Elsplend Realities

What if the reason your health goals haven’t worked isn’t a lack of discipline—but a mismatch between your body and the advice you’ve been following?

In this episode of Elsplend Realities, we sit down with Erica Ballard, health coach and integrative wellness expert with a Master of Science from Tufts University School of Medicine. Featured in Forbes and Women’s Health, Erica blends evidence-based health science with holistic approaches to help women move beyond burnout-driven fitness and restrictive nutrition cycles.

This conversation explores why traditional “eat less, move more” models often fail, how hormonal shifts across different life stages impact energy and weight regulation, and why nervous system health plays a critical role in sustainable well-being. Erica shares insights on rebuilding trust with the body, understanding biological signals, and creating health routines that support—not punish—the system.

At its core, this episode is about alignment over force, and learning how to work with your biology to create health that actually lasts.

What if success isn’t a straight line—but a long sequence of experiments, setbacks, and recalibrations that quietly shape better judgment over time?

In this episode of Elsplend Realities, we speak with Kevin Shtofman, investor, advisor, speaker, and software executive with over 21 years in real estate technology and experience spanning more than 100 countries. His career has moved across consulting, investing, and executive leadership—helping global organizations, from banks to sovereign wealth funds, rethink how data and decision-making shape long-term outcomes.

This conversation explores the realities behind high performance and global leadership: the uncertainty of non-linear careers, the emotional weight of responsibility, and the lessons learned through hiring, firing, scaling, and adapting across cultures and industries.

At its core, this episode reflects on how setbacks become insight, how curiosity sustains growth, and how the long road—full of detours and recalibration—often produces the clearest thinking of all.

What does it mean to create not for recognition, but for service?

In this episode of Elsplend Realities, we sit down with Brigitte Donoho, award-winning songwriter, singer, and worship artist whose music has reached churches, festivals, and media across the country. Known for her sincerity and grounded presence, Brigitte shares a life shaped by faith, family, and a long-standing commitment to using music as a form of worship rather than performance.

This conversation explores the deeper rhythm behind creativity and calling—how songs are formed in private moments of reflection, how purpose is sustained through seasons of responsibility, and what it means to remain open-hearted in both visibility and obscurity.

At its core, this episode is about devotion in its quietest form: showing up consistently, living with intention, and allowing creativity to become an offering rather than an achievement.

What does it take to stay true to yourself when everything around you quietly invites you to forget your boundaries?

In this episode of Elsplend Realities, we speak with Teresa Bergen, travel writer and author of Sober Travel Handbook: Navigating the World Alcohol-Free. Drawing from her lived experience in long-term sobriety and years of global travel, Teresa explores what it really means to move through a world where alcohol is often embedded in social rituals, celebrations, and everyday routines.

This conversation goes beyond logistics and tips—it looks at the emotional landscape of sober travel: how to prepare for triggering environments, maintain boundaries without defensiveness, and stay grounded when routines and support systems are far away.

At its core, this episode is about expansion, not restriction. It invites a deeper reflection on how sobriety can become a foundation for freedom, curiosity, and a life lived more fully—not more cautiously.

What if the parts of you that once felt chaotic, intense, or unmanageable weren’t flaws—but signals pointing you toward purpose?

In this episode of Elsplend Realities, we sit down with Steve Sxaks (Steven Boehm)—punk rock musician, touring artist, audio engineer, educator, veteran, and author. From the raw energy of punk rock to the discipline of military service and the craft of studio production, Steve’s journey traces how intensity can be transformed into creation, mentorship, and meaning.

Through stories rooted in music, identity, and survival, this conversation explores how creativity can become a lifeline, how structure and chaos can coexist, and what it means to rebuild yourself across multiple lives. Steve reflects on finding voice in noise, creating space for others to be heard, and learning to turn lived experience into art that lasts.

A grounded exploration of resilience, reinvention, and the quiet power of channeling your past into something meaningful.

Why do so many meetings feel draining, disconnected, or invisible—even when they’re meant to bring people together?

In this episode of Elsplend Realities, we speak with Andrew Davies, Better Meetings Director and co-founder of Artly Working, a company that uses improvisation and theatre principles to help organizations like Netflix, Google, Meta, and Roblox build more connected, collaborative teams.

This conversation goes beyond productivity hacks and meeting structures to explore something deeper: presence, listening, and the emotional experience of how we work together. Andrew shares how improv can unlock psychological safety, why play has a place in professional environments, and what teams lose when human connection is missing from their daily collaboration.

At its core, this episode invites us to rethink meetings not as routine obligations, but as relational spaces where trust, attention, and culture are quietly shaped.

Have you ever known something before you could explain it?

In this episode of Elsplend Realities, we explore intuition, meaning, and the unseen layers of human experience with Cheryl Bradley, author of the upcoming A Spirit’s Journey. Drawing from her work as a spiritual medium and her reflections on the soul’s journey before and after life, Cheryl invites a gentle conversation about trust, inner knowing, and the nature of connection beyond what we can physically see.

Together, we reflect on how people process grief, why intuition is often doubted or dismissed, and what it means to reconnect with a deeper sense of guidance and presence within ourselves. This conversation is not about certainty, but about openness — and the quiet awareness that many experiences of love, loss, and meaning may extend beyond what we can explain.

A reflective, grounded exploration of intuition, healing, and the inner voice that continues to speak even in silence.

What if the biggest limitation in your life isn’t external circumstances—but the identity you’ve unconsciously accepted?

In this episode of Elsplend Realities, we sit down with Lucie Ptasznik, national speaker, coach, and serial entrepreneur whose work focuses on identity transformation, subconscious rewiring, and aligned action. Drawing from a background that includes quantum physics and extensive entrepreneurial experience, Lucie challenges conventional thinking about personal growth, success, and human potential.

This conversation explores how identity shapes behavior, why so many people remain stuck despite capability, and what it means to consciously create your life rather than simply react to it. From fear versus intuition to energy management and belief systems, Lucie shares grounded insights on what it takes to shift from limitation into possibility.

An invitation to reflect on awareness, discipline, and the internal shifts required to build a life that aligns with who you choose to become.

Why do the same patterns keep repeating in our lives, even when we’re trying so hard to change?

In this episode of Elsplend Realities, we speak with Dr. J.D. Pincus, social psychologist and author of The Emotionally Agile Brain. Drawing on decades of research, he introduces the concept of the “emotional fingerprint” — a unique configuration of core emotional needs that quietly shapes our decisions, relationships, performance, and sense of fulfillment.

Rather than focusing on behavior alone, this conversation explores what lies beneath it: unmet needs, hidden drivers, and the internal signals that often go unrecognized. Dr. Pincus breaks down how emotional agility differs from emotional control, why high achievers still feel stuck, and how understanding our internal landscape can shift both personal growth and leadership.

This episode invites a deeper question: what if lasting change doesn’t come from pushing harder, but from finally understanding what we’ve been needing all along?

In a time where polarization often speaks the loudest, what does it look like to choose presence over protest, and dialogue over division?

In this episode of Elsplend Realities, we follow the journey of Teddy Bloom, engineering technician, endurance athlete, and organizer of Ride4Rights — a cross-country bicycle ride from San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge to the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. But this is not just a physical expedition. It is a moving reflection on free speech, justice, education, and unity in a deeply divided world.

Through miles of endurance and moments of intentional conversation, Teddy explores what it means to hold conviction without losing compassion, and how respectful engagement can become its own form of peaceful protest.

This conversation invites us to reconsider strength — not as force or volume, but as emotional discipline, patience, and the willingness to listen across difference.