Barbara With, age 70, is an international peace activist, award-winning author, composer, performer and workshop facilitator. She has authored six nonfiction books on metaphysics about her research as a psychic channel who works with a group called the “Party,” headed up by Albert Einstein, whom she is able to channel with her intuitive gifts.
She also is the co-founder of Conflict REVOLUTION®️, a revolutionary way to resolve conflicts of the psyche as a pathway to global peace, based on this work channeling Einstein. She is currently on a World Peace Tour, seeking the participation of the “willing” to take part in a Worldwide Nonviolent Action to End the Age of War, using Conflict REVOLUTION®️ to make peace within as a pathway to global peace. Conflict REVOLUTION® (Con REV®) is a transformative process that empowers you to resolve inner conflicts, practice self-love and make conscious decisions for the greater good, ultimately fostering peace within yourself and extending to your relationships, communities and the world.
Barbara teaches a course on how to channel and does psychic readings. A new class starts each month.
Follow Barbara and learn more:
https://www.youtube.com/barbwith
https://www.instagram.com/psychicsorority/
https://www.facebook.com/barbara.with
Conflict REVOLUTION™️ Challenge
https://barbarawith.com/conflict-revolution-challenge/
Books
https://synergyalliance.llc/books/
Conflict REVOLUTION™️ Laboratories
https://barbarawith.com/courses/
Music
https://barbarawith.com/music/
Readings
https://barbarawith.com/readings/
If you mention that you heard Barbara on this show, she will extend any half hour readings to full hour readings! Book a half hour on her website for some direction and inspiration.
Stephanie Benedetto is a transformative coach, storyteller and (Un)Marketer who helps visionary creators build the projects and businesses that make them come alive, without hustle or hype or endless social media. With over two decades of experience in internet marketing, sales and transformation work, Stephanie brings both creative fire and playful magic to her clients. Her coaching combines deep listening, curious questions and strategic simplicity to uncover the joyful truth at the heart of your work and bring it to life in the world.
She’s a community catalyst, former million-dollar business owner, certified Supercoach and creative writing nerd and self-proclaimed “Queen of the Shitty First Draft.” She believes business is a game you can play by your own rules…and dragons make great teammates.
In 2017, Stephanie began a personal Surrender Experiment (from Michael Singer's book) that led to leaving her loving marriage, two homes and a business, co-founded with her husband, that had made over $1 million in online sales, to travel and live as a digital nomad. She reinvented her life again in 2023 by immigrating to Portugal.
Crazy, wild ideas for creating "impossible" things are a driving inspiration, but she's equally happy sitting in silence with a new friend or singing to a plant. You'll probably find her near a beach, pole dancing, attending or inventing interactive transformational experiences online and off.
From the Algarve coast of Portugal to St. Petersburg, Florida, Stephanie mentors clients around the world and invites them into her LoveinAction and IMPACT communities.
Learn more and follow Stephanie:
Website - https://www.theawakenedbusiness.com
Daily Wildspire Emails - https://www.theawakenedbusiness.com/wildspire
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanierbenedetto/
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@StephBenedetto
Heike Yates is a Midlife Fitness Expert, speaker, podcast host and author of Pursue Your Spark. She helps midlife women build strength, energy, and confidence through fitness, nutrition and mindset strategies that fit real life—no extremes, just habits that last.
After leaving the 9-to-5 grind and moving to Washington, D.C., Heike found her spark through fitness. What began as a personal transformation turned into a lifelong mission. She lost 50 pounds after her first pregnancy and rebuilt her life as a single mom, raising two kids on just $300 a month. Fitness became her lifeline—grounding her through life’s toughest seasons.
In 2010, she developed Pilates with Resist-A-Ball, a joint-friendly, strength-focused program designed for individuals who want to feel strong without experiencing pain. With certifications in Pilates, strength training and nutrition—and real-life experience as a bodybuilder and Ironman triathlete—Heike brings over 35 years of lived and professional expertise to the women she serves.
In 2012, she founded Pursue Your Spark, a mission-driven brand that helps women in midlife reclaim their energy, confidence and joy. She’s also the host of the Pursue Your Spark Podcast, where she shares real talk and practical tools to help women stop spinning their wheels and finally thrive.
Heike believes midlife isn’t a breakdown—it’s a breakthrough. Through simple, sustainable strategies and personalized support, she helps women feel strong, energized and fully themselves again.
Learn more and follow Heike:
Website: https://heikeyates.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pursueyourspark
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heikeyates/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heike-yates/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQIeOesGLGAOD5RhI2KYjcA
Podcast - Pursue Your Spark: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pursue-your-spark-midlife-fitness-nutrition-mindset/id1231586317
Book - Pursue Your Spark: https://amzn.to/4mD5xL7
Evelyn Kelly is a 90-year-old writer, speaker and teacher who lives in Ocala, Florida. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Florida, a master’s degree in religion and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Tennessee. Her education and interests are diverse. Her undergraduate studies included microbiology, English and history. Evelyn has written 22 books on such topics as Stem Cells and a two-volume encyclopedia of Genetics. Evelyn has taught at four universities. She speaks and writes on history and travel topics, including a popular series called Armchair Adventures. She says her most lucrative writing was in her 60s and 70s.
Natalie Kelly, a resident of Tallassee, Florida, is a writer and Chief Executive Officer of a state organization. She holds an M.S. in Communications from Florida State University and a B.S. in Visual Arts and Communications from FSU, which includes a concentration on art and art history. She has worked in government affairs for 35 years, including being the youngest female director in the Florida Senate, Director in Washington, DC, state CEO and public relations and lobbying firm owner. She writes op-eds for newspapers and speaks on a variety of topics.
Evelyn and Natalie are a mother-daughter travel and writing team. They have traveled to seven continents, 89 countries (and counting) and 50 states. Evelyn's goal is to travel to 100 countries before age 100. At 90 she shows no sign of slowing down!
Their book, Have a Love Affair with Travel: Your Ticket to an Exhilarating Life, will ignite your wanderlust and inspire you to live a life enriched by world travel. Their vibrant narratives will spark your sense of adventure and equip you with a step-by-step guide for seamless travels. Evelyn's favorite place she has traveled is the U.S. Have a Love Affair with the U.S.A. will be the duo's next book.
Learn more:
https://www.facebook.com/natalie.kelly.5439
https://www.facebook.com/evelyn.b.kelly.5
https://www.instagram.com/nataliekellytravelersatheart/
Tamar Hurwitz-Fleming grew up experiencing happy birthdays, disappointing birthdays, and downright terrible birthdays until she turned twenty and realized making her birthday happy was entirely up to her. She wrote How To Have a Happy Birthday: Create Meaning, Fulfillment and Joy on Your Special Day to help people find deeper meaning and joy on their birthdays too. Tamar and her book have been featured on NPR for her "invitation to experience the transformative joy a birthday can provide." Tamar draws upon more than thirty years of observation and experience to provide an insightful exploration into why birthdays matter, why they can be hard for many of us, and what we can do to fully put ourselves in the center of our day.
In this episode, we talk about why our birthday can be the most powerful day of the year, why celebrating our birthdays matter, why we sabotage our birthdays, how embracing our age helps us live better lives, how we can prepare for our birthdays, why we might buy ourselves a birthday gift, how we can support others in celebrating their days, how we can craft our birthday wish to maximize its manifesting potential, creating a birthday altar for yourself or another person and more. Tamar, who is also a painter, joined us from San Francisco.
Learn more and follow Tamar at:
https://howtohaveahappybirthday.com
https://www.facebook.com/Author.Tamar/
https://www.instagram.com/author.tamar/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamar-hurwitz-fleming-a7885515/
Hendrika de Vries is the author of the award-winning memoir When a Toy Dog Became a Wolf and the Moon Broke Curfew, a historical memoir about her childhood in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam during WWII that tells a gripping story of resistance, resilience and female strength in the face of brutality and oppression.
Her current memoir, Open Turns: From Dutch Girl to New Australian — a Memoir (She Writes Press, Sept. 2, 2025 ), is its coming-of-age sequel. Henny was just a little girl when she experienced brutal violence and hunger in WWII Amsterdam. But she is now a teenage immigrant swimmer in 1950s Australia. She is smart, she swims fast and she has definite opinions about the
kind of woman she intends to be––all of which serves her well in her new home, where she must learn to turn challenges into success.
Her parents’ wisdom continues to guide her. “Intentions are like prayers; you send them out into the universe and if you pay attention they come back as destiny,” her mother says. And when she walks in the bush with her father, his
reverence for the mysteries of nature helps Henny hear the timeless Australian Land speak and see the Southern Cross as a beacon.
She enjoys swimming fame and championship victories, but throughout her coming-of-age years, she is also faced with memories, fears and dashed hopes and dreams. Time and again, she dives into the pool to find her own strength and sense of belonging––until, finally, she begins to see more clearly her unique path ahead.
Hendrika’s life experiences have infused her work as a therapist, teacher and writer. After surviving the trauma of WWII, she and her family emigrated to Australia when she was thirteen years old. As a migrant girl in 1950s Australia, with a fierce determination to succeed and a desire to belong, she faced and overcame unforeseen challenges. She earned her place as a South Australian state swimming champion, worked as a secretary to the Chief of Staff of a major newspaper’s Editorial Department, married the paper’s editorial cartoonist and became a young wife and mother.
She moved to America in the nineteen sixties, where her husband won the Pulitzer Prize for his biting political cartoons while she gave birth to their third child and embarked on a course of studies that would lead to her interest in Jungian psychology, master’s degrees in theology and counseling psychology and a career as a therapist.
A depth-oriented marriage and family therapist for over thirty years, she used memories, intuitive imagination and dreams to heal trauma, empower women and address life transitions. As a graduate schoolteacher she helped students explore the archetypal patterns in their life narratives.
Hendrika holds a BA with Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Colorado, an MTS in theological studies from Virginia Theological Seminary, and an MA in counseling psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times and the LA Times. She currently lives in Santa Barbara, California.
Learn more:
https://agirlfromamsterdam.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendrika-devries-finishline/
https://www.facebook.com/HendrikadeVriesAuthor/
https://x.com/HENDRIKADEVRIE3
Lindsay McIntosh is Juilliard-trained historical oboist with an impressive resume in the music world. She has appeared under world-renowned conductors such as William Christi and Masaaki Suzuki. In 2013, while completing her graduate studies at Juilliard, she founded New Vintage Baroque, an innovative period instrument ensemble dedicated to performing 21st-century repertoire on historical instruments. The ensemble received critical acclaim for its imaginative, cross-temporal programming and vibrant energy – hallmarks of Lindsay’s creative leadership. As artistic and executive director of NVB, McIntosh self-produced 25 distinct programs, fundraised more than $100,000, cultivated the organization’s board of directors, commissioned and performed 17 world premieres, collaborated in three opera productions, recorded and released an album of original works on the VIA label and performed in over 75 performances in the U.S. and abroad.
Recognizing her professional strengths beyond that of a freelance oboist, in 2015 McIntosh joined the founding team of National Sawdust, a new, critically acclaimed music venue and non-profit arts Institute located in Brooklyn. There, Lindsay worked on the artistic team creating, implementing, producing and tracking projects at the core of the venue's mission, including ten group residencies and fourteen opera productions. Lindsay’s charisma and experience as a musician led her to become a lead producer for major events and her sensitivity to an artist's needs led her to become a lead artistic liaison to hundreds of professional musicians and ensembles.
Life in the NYC arts scene was busy, intense and exciting but, for Lindsay, it was not a pathway to living her best life. She felt a tremendous pull to return home to Truckee, in rural northern California. So, she did just that.
Remarkably, following her instincts has resulted in more creative opportunities and a more fulfilling life than ever for Lindsay. The added bonus was providing her two young children the kind of childhood she herself had enjoyed.
After relocating to rural northern California, Lindsay created Musica Sierra as an extension of New Vintage Baroque’s programming, with a focus on bringing much-needed music and arts education to rural and underserved communities. Blending her experience in historical performance with a passion for environmental literacy and youth empowerment, Lindsay has grown Musica Sierra into a regional leader in arts integration, offering performances, educational residencies and community programs across Sierra County and beyond.
Among Musica Sierra’s multitude of projects, Lindsay and her husband, co-artistic director Owen McIntosh, launched the Musical Headwaters series – a visionary seven-album commissioning initiative rooted in the belief that music can deepen empathy, eco-literacy and environmental stewardship. Through this lens, composers, songwriters and ensembles are invited to create original music that reflects the natural world and supports children’s social and emotional development. Since 2021, Musica Sierra has premiered four albums aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards for primary education in California, featuring acclaimed collaborators such as Majel Connery, Fire & Grace & Ash, Time For Three and The Red Hoop Singers, exploring themes like watersheds, trout, mammals and birds. In 2025, Lindsay McIntosh led Musica Sierra in commissioning a fifth nature-inspired album, Garden, for which she served as producer, and which was released on August 1.
“We strive to bring cultural diversity to our programming for the benefit of everyone. Since we are a primarily white population in a very rural area with no access to the performing arts, we foster curiosity, joy and exposure through our culturally diverse educational programming."
Learn more:
Amy Cerny Vasterling is a future-focused speaker, teacher and intuitive who, through over twenty-two years of observational research, uncovered how a fixed-pattern system rooted in narcissism suppresses human potential. Her work dismantles this structure, revealing a path to natural equality and genuine self-expression. Amy empowers individuals and communities to reconnect with their true nature and fully thrive.
She leads monthly Wisdom Gatherings, which are a thought-provoking place to gain inspiration and explore life’s possibilities through intuition and self-discovery. She also works with individuals and organizations. Her new book, Know: Where the Status Quo Ends and You Come To Life, will be released September 16. Read her substack at https://thefutureofourpast.substack.com/, in which she offers a powerful perspective of life now from 250 years in the future, which highlights where this author sees the patterns leading us. During our conversation, she recommends the book Extraordinary Knowing: Science, Skepticism, and the Inexplicable Powers of the Human Mind, by Elizabeth Lloyd Mayer.
She lives all over Europe but joined us from Minnesota. Learn more at
https://www.facebook.com/amyintuitivepathfinder
https://www.instagram.com/amyvasterling/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyvasterling/
Women over 40 comprise 25% of the U.S. population, yet they remain significantly underrepresented in popular culture and the media. Dina Alvarez and Dina Aronson set out to change that with their bold new anthology, Midlife Private Parts: Revealing Essays That Will Change the Way You Think About Age. It is a deeply moving collection of soulful essays that speak to what it really feels like to move through the world as a midlife woman and beyond. It is a rallying cry to embrace midlife unapologetically, and a powerful reminder that you are not going through it alone.
Dina Alvarez started her writing career as a freelancer for Big Apple Parent in New York City covering education, local politics, and lifestyle. She later co-founded SomosPadres, the first and only bilingual parenting publication for Hispanic families in New York City. Dina currently works for a financial firm and continues to write in her spare time with a focus on creative nonfiction pieces. Dina is an avid reader and lover of anthologies, particularly those that tell women’s stories. Dina is the mother of two adult sons and a native New Yorker. She continues to call the city home where she lives with her husband and youngest son.
Dina Aronson is a writer, editor and pro-age advocate who is passionate about shining a light on midlife women and reframing the cultural conversation around aging. She began her career as an attorney, later founding a legal search consultancy, but pivoted as she approached midlife and couldn’t find relevant content that reflected her experience. She began freelancing for start-ups aimed at the forty and above woman, and founded the Patina blog, now a Substack newsletter called Patina with Dina Aronson, where she explores topics in and around aging through her midlife lens. She has two grown stepsons, and currently resides between New York City and Miami with her husband.
Midlife Private Parts: Revealing Essays that Will Change the Way You Think About Age (June 24, 2025, Regalo Press)
Learn more:
IG handles: @patina_life and @thewritestyles
Carren Strock, has often been called a Renaissance woman. Equally at home with a paintbrush and canvas, a needle and thread, or a hammer and nails, she is as eclectic in her writing as she is in her other interests. While best known for her ground-breaking book Married Women Who Love Women and more, her writing style lends itself to many different genres, both fiction and nonfiction. In addition, her articles and essays have appeared in Newsweek, Woman’s Day, Ms. the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, PBS’s Next Avenue and AARP’s The Ethel.
Married Women Who Love Women, because of its enduring cultural relevance, is being recognized as a classic, 25 years after its debut. "Until I was forty-three, I would have said with absolute certainty, 'I am not, nor could I ever become, a lesbian. I know exactly who and what I am,' says Carren. One year later, after 25 years of a contented heterosexual marriage, I fell in love with another woman. I experienced more passion, pain, isolation and turmoil than I ever thought possible and I began to question who I really was. My journey from denial to self awareness, understanding and acceptance was not an easy one.
I wrote Married Women Who Love Women as a way to deal with my own discovery and to help other women deal with theirs. By interviewing more than 100 women, as well as their husbands and children, and through additional research as well, I found that this phenomenon—married women loving women—was not as uncommon as I had believed.
I also realized that no woman, single or married, is automatically exempt from the frightening possibility that she too might one day realize a dormant sexual awareness that she is lesbian or bisexual."
Learn more:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064718108918Twitter: @CarrenStrock
Donna Simmons dares to believe in a world where young girls grow up free—free from abuse, exploitation and silence. A native of Kentucky, a state long shadowed by high rates of child abuse and a painful history of legal child marriage, Donna has become a leading voice for both justice and healing. Her advocacy was instrumental in reforming Kentucky law to end child marriage through parental consent, a victory that has inspired legal reform efforts across the U.S. and beyond.
Donna’s work goes far beyond policy. As a survivor herself, she knows that laws don’t heal people—relationships, truth and radical compassion do. Through her powerful memoir, Ashes to Flame, she shares her journey from trauma to transformation, inviting others to find the fire within their own stories and empowering survivors to rewrite their legacy—not as victims, but as cycle-breakers, leaders and healers.
Donna is also the creator and host of The Last Generation: Transforming Trauma Into Purpose, a raw and unfiltered podcast that blends lived experience with deep psychological insight. Each episode is a conversation for those daring to ask hard questions, confront inherited pain and choose a different future.
With every word, Donna challenges the narrative that trauma defines us. Her voice is a catalyst for real, embodied healing—one that motivates not just awareness, but action. Whether in the halls of legislation or at the mic of her podcast, Donna Simmons is not just telling the truth. She’s helping others reclaim—and rewrite—their own legacy.
Learn more:https://trauma2purpose.com
Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/donna.pollard.1426 and https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571541050726
Instagram- @transformingashes2flame
TikTok- @ashestoflame
Dr. Neja Zupan is a visionary holistic mentor, energy mastery expert and international speaker guiding high achievers to full-spectrum vitality and soul-aligned success. After being given a 5% chance to survive aggressive cancer, and rising from generational scarcity to become a globally recognized entrepreneur, Dr. Zupan embodies the power of high energy frequency-first living. Her method—rooted in nervous system, facia, lymph recalibration, multidimensional intelligence and energy mastery—activates clarity, coherence and magnetic leadership.
Dr. Zupan is a trailblazer in holistic health and personal empowerment, whose journey overcoming aggressive hormone-dependent ductal cancer has become a source of inspiration for individuals and businesses worldwide. Diagnosed in 2013 with a grim prognosis and only a 5% chance of survival without medical intervention, she chose an unconventional path—rejecting chemotherapy, radiation and hormonal therapy. Instead, she embraced natural healing methods, mindset transformation, and inner resilience, emerging not just as a survivor but a thriving advocate for holistic health.
More than a decade cancer-free, Dr. Zupan has translated her profound personal experience into actionable insights for professionals and organizations seeking a deeper understanding of resilience, vitality and well-being. She integrates science, psychology, spirituality and traditional Eastern practices to teach strategies that foster sustainable wellness and prevent burnout. Her expertise inspires high-achievers and leaders to unlock their full potential, maintain high energy levels and create environments where individuals and teams can thrive.
Dr. Zupan’s message transcends health—it is a blueprint for transformation, showing that resilience, balance and purpose are the foundation of success in business and personal life. In this episode, Dr. Zupan talks about burnout recovery for high-achieving women, how to reclaim vitality through nervous system recalibration, multidimensional intelligence activation and how to access your intuitive and energetic brilliance. One easy tip is to start with laughter!
Learn more:
info@nejazupan.com
www.nejazupan.com
Instagram: @dr.nejazupan.institute
LinkedIn: /drnejazupan
Go to HighFrequencyEnergyFormula.com (for a free gift!)
Silvia Resnik's story is one of quiet longing, deep transformation and radical realignment. As an alone-born twin, she carried a sense of missingness all her life — even while following the “right” path: becoming a kindergarten teacher, earning a Master’s in Business Economics, working in HR and building her own consulting business. On the outside, she had it all. On the inside, she felt empty.
A spontaneous vacation to Zanzibar became the unexpected turning point. There, Silvia met the Maasai, a semi-nomadic tribe in East Africa known for their deep presence, connection to nature and spiritual strength. Something shifted. She felt seen, alive and whole — perhaps for the first time.
She didn’t just return home inspired — she changed her life completely. Silvia chose to live between two worlds and has since spent over 1.5 years in Tanzania, mostly on Zanzibar, living among the Maasai and integrating their wisdom into her way of being.
Today, Silvia is an ICF-certified coach who guides high-achieving women out of the golden cage of perfection and back into a life of truth, freedom and purpose. She blends modern coaching with the grounded, ancestral wisdom of the Maasai. Silvia also partners directly with Maasai leaders in the movement to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), advocating for sustainable change from within. Sylvia splits her time between Austria and Tanzania, and joined us from Tanzania. Since I was in Sri Lanka when I recorded this episode and Silvia was in Tanzania, we had a few recording hiccups, but Silvia's inspiring story shines through!
Learn more:
Tally Koren arrived in London with one suitcase and a dream in the late 90s. Against all odds she became an international singer/songwriter. Despite family objections and countless music business rejections, what kept her going was turning every minus to plus, taking every refusal to become better, and every hard situation to do something good to herself and others.
Her turning point to fulfill her childhood dreams and to become a singer happened at the age of 26, while she was in a very unhappy marriage. A singing teacher immediately recognised her talent and thought that her low voice is reminiscent of Karen Carpenter.
In 2007, Tally made the decision to make her first album and not to wait for the record company. Despite one of the top radio people telling her that she doesn’t have a chance to make it nationally because she was over 40, she made the choice to listen to the words of her song “Beauty of the Duty" saying that “the only thing that holds you back is you.” Her song became a national success on BBC radio three weeks later. Many of her other singles have been playlisted with over 1000 radio stations in the UK and around the world.
She has performed at the Royal Albert Hall, The National Arboretum, The Belgrade Theatre, Pizza on the Park, Pizza Express, The JW3, Electric Carousel, The Soho Revue Bar, the Forum (Kentish Town), Tate Britain to Celebrate William Blake’s birthday, The House of Lords, and opening a football match at the MK Dons Stadium. Her music has been featured in films and television advertisements.
Her purpose in life is to inspire people to do what they love. Tally says: “For me, free will is not just a song; it’s a journey about resilience, commitment, and my life purpose to inspire people to make the best choices in life, have the courage to go for their dreams, never give up, and take every rejection to become better.” At 61, she still is releasing new music and teaching children how to express themselves through songs.
Learn more and follow her: www.tallykoren.com
https://www.facebook.com/tallykoren/
https://twitter.com/tallykoren
Daniela helps stressed and burnt-out professionals ditch the guilt and overwhelm and productively manage their time and daily tasks with ease, so they have the space and energy for self-care every day. She has been a Licensed Master’s Social Worker for more than 27 years, working with individuals on self-care, stress management skills, mindfulness, relationships, parenting and just managing all the chaos that life can send your way.
Daniela is a speaker/trainer, author of the book Balance Breakthrough - A Practical Guide for Busy Professionals to Take Charge of Their Work, Life, and Well-being, and host of the podcast, Best D Life with Daniela. Daniela can help you learn the options and strategies to make over your schedule and life one day at a time. Her mission is to empower you to prioritize yourself on your to-do lists and learn the strategies to make over your daily life.
Learn more:
Instagram - https://www.Instagram.com/best_d_life
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bestdlife
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/bestdlife
Arivee Vargas is an award-winning certified executive coach and the founder and CEO of Humble Rising LLC. She specializes in helping high-achieving women leaders and lawyers feel less overwhelmed and stuck, and have more joy, fulfillment, purpose and personal alignment. She is also the host of The Humble Rising Podcast, where she shares inspiring stories –primarily from women of color – and provides actionable strategies for achieving sustainable success and fulfillment.
Arivee is also the author of Your Time to Rise: Unlearn Limiting Beliefs, Unlock Your Power, and Unleash Your Truest Self. Your Time to Rise is about increasing self-awareness, gaining clarity, uncovering your truth, envisioning possibilities, and aligning what’s inside with what you’re doing, saying and pursuing on the outside. Arivee shows you how to use her simple, four-part framework to navigate personal and professional inflection points. Most importantly, Arivee provides actionable strategies and tools to help you break free from the often harmful and limiting beliefs and expectations you’ve internalized keeping you stuck and dissatisfied. Your Time to Rise will equip you with what you need on your journey to rise up and claim your truth and the long overdue clarity, joy and fulfillment you deserve.
Arivee’s work has been featured in Oprah Daily, Forbes, Success Magazine, Hispanic Executive Magazine, Authority Magazine, the Boston Business Journal, FIERCE by Mitú, YourTango, Thrive Global, BizWomen, the Mother Chapter, and more. Influence Digest has named Arivee a top coach in Boston for the past three years in a row. She is a sought-after speaker and thought leader on topics of women’s empowerment, self-care and wellbeing, how to prevent burnout, work-life harmony, career development and navigating the intersection of multiple identities as a first-generation Latina, mother, leader and lawyer.
Connect with Arivee:
https://www.ariveevargas.com/podcast
Trinette Faint has been a storyteller and creative entrepreneur all her life. With her career spanning starting out as a model in France at 19, to working with celebrities like Matt Damon and Will Smith’s production company, to a 6 ½ year stint at Google. Trinette has also always been a creative writer, having published two novels, and is now a screenwriter, with her two tv pilots placing as semi-finalists in the ScreenCraft 2025 TV Pilot competition. In addition, she earned a certificate in Feature Film Writing from UCLA, at 52, all while continuing her modeling and acting career. Trinette continues to reinvent herself and defines her own version of success. As a Black Female standing tall at 6’1”, Trinette uses her wide range of background and experiences to continue to persevere and inspire fellow women in the industry. Her career also includes being an actor, a voiceover artist and podcast host. Trinette joined us from Boston.
In this episode, we discussed:
· Trinette’s personal journey of reinventing herself and advice for fellow female entrepreneurs to make the most out of life
· Book/Author Journey: Trinette can speak to the need for books to have strong Black female characters to portray and inspire a new generation
· How to Fail: Trinette can speak to reprioritizing and shifting her goals based on failures and share why failing is vital to success
· Experiencing Racism/Fat Shaming/Criticism as a Model
· Mid-life topics: Personal experience as a 50+ woman
Learn more:
Cerise Turner is a dedicated public servant, community advocate and champion for peace whose lifelong commitment to service was recognized with the 2024 President Biden’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Volunteer Service. This national honor reflects her extraordinary contribution of more than 4,000 hours of volunteer service devoted to improving the lives of seniors, youth and families across Washington, D.C.
As Ms. Senior D.C. 2023 and a Senior Ambassador for the Department of Aging and Community Living, Cerise advocates for more than 120,000 older adults across all eight wards. Her leadership and outreach span hundreds of events from senior wellness centers to policy forums, parades, cultural celebrations and citywide resource fairs. She has given testimonies before the D.C. Council Committees and remains a trusted voice for equity, respect and quality of life for seniors.
She describes her metamorphosis when she became Ms. Senior D.C. She re-made herself by pushing herself to step outside of her typical behind the scenes type of lifestyle. She recommends volunteering as a way to get outside of oneself and meet others. She continues to challenge herself and live her best life at age 67.
In 2025, Cerise was named a United Nations Global Peace Ambassador (Appointed through an UN-affiliated NGO), a global recognition of her tireless efforts to promote unity, service, and community unity. She has also taken part in public awareness campaigns protecting seniors from fraud, served as a speaker on financial empowerment for women, and volunteered with countless interfaith and intergenerational initiatives.
Cerise’s professional background includes a successful career in the private legal sector in which she provided high-level litigation and legal support in leading law firms. Her work was marked by precision, discretion and a strong commitment to excellence, qualities that also define her volunteer leadership and advocacy.
Her passion for service has guided her through roles such as Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), Educational Surrogate Parent for OSSE and Parent Watch Advocate where she supported children and families navigating complex educational and legal systems with empathy and determination.
Her community contributions have earned her multiple certificates of appreciation and excellence from the Department of Aging and Community Living, recognition from senior wellness centers, and acknowledgments from local organizations for her steadfast commitment to outreach and engagement. Cerise continues to serve with grace, purpose and compassion believing that lasting change begins with kindness, courage and the willingness to show up for others.
Follow her on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cerise-elaine-turner-90901241/
https://www.facebook.com/cerise.turner.1
https://www.instagram.com/cerise.turner.1/
Jen Hardy is CEO of Hardy House Media, and a multifaceted content creator and entrepreneur with a focus on video and podcasting. She hosts the “Jen Hardy Show” on YouTube, the “Fabulous Over 50” podcast, and is the author of four books. In her bestselling book, Uncensored YouTube Hacks, she shares practical advice for setting up your YouTube channel for success. As a YouTube consultant, she uses the information she has learned to help other podcasters find their voice through video and get comfortable on camera. Jen also hosts Podfest’s monthly Podlab, as well as being volunteer coordinator for Podfest with her husband/producer, Dave.
Jen has been actively involved in the creative space since 2014, founding the “Space Coast Area Podcasters” local meetup, and the “Golden Mic Society,” a virtual community for podcasters over 50. In 2024, Jen won “Podcast of the Year” (and is up for two more awards) and launched her YouTube show, “The Jen Hardy Show,” which had a million views in its first six months, further solidifying her presence in the industry. She also created the 50 Over 50 Awards (and Maria won one of these awards!).
Jen and her husband have seven children and live on a barrier island paradise in Florida. They love listening and laughing to Dry Bar comedy on YouTube!
Learn more at https://jenhardy.net/
https://www.youtube.com/@thejenhardy
https://www.instagram.com/thejenhardy/
https://www.facebook.com/thejenhardy/
https://jenhardy.net/top-50-over-50-awards/
This podcast won a 2025 award for Podcasters Over 50!
Zerina Derveni is a distinguished Life Coach who specializes in empowering high-performing women and organizations to unlock their full potential. Specializing in guiding women who feel lost, stuck, or simply curious to level up, Zerina helps them embrace their inner strength, overcome obstacles, and create lasting transformation in both their personal and professional lives.
With a rich executive background in strategic consulting and client engagement with Fortune 500 brands for more than a decade, Zerina brings a unique blend of expertise in personal growth, professional development and transformational coaching. Her tailored coaching approach is designed for those who seek transformative results, and the clarity needed to thrive. Whether pursuing greater personal fulfillment, enhancing relationships or navigating career shifts, Zerina provides the high-level guidance and actionable strategies that lead to lasting success. Invest in yourself and achieve your highest aspirations with Zerina’s bespoke coaching services.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Law and Society with Honours, an MBA Executive Certificate in Business Management from the prestigious Schulich School of Business, and a Post Graduate degree in Corporate Communication and Public Relations with Honours. In addition to her academic background, Zerina has completed advanced training in Negotiation Mastery from Harvard Business School, equipping her with the skills to navigate complex situations. Combining her professional certifications and academic achievements, Zerina delivers high-impact coaching that fosters lasting change and success for her clients.
In this episode, we discuss:
· Overcoming Self-Doubt: how women can build confidence and break free from negative self-talk and reclaim inner strength.
· Navigating Self-Discovery: how to overcome overthinking and tap into your authentic self.
· Transforming Anxiety into Inner Peace: master techniques for transforming anxiety into calmness and effective approaches for managing stress and self-doubt.
· From Overwhelm to Clarity: how women can prioritize personal growth and career goals without losing themselves and make life decisions that are in alignment with their core values.
· Building Stronger Relationships: effective communication, intimacy, and conflict resolution in romantic partnerships.
Zerina joined us from Toronto, Canada. She shared a fun fact: She represented Ontario in the Miss Universe Canada competition!
She offers her coaching in person and online. Zerina offers a free introductory call for potential clients.
Learn more:
https://www.zerinalifecoach.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/zerina-derveni-64687386/
https://www.instagram.com/zerinalifecoach/