Today’s guest had me hooked when she told me she sat at a table with Victoria Beckham. My Spice Girl’s loving heart skipped a beat, and I was all ears as she told me she walked away from her successful fashion career in order to create her own styling business. Nicole Russo’s belief about fashion is that you don’t need a lot to have a good wardrobe, and that if you dress yourself right, you can totally change your life.

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It’s so easy to become overwhelmed by life’s problems. We can do deep dives into trying to uncover perfect solutions to our biggest problems, only to realize the solution is even more complicated than the problem itself. During today’s Part 2 conversations with Melanie Ann Layer, the Alpha Femme, she shares with us how learning to simplify our coping mechanisms can totally transform our lives — and save us a lot of unnecessary stress.

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Do you think your biggest fears are designed to show you what you are capable of overcoming? What if the hardships we face can be something that remind us of just how resilient we really are? This is today's guest, Melanie Ann Layer's (AKA Alpha Femme) perspective on life and hitting rock bottom. Not only will Melanie encourage you to look at the hard times with a softer lens, but she'll also encourage you to shift the way you look at your mindset and how it operates so that you can start escaping some of your biggest mental blocks.

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If you have teenagers like I do you have probably heard the term, "It's giving me The Ick." If you haven't heard this, welcome to the new slang...apparently it's a part of my vocabulary now. I'm just gonna run with it. Talking about minimalism topics like decluttering, organizing, and capsule wardrobes has been wearing on me for some time. Today I want to break down for you why talking about my minimalist lifestyle no longer feels aligned, and why I hope you might consider adapting a similar mindset in your own life. Whether we are addicted to shopping or are practicing decluttering, we can very easily give the stuff in our life way more weight and significance than it deserves and I'm so over it.

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Shooting a kind text is a thoughtful idea, but did you know speaking the words out loud leaves an even bigger impact? Today I sat down with founder of the HiLU app, Emily Montgomery to talk about the power of the spoken word and how we can use it to build one another up. Send a HiLU: https://www.teamhilu.com Emily's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teamhilu/ The Blog: https://www.thefunsizedlife.com My 50 Top Book Recommendations: https://www.reneebenes.com/books

The idea of walking away from minimalism and the online presence that I have built has been something that has been on my mind for a long time. Today it all came to me in one giant AHA moment...or did it? Here is how I have been taking small, bold, steps toward the calling on my heart and how it all finally caught up with me today. Decluttering and downsizing my life has helped create the space for this kind of change, but I'm realizing letting go of something else is really going to be the key to make my dreams come true... The Blog: https://www.thefunsizedlife.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/renee.benes/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@renee.benes/

If you have ever dreamed of turning in your 2 week notice, and living life on your terms, then you're going to want to tune into today's episode where I sit down with Wayba founder and coach, Jean-Francoia Lappas to talk about burnout, leaving the corporate world behind, and finding purpose and passion. Remember, life is not a one size fits all. Different things work for different people and finding what works for us is the key to aligning with what we were always meant to do.

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This week I found myself struggling with a bath mat. For real. Even though I wasn't decluttering this particular item, I couldn't help but feel an emotional attachment to it which just reminded me of how painful the decluttering process can truly be. When we start decluttering our house, we can so easily think all we need is the right step by step organization process. The reality is that as we begin to create a clutter free home we just might find ourselves face to face with some hard emotional struggles. If you have a tough time letting go of sentimental items, or feel an emotional attachment to your things, tune in, I think you're gonna want to hear this!

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Life can feel so tough. Whether we are going through a new transition, we've had back to back setbacks, or it just feels like we're not quite living life the way we want to. Today I tossed out any scripts, or game plans for what to say, plopped myself on my bed, and plugged in my mic for a little heart to heart. You know I don't shy away from the hard stuff like grieving, overcoming perfection, parenting, or finding purpose. If you are in the need for a little slow down, heart-to-heart, real talk conversation today, I got you. Just press play.

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What happens to a family when they are told their child may never see again? This is a fear that most parents never consider, but today I sit down with dad, Stephen Johnston to talk about what he did when it happened to him. When your son is battling a rare illness, there is a grieving process, a moment of acceptance and also a moment where you decide to control what you can. Stephen shares about his Navy Seal mindset inspiration that has helped him him take action, reminds us all to embrace each day, and shares about his mission to save his son's sight through his non-profit organization, A Race Against Blindness.

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