In today’s episode, you’ll learn how one activity can set your new year up for the best it can be.

Your next chapter is going to be beautiful. It’s going to be just what it needs to be. Not because of what happens to you. But because you know how to be a co-creator with how you respond to the world around you and the people in it, regardless of what they do or don’t do.

And the way to do that is to be intentional and choose a Word of the Year or a theme as your guiding principle.

This one exercise will help you navigate your new year more empowered, more intentional.

It’s our ability to respond, our response-ability to use our power for good that gives us our personal power.

There are things that are going to happen in the coming year you will have no control over. This simple activity is what I’ve used over and over in my life to be empowered and face any challenge with more confidence.

We’re talking about more freedom. More success.

And so what does that look like? How do we do that?

You choose ahead of time your theme or mantra, or word of the year for this next chapter. You decide ahead of time and let it anchor you back to your vision of who you want to be when things get messy.

Anytime someone is frustrating you, or a situation is weighing you down, you come back to your theme or word of the year.

I will walk you through how I’ve used this activity in my own life, including how to have fun with it and brainstorm, and I share specific insights that will help you find just the right word for your current needs.

By the end of this episode, you’ll feel ready to start taking action and inspired to find your own word of the year so you can have the best possible year it can be.

Connect with Danielle: 

• Get your Word of the Year cards here.

• Follow Danielle on Instagram

• Sign Up for Danielle’s Dare Greatly Newsletter

• Listen to Danielle’s music on Spotify

Have you ever wondered how to juggle being productive while also being present with the people you interact with? - Or, are you so into your To Do list, you overlook the people you love in your day-to-day life? My guest today, Maria Reid, is here to remind us that even our To Do lists can be more heart based and less check-box based.

Maria, known in her community as one with a heart three sizes too big - who knows how to Make Life Sweet, has built a company that thrives on leading with the heart, taking women to Italy with her sister and showing them a great time, she’s known for being an excellent cook, seamstress, gardener, friend, and master of the side-hustle while also making people feel valued, seen, and loved.

In her new creative project, a beautiful spiral-bound journal called the Make Life Sweet Journal/Planner, it's a great tool that helps you, anyone with creative ideas and To Do Lists floating around in your head, this book gives you a place and the space to organize your day leading with what matters most, in her words, “people to be loved.”

Maria shares how to never let a job to be done become more important than a person to be loved - proving that you don’t need to be so focused on productivity you forget why you’re being productive in the first place.

Today, we discuss the lessons from over the years juggling motherhood, entrepreneurship, To Do lists, all the creative ideas and inspiration that life offers, and how to honor those dreams that also call to you inside - how to create the space to listen to what your heart needs most. If you’ve ever felt like your To Do list is hard to juggle with being present with your children, your family, your friends, the clerk across the checkout counter, and you’re looking for ways to feel more connected to why you do what you do, you’ll love this conversation! So click play and enjoy.

What You’ll Learn on this Episode: 

• How putting people first, to-do lists second, will skyrocket your productivity.

• Why morning routines of centering yourself is a gamechanger for setting up your day for success.

• The true definition of the ‘three sizes too big’ measure of the heart, and why it is a powerful place you want to operate from.

• How journaling makes a difference with managing anxiety.

• My favorite ways to think about to-do lists, how focusing too much on checking boxes is problematic, and what to do instead.

Mentioned on the Show:

• Order Maria’s book/journal/planner, click here. 

• Come to Italy with Danielle, Maria and Gina - spring of 2025, click here for more info.

• Stream more of Danielle’s music on Spotify

• To work with Danielle for coaching, follow this link to learn more.

•  

If you’re wanting support for your older teen, young adult, or for yourself as a parent, you want to join our three month private coaching program, The Dare Greatly Coaching Program. Click here to sign up for private mentoring from Danielle.

We all have that innate tendency to be hard on ourselves sometimes, and the concept of Grace can be confusing if we don’t understand what it is or how it works. We know it’s important to take personal responsibility, but we also know it’s important to invite Grace into the process of personal growth. So how to do that?

This is what I call the Middle Path. 

Join me this week as I explore insights into Grace in the hopes that it illuminates how generous Grace really is and what it looks like. You’ll hear why the real skill of giving yourself (and others) the benefit of the doubt can be difficult, but necessary, how judgment makes personal growth harder, and how you can begin being more generous with yourself and others to build a better world, starting with you.

If you’re ready to bring that dream in your heart that lives inside of you out into the world and you’re wondering how you can get support, you’re in luck! The Dare Greatly Creator 10-week program is happening this fall, starting soon, where you’ll learn tools and strategies applicable to artists, creatives and entrepreneurs who also run a household, you can click here to register. 

If you’re wanting support for your older teen, young adult, or for yourself as a parent, you want to join our three month private coaching program, The Dare Greatly Coaching Program. Click here to sign up for private mentoring from Danielle.

What You’ll Learn on this Episode: 

• Why grace is one of the most useful skills you can cultivate.

• How judgment and holding yourself accountable are not the same things.

• The true definition of the Middle Path and why it is a powerful place you want to operate from.

• How grace makes you better at everything you want to accomplish.

• My favorite ways to think about grace and how focusing too much on earning it is problematic.

Mentioned on the Show:

• Stream more of Danielle’s music on Spotify

• Come to Italy with Danielle spring of 2025, click here for more info.

• To work with Danielle for coaching, follow this link to learn more. 

• Join the Dare Greatly Creator Mastermind, fall semester ten week group starts soon. Click here to join.

• If you're a parent who is wanting your teen or young adult work with Danielle, check out Dare Greatly Coaching.

This is one of the hardest topics and most emotional episodes that have ever been on the Dare Greatly Podcast, the topic of men’s mental health and suicide.

Today’s episode is special because it is so real and honest.  My guests I am sharing with you have been through a really difficult time losing their husband and father to suicide. As you listen, you will gain insights on how to help your loved ones who are struggling. They are doing important work to minimize stigma with finding help and hope when you need it.

If you’ve ever felt alone, you don’t know where to find help, Gina’s foundation, Stay Mentally Strong will help you find resources and more answers of where to turn. 

Today, Gina and Ellie Oliverson join me to share their incredible story of Sean and their powerful wisdom they’ve learned since his passing. 

Sean was the last person in the world anyone would ever think would take his own life. Top of his class in college, a well-beloved orthodontist in our home town of Ogden, Utah, handsome, super fit, financially successful, just all the things, but very few knew how much he was suffering from anxiety, OCD, and not sleeping. 

Gina and Ellie share what they’ve learned about men’s mental health and how they feel called to make a difference in the space of making men’s mental health more accessible, more easy and affordable for men to reach out before they are in crisis. 

They’re teaching us what it means to honor your loved one’s memory while also turning heartbreak and grief into something that can help others who are going through similar hardships. Let’s Stop waiting to get the help you or your loved one needs and thinking you need to be strong all the time by yourself. 

It’s time to disarm all the shame that keeps our men from seeking the support they need and take back the sense of control and the healing they need, if they feel like they’ve lost that.

For more resources, including links to connect with Gina and Ellie and the Stay MENtally Strong Foundation, see below:

• Learn more about the Stay MENtally Strong Foundation here.

• Follow Ellie’s podcast, Her Horizon podcast on Apple Podcasts.

• To learn more about retreats to Italy with Gina and her sister, click here.

• To work with Danielle for coaching, follow this link to learn more. 

• Join the Dare Greatly Creator Mastermind, fall semester ten week group starts soon. Click here to join.

• If you're a parent who is wanting your teen or young adult work with Danielle, check out Dare Greatly Coaching.

We all want to feel like we are good enough. We all have an innate desire to feel confident, but Imposter Syndrome can keep us from feeling like we belong, no matter how hard we’ve worked or how accomplished we are. Why is that? What exactly is Imposter Syndrome? How do you know if you have it and if so, what can you do to minimize it?

One of the most important things you need to know on this journey from being blocked in your creativity to restoring your creative strength, vitality and inspiration is: you will feel like you don’t belong. You will see others who are further along, who are “more talented”, who seem to make it look easier, who have that special something you don’t have, who have more accolades, and knowing that those feelings are normal, and not making it mean that you don’t belong, it makes all the difference.

Join me this week to learn how to work with and heal Imposter Syndrome. 

In this episode, you’ll learn: 

•  the top five challenges many people believe about Imposter Syndrome

• how to overcome those challenges and move forward instead of feeling blocked

• The three vital Truths you need to know to overcome it

• How to cultivate new versions of yourself, versus being Past focused.

• How to become mentally and emotionally stronger

• My favorite way to think about owning your true power and authenticity

Mentioned on the show: 

• Join the Dare Greatly Creator Mastermind, fall semester ten week group starts soon. Click here to join. 

• If you're a parent who is wanting to have your teen or young adult work with Danielle, check out Dare Greatly Coaching. 

• Book -  The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity

• Song - Rocketship by Danielle Vaughn. download here

• Follow Danielle on Spotify here.

PRACTICE NEW SKILLS SERIES - ANXIETY with Dare Greatly Coaching LLC: Anxiety doesn't have to run the show! Want easy tools you can use immediately to help your loved one? In my Practice New Skills series, you can apply what you learn starting today. Applying what you know is the HARDEST part of relationships and family life! Especially in a fun way that is easy, positive, and builds connection. This series is made for families to give you tools to intentionally teach social and emotional skills while also building a stronger marriage and family. Download your practice skills here. 

Would you describe yourself as someone who could use some healing given what you’ve inherited from the generations who’ve gone before you? Do your parents or grandparents have some unresolved trauma that you’re carrying?

This summer has been impactful for my family in that my cute dad recently passed away. My dad is really my biological uncle who adopted me when my mom passed away at a young age. Many of you have asked questions about my past, I’m sharing it here. 

I’m so excited to dive into today’s episode all about what it means to take the good from your previous generations, and manage the challenges that come with it, even when it’s messy. Honoring your father and mother can be a beautiful thing, but it can also be really difficult if there’s generational trauma and the previous generations haven’t done the work of healing.

In this episode, I share some of my personal story with trauma to help you gain perspective of how generational healing works. You’ll learn how to identify the post traumatic growth you’ve gained along the way, the difference between PTSD, and Complex PTSD, and leverage your childhood as a strength. 

If you’ve ever struggled with wanting to build a better legacy for your family you are creating versus the one you inherited, this episode will give you perspective to navigate those situations with more intention.

• Why generational healing is useful but can be difficult to do on your own without the right kind of support.

• How to reframe trauma and see where you’ve experienced Post Traumatic Growth.

• The importance of understanding the difference between PTDS, and Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

• Why building on the good you’ve inherited is important and how to identify your generational strengths.

If you worry about how to help your kids navigate today’s world and you’re wondering how to help them, you’re in luck. My Free Guide for Parenting Teens is my go-to resource, where you’ll learn tools and strategies applicable to children at any age, and you can click here to download. 

Making decisions ahead of time is a powerful place to operate from. When you consider what you want your midlife years to look like, you have options that can open up fulfillment and joy. Midlife does not have to be hard or sad.

This quote stopped me in my tracks and will not leave my mind. Consider it for yourself: “Ten years from now, you’d give anything to be this age again, this healthy, this cute, and have this time again. Go do something that makes you proud of yourself today.”

If you’re a mom whose children are starting to become more independent, you might be wondering what life will look like ten years from now. It can be hard to imagine when you’ve lost yourself in mothering. But if you’re interested in still finding purpose,  maybe it's overcoming loneliness, or setting yourself up for success with coping with empty nest syndrome, and embracing life to thrive after children leave, then you’re going to love this episode.

Stevie Nicks said it best… “well i’ve been afraid of changin’ / cause I built my life around you / but time makes you bolder / even children get older / and I’m getting older too…”

These lyrics speak to my soul. They did even when my kids were young. I can remember imagining how hard it would be to be at that place where your kids are no longer in your day to day, and it made me feel kind of melancholy.

But lately I’ve been thinking about the line “time makes you bolder.” Is that actually true? And if so, what does that look like?

Listen in and discover how to make your midlife your best chapter yet. 

FEATURED ON THE SHOW

• Website, Danielle Vaughn Coaching for parents, young adults and older teens wanting support in dating, marriage, and building that dream in your heart.

• Come join us inside the Dare Greatly Society, my group coaching program.

• Stream more of Danielle’s music on Spotify find more original music as well as new releases shared on the podcast. 

• Grab the Cheat Sheet for Parenting Teens and Young Adults here!

My journey in the Marriage and Family Studies world has been influenced by lots of amazing mentors, from John Gottman to William Doherty, to Brene Brown.

Through their teachings, reading all their books, and my own experience and introspection, I came to understand the importance of fighting for your marriage.

It's a powerful way to approach your relationships and explore where a consumer mindset may be undermining your marriage.

Fighting for your marriage will allow you to show up fully with your partner, and it can transform the way you experience fulfillment in the most important relationship you will take on.

In this episode, I share what getting support for your marriage looks like, how it works, and how being intentional of who you let into your inner circle is one of the most important decisions you will make. 

Through getting the right kind of support, you can access your highest level of marital happiness and make choices that create the outcomes you've always hoped for. Tune in this week to learn how. 

WHAT YOU WILL DISCOVER

• How to assess if family and friends are Marriage Builders or Marriage Underminers.
• Soft reasons for divorce and Hard reasons for divorce.
• The importance of building a community of good mentors, and how to be a life-long learner.
• How to assess your counselor or therapist if they are operating from a Personal Satisfaction bias or a Fighting for Your Marriage bias.
• What happens when you fully understand and practice self-reflection and the power of thought work in your marriage. 

FEATURED ON THE SHOW

• Book, Take Back Your Marriage by William J. Doherty, PhD; offers practical tools for sticking together in a world that pulls us apart. A wise and timely book of advice on marriage from one of America's favorite therapists.
• Book, Atomic Habits by James Clear. An easy and proven way to build good habits and break bad ones.
• Website, Italy Retreats for Women - Make Life Sweet trips to Tuscany, Italy with Maria and Gina.

• Website, Danielle Vaughn Coaching for parents, young adults and older teens wanting support in dating, marriage, and building that dream in your heart.

• Come check out the Dare Greatly Society.

• Stream more of Danielle’s music on Spotify find more original music as well as new releases shared on the podcast. 

• Grab the Cheat Sheet for Parenting Teens and Young Adults here!

Do you or someone you love live with a chronic illness or with chronic pain? Then you’re going to want to lean in and listen closely to Shelby Lives Vibrantly.

As a life coach, invisible illness warrior, and kidney transplant recipient, Shelby has navigated the waters of chronic fatigue and chronic pain for over two decades and can help you feel more energized and alive than ever before. Using a combination of nervous system regulation paired with mindset coaching, she helps moms who experience chronic conditions increase their energy, feel at peace with their diagnoses and body, and eliminate or decrease their physical symptoms without restrictive diets or costly supplements. She helps moms rewire their relationships with their bodies and their symptoms so that waking up can feel like the best part of their day again.

If you want to take what you’re learning on the podcast and apply it to your unique circumstances, you need to join the Dare Greatly Society! It has individualized support for your marriage, family life, and that dream in your heart. Click here for more details. 

What You’ll Learn on this Episode: 

• How to live vibrantly even when you’re managing chronic pain or chronic illness

• Where additional healing can be found and how to understand the emotional component to healing. 

• Insights of how chronic pain can be worked through with the nervous system, and what ‘pain reprocessing therapy’ is. 

• Why ‘acceptance’ isn’t the only approach to working with chronic pain.

• What to do with Anger when it shows up due to a difficult diagnosis.

• Tips for working through chronic pain in relationships with partners and how to better support each other. 

• How to face the fears of missing out when the body needs more rest than usual.

Mentioned on the show:

• Book, Unlearn Your Pain by Howard Shubiner; offers cutting edge scientific information on the mind body connection and a complete guided program for recovery from mind body syndromes.

• Book, The Way Out: A Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven Approach to Healing Chronic Pain by Alan Gordon

• Website, Shelby K Hansen, the life coach for moms experiencing chronic fatigue and/or chronic pain, wanting to learn how to live vibrantly.

• Come check out the Dare Greatly Society.

• Stream more of Danielle’s music on Spotify find more original music as well as new releases shared on the podcast. 

• Grab the Cheat Sheet for Parenting Teens and Young Adults here!

Have you ever noticed the emotion of jealousy come up in your creative endeavors? Sometimes it can really wreak havoc with our creativity and ability to enjoy accomplishing our goals.  Maybe you’ve been inspired by others who have gone before you, a successful artist or creator who has accomplished what you want to accomplish, and you find yourself wishing you had what they had.

If you’ve ever found yourself feeling jealous or less-than, wishing opportunities would come your way that other people seem to get, or even at a complete loss of what to do with the emotion of jealousy, you’ll want to learn and implement my framework of how to deal with jealousy in a healthy way. 

Join me on today’s episode where I’ll show you how to tune into your jealousy, versus tune out so you can let its intelligence inform you how to create your own opportunities that will light you up.

If you want to take what you’re learning on the podcast and apply it to your unique circumstances, you need to join the Dare Greatly Society! It has individualized support for your marriage, family life, and that dream in your heart. Click here for more details. 

What You’ll Learn on this Episode: 

• What to do with jealousy if you wish you had actionable tools to work with it.

• Why resisting or avoiding your jealousy doesn’t work and usually backfires.

• How to get instant relief from being jealous.

• The key to creating your own opportunities so you can move from ‘wishing’ to making yourself proud.

If you’re wanting to have an antidote to the venom of jealousy - and get back into the joyful flow of creation without worrying about what other people are doing - today’s episode is for you. 

Creating your dreams takes courage and the willingness to dare greatly. I’m cheering you on.

Don’t let jealousy stop you or slow you down.

Mentioned on the show:

• Grab the Cheat Sheet for Parenting Teens and Young Adults here!

• Coaching changed the way I enjoyed motherhood and honored my dreams in my heart, and I’ve witnessed it change the lives of hundreds of parents and young adults since. Click here to work with me for three months. (You’ll be amazed at what working with a coach for just three months can do.)

• Come check out the Dare Greatly Society.

• Book, The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron 

• Stream more of my music on Spotify where I share my original music as well as new releases shared on the podcast.