Are you showing up in your life…or just getting through the day?
In this powerful episode, bestselling author and TEDx speaker Marcy Axelrod joins me to explore how we’re designed to thrive - and why most of us are just barely there.

Based on neuroscience, psychology, and evolutionary biology, her model of Showing Up is transforming how people live, lead, parent, and heal.

We talk about how to recognize when you’re off path, the simple shifts that change everything, and how to come back to yourself - even 1% at a time.

🔗 Learn more about Marcy: https://choosetoshowup.com
📲 Connect with Tiff: https://tiffcarson.com + @iamtiffcarson

What if your world started to disappear - literally?

At nine years old, Laura Bratton was told she would go blind. But instead of letting that diagnosis define her, she chose to build a life of purpose, grit, and gratitude.

In this heartfelt episode of Hard Beautiful Journey, Laura shares how she turned a life-altering challenge into a calling to help others. We talk about what it means to truly choose courage, how to move forward in the unknown, and why gratitude might just be the game-changer you didn’t know you needed.

💛 Connect with Laura:

Website: https://laurabratton.com

Ubi Global: https://ubiglobal.org

Book: Harnessing Courage

✨ Connect with Tiff Carson:

Guided Meditation & Weekly Newsletter: https://tiffcarson.com

Instagram: @iamtiffcarson

What if your body was speaking to you—and you just didn’t know how to listen?

In this episode of Hard Beautiful Journey, I sit down with Inna Segal, bestselling author of The Secret Language of Your Body, to explore how physical pain is often rooted in emotional trauma, suppressed energy, and ancestral patterns. Inna shares how healing begins when we reconnect with the body's innate wisdom and tune in to its messages. If you're carrying chronic pain, burnout, anxiety, or inherited grief, this episode will show you a powerful new way forward.

🎧 Tune in for a conversation that blends intuition, somatic healing, and radical honesty.

Connect with Inna:

🌐 www.innasegal.com

📘 @innasegal on Instagram

📖 Book: The Secret Language of Your Body (available wherever books are sold)

Connect with Me (Tiff):

🌐 www.tiffcarson.com

📸 @iamtiffcarson

Timestamps:

Have you ever wondered why overgiving feels like love, but leaves you burned out and resentful? In this powerful episode, psychotherapist and author Dr. Zoe Shaw joins me to explore the roots of complex shame, the hidden cost of people-pleasing, and how to create emotional safety in your relationships and within yourself.

We break down the real meaning of codependency, how to set boundaries without guilt, and why your deepest strength is often found in your most painful places.

Dr. Zoe’s new book, Stronger in the Difficult Places, is a must-read for anyone ready to stop abandoning themselves in the name of connection.

💥 Key Topics:

• Complex shame vs. simple shame

• Emotional safety in relationships

• Overgiving as a form of control

• Boundaries, resentment & self-worth

• Healing through vulnerability and community

  
  

✨ Let's ask the real question: Are you showing up from love, or fear of disconnection?

Chapters & Timestamps:

00:00 – Welcome + Meet Dr. Zoe Shaw

02:00 – Why Dr. Zoe left traditional therapy for bigger impact

04:40 – How fear nearly stopped her from speaking

07:10 – Why the relationship with yourself is the hardest

09:15 – Cracked cups & complex shame

14:00 – How shame shows up in your daily life

17:30 – Why external compassion doesn’t always work

19:30 – The process of untangling shame

24:00 – Overgiving = control? Let’s talk about it

26:00 – The hidden cost of people-pleasing

28:00 – If they’re not okay, are you still okay?

30:00 – What emotional safety really means

33:00 – Boundaries, rejection & freedom

36:00 – Sisterhood and the healing power of community

37:30 – How to spot where your shame lives

39:00 – What Dr. Zoe is grateful for today

40:30 – Final reflection + free meditation + newsletter invite

🌐 Connect with Dr. Zoe Shaw:

Website: drzoeshaw.com

Instagram: @DrZoeShaw

Book: Stronger in the Difficult Places (available for pre-order now)

💛 Connect with Tiff Carson:

Website: tiffcarson.com

Instagram: @iamtiffcarson

This episode gave me a whole new perspective on the ego - and how it shapes everything from our healing to our relationships.

I sat down with bestselling author and ultra-consciousness guide Daphne Michaels, and we dove into quantum awareness, energy healing, and how to live from the part of ourselves that’s already whole. We talked about ego collapse, how to raise your vibration, and why healing is really just your heart surviving your life.

Whether you're brand new to these ideas or already deep in your healing journey, I promise - this one will meet you where you're at.

Timestamps:

0:00 – Welcome & Reflection

2:10 – Daphne’s Spiritual Awakening at 19

5:30 – What an Ego Collapse Really Feels Like

10:00 – How the Ego Keeps You Emotionally 7 Years Old

13:45 – Healing Begins with Feeling Safe

18:00 – Quantum Awareness Explained Simply

22:00 – Real Stories of Energy Healing That Work

28:00 – Healing the Heart: Emotion, Trauma & Energy

34:00 – The Power of Micro-Acts of Healing

38:00 – Releasing Ego in a Noisy, Competitive World

44:00 – The SHB Movement: Living with Higher Consciousness

50:00 – Final Reflections & Takeaways

CONNECT WITH DAPHNE:

• Website: daphnemichaels.com

• Instagram: @theshbmovement

• YouTube: @DaphneMichaels
  

CONNECT WITH TIFF:

• Free Guided Meditation: tiffcarson.com

What if the very thing you've been holding back - your voice - is actually the key to your healing?

This week on the podcast, I sit down with vocal alchemist and teacher Maryn Azoff to explore the incredible healing power of sound, chanting, and expression. Maryn’s Vocal Transformation Method helps people reclaim their voice - not just to speak, but to feel, heal, and connect.

We talk about voice blocks, body memory, and even the parts of sound that make us squirm (hello sensual sound 👀). And yep…I was left speechless multiple times. On a podcast. About voice. 😂

This episode made me wish I’d started this work years ago - and now I’m inviting you into it too.

Chapters & Timestamps:

00:00 – Episode Intro

02:00 – Maryn’s take on what the voice really is

06:00 – The accident that changed everything

12:30 – The healing power of humming

15:45 – Tiff’s own voice blocks

20:00 – Sound, sensuality & shame

28:00 – Chanting & chakra reprogramming

36:00 – Healing generational trauma through sound

44:00 – Reclaiming our range and resonance

53:00 – Final sound practice + I AM ritual

1:05:00 – Gratitude & closing

Maryn’s Info:

Website: https://vocaltransformation.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vocal_transformation

Connect with Tiff:

Free Guided Meditation: https://tiffcarson.com

Weekly Exhale Newsletter: https://iamtiffcarson.myflodesk.com/qkccrin7qz

In this emotional and powerful episode of Hard Beautiful Journey, I sit down with Julie Barth—a mother of six, trauma survivor, and author of Notes from a Blackberry. Julie shares her journey through caregiving, the devastating loss of her first husband, surviving emotional abuse, and how she turned those experiences into a mission to help other women in crisis.

If you're walking through grief, feeling stuck, or trying to find meaning again, this conversation will show you that healing is possible and power can be reclaimed.

Chapters:

00:00 - Intro: How Much Can One Heart Take?

01:00 - Meet Julie Barth

03:00 - Surviving Loss and Finding Purpose

07:00 - Notes from a Blackberry & Healing Through Writing

11:00 - Caregiving, Identity & Loneliness

13:00 - Physical Toll of Survival Mode

16:00 - Building a Nonprofit After Trauma

22:00 - Red Flags in Emotionally Abusive Relationships

26:00 - Legacy, Faith, and Helping Others Heal

Connect with Julie:

Website: https://www.juliebarthauthor.com

Follow her daughter’s art: Facebook - Hope4Tayt

Connect with Tiff:

Website: https://www.tiffcarson.com

Instagram: @iamtiffcarson

Have you ever felt like talk therapy just scratched the surface—but your body was holding onto something deeper?

In this soul-shifting episode, I sit down with intuitive guide Donnie Summers to explore how he turned years of depression, trauma, and suicidal ideation into a journey of spiritual and emotional healing. We talk about his sacred mentorship with the Yavapai tribe, how the body holds wisdom, the truth about our inner “parts,” and what it really takes to come home to yourself.

💬 You’ll walk away with a deeper understanding of EFT, Parts Work, somatic awareness, and how love can transform your life from the inside out.

Chapters:

00:00 – Welcome + Intro

01:30 – Who is Donnie Summers (in his words)

05:00 – The moment that cracked him open

08:30 – The loss of a friend to suicide

10:00 – Mentorship with the Yavapai Tribe

15:30 – Emotional healing isn’t always pretty

17:00 – EFT + tapping saved his life

22:00 – The “parts” inside us: inner critics, exiles, protectors

29:00 – Learning to trust his intuition

36:00 – How to tune into the body

42:00 – The power of being witnessed

48:00 – How love taught Donnie to choose himself

52:00 – Gratitude & Closing

🔗 Connect with Donnie:

Instagram: @donnie.summers

Website: www.donniesummers.com

🔗 Stay connected with me:

Instagram: @iamtiffcarson

Podcast: Hard Beautiful Journey

Website: www.tiffcarson.com

When Ayla Casey's husband was diagnosed with young-onset colon cancer, her world cracked open. What followed was a sacred and painful journey through caregiving, loss, and deep transformation.

In this episode, Ayla shares what it means to witness pain rather than bypass it, how grief lives in the body, and why she believes reclaiming your voice is the first step toward healing. We talk about metabolizing grief, choosing to stay, and how Ayla's legacy work now bridges music and healthcare to honor her husband's life.

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro: What It Means to Stay

2:00 - Life Before the Diagnosis

5:00 - The Shock of Young-Onset Cancer

8:00 - Caregiving & Survival Mode

13:00 - Numbing, Addiction, and Presence

18:00 - Metabolizing Grief

24:00 - Building a Legacy Through Music

30:00 - Reclaiming the Body + Daily Joy

38:00 - Practicing Presence After Loss

44:00 - How Ayla Works with Grievers + Caregivers

46:00 - Gratitude and Final Reflections

Connect with Ayla:

Website: alchemyforhumanhearts.com

Instagram: @aylaccasey

Substack: alchemyforhumanhearts.substack.com

Connect with Tiff:

Website: tiffcarson.com

Instagram: @iamtiffcarson

Free Meditation + Retreat Info: tiffcarson.com/retreat

What if the part of you you’ve spent your life trying to hide… is the very thing that could heal you—and others?

In this powerful conversation, Tracey Napier—intuitive life coach, speaker, Reiki practitioner, and author of Get Changed—shares how she transformed her lifelong insecurity (her voice) into her greatest tool for purpose, healing, and connection. We talk about self-trust, spiritual nudges, healing stuck energy, and stepping into your power—especially when it scares you.

💭 Let's ask: What if the thing you’re ashamed of is actually the thing that could set you free?

Chapters

0:00 – Intro: What if your flaw is your calling?

2:12 – Who Tracey was before her healing journey

6:50 – Losing her mom & the start of deep transformation

10:30 – Laid off after 26 years: the unexpected gift

13:18 – Hearing the divine message to write Get Changed

17:45 – Learning to trust herself again

20:10 – How movement + energy work helped her release trauma

25:00 – Reiki, tapping, and somatic healing

29:15 – The power of visualization + intention

34:00 – What a fulfilling life means to Tracey now

38:35 – How her energy has completely changed

42:00 – If you feel broken… listen to this

44:50 – Her coaching, speaking, and upcoming podcast plans

49:00 – A final word on gratitude + using your voice

How to Connect with Us

✨Connect with Tracey:

Website traceynapier.com

Instagram + TikTok: @traceyjeannapier

Her podcast: The Tracey Napier Podcast (YouTube + Audio platforms)

Her book: Get Changed

✨ Connect with me (Tiff Carson):

Website: tiffcarson.com

Instagram: @iamtiffcarson

What if the truth you've never said out loud could be the very thing that sets you free? In this raw and powerful conversation, I’m joined by Kath Essing—author, speaker, and survivor of childhood sexual abuse. We talk about the body’s wisdom, what healing really looks like, and why speaking your truth—out loud—can be both terrifying and life-giving. Whether you're a survivor, a support person, or just human, this episode will change the way you listen, support, and show up.

Chapters:

0:00 – Introduction

2:10 – Who is Kath Essing today?

5:33 – How her body remembered the trauma

11:45 – Talking to kids about consent & safety

18:20 – Navigating family reactions

23:10 – When the legal system fails survivors

29:44 – Writing The Courage to Speak Your Truth

36:02 – What survivors really need from loved ones

41:00 – Somatic healing, breathwork, and embodiment

46:55 – Becoming an advocate

51:30 – Final thoughts + gratitude

Connect with Kath:

Website: https://www.bespeak.au

Instagram: @kath_essing

Facebook: BeSpeak Consultancy

Connect with me:

Instagram: @iamtiffcarson

Free Healing Meditation: https://www.tiffcarson.com/meditation

Join the private Facebook group: Healing Heart Journey (search + request)

In this soulful episode, Tiff sits down with floral oil painter and nonprofit founder Ovi Paulter, who shares her journey of healing from trauma and deep burnout through the quiet magic of creativity. Together, they explore how softness, beauty, and creating just for joy can be a lifeline—especially when life feels too heavy. Ovi’s story is a reminder that your healing doesn’t have to be loud to be life-changing.

Chapters:

0:00 - Welcome + Reflection

2:00 - Ovi’s story of burnout and rediscovering painting

7:20 - Why beauty isn’t a luxury

10:45 - The power of softness in healing

14:10 - How Floral Sessions with Ovi was born

19:00 - Releasing perfectionism in creativity

25:30 - What a painting session with Ovi feels like

32:00 - Why group creativity heals differently

34:00 - What’s lighting Ovi up right now

35:30 - Ovi’s gratitude moment

🎨 Connect with Ovi on Instagram: @ovipaulterart

🌿 Connect with Tiff: @iamtiffcarson or visit tiffcarson.com

What if you didn’t have to fix your suffering—just release the parts of you that were never really you?

In this profound conversation, Buddhist nun and Awakened teacher Thich Dieu Thien, gently guides us back to our Unborn Mind—the place of clarity, peace, and true compassion.

We explore spiritual awakening, grief, letting go, and what it means to be fully alive and free. If you're carrying pain, burnout, or heartbreak, this episode is an invitation to return to yourself.

📌 Chapters :

0:00 – Intro & reflection question

2:40 – Meet Thich Dieu Thien

5:52 – The moment of awakening

14:30 – Understanding the Unborn Mind

19:44 – Seeing suffering as a doorway

26:15 – Returning to presence in daily life

33:48 – Speaking truth and healing energy

38:00 – Compassion and releasing attachment

46:10 – Grief, spirit, and letting go

58:20 – Thich’s message for my brother

1:03:15 – How to connect with Thich

1:05:30 – Gratitude + Gentle Closing

📲 Connect with us:

Tiff Carson: @iamtiffcarson

Guest: @azmthichdieuthien

What if the hardest thing you’ve ever faced… became the very thing that saved your life?

Dan Reilly is a husband, father, and self-proclaimed ordinary guy—until life gave him three wake-up calls: a bank robbery, a wildfire evacuation, and a stage III esophageal cancer diagnosis. In this powerful conversation, Dan shares how he turned crisis into purpose, how writing helped him heal, and what it really means to get it right in midlife.

We talk about resilience, healing, family, faith, and what it means to carry a backpack full of burdens—and finally put it down. If you’ve ever needed a reminder that second chances are real and you’re not too far gone to begin again, this episode is for you.

🎒 Dan’s book Seize Your Second Chance is available now.

🔗 CONNECT WITH US

📖 Grab Dan’s book & connect: www.danielpreilly.com

📸 Dan on Facebook: @dan.reilly.773

🎙 Follow me on Instagram: @iamtiffcarson

🌐 My Website & Free Meditation: www.tiffcarson.com

What if the pain you’re carrying…was never yours to begin with?

In this powerful conversation, Rapid Transformational Therapist Kate Semeniuk shares how she helps people heal the deep subconscious beliefs formed in early childhood—beliefs that still shape our adult lives through anxiety, people-pleasing, burnout, and depression. Kate and I talk about the power of hypnotherapy, healing our inner child, and why we must stop saying “my anxiety” or “my depression.”

This episode is a gift for anyone who’s been stuck in patterns they don’t understand and who’s finally ready to come home to themselves.

00:00 – Welcome + Intro

02:00 – Kate’s “aha” moment that started her healing path

05:00 – The pain wasn’t outside—it was within

07:20 – How childhood beliefs silently shape adult patterns

11:00 – Co-parenting and conscious communication with kids

15:00 – The power of explaining pain to children

21:00 – What a RTT session actually looks like

27:00 – The ego’s grip and identity

30:00 – Depression and the loss of hope

35:00 – Becoming your own loving parent

40:00 – What we say after “I am” shapes our lives

46:00 – It’s time to rewire your beliefs

50:00 – Gratitude, healing, and final thoughts

📲 Stay Connected:

🔗 Connect with Kate on Instagram: @kate.semeniuk

🌐 Learn more or book a session: katesemeniuk.com

🫶 Find healing tools and retreats with me: tiffcarson.com

🎙 Follow on Instagram: @iamtiffcarson

Have you ever whispered to yourself, “I don’t know how much longer I can keep going?” In this raw and powerful episode of Hard Beautiful Journey, Tiff Carson sits down with therapist and podcast host Malisa Hepner, whose story reads like a trauma survivor’s handbook—childhood abuse, parental loss, CPTSD, and burnout so intense it nearly took her life. But what followed is a breathtaking example of choosing healing over perfection, embracing imperfection as power, and learning to love the fire within.

This conversation is for anyone who feels broken, exhausted, or like they’ve lost themselves in the chaos of motherhood, trauma, and people-pleasing. We talk about nervous system regulation, parenting through grief, emotional hygiene, and what it really takes to rebuild a life you actually love.

✨ We also explore Malisa’s incredible upcoming Empowerment Exchange Summit and how it aligns with finding your own timbre—the sound signature of your soul.

Let this be your permission slip to stop holding it all together.

Connect with Malisa Hepner:

Instagram: @malisa.hepner

Website: www.empoweredwithmalisahepner.org

Connect with Tiff Carson:
Instagram:⁠ @iamtiffcarson⁠

Website:⁠ www.tiffcarson.com⁠

In this episode of Hard Beautiful Journey, Tiff sits down with former criminal trial lawyer turned author and spiritual seeker, Bob Martin. From Miami's cocaine cowboy era to Taoist teachings and deep soul shifts, Bob shares how he moved from a life built on power to one built on purpose. They explore the intersections of faith, storytelling, unconditional love, and why curiosity just might be the most spiritual act of all.

0:00 Intro – From Power to Purpose 

3:45 How Bob's Legal Career Collapsed Spiritually 

11:12 Meeting the Taoist Grandmaster 

20:04 The Wake-Up Call After 9/11 

27:30 Writing Children of Abraham 

36:48 Blending Taoism and Christianity 

44:15 The Messy Middle in Faith 

53:00 Garage Book Sales and Publishing Realities 

1:02:20 What Healing Looks Like Now 

1:08:40 One Thing Bob Hopes You Remember

Connect with Tiff on Instagram: @iamtiffcarson

Connect with Bob on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/awiseandhappylife

Visit Bob's website: awiseandhappylife.com

What if the thing you’re most afraid to let go of is the very thing keeping you stuck?

In this powerful episode, transformational coach Michelle Gauthier shares her personal story of walking away from a high-achieving, burnout-fueled life to rebuild from the inside out. We talk about how to tune into your body’s whispers before they become screams, release perfectionism, reclaim joy, and live a life that feels as good as it looks.

🎧 If you’ve ever wrapped your worth around your work or struggled to slow down, this is the conversation your heart’s been waiting for.

00:00 – Intro

01:25 – When Michelle’s body said “Enough”

07:40 – Fear, divorce, and identity unraveling

13:00 – Signals from the body: anxiety, back pain & blood pressure

19:15 – Rebuilding a new life: what joy looks like now

26:40 – Dropping the disclaimer and the five “Whys”

33:10 – Sustainable life vs. busy life

39:00 – The myth of doing it all

42:55 – When joy felt like a luxury

48:10 – What would you say to your past self?

50:30 – The ripple effect of calm mothers

53:00 – Gratitude & closing reflections

💛 Connect with Michelle on Instagram: @michellegauthiercoaching

🌿 Visit her website: www.michellegauthier.com

🎙️ Follow me on Instagram: @iamtiffcarson

What if grief wasn’t something to fix—but something to feel, carry, and even grow through?

In this powerful episode of Hard Beautiful Journey, I sit down with Laura Walton—licensed therapist, grief and trauma expert, and founder of Grief on Purpose—to explore how unthinkable loss led her to the work she's doing today. Laura shares how losing her father and partner cracked her open, what it means to grieve with intention, and how her relationship with grief has shifted after nearly two decades.

We talk spirituality, somatic healing, the loneliness of grief, and how your relationship with a loved one can continue long after they’re gone.

If you're grieving—or supporting someone who is—this episode is here to remind you: you're not alone, and you will survive this.

0:00 - Intro: Grief as a Beginning

2:24 - Laura’s Life Before Loss

5:01 - The Losses That Changed Everything

8:17 - What Grief Is (and Isn’t)

11:32 - Being Misunderstood in Grief

15:45 - Judgment & Silence Around Death

19:12 - Creating Grief on Purpose

22:38 - Evolving the Relationship with Grief

27:03 - Spirit Connection After Death

32:20 - Supporting Others Through Grief

36:01 - Using Your Voice

38:24 - Finding Your Tribe

41:33 - Yoga, Somatics & Grief in the Body

47:22 - What Society Gets Wrong About Grief

51:12 - Final Message for the Brokenhearted

56:20 - Gratitude + Gentle Close

CONNECT WITH US:

Tiff on Instagram → @iamtiffcarson

Laura on Instagram → @grief.on.purpose

Laura’s Website → www.griefonpurpose.com

What does it take to rise from unimaginable pain and turn it into purpose? Jennisue Jessen, founder of Compass 31, joins me to share her extraordinary journey from being trafficked at just four years old to becoming a global advocate for freedom and healing. We talk about the misconceptions around human trafficking, why survivors often don’t identify as victims, and how healing truly begins in relationship.

Her story will shift how you see trauma, resilience, and what it means to be seen.

0:00 - Intro

1:42 - Jennisue’s early experiences & Southeast Asia

5:25 - Misconceptions about trafficking

8:17 - What grooming really looks like

11:02 - Why victims don’t see themselves as victims

16:10 - Healing after escape

20:22 - The reunion with LB (cue tears)

26:00 - How Compass 31 was born

29:40 - What makes Compass 31 unique

34:50 - Joy amidst darkness

37:00 - Community and the power of tribe

41:10 - Real ways we can help

45:00 - Final thoughts and gratitude

📲 Connect with Jennisue on Instagram: @compass_31

🌐 Learn more: www.compass31.org

💖 Connect with me: @iamtiffcarson