Erica is back for PART TWO of her journey through divorce and finding love again. In this episode, you are going to hear her speak to the power of open communication, overcoming fear and shame, and why she is grateful for the difficult times. You will even get to hear one heck of a proposal story! Erica's story is inspiring no matter where you happen to find yourself on your romantic journey. In fact, while editing, I had so many moments of self-reflection and gratitude...and I dig into that a bit in our intro. This is an episode you truly do not want to miss.

The story in today's is real, raw, and one that needs to be shared in our society. Our amazing guest, Erica Wood, details her experience with divorce in order to break down the stigma associated with ending a marriage. With the utmost care, Erica takes us through the red flags she noticed throughout her relationship, shines light on the mindset shift she needed to focus on herself and her happiness, and begins to share how she found love again. Erica is vulnerable and strong as she recounts her upbringing around purity culture and its impact on her relationship and also explains how breaking free from guilt led her to the healthy, communicative, and loving relationship she is in now. This episode is jam-packed--so much so that we will be sharing part 2 next week! You will not want to miss this very important conversation.

Anti-aging is a phrase most of us hear daily, but it's time to stop buying into that bullshit! Claudia Fabian, (@thebeautydebut), an influencer dedicated to changing the narrative around skin health and beauty as we age, shares her journey in the beauty industry and inspires us to feel good, no matter what age we are! Claudia details the importance of certain skin-focused procedures while also dispelling the marketing behind others. She encourages all of us to feel confident and beautiful in our skin and to feel excited about the beauty in aging. Let's get ready to change our mindsets and learn to feel glamorous in every way!

Do you have a mindfulness practice? If not, you are going to love this episode! Dana Faletto (@danadoestarot) explains the way tarot can help you stay present in the now. She shares how her therapy practice actually helped her begin her journey into tarot and then details the ways in which it helped her manage her anxiety. She addresses the misconceptions about tarot in order to hopefully open minds about what tarot actually is and the purpose it can serve in your life. We even get into the feelings of chaos everyone is experiencing right now, given the new moon, Mercury retrograde, and the eclipse all happening at the same time. She even provides guidance for how to make mindfulness an easy integration into what you are already doing. I left this episode feeling energized and ready to commit to mindfulness.

Jaci sits down with Antoinette Beauchamp (abcoached), who is a leadership coach, speaker, and podcaster. Antionette shares her journey into coaching, how we can utilize coaching to step into our power as leaders, and how she incorporates yoga and meditation into her coaching practice. Antionette also explains how understanding your enneagram can further empower you as a leader and equip you with strategies for how you interact with the world. If you are new to coaching, she also recommends an article she wrote for Real Simple (https://www.realsimple.com/life-coach-vs-therapist-7507898), which explains the difference between therapy and coaching. Antionette can be found on social media at @abcoached and on her website, https://www.abcoached.com/, where you can find the link to her podcast as well as ways to work with her. Get ready to feel inspired to step into the next step in your leadership journey.

It's time for us to get curious! Alexa Viscius (@alexavisciusphoto), a photographer and designer (and my cousin!) joins us for a really engaging conversation on how we can live our lives a little more curiously. She shares how curiosity shows up in her professional life as well as in her relationship with her husband. She also shares her journey into photography and gives insight into how her relationship with her twin sister, Jessica (@bnnyband), allowed her to live a creative and curious life. To see more of Alexa's work, visit alexaviscius.com.

We have all been there--fighting through the perils of grief. Today's episode is going to tackle this topic while also shining light on ways we can continue to authentically show up for ourselves. My guest, Melissa Martin, will share her own grief journey and will discuss ways she has accepted grief as a facet of her life. She also discusses how she honors those she has lost through little practices that allow us to feel hope within the darkness. There is a content warning for this episode. We discuss the topics of death, terminal illness, and pregnancy loss. If you find yourself in a time where it may not be a time to listen, I hope you honor that within yourself.

This week we have Allie Guiang, the founder of Level Up Ladies (@we.are.lul), a networking community based on out Chicago. This organization has literally changed my life; in fact, joining LUL and being around so many supportive and ambitious women was one of the main impetuses for starting this podcast. You will hear the story behind the creation of LUL and will also her Allie's advice on creating the habits that you need to level up your life. Get your notes app ready to take down some of these amazing nuggets.At the end of the episode, Allie recommends some great reading including We Should All be Millionaires by Rachel Rodgers, Atomic Habits by James Clear, and Indistractable by Nir Eyle. And don't forget to follow @we.are.lul to be connected with some incredible women!!

The original title of this episode was "Unapologetically Left My Job"...and while there are bit in here about making a career transition, the recording of this became much more of a cathartic space than I had intended. I'm not sure I'm fully unapologetic about my decision to leave teaching, but I'm working on it so that I can heal.Whether you are an educator yourself or you love an educator (or just want to know more about the state of education from someone who left the classroom), this episode gets real and raw on what led to my leaving teaching and how I feel about that decision almost 3 years later. If you can, thank a teacher in your life. It will mean the world to them.

I know this episode will resonate with so many! Our guest, Shanna, will discuss how she balances work-mom life, how she handles mom guilt, and provides some excellent advice on how to prioritize yourself when you have so much going on in your life. She unapologetically lives life doing what her soul craves; more recently, she even started her own BookTok @Mrs.ValentiReads. Follow her for book recommendations!