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205: Claim the Power You’re Ignoring

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 11:02:47 +0000

Feeling stuck on the inside while life keeps rolling by?
You're not alone—and you might be looking in the wrong place for answers.

In this episode, Stephanie and Maren dive into why we feel so powerless when we focus only on the outer world, and how real transformation happens when we turn inward. They explore the connection between our physical symptoms and emotional stuffing, why nobody wants to deal with emotions and how learning to do some simple inner work is the key to creating the empowered life you actually want.

Do you push down feelings, stay busy to avoid discomfort, or wonder why your body keeps breaking down despite “doing all the right things?” Then this episode is for you, it will shift how you see everything.

Key Takeaways

Your symptoms aren't the problem—they're the messenger. That shoulder pain, upset stomach, or chronic headache? Look elsewhere for the cause.
We've been taught to ignore our emotions, and it's literally making us sick. When we stuff our feelings, they don't disappear—they manifest in our bodies and our lives.
The “beach ball effect”: You can only hold so many emotions underwater before they start popping up uncontrollably, often hurting yourself or others.
Emotions are your power center. They're the energy that weaves together body, mind, and soul—and they're essential for manifesting what you want.
Pick your uncomfortable. Feeling emotions now is uncomfortable. Divorce, migraines, and cancer are also uncomfortable. Choose wisely.
Create space with your emotions. Instead of “I'm angry,” try “A part of me is experiencing anger.” This simple shift gives you power to respond differently.

Until next time, remember: the answers you're looking for aren't out there—they're already within you.

➡️ Related Episode: #196 “Pick Your Hard“ (go back and listen!)

TRANSCRIPT

Love this episode? Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts—it helps other soulful leaders find us!

Have a question or topic suggestion? We'd love to hear from you. Reach out through our website or social media.

Connect With Us
Website: http://www.TheSoulfulLeaderPodcast.com
Main Website: http://www.tslp.life

Find us on:

YouTube: @soulfulleaders
LinkedIn: The Soulful Leaders
Facebook: The Soulful Leaders

204: From Autopilot to Alignment – advice from our team

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 13:03:38 +0000

Ready to trade your inner ‘itty bitty shitty committee’ for a better compass: alignment?

The Soulful Leader Team sits down for a candid year-in-review where they share how they have shifted their own lives and identities – and they’ve turned small practices into meaningful change.

Dave shares how producing our show became his deep practice: spacing out work to absorb insights in layers, and then applying them when life got loud.

Lori reframes leadership where it’s most personal: at home. By shifting from fixing to leading, she completely changed the relationship with her adult daughter.

Angela shares how much she has noticed the social norms that nudge her toward unconscious choices and the tough skill of sitting with her own thoughts. She is choosing joy over quick-hit fun and finding what truly nourishes.

If you’ve ever felt stuck in everyday patterns (like scrolling), are interested in reclaiming hours in your day, or you’re craving less numb and more meaning – this podcast is for you.

Learn practical, human ways toward aligned choices, one practice at a time.

If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend who’s seeking traction, and leave a review with one aligned practice you’re starting this week.

TRANSCRIPT

Please share your insights and questions in one of our Soulful Leaders groups:

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Watch the podcasts on our YouTube Channel: @Soulful Leaders

203: Could Changing Your Space Rewire Your Habits?

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 13:11:52 +0000

Your morning route, the layout of a room and even the items on your desk quietly decide who you are each day.

That means they can also help you when you want to change.

This week, Maren & Stephanie dig into the hidden script behind habits and show how small environmental edits, supportive community, and gentle inner work help you change old habits, stick to new ones and achieve the things you want that have been just out of reach.

Instead of forcing goals with sheer willpower, they unpack why we often get pulled back into old patterns after the initial rush of change, and how to interrupt that without shame.

With their normal combination of stories, humor and user-friendly tools, they explore how to flip the script on habits while also transforming doubt and fear, fostering inner respect, and finally getting that thing that has been just out of reach.

Expect practical tools you can use today—room resets that trigger awareness, accountability that reduces decision fatigue, and small rituals to increase both attention and energy.

🙌 If this resonates, hit play, then rearrange one small piece of your life for an upgrade.

✍️ Subscribe for more soulful strategy, share this with someone ready to hack a habit, and leave a review to help others find the show.

❣️ What’s the first change you’ll make this week?

Please share your insights and questions in one of our Soulful Leaders groups:

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Watch the podcasts on our YouTube Channel: @Soulful Leaders

202: Stop Guarding the Plan. Grow the Person.

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 12:15:36 +0000

A reality check for overachievers and perfectionists who are tired of trying to “get it right.”

We’re a society of overachievers and perfectionists who keep trying to “get it right.” We've been taught that the solution is ‘fixing outcomes’, yet we’ve tried that -over and over again, and it’s still not working.

The real path to what you want?

It’s expanding your identity and capacity. And that’s great news because you can change you.

Today, Stephanie and Maren unpack this path from the perspective of hidden fears, how we sabotage our goals and resolutions and the beliefs keeping us stuck. Instead of guarding a fragile plan, they walk you through building capacity. Instead of white-knuckling toward outcomes, they share how to build skills that keep momentum alive without burning out.

Today they get real about:

fear of responsibility blocking goals
reframing power as response-abilit
receiving abundance without guilt
spotting red flags and road signs
life as a learnable, practical skil
trust, discernment and guidance
moving beyond shame and blame
questions that keep momentum alive

From reframing blame and shame to noticing the cost of avoidance in the body, you’ll find tools to build a clearer, truly joyfilled life.

If you’re ready to trade either-or thinking for powerful choices, this conversation will meet you where you are and expand what you believe is possible.

If this resonates, follow the show, share with a friend who’s stuck between fear and growth, and leave a quick review so more people can find conversations like this.

➡️ Your next step is simple: choose one skill to practice this week and tell us how it goes.

Please share your insights and questions in one of our Soulful Leaders groups:

Get all the latest episodes, news and updates directly to your inbox. Subscribe here. TheSoulfulLeaderPodcast.com

Watch the podcasts on our YouTube Channel: @Soulful Leaders

201: Aligning Goals and Meaning

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 11:18:19 +0000

The resolution and goal frenzy is loud – and frustrating. What if there is a richer path?

Stephanie and Maren kick off the year by turning goal setting on its head. They reframe why we set goals, how we measure progress, and what actually sustains motivation when the novelty fades.

👉🏻 Instead of chasing numbers to prove worth, they explore how to build meaning like a skill.

👉🏻 They unpack a pivotal shift: goals are less about the finish line and more about who you become on the way.

👉🏻 They expose the danger of borrowed metrics, insightfully discuss why removing every roadblock dulls growth, and share how to recognize the subtle indicators of inner growth and transformation.

👉🏻 You’ll hear how to unlock connection and joy, as well as how to rewire stress responses.

Their personal, candid stories of burnout, rebuilding, and small reframes that changed everything, map a path from external validation to inner alignment that you can apply right away.

If you’ve ever experienced goals as heavy, joyless, or strangely empty even when you hit them, their conversation offers a practical alternative. Are you ready to…

align challenges with your deeper why
choose battles that genuinely grow you
craft an inner story that stops the blame/shame monster and creates motivation instead

Today’s podcast offers a better scoreboard—one that values resilience, clarity, and heart alongside outcomes.

✅ Subscribe, share with a friend who’s rethinking resolutions, and leave a review telling us one small reframe you’re trying this week.

REFERENCES

9:57 Daniel Goodenough The HuPerson Project, Caravan of Remembering

Please share your insights and questions in one of our Soulful Leaders groups:

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Watch the podcasts on our YouTube Channel: @Soulful Leaders

200: Embrace Your “Road Less Taken”

Tue, 30 Dec 2025 10:14:52 +0000

What if your most important work has nothing to do with a checklist?

This is Stephanie and Maren’s 200th episode and they’re celebrating two-fold:

by sharing a glimpse into their future
by unveiling a bit of their secret sauce to help you get the MOST out of this year

In 2026 they’re taking the leap into live shows – connecting in real time, fielding your questions, and engaging in direct conversation with you.

That choice reflects the deeper practice they’ve honed for years—staying present, trusting the unknown, and letting inner truth lead their success instead of algorithms and checklists.

In today’s podcast they share knowing the difference between drifting and “devoted uncertainty” in daily life. Drifting is “I don’t know” with no orientation. Devoted uncertainty is clarity about who you’re becoming and what’s yours to do, paired with the courage to release rigid plans.

Do fear, anxiety, and frustration show up when you step beyond your comfort zone? No problem, they share easy manageable solutions.

To help even more, Maren opens up about how the publisher who contacted her to write a book emerged. Hint it was NOT from hustle theater, but from years of quiet repetitions—writing show notes, refining articulation, and honoring the weekly practice no one sees.

👉🏻 If you’ve ever struggled putting in seemingly invisible effort, this is your podcast.

Today explores how outer results come from inner mastery, talks about how to trade grasping for a different way of listening to life, and supports each person’s unique path with ways to keep from drifting.

✅ For those who are on the road less travelled, you might be interested in Maren & Stephanie’s Co-Creation Circle—a year-long, online community of soulful leaders like you.

🙌 If you know someone who is tired of the hustle, push, strive and is seeking their own way, please share today’s episode with them.

✍️ If you’ve found value, subscribe, and leave a review on YouTube, iTunes, or Spotify.

👂 And we’d love to hear from you – what practice will help keep you present this year? Share it in our Facebook or LinkedIn Groups

Please share your insights and questions in one of our Soulful Leaders groups:

Get all the latest episodes, news and updates directly to your inbox. Subscribe here. TheSoulfulLeaderPodcast.com

Watch the podcasts on our YouTube Channel: @Soulful Leaders

199: You Don’t Need Another Resolution To Change Your Life

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 12:22:07 +0000

Are you feeling the pressure of the end of the year?

What if you could let go of that pressure and actually feel renewed going into 2026?

What if that pressure is the very thing cutting you off from what you truly need and want?

Today, Stephanie and Maren share their unconventional point of view regarding resolutions, goals and pushing through. Their engaging conversation meanders through personal stories and examples where they show a practical way to exit the drama triangle, share how to create space, and use the breath and inner listening to restore true choice.

If you are ready to turn frustration into gold and get the most out of this beautiful season of renewal, today’s podcast is for you.

the difference between needs and wants
conditioning and labels that narrow choice
victim and violator
pivot out of reactivity
breath and space as neurological resets
the theater technique for objective awareness
choosing your inner state
moving from rescuer to inner coach
real-life example of reframing frustration
group practice through the 12 Days of Presence

They also invite you into the 12 Days of Presence, a gentle, email-based group practice that maps the days of Christmas to the months ahead, helping you seed your year with awareness instead of pressure. No mandatory calls, no perfectionism—just a supportive rhythm that rewires your brain toward choice and centers you in what truly matters.

If this resonates, listen now, subscribe, and share with someone who’s ready to leave the old road behind. Leave a review to tell us which corner of the triangle you tend toward – and what you choose instead!

Please share your insights and questions in one of our Soulful Leaders groups:

Get all the latest episodes, news and updates directly to your inbox. Subscribe here. TheSoulfulLeaderPodcast.com

Watch the podcasts on our YouTube Channel: @Soulful Leaders

198: Increase Your Bandwidth

Tue, 02 Dec 2025 12:25:39 +0000

Are you tired of fighting through life and work? Perpetually exhausted?

You’re not alone. It’s a messy world that seems to offer only two exhausting extremes: numbing out or fighting everything.

What if you could stay open-hearted in this messy world without carrying everyone else’s pain home with you?

This week, Stephanie and Maren dive into how to create a clear, livable path that transcends those extremes and puts you into the driver’s seat – living life full out.

Through candid stories and practical tools, leaders, helpers, and anyone who feels overwhelmed outside -and crowded inside- will find a grounded how-to, including: micro-pauses to regulate the nervous system, language that defuses the drama triangle, and practices that turn compassion into clarity.

If you’re looking for even more support, join the free 12 Days of Presence, where you build space for what you truly want without forcing goals or pretending the hard stuff isn’t there.

If you’re ready to live and feel, fully, without absorbing drama – and lead with compassion, without burning out, hit play. Then

🙌share this with a friend who could use more space
✔️subscribe for more soulful leadership tools
✍️leave a review to help others find the show

TRANSCRIPT

Please share your insights and questions in one of our Soulful Leaders groups:

Get all the latest episodes, news and updates directly to your inbox. Subscribe here. TheSoulfulLeaderPodcast.com

Watch the podcasts on our YouTube Channel: @Soulful Leaders

197: Is Busy Your Badge of Honor?

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 16:00:00 +0000

You feel the need to constantly ‘do’, to be in motion. You feel guilty when you stop, rest, or need a break. Why?

The simple, and uncomfortable answer is that being busy hides our deeper fears. We use it as a safety blanket for our egos even though it really signals burnout and walls us off from intimacy with others and with ourselves.

Today, Maren & Stephanie dive deep down the rabbit hole of personal value starting with a classic parable that reframes wealth and invites in enoughness, presence, and choice. They also talk about the difference between trading time for money and creating value NOT measured by hours – a pivot that changes more than pricing; it rewrites self-concept.

Big changes like retirement, layoffs, empty nests, and even an unexpected injury can strip away those roles we hide behind and put us face to face with who we are when the calendar goes quiet.

If you are squirming in that experience (or want to avoid feeling so lost), this powerful episode is for you.

This conversation will meet you where you are and walk with you to where you want to be.

If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs permission to exhale, and leave a quick review to help others find us. Your stories and experiments matter.

We’d love to hear— what changed when you tried “enough?”

Please share your insights and questions in one of our Soulful Leaders groups: