There is something to be said about a woman's confidence and how it translate in the clothing she wears. When you walk into a room, sometimes how you carry yourself can be directly reflected in whether or not you feel good in what you are wearing! 

This is why I love the work of Melanie Wolff, a personal stylist who owns Your Confident Style. 

When Melanie first landed in the LIGHTbeamers Community, she was struggling to find her own confidence with being more visible and sharing her offerings to a larger audience. Putting some of her own advice to work, she started showcasing her style tips and putting on her best outfits to make herself feel more energized about getting Visible! 

And she really dove head first into Video -- showing up weekly during our Wednesday Live sessions to get more comfortable on camera! 

And it has all paid off! 

Today, Melanie has a thriving business and a growing social media presence helping other women dress with confidence. 

I'm thrilled to feature her for th...

In today’s episode, Police Sgt. Toni Gonzalez and I talk about the inside story on how she came to recognize a silent issue in the police work force that included confronting a devastating memory from her childhood, and how she conquered her fear of being judged to launch a life-saving program that aims to help not just police officers, but all first responders. 

Listen in as we discuss:

• How Toni got into the police force, and the reality of choosing the job over having her son with her
• What being a Hispanic woman meant when she first entered the academy
• A specific incident on the job that led her to go into therapy -- finding out what was triggering the anxiety she felt when responding to work calls
• How being called a train wreck hit home, spurred her to action, and made her look into how stress affected first responders and why it was not being openly discussed
• Toni’s concept of bringing a mental “book bag” to work that fills up during the day, and how carrying a filled-up
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In this solo episode, April is sharing her own Inside Story around a time when she felt hopeless and afraid. She shares the painful experience of losing the facade of financial security when her husband walked away from a very toxic business partnership.

As a young mom to two small children, and living life over 1000 miles away from nearest family, April spiraled into a dark hole of fear. It wasn’t until a defining moment on her closet floor, and the story of another woman that acted as a beacon of light was she able to find her way out.

Don’t miss this inspiring, vulnerable, and oh-so-real story. It will leave you inspired and telling your own internal monsters to go to hell.

In this episode, she shares:

• What fear sounded like and how the voice fed her lies she believed
• A defining moment when her mother drew a hard line in the sand
• How another woman’s story helped her see where she had gone astray
• A critical decision she made in the middle of the night while standing in her close...

Today’s topic is one I’m really excited about! Today I chat with Patty Lennon, intuitive business coach, about the Art of Receiving. Patty shares her own story (complete with some unexpected twists and turns) of how she learned to receive more for herself. We cover a ton of great information in today’s episode—so get ready to learn everything you need to know about receiving and how it plays a role in our lives.   

Some of the topics Patty and I discuss:    

• How Patty’s Irish Catholic background and her career in banking both played a role in her initial resistance to receiving
• How our brains are wired to increase our propensity for caretaking and giving while simultaneously diminishing the areas primed to receive
• A pivotal conversation with a co-worker that helped Patty realize she could leave her banking job and still remain a good person
• When Patty determined that coaching would be her new career
• The first time Patty recognized her intuitive gifts and the insight she had a
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Today’s guest is Lacey Marie, with amazing inside stories of her own. If there is one word I’d use to describe Lacey, it would be “survivor.” Despite many experiences on many different levels, she continues to march forward with strength and love. She’s also someone who takes the challenges and shares them openly with others in a way that makes my heart sing. Listen in to see how she harnesses the power of her story.

Here’s what Lacey and I cover in this episode:   

• Does Lacey see herself as a survivor? You’ll love her answer, which can help you to move through your own challenges.
• Why I reached out to Lacey and what I think people can learn from her story (which leaves a lot of people breathless when they hear it).
• Viewing the events in hindsight, Lacey explains how several of the major blows in her life were actually related to each other and later affected her own challenges over time.
• How navigating multiple blows over the years, many in close succession, changed her and s
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One of the best parts of the Lightbeamers Community is to see a woman burst onto the scene and then watch her rise!

Reaiah Cubero of ReeCreation Ministries first showed up during one of our Wednesday livestream days — she appeared quiet, nervous, unsure, yet concretely determined.

She stuck with it.

Week after week her confidence grew and her gorgeous storytelling unfolded.

She surprised us with her talents around spoken word poetry and artistic endeavors!

She’s passionate about mental health, and incredibly grounded in her faith.

She shows shows up regularly on live-streams on her various channels and is making a huge difference in this world, especially for other women who may also be struggling with mental health, conflicts around their faith, and identity crisis.

Take a minute to get to know her better in this months Lightbeamers Spotlight!!

APRIL: Tell us a little bit about your journey leading to the creation of ReeCreation Ministries?

REAIAH: It's been quite a journey...

I’m excited to share this conversation with Ros Smith today. I’ve wanted to feature Ros on the podcast for a long time! She’s had an enviable career in design and philanthropy. Her life was interrupted by a surprising cancer diagnosis in 2019, at just 58 years old. Her journey has continued to amaze me, and I know that you will also glean a lot from what she went through and the message she now shares from the other side of this experience.  

In this episode, you’ll learn:   

• The details of Ros’s story, beginning with her first cancer diagnosis and through to where she is today.
• Why fear was never a factor in her recovery and death wasn’t part of the equation in her mind.
• How going through an MRI procedure flicked a switch in Ros’s mind, moving her from fear to courage (even when others might have given up).
• The importance of journaling through her recovery and how it led to her book,
• Ros’s essential distinction between what we do and who we fundamentally are—and how that has
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Today’s episode was born from two recent events: first, when I heard a quote from Michelle Obama that really gave me pause; and then, the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

In today’s podcast, I share some musings on the concept of feminism, how it has evolved in my life, and what I think needs to change for us to live in a world where we can bridge the gap between men and women so that everyone has a powerful voice that is heard.

I discuss:  

• The quote from Michelle Obama that got me thinking about the role of women in our culture
• How Ruth Bader Ginsburg paved the way for women in the justice system and in our society
• Why I would have said, “No Way!” if you’d asked whether I was a feminist even 10 years ago, yet today might even call myself “a raging feminist” (and be proud of it)
• The ways our society influences us to believe that “feminism” is a negative concept
• How my work with the women in the LIGHTBeamers community cemented some of my views and ideas around feminism
• RBG’s
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Today, my very special guest and dear friend, Sandra Sky (Scaiano if we’re being official) joins me on the show. When I realized it was my own short-term vision that had kept me from starting this podcast, I knew I had to invite Sandra on to talk about “the long game”—she even has her own podcast with the same name! So of course I invited her to talk more about what “the long game” really means, and spark some ideas for you around where you might need a longer-game vision as well.

Sandra and I uncover so many great nuggets in this conversation. Here’s some of what we discuss:  

• What tripped me up when I started the podcast, and how keeping the long game in mind helped me to finally move forward.
• What is the long game philosophy? Sandra shares her perspective from her own journey and vision.
• What it takes to really solidify your brand and direction in business (and how that relates to the long game).
• Key foundational pieces you need to put in place to build your business over t
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No matter which stories I share each week on this podcast, my hope is that they prompt you to delve more deeply into your own inside stories as a result of listening here. Why? Because my fundamental belief is that we each have an important story to tell—and yours is no different.

Today, I share how my personal philosophy around storytelling developed and why I’ve come to believe that our stories are so important (enough to build an entire podcast around!). So come along for the ride as I venture back to where it all began—my early career as a broadcaster—and how things evolved from there.

In today’s episode, I cover:  

• How, as a young journalist, I became disillusioned with the kinds of stories most networks aired and how my viewpoint shifted when I discovered the work of Steve Hartman at CBS
• What Steve Hartman taught me: How Hartman became my “silent mentor” and showed me the power of stories through his show, Everybody Has a Story, in which he chose Americans at random and t
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