 Love our show? Show some love! 👉 Check out today’s guest: www.ashmitaarora.com 🎬 Need stunning videos, clean audio, or scroll-stopping designs? Check out our media services at https://www.kmmedia.pro/ — Top…

1,233 | The Power of Imagination and Innovation with Patrick Williams Patrick Williams is a passionate and inspiring public speaker, creativity consultant, writer, artist, independent scholar, and visionary educator. Patrick has over 4 decades of experience teaching and facilitating deep learning to a wide range of audiences. He is a TEDx speaker and an award-winning artist. Patrick has exhibited throughout the USA, Japan, and China. His art is in public and private collections. He has been represented by galleries in Chicago, Seattle, Omaha, and Albuquerque. Patrick holds black belts in Karate-Dō and Aikidō with decades of experience training and teaching Budō. Patrick's comprehension, experience, expertise, and synthesis of creativity and innovation are unparalleled. Patrick is the founder and president of Satori Innovation: A Creativity Consulting and Ideation Accelerator. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎧 Love our show? Show some love! 👉 Check out today’s guest: https://pa…

1,232 | Matthew Dickson Proves Recovery From Schizophrenia Is Possible I'm Matthew Dickson! I'm a Canadian who helps people in developing countries get access to basic mental health care. I've suffered from mental health problems myself (schizophrenia). My heart goes out to people in impoverished or war-torn countries who have to experience not only the torment of mental illness, but the traumas of poverty or horrors of war as well. I bicycled across Canada when I was 20 in the middle of getting an engineering degree. I wanted to do more fun stuff like that - travel, explore. But at 22 I was diagnosed with schizophrenia. It was very difficult, but I want to point out the vast strength we all possess. Navy SEALs are taught that they are capable of 20x more than they think they are. I believe it. I was called to do things that were "seemingly" impossible. But the point is, you can do them. They "seem" impossible, but they're not! Don't give up. Stay hopeful! You might ama…

1,220 | How C.F. Micky Reclaimed Her Life After Abuse C.F. Micky is a survivor of a thirty-three-year narcissistic marriage. It took her six years in court trying to break free and gain back not just her freedom, but also her sovereignty. Since then, Caty has been busy recouping her strength, healing from the abuse, and moving forward to reclaim her life. She is looking forward to all that life has to offer. Through trials and tribulations, she has learned many lessons and is open to sharing them to help those who are trapped in the same abusive cycle. Caty lives on a grain-producing farm that is now operated by her son. She is a mother of two girls and a son, and is blessed with six grandchildren. She enjoys all aspects of farm life, from gardening, canning, yard work, to running the tractors, and hopes to pass this love on to her grandchildren and teach them the benefits of nutritional food. Caty's faith is strong and she believes in living life with pure, good intentions. ━━━━━…

My name is Bernardo, but most people call me Bern, since it’s easier to pronounce. I’ve been on a path dedicated to helping others for over 30 years, since I was just 17. My journey into coaching began at one of the lowest points of my life. I was struggling deeply with depression when a mentor stepped in and guided me out of that darkness. Experiencing such a profound shift, especially after nothing else had worked, ignited something deep and lasting within me. In that moment, I knew I had to devote my life to helping others experience that same freedom. At the time, I had no idea my path would lead me specifically into relationship and intimacy coaching. All I knew for certain was that I wanted to give others the chance to feel truly alive and free, just as someone had once done for me. My approach integrates several powerful, research-backed disciplines I’ve spent years honing, including: strategic intervention, nervous system regulation, somatic awareness, and neurosci…

1,217 | Kate Castro on Music, Healing, and Finding Awe in Life Kate Castro, a Singer/Songwriter from Spokane, Washington. I started singing at the age of 5 and at age 15 began performing at ceremonial functions and city sporting events. I was a member of choirs and women's quartets in high school and college and was known as the wedding singer for years in Spokane and Seattle. I then moved to La La Land from Seattle in 2008 to pursue my love of music after taking a detour in the business world. My ability to trust life’s routes came from my deep level of spirituality. If I envisioned conquering a task, goal, or dream, I knew it could manifest. My first single, “You Make my Heart Sing” was released in 2013. The next song “In Love” was the first of mine to be played on Urban radio in five states in 2017-2018. That year was followed by a new song and music video recorded in Atlanta for “Gotta Have It”. The success of this single was garnered on many platforms; Spotify, iTunes, and …

1,202 | How Debbie Thurston Rose From Bahamas Roots to World-Class Gospel Artist Debbie Thurston, World Class Gospel Artist from Florida, was born in the beautiful capital city of Nassau, Bahamas to Clester and Pecola Thurston, a businessman and homemaker. Debbie is the 5th of 6 children. Born into a very musical family, her extraordinary talent as a singer was discovered at the tender age of (3); hence by the time she was (7) she was already being invited to participate in many local musical competitions for young artist. Debbie gained an early interest in studying formal piano, but soon realized that she preferred singing as a first career interest over the piano. This dual interest led her to discover that she could write lyrics and compose music accompaniment. Toward that end, her older brother Tyrone, a talented architect and musician, saw her gifts, and thus began nurturing and enhancing them, by teaching her different types of music styles, vocal techniques and stage pe…

1,201 | How Christine Sadry Dedicated Her Life to Service at the United Nations Christine Sadry was born in Krasne, Poland, and was adopted in 1964 by a Polish American couple who lived in the United States. After graduating from West Catholic girls high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Christine worked at the United States, Social Security Administration from 1973 to 1979. She started her 31-year career with the United Nations in June 1979. Christine was a single mother to her daughter and the wife of the United Nations diplomat after dedicating most of her life to Service, she now resides inNaples FL. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎧 Love our show? Show some love! 👉 Check out today’s guest: https://christinesadry.com 🎬 Need stunning videos, clean audio, or scroll-stopping designs? Check out our media services at https://www.kmmedia.pro/ — Top-tier quality without the agency price tag. Perfect for creators, coaches, and brands ready to level up. 👍 Like this video 💬 Dro…

1,191 | How Michael Bugary Overcame Addiction and Cancer to Inspire Millions Michael Bugary is a former Division I and professional athlete who played baseball at the University of California, Berkeley and with the Boston Red Sox organization. His journey, however, extends far beyond the field. Michael is a recovering drug addict and brain cancer survivor whose story is one of resilience, redemption, and hope. Today, he travels the country as a motivational speaker, sharing his powerful journey with audiences of all ages. His mission is to inspire others to find strength in their struggles, meaning in their adversities, and hope in the face of life’s greatest challenges. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎧 Love our show? Show some love! 👉 Check out today’s guest: https://www.michaelbugary.com/ 🎬 Need stunning videos, clean audio, or scroll-stopping designs? Check out our media services at https://www.kmmedia.pro/ — Top-tier quality without the agency price tag. Perfect for creator…

1,190 | How Todd Lingel Transforms Tragedy Into Hope With Kares Foundation Todd Lingel is the Founder and Director of Kares Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to saving lives and empowering at-risk youth with the tools to thrive. Growing up in a small Idaho community, Todd learned the values of communication and integrity at an early age. The tragic loss of his mother and sister in a drunk driving accident shaped his life’s mission and fueled his passion to help others. Kares Foundation is built on the principles of trust, service, and integrity. Its mission is to educate teens and young adults on making better decisions to prevent tragedies caused by peer pressure, impaired driving, and social media grooming. Todd reminds them that mistakes are part of growing up, but the key is to make mistakes we can learn from, not the kind that last a lifetime. The Meaning Behind the Kares Foundation Logo The name Kares is deeply personal. It honors Todd’s mother Karen and his sister She…

1,175 | Ed Hajim Reveals How to Turn Adversity Into Opportunity Ed Hajim is a seasoned Wall Street executive, philanthropist, and author whose life story is a testament to resilience and reinvention. Kidnapped by his father at age three and raised in foster homes and orphanages, Ed overcame extraordinary adversity to build a five-decade career in finance, holding leadership roles at firms like Lehman Brothers, Furman Selz, and ING. He is now chairman of HighVista Strategies and a dedicated supporter of education and opportunity through the Hajim Family Foundation. Ed shares his remarkable journey in his memoir On the Road Less Traveled and his inspirational fable The Island of the Four Ps, offering readers a blueprint for discovering purpose, values, and direction. His message is clear: adversity doesn’t define you—your response to it does. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎧 Love our show? Show some love! 👉 Check out today’s guest: https://www.edhajim.com/ 🎬 Need stunning videos,…

1,158 | Beth McDonough: From Breaking News to Breaking Free! Beth McDonough was a tenacious, resourceful, and seasoned television crime and public safety reporter. With a sparkle in her eye, an inviting smile, engaging personality, All-American good looks and a friendly demeanor, she was a paradox. Beth thrived on uncovering scandals, breaking news stories and holding those in power accountable. Her tv news job covering other people’s lives was everything to her until Beth was ultimately forced to dig deep and confront perhaps the darkest story of all, hers. Two DUIs completely ruined her life, and now she is speaking out on her recovery and 16 years of sobriety. Her journalism career began in the small town of Joplin, Missouri. She moved (a lot) and worked her way up from a rookie reporter and anchor into major markets like Oklahoma City, Houston, Philadelphia, New York and Minneapolis. During her broadcasting career, she worked for some of the biggest network owned affil…

1,157 | Charissa Halonen on Healing, Self-Responsibility & Becoming Relentlessly Yourself Charissa Halonen is an embodiment coach, speaker, and co-founder of The Relentless Couple, a transformational coaching brand guiding individuals and couples to rise—physically, mentally, and spiritually. With over 18 years of experience in holistic wellness and mindset, Charissa empowers others to reclaim their bodies, rewrite their beliefs, and return to the truth of who they are. Her work is deeply personal. After overcoming obesity, alcohol struggles, toxic relationships, and a traumatic brain injury, Charissa chose not just to heal—but to lead. Her journey became a blueprint for transformation, grounded in sacred discipline, energetic alignment, and unwavering self-responsibility. Through her signature teachings like Non-Negotiable: Becoming the Priority in Your Own Life and Mental Grip: Releasing to Receive, Charissa merges strategy with soul, reminding others that true change begi…

1,155 | From Circus Drummer to Pinstripe Legend: Dave ‘Letterfly’ Knoderer on Art, Horses & the Road “All you have to do is paint a picture.” This advice during an early creative writing class launched a lifelong endeavor to capture memories from his turbulent, exhilarating and colorful life. Dave Letterfly Knoderer first found his voice as a show drummer in the circus. As his journey evolved, he began performing with liberty horses, capturing the hearts of audiences under the big top. Passion for performance, travel, and creative expression accompanied Dave while climbing the ranks in the circus culture, becoming an award winning Haute E’cole horseman, meaning a horse schooled to the highest level. Developing finesse for classic horsemanship showed up in his mastery with brush and paint. His diverse portfolio includes painting theatrical sets, amusement park décor, gilding antique fire engines, restoring vintage carousel horses, designing award-winning storefronts, and cre…

1,153 | From Tragedy to Truth: Rob Rene on Resilience, Medical Deception & Natural Healing Solutions Rob Rene’s story is one of resilience, faith, and transformation. Once a gifted athlete with dreams of becoming a professional runner, Rob’s journey took an unexpected turn when a winter training run in Utah ended in a near-fatal accident. This accident not only shattered his dreams of a professional athletic career but also initiated a profound personal transformation. Forced to step away from the life he knew, Rob began a new chapter, leaving behind the world of elite athletics and embarking on a 25-year career in corporate America, working with Fortune 500 companies in the realm of enterprise software and services. Despite climbing the corporate ladder and achieving financial success, Rob felt a deep sense of unfulfillment, driven by a growing awareness that his purpose lay elsewhere. When Rob left corporate America to help his brother’s business, he got hit by a "second" truc…

1,146 | Perspective Is Power: Liz Bursten on Resilience, Mindset & Living Without Limits A powerful new voice in personal transformation and resilience emerges with the release of Perspective Is Power: Overcoming Adversity and Embracing a Life Without Limits by Liz Bursten, available now in hardcover and paperback on Amazon. The highly anticipated eBook edition will launch on July 28, 2025. In her debut memoir, Liz Bursten shares her extraordinary journey of loss, grit, and triumph — from surviving a catastrophic car accident and the life-altering loss of her leg, to completing her first marathon and rediscovering joy through family, fitness, and fierce determination. Perspective Is Power is not just a story of survival — it’s a roadmap for anyone who wants to break through limitations and reclaim agency over their life. Bursten’s inspiring perspective is grounded in real-life challenges, but her message is one of hope, humor, and strength. “Adversity doesn’t get the last wor…