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If you’ve been sitting on a dream, this episode was meant for you. As we close out 2025, Tara reflects on the powerful lessons, growth, and life-changing stories that defined Be Who You Came to Be this year, and she’s sharing five reminders to help you step boldly into 2026

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When the world watched her fail on Mount Everest, Alison Levine could have walked away forever. Instead, she climbed back stronger. In this powerful conversation, Tara Renze sits down with the history-making polar explorer and mountaineer to talk about leadership under pressure, courage in failure, and finding purpose when your plans fall apart.

Alison Levine is a history-making adventurer, mountaineer, and leadership expert. She served as team captain of the first American Women’s Everest Expedition, climbed the highest peak on each continent, and skied to both the North and South Poles — completing the rare Adventure Grand Slam. A three-time heart-surgery survivor living with Raynaud’s disease, Alison has thrived in conditions that would sideline most people. A former adjunct professor at West Point, she now teaches leadership through the Thayer Leadership Group and speaks globally to Fortune 500 companies, sports teams, and the World Economic Forum. Her New York Times bestseller On the Edge: Leadership Lessons from Mount Everest and Other Extreme Environments reveals how her time in Earth’s harshest places shaped her philosophy on risk, resilience, and leading with grit. https://alisonlevine.com/

New episodes dropping every Friday!

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What makes a brand magnetic? One that people can’t stop thinking about and that drives results? In this episode of Be Who You Came to Be, Tara Renze sits down with Chris West, founder of Video Narrative and the creative force behind some of the most impactful speaker brands in the world. Together, they unpack the 3 secrets to building a personal brand that converts, one rooted in authenticity, emotion, and purpose.

Chris West is the founder of Video Narrative, a brand design firm that specializes in growing speaking businesses through brand clarity, speaker demo reels, and website design. Before working with leading speakers around the world, Chris developed his approach for stories in his graduate work in Narrative Therapy. When not telling stories, you'll find Chris near the ocean or searching for a road he's never been down.

New episodes dropping every Friday!

Order Tara's book "Be Who You Came To Be" here!

Connect with Tara:

• 🎥 Watch on YouTube –Inspiring episodes & powerful insights
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Feeling overwhelmed, disorganized, or like you’ll never get your life together? Then give us 45 minutes and your life will finally feel organized. In this episode, Tara Renze sits down with Laurel Denise, founder of the viral planner company helping women finally find systems that work for their brains. Laurel shares her journey from jewelry designer to planner entrepreneur, the power of pivots, and why true organization starts with self-awareness, not perfection. Together, Tara and Laurel explore how to integrate digital tools with paper planning, manage mental load, and finally stop feeling guilty about your to-do list.

Laurel Denise never set out to build a color-coded cult following for planners—but here we are. What began as an inspirational jewelry line featuring her handwriting and a dream to escape corporate life turned into a movement for creative minds who crave both structure and freedom. When no planner could hold her big picture, weekly tasks, team goals, and preschool snack schedule all at once, she designed one that could, and shared it with the internet. Turns out, she wasn’t the only one who needed it.

Today, Laurel leads a small team of her favorite people, creating products that bring “planner peace” to life by working with the brain, not against it. She believes organization shouldn’t be rigid, that chaos can be beautiful, and that everyone deserves a system that makes life feel more doable and dreams more reachable. When she’s not geeking out over layouts and color palettes, Laurel can be found navigating mom life, trying new fitness classes, or jotting down ideas at wildly inconvenient times...usually while driving or showering.

Use TARA10 for 10% off your order at laureldenise.com

New episodes dropping every Friday!

Order Tara's book "Be Who You Came To Be" here!

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• 🎥 Watch on YouTube –Inspiring episodes & powerful insights
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Feeling stuck, unqualified, or like you’ve missed your chance? In this episode, Tara shares why taking the first imperfect step is the key to transformation. From the “butterfly goal” metaphor to personal stories of chasing dreams (including how she ended up on a game show), Tara explains why imposter syndrome is actually a signal you’re on the right path.

New episodes dropping every Friday!

Order Tara's book "Be Who You Came To Be" here!

Connect with Tara:

• 🎥 Watch on YouTube –Inspiring episodes & powerful insights
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What if the quirks you try to hide at work are actually your greatest advantage? In this episode, Tara Renze sits down with Frankie Russo, entrepreneur, author, and keynote speaker, to explore why “weird” is the secret ingredient behind creativity, innovation, and culture.

Frankie Russo is a serial entrepreneur, author, and keynote speaker who has built and exited multiple companies while battling addiction, blending a family of six kids, and ultimately discovering the power of “owning your weird.” Today, he helps leaders and organizations unlock creativity, innovation, and growth by embracing authenticity instead of conformity.

New episodes dropping every Friday!

Order Tara's book "Be Who You Came To Be" here!

Connect with Tara:

• 🎥 Watch on YouTube –Inspiring episodes & powerful insights
• 📲 Follow on Instagram – Daily motivation & behind-the-scenes
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In this heartfelt solo episode, Tara Renze shares how choosing love can shift us out of fear, stress, and division, and into healing, gratitude, and strength. She reflects on her father’s passing, the challenges today’s teens face, and how social media fuels outrage. With practical tools like pausing before reacting, seeing the human first, and daily gratitude, Tara shows how love changes not only our hearts but also our brains. You’ll also learn about “butterfly goals” - small commitments that spark growth and remind us who we came to be. If the world feels heavy, this conversation is the encouragement and reset you need.

New episodes dropping every Friday!

Order Tara's book "Be Who You Came To Be" here!

Connect with Tara:

• 🎥 Watch on YouTube –Inspiring episodes & powerful insights
• 📲 Follow on Instagram – Daily motivation & behind-the-scenes
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What if you walked 25,000 miles across six continents, through deserts, mountains, and cities, only to discover that the biggest transformation wasn’t the world around you, but the world within?

In this episode of Be Who You Came to Be, I sit down with Tom Turcich, the 10th person in history to walk around the entire globe. For seven years, Tom traveled step by step with his dog Savannah, learning about resilience, grief, kindness, and what it really means to live with purpose.

We talk about grief that sparked his journey, the moments he wanted to quit, the unexpected kindness of strangers, and the lessons that only 25,000 miles on foot could teach. His story will challenge you to rethink what it means to live fully and remind you that the life you’re searching for is built one small step at a time.

Tom Turcich is the tenth person to walk around the world and the first to do so with a dog. After losing a close friend as a teenager, Tom resolved to make the most of life. The day before his 26th birthday, he set out on a seven-year, 28,000-mile journey across six continents and 38 countries—joined by his rescue dog, Savannah.

His walk was not just a physical feat but a search for meaning. Through encounters with strangers, months of solitude, and the resilience required to keep going step after step, Tom discovered that fulfillment isn’t found at the destination, but in the transformative power of the journey.

Tom’s story has been featured on CNN, BBC, Good Morning America, The Guardian, and more.

New episodes dropping every Friday!

Order Tara's book "Be Who You Came To Be" here!

Connect with Tara:

• 🎥 Watch on YouTube –Inspiring episodes & powerful insights
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This week, my heart is heavy. Another school tragedy. Another reminder that our children are walking into classrooms where safety is no longer guaranteed. As a mom, I can’t imagine sending my kids to school and wondering if they’ll come home. It makes me sick, it makes me furious — and it makes me determined to speak up.

In this episode of Be Who You Came to Be, I’m sharing a message of hope on the other side of tragedy. I believe our kids deserve better. They deserve schools that are safe, leaders who choose humanity over politics, and parents who model empathy instead of blame.

I talk about why emotional intelligence matters right now, how prayer, gun reform, and mental health resources must work together, and why choosing connection over division is the only way forward. Our kids deserve this. They deserve a future where they can grow up safe, authentic, and empowered.

New episodes dropping every Friday!

Order Tara's book "Be Who You Came To Be" here!

Connect with Tara:

• 🎥 Watch on YouTube –Inspiring episodes & powerful insights
• 📲 Follow on Instagram – Daily motivation & behind-the-scenes
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What if the perfect job on paper isn’t the right life for you? In this conversation, Tara Renze sits down with Dr. Ashley McClellan, a former hospital CEO who chose purpose over prestige and founded MedCurate, a marketplace that gives nurses and clinicians real control over when, where, and for how much they work. They unpack how to tell burnout from calling, the courage it takes to walk away from a role that everyone else envies, and the leadership mindset that “cares for the caregivers.” If you’ve wondered whether leaving the perfect job may be the best thing you do, this episode is your blueprint for career reinvention, authenticity, and people-first leadership in and beyond healthcare.

Ashley McClellan is a former hospital CEO who spent nearly two decades leading major healthcare organizations before founding MedCurate, a digital platform reshaping healthcare staffing. With a background in finance, Spanish, and hospital administration, Ashley has built her career at the intersection of leadership, purpose, and innovation. Today she serves on multiple boards, teaches future healthcare leaders at the University of Kansas, and continues her mission to care for the caregivers by helping them align their work with their calling.

New episodes dropping every Friday!

Order Tara's book "Be Who You Came To Be" here!

Connect with Tara:

• 🎥 Watch on YouTube –Inspiring episodes & powerful insights
• 📲 Follow on Instagram – Daily motivation & behind-the-scenes
• 💼 Connect on LinkedIn – Leadership wisdom & keynote highlights
• 💡 Get Tara’s Tips – Weekly EQ strategies straight to your inbox
• 🎤 Book Tara for Your Event – Empower your audience to be who they came to be