For this milestone 50th episode (!!), I’m sharing why Jake and I chose to step away from the America’s Favorite Couple contest, even after making it to the quarterfinals. What looked like a “loss” turned out to be a bigger win: a chance to honor my integrity, align with who I’m becoming, and trust that the universe always knows best.

In this episode, I:

💫 Reflect on the lessons behind our decision and why not every opportunity is meant to be pursued.

💫 Reframe rejection as redirection (and share how you can too).

💫 Read my poem “Top Down, Bottom’s Up”—a reminder to stand firmly in your power.

💫 Launch a new segment reclaiming the acronym AFC, now standing for Amplifying Fierce Community—and highlight Amanda Dzimianski’s stunning new poetry collection Something Hungry Just Woke Up.

This conversation is all about integrity, alignment, and celebrating the unexpected wins hidden inside every “no.”

If you'd like to dive deeper and read the full Substack article on my experience with Colossal's America's Favorite Couple contest, you can read that here: ⁠America’s Favorite Couple Contest: People’s Choice or Privileged Choice? ⁠

To purchase ⁠Amanda Dzimianski's⁠ book Something Hungry Just Woke Up, you can choose from the below retailer (and we suggest using Bookshop.org to support local bookstores):

• ⁠Bookshop.org⁠
• ⁠Barnes & Noble⁠
• ⁠Amazon⁠ (womp womp.)