No investors. No perfect English. Just a notebook, a deep faith, and a flavor-packed wing recipe. This is how Lizzie Balthazar Soria started building her dream from the kitchen table  –  one leap of faith at a time.

What if the best thing you ever did… started with a notebook in your kitchen and a quiet whisper from God?

That’s how Lizzie Balthazar Soria launched her first business  –  a food truck called Lizzie’s Spices of Life  –  even though English wasn’t her first language and fear was a constant companion. From slow nights and language barriers to juggling multiple jobs and walking away from steady paychecks, Lizzie’s story is a masterclass in purpose over profit and obedience over certainty.

Now, she's added a salad dressing line, stepped into financial services, and even rented her truck to help other women build their dreams. If you've ever felt like you weren’t “ready”  –  not good enough, fluent enough, fancy-school enough  –  this episode will wrap you up like a warm plate of Lizzie’s wings and remind you: God doesn’t call the qualified. He qualifies the called.

Quote:
“It wasn’t about the money  –  it was about the purpose.”

Guest Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.baltazarsoria.9

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ChefLizzy94/

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

Five life-shattering curveballs. One giant truth: you can’t outrun overwhelm, but you can outsmart it.

When you’re a solo mom commuting four hours a day to run a male-dominated family business in Brooklyn  –  while navigating miscarriage, divorce, abuse, and suicide loss  –  something’s gotta give. For Corrie LoGiudice (a.k.a. Cory L.), what gave was her entire identity.

In this episode, Corrie breaks down the five curveballs that nearly took her out  –  and how she turned them into a method for helping high-achieving women stop drowning in their ambition. Her “Overwhelm Culprits” framework isn’t just cute branding (though yes, she trademarked it). It’s a lifeline for anyone who’s ever felt like they were stuck in survival mode but still expected to show up, smile, and slay.

If you’ve ever felt like you were doing everything “right” and still falling apart inside, you need this conversation. Immediately.

Quote:
“You’re never fully stress-free. Life doesn’t work like that. But you can learn how to surf it better.”

Guest Links:

Website: https://corrielo.com/

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

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamcorrielo/

What do you do when your world falls apart one heartbreak at a time?

For Katie Jordan, the hits just kept coming  –  a miscarriage, the loss of her grandmother, father, sister, and then, her marriage. All in just a few years. She was grieving while working full-time, parenting a toddler, and trying to remember who she was before life turned upside down.

In this soul-baring conversation, Katie shares how she climbed out of the pit of despair and rebuilt her life  –  not with a five-step plan or overnight success story, but with a daily decision to keep going. To keep choosing gratitude. To keep showing up.

Now, she’s a coach for divorced women, a co-author of the bestselling Start Up, Start Over, Just Start, and the creator of the Butterfly Tribe Blueprint  –  because yes, you can come out of the cocoon stronger, wiser, and with glitter on your wings.

If you've ever wondered if you could get through your own sh*storm and come out the other side whole… this one’s for you.

Quote:
“Grief is a constant companion. But life gets to be beautiful again.”

Guest Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KatieKuhnJordan/

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

What do a rotten egg, two scoops of Raisin Bran, and a Radisson Inn with a chlorine stench have in common? 

According to Laura Belgray – everything you need to write your guts out and turn it into gold.

This episode is a love letter to the misfits, the late bloomers, and the writers who still cringe at “authenticity.” Laura Belgray (yes, that Laura Belgray – copy queen, Talking Shrimp founder, and author of Tough Titties) joins Heather to talk about curveballs, cringe-worthy marketing jargon, her favorite AI tricks, and how to write like a real human instead of a robot in a pantsuit. 

Whether you’re launching something new or just trying to get your words to sound less like a TED Talk and more like a text to your funniest friend – this episode is your permission slip to let it rip.

Quote:

“Take going deep on the tiny things – that’s my favorite kind of writing.”

Guest Links:

Website: https://www.talkingshrimp.com/

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

Book: Tough Titties: On Living Your Best Life When You're the F-ing Worst

She’s built businesses from Google searches, walked away from law school with zero regrets, and could roof your house tomorrow if she had to. (Seriously.)

Taylor Bradford doesn’t follow straight lines. She doesn’t need to.

From law school to oil and gas to running her own event rental company – Taylor’s journey is one big entrepreneurial improv show, powered by grit, gumption, and a lifelong crush on Google University. She’s also the voice behind And So (formerly Boss Girl Creative), a decade-strong podcast that’s chronicled her wild ride from perfectionist to powerhouse.

In this episode, we talk about the freedom of walking away, the gift of loss, and what it really means to be intentional with your energy. Taylor shares how she’s processed grief, run a company full of men who underestimate her, and learned to stand her ground without apology – in business and in life.

This one is packed with truth bombs, emotional resonance, and some serious permission to change your mind.

Quote:

“I don’t stay in places where I feel stuck. I close the door and move on.”

Guest Links:

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

https://www.instagram.com/taylorlbradford/

She was teaching autistic kids how to regulate – while quietly unraveling herself.

Kassandra Alvarez looked like she had it all together. Board-certified behavior analyst, climbing the ranks, thriving in her field. But behind the scenes? Toxic relationships. Burnout. Addiction. And a brutal realization: she was teaching skills to kids that she wasn’t living herself.

That truth cracked her open – and ultimately saved her.

In this episode, Kassandra shares how she broke free from burnout by turning her clinical insight inward, quit job-hopping for external validation, and started modeling the regulation she once only coached. She now helps parents of autistic kids calm their own nervous systems first – because when the adult energy shifts, everything else follows.

You’ll hear about:
 – Leaving a toxic environment (and the messy grief that came with it)
 – Going slow in a world that wants you to rush
 – Walking away from relationships, roles, and a life that looked good on paper
 – Rewriting the story – with God, peace, and purpose at the center

Whether you're a parent, practitioner, or just someone who knows the mask all too well – this one’s a breath of fresh, healing air.

Quote:

“Misery and peace can absolutely coexist.”

Guest Links:

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thatsteadyparent/

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

She was six when the world told her she was wrong – for coloring outside the lines. So she spent decades getting it all right. Until illness forced everything to stop, and her inner artist finally picked up the brush.

What spilled out next? Messy, wild, glorious truth.

Deborah Ann Baker was the model of perfection – a PhD in counseling psychology, the gold medals, the mask that never cracked. Until her body did. A sudden diagnosis brought her life to a halt. No more pushing. No more pretending.

And in that stillness? She met her six-year-old self – the little girl who was once scolded for coloring a tree purple. That memory became the spark that led Deborah back to herself through abstract art, deep healing, and the radical act of saying “no” to the mask and “yes” to her truth.

In this conversation, we talk about:
 – What creativity can reveal when words fall short
 – Why your inner perfectionist isn’t the enemy (just outdated)
 – How to listen for the whisper of your soul when everything feels numb
 – And why being witnessed – not fixed – is what we really need

Whether you’ve forgotten what you love or feel like you’ve outgrown the life you carefully built… this one’s a compass back to you.

Quote:

“You don’t need to be fixed. You need to be witnessed.”

Guest Links:

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DeborahAnnBakerArt

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborahannbaker/

Website: https://deborahann-baker.pixels.com/

He lost the one identity that had defined him forever. Then he lost the job. And then almost lost his marriage.

But this isn't a story about failure. It's about what you do next.

Tony Coyne is a former Yale baseball star turned corporate leader, dad, and accidental life philosopher. He wrote the book The Curveball Life – no connection to this podcast, though it's kind of perfect – to unpack how we bounce back when everything we built our lives on gets stripped away.

In this conversation, Tony talks about navigating brutal setbacks (think: a career-ending injury, a financial tailspin, and a near move that would've wrecked his family), and why most of us are running on old identity scripts that no longer fit.

We also get into:
 – What not to do when you hit rock bottom
– The glass ball vs. rubber ball test for life decisions
– Why youth sports culture might be quietly breaking our kids
– And what it means to truly let them be little – without dimming their light

If you’ve ever asked, “Who am I without the thing I’ve always been good at?” – this one’s for you.

Quote:

“Your worst moment doesn’t define you. What you do next does.”

Guest Links:

Website: https://www.thecurveballlife.com/

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecurveballlife

       https://www.facebook.com/tony.coyne.22

She spent 15 years becoming a doctor. And then she quit.

Dr. Zarya Rubin did what most people only fantasize about: she stepped off the treadmill before it broke her completely. After chasing the dream of medicine all the way to Columbia and beyond, she hit a wall – the kind you don’t bounce back from with a vacation or a green juice. It took a literal wake-up call (a phone call, actually) to snap her out of the “I’m fine” trance and into a radically new life.

In this conversation, Zarya shares what no one tells you about burnout, why your check engine light is blinking for a reason, and how “do one thing less” became her mantra for healing. She also drops knowledge on stress, breathwork, and how opera (yes, opera) can help regulate your nervous system.

If you’ve been pushing too hard for too long, this one’s your permission slip to stop.

Quote:

“I went into medicine to help people. I didn’t realize I’d have to abandon myself to do it.”

Guest Links:

Website + Burnout Toolkit: drzarya.com

Instagram: @drzaryarubin

Podcast: Outsmart Burnout

She tried to be the perfect picture of Zen – silent retreat, serene vibes, inner peace, and all that. But it only made her more anxious.

Turns out, healing didn’t come from silence. It came from dance floors, karaoke nights, and finally listening to her body.

Hannah Talbot was the last person you'd expect to become a meditation teacher. Too loud. Too busy. Too movement-obsessed. But when a traditional 10-day silent retreat left her more anxious than enlightened, she realized something big:
 Stillness isn’t safe for everyone.

In this conversation, Hannah shares how she went from running restaurants and drinking martinis to founding Anamkara, a healing center rooted in somatic movement, mindfulness, and trauma-informed energy work. We talk about the difference between joy and fun, why being “bad at meditating” isn’t a thing, and how to stop outsourcing your healing to everyone but yourself.

Also, we talk about toast. You'll see.

Quote:

“Meditation doesn’t have to be silent. It can sound like music. It can look like movement.”

Guest Links:

Website: anamcarahealing.center
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/hannah-talbot-7b8ab1279