Freedom, Purpose and Income by Design: Living the Good Life

In this episode of Living the Good Life, Kimberly Henrie sits down with artist, naturalist, conservation advocate, author, and podcast host Lauren Connelly
. Lauren shares her inspiring journey from working as an animal experience specialist and dive safety officer at a public aquarium to embracing a creative, outdoor-focused life in Key West, Florida
. Tune in as they discuss the importance of stepping away from digital screens, engaging your senses, finding purpose, and taking the small, manageable steps needed to reconnect with the natural world right outside your door
.
Key Takeaways & Highlights

• The Journey to Key West: Lauren opens up about making a major cross-country move from Cincinnati to Key West, navigating life transitions alongside her son, and adapting her knowledge of ecology to a brand-new tropical environment.
• From Aquarium to Conservation: Discover Lauren’s unique career path working closely with sharks and penguins, and how the 2020 shutdown prompted her to prioritize family, slow down, and pursue her passion for nature education and art.
• The Power of "Sit Spots": Learn what a "sit spot" is and how spending just a few minutes a day observing nature—whether from a window or an outdoor chair—can dramatically reduce stress, improve mindfulness, and foster a deeper sense of presence.
• Embracing Failure and Creativity: As an author and watercolor artist, Lauren discusses her books (Wildly Unplugged and The Art of Developing: Life Lessons from Watercolor) and explains why "failure" is simply a tool for learning and growing.
• Unplugging for Well-being: Both Kimberly and Lauren explore the double-edged sword of digital connectivity and share practical sensory exercises (like the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique) to break free from endless scrolling.

Mentioned in This Episode

• Lauren’s Podcast: Wildly Unplug
• Lauren’s Books:
  • Wildly Unplug: Creative Ways to Reconnect With Nature
  • The Art of Developing: My Life Lessons from Watercolor

Connect with Lauren: https://wilddevelopmentsstudio.com/

Post-production on this episode by Mark Kenney

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Every episode proudly sponsored by http://SwitchtoUSAMade.com

Contact Kimberly Henrie at https://livingthegoodlife.us/

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How do you feel when you walk into your home each day?  Is it possible that you could create a haven that supports your personality, dreams and goals vs creating feelings of overwhelm, drain and responsibility?

Maybe your home once fit your life and no longer does. Maybe it never really worked for you in the first place. Either way, you may find yourself wondering: Is it time to stay, go or renovate?

In this episode of Living the Good Life, I’m talking with Kim Costa, a REALTOR®, author, speaker, podcast host and creator of Lifestyle Foundations and the Wheel House Assessment. With more than 30 years of experience in residential construction, design and real estate, Kim helps people look beyond bedrooms, budgets and square footage to consider a bigger question: Does your home—and the environment around it—help you thrive, or quietly hold you back?

Kim explains how our surroundings can affect everything from our health, relationships and work to the ways we rest, create and connect. She also shares how her own home supported her through a major season of reinvention—and the wonderfully serendipitous story of eventually living in the kind of cottage she had imagined years earlier.

We talk about:

• Recognizing the everyday friction your environment may be creating
• Why “familiar” doesn’t necessarily mean “right”
• Looking at your needs before deciding whether to stay, move or renovate
• Creating space for the parts of yourself that need to refuel
• Kim’s simple “front door feeling” exercise
• Making one meaningful change instead of trying to fix everything at once

You don’t have to be buying, selling or remodeling a home to get something from this conversation. Sometimes the first step is simply noticing how your surroundings make you feel—and asking what might help life work a little better.

Kim is the author of Live in Your Wheel House: An Empowering Guide to Stay, Go, or Reno.

Connect with Kim Costa:

• Website: Lifestyle Foundations
• Virtual Workshop
• Instagram
• Facebook
• LinkedIn

For more conversations about creating a life with greater freedom, purpose and intention, visit Living the Good Life and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

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Every episode proudly sponsored by http://SwitchtoUSAMade.com

Contact Kimberly Henrie at https://livingthegoodlife.us/

If this episode resonated with you, take a moment to leave a review or share it with someone who might need a little nudge toward their own version of the good life.

What does living the good life actually require?

After sixteen conversations with seventeen guests, Kimberly Henrie steps behind the microphone alone to revisit the ideas that kept surfacing—whether the conversation began with RV travel, wellness, entrepreneurship, creativity, identity or community.

The first lesson is to choose it. Patrick Smith, Sarah Jones and Greg Gunter showed how freedom can be designed through travel, work and place. Meghan DeFord, Jeffrey Eisen, Mia Dins and Mari Wuellner took the question inward: Are we living a life that fits, or performing the version of success we inherited?

The second lesson is to build it. Brett Jensen, Kelly Freeman, Dane Mulligan, Patty Scallan, Veronica Munoz and Andrea Maxim each demonstrated that reinvention rarely comes with a complete blueprint. It grows through experiments, pauses, unexpected opportunities and small actions taken before certainty arrives.

The third lesson is to share it. Jennifer Schillaci, Lynn Harris, Sebastien Samuel and Georgette Beck reminded us that freedom without connection can become lonely. The good life becomes richer through friendship, creativity, encouragement, service and contribution.

In this solo recap, Kimberly offers three questions:

• Am I building the life I genuinely want—or performing the one I was handed?
• What small, imperfect move could I make before I feel completely ready?
• Who could I reach toward, encourage or contribute to from the life I am building?

The good life is not one destination, lifestyle or final achievement. It is something we choose, build and share.

Subscribe to Living the Good Life for more honest conversations about purpose, wellness, creativity, adventure and freedom in every season of life.

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Every episode proudly sponsored by http://SwitchtoUSAMade.com

Contact Kimberly Henrie at https://livingthegoodlife.us/

If this episode resonated with you, take a moment to leave a review or share it with someone who might need a little nudge toward their own version of the good life.

What if the wisdom you keep searching for is already yours?

Mari Wuellner did what many of us were taught to do: work hard, build the business, earn the recognition, care for the family, and keep moving. From the outside, her life looked successful. From the inside, she was operating on a blueprint that no longer felt like her own.

After a panic attack forced her to slow down, Mari began redefining success around freedom, joy, rest, and choices she could genuinely claim as hers. That journey eventually took her back to Florence, where she had lived as a pregnant 20-year-old during one of the hardest seasons of her life.

Mari returned with the journal she had kept all those years ago. She planned to write back to her younger self with the wisdom of experience. Instead, she discovered that the young woman she had been still carried the hope her present-day self needed.

In this conversation, Kimberly and Mari explore:

• How conventional success can quietly become default mode
• Why so many of us wait for permission we do not actually need
• The difference between outside recognition and inner freedom
• What old journals and earlier versions of ourselves can reveal
• Mari's define, design, and demand framework
• Why an unsuccessful experiment is information, not an indictment
• How to build work around life instead of sacrificing life to work

Mari is an entrepreneur, storyteller, life coach, and founder of The Crew Coaching Collective. She has operated an insurance agency since 2008, became a life coach in 2017, and created The Crew in 2024 to make multidisciplinary coaching more accessible. She also hosts The Living on Purpose Podcast.

Connect with Mari:
Website and The Crew: https://www.mariwuellnercoaching.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariwuellner/
The Living on Purpose Podcast: https://www.mariwuellnercoaching.com/podcast

Subscribe to Living the Good Life Podcast for more honest conversations with people choosing purpose, wellness, creativity, adventure, and freedom in every season of life.

Join the conversation: Come hang out with us in the Living the Good Life Facebook community for:

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Every episode proudly sponsored by http://SwitchtoUSAMade.com

Contact Kimberly Henrie at https://livingthegoodlife.us/

If this episode resonated with you, take a moment to leave a review or share it with someone who might need a little nudge toward their own version of the good life.

Sometimes life stops looking anything like the picture we carried in our heads. That does not mean the story is over—and it may not even mean we are starting from scratch.

In this episode of Living the Good Life, Kimberly welcomes Georgette Beck, author of Junk to Jewels: A Journey From Brokenness and Despair to Beauty and Delight. Georgette reflects on the smiling, high-achieving girl who was quietly carrying shame; the painful adult season she calls her rescue; and the people, practices, and choices that helped her begin recognizing her own value.

Their conversation moves through Georgette’s four C’s—contemplation, community, caring, and contribution—and into the wonderfully ordinary things that can make a life feel like your own again: inviting someone for coffee, walking near the water, buying yourself flowers, painting badly and happily, asking for help, and sharing what you have learned.Georgette also speaks candidly about being a late bloomer, earning a degree while raising her daughter and working, creating a nonprofit from the care she once received, and feeling an urgency to write the stories her family did not get to tell.

In this episode:

• Why healing and confidence arrive in layers
• The difference between looking successful and feeling worthy
• How community can make courage possible
• A simple first step when reaching out feels uncomfortable
• Why knowing what you love is part of defining the good life
• How caring for others can turn survival into contribution

Subscribe to Living the Good Life for more conversations with people choosing purpose, wellness, creativity, and adventure in every season of life.

Connect with Georgette: 
Book: https://a.co/d/0etqV85U
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GeorgetteBeckWriter
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/georgette.beck/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgette-beck-7a659387/

Join the conversation: Come hang out with us in the Living the Good Life Facebook community for:

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Join the Living the Good Life FB Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/LTGLCommunity

Every episode proudly sponsored by http://SwitchtoUSAMade.com

Contact Kimberly Henrie at https://livingthegoodlife.us/

If this episode resonated with you, take a moment to leave a review or share it with someone who might need a little nudge toward their own version of the good life.

What if the life you've been chasing was never actually yours?

In this inspiring episode of Living the Good Life, Kimberly Henrie welcomes Mia Dins, whose remarkable journey begins in a tiny farming village of just 80 people in Germany and unfolds into a life of worldwide travel, healing, and personal transformation. Today, Mia lives a fully nomadic lifestyle, traveling through house and pet sitting while helping people reconnect with themselves through intuition, embodied awareness, and what she calls Quantum Embodiment. But this conversation isn't simply about spirituality—it's about having the courage to question expectations, embrace change, and create a life that reflects who you truly are.

Along the way, Kimberly and Mia explore:

• Growing up in a village of only 80 people in rural Germany
• Creating a life without borders through travel and house sitting
• The surprising freedom and practicality of a nomadic lifestyle
• Healing from childhood trauma and life's unexpected challenges
• Learning to trust your intuition and the wisdom of your body
• Why personal reinvention is possible at any stage of life
• The importance of asking one simple but life-changing question: "What do I really want?"

Whether you're dreaming of traveling the world, considering a major life change, or simply wondering if there's another path waiting for you, Mia's story is a powerful reminder that the good life isn't found by following someone else's map—it's created one courageous decision at a time.

Connect with Mia Dins
🌐 Website: luna-mia.org
🎙️ Podcast: Dins Talk
📱 Instagram:@mia_dins/

Listen, Subscribe & Share If this conversation inspired you, please subscribe to Living the Good Life Podcast, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who may be ready to write a new chapter of their own story.

Because sometimes the biggest adventures begin in the smallest places.

Join the conversation: Come hang out with us in the Living the Good Life Facebook community for:

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Join the Living the Good Life FB Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/LTGLCommunity

Every episode proudly sponsored by http://SwitchtoUSAMade.com

Contact Kimberly Henrie at https://livingthegoodlife.us/

If this episode resonated with you, take a moment to leave a review or share it with someone who might need a little nudge toward their own version of the good life.

After three decades building a successful company, Jeffrey Eisen discovered the good life wasn’t something to achieve—it was something to feel, create, and live authentically.

Jeffrey Eisen: Redefining Success and Creating Your Own Good Life
What if you spent decades building the life everyone admired... only to realize it wasn't the life you truly wanted? That's the question at the heart of this conversation with Jeffrey Eisen. After more than 30 years leading a successful steel company, Jeffrey reached a turning point. The career was thriving, the accomplishments were real, but something deeper was calling. What followed was a journey of self-discovery that reshaped his understanding of success, purpose, and what it truly means to live a good life. In this episode of Living the Good Life, Jeffrey and Kimberly explore the courage to question old definitions of success, embrace authenticity, and discover that it's never too late to create a life that feels like your own.

In this conversation:

• Why traditional success doesn't always equal fulfillment
• How awareness creates opportunities for lasting change
• The difference between thinking your way through life and feeling your way into alignment
• Why self-worth matters more than outside validation
• How small everyday moments become part of "the good life"
• The courage it takes to change your story

About Jeffrey Eisen 
Jeffrey Eisen is a transformational coach, teacher, and former business leader from Toronto, Canada. After decades in the corporate world, Jeffrey began a personal journey of self-discovery that reshaped his understanding of success, purpose, and happiness. Today, he helps others cultivate greater awareness, authenticity, and meaningful connection.

Connect with Jeffrey 🌐 Website: https://jeffreyeisen.com

Join the conversation: Come hang out with us in the Living the Good Life Facebook community for:

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Every episode proudly sponsored by http://SwitchtoUSAMade.com

Contact Kimberly Henrie at https://livingthegoodlife.us/

If this episode resonated with you, take a moment to leave a review or share it with someone who might need a little nudge toward their own version of the good life.

In this episode, we chat with Andrea Maxim, a licensed naturopathic doctor turned master mindset coach, to explore the missing piece of the wellness puzzle: the subconscious mind.
Andrea shares her personal and professional journey shifting from strictly physical treatments to utilizing Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and hypnotherapy. We dive deep into why high-achieving women experience emotional eating and stay stuck in a cycle of "protective weight," the four core limiting beliefs that drive our daily behaviors, and how a simple 30-second pause can dismantle self-sabotage.

Key Takeaways & Timestamps

• The Missing Piece of the Puzzle: Andrea discusses her transition from a traditional brick-and-mortar naturopathic practice to mindset coaching after realizing that physical protocols alone weren't yielding long-term results for her clients.
• Conscious vs. Unconscious Mind: Understanding how our subconscious controls our day-to-day choices, fears, and limiting beliefs, and why logic often fails to fix a habits problem.
• Trapped Energy and Neuroplasticity: A look at how past experiences (especially from ages 0–7) leave energetic imprints, and how tools like NLP neutralize those emotional triggers without requiring years of traditional therapy.
• The 4 Core Limiting Beliefs: Andrea breaks down the four deepest wounds women carry (I'm not good enough, I am powerless, I'm unworthy, and I'm unsafe/alone) and how they manifest as overcompensating or staying small.
• The Concept of "Secondary Gain": Why we often choose to stay stuck in a problem because the comfort of the cocoon outweighs the temporary discomfort of growth.
• What Women Need to Soften: A conversation on the core biological needs of safety, protection, and support, and how over-activating masculine energy leads to hypervigilance and burnout.
• Identity Shifting & Micro-Movements: Practical steps for shifting from an "away from pain" mindset to a "towards health" identity, using visual cues, gratitude, and the power of the 30-second pause

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• Atomic Habits by James Clear
• The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin

Connect with Andrea Maxim

• Instagram: @themmaximmovement (Note the two 'm's in the middle!)

Join the conversation: Come hang out with us in the Living the Good Life Facebook community for:

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Every episode proudly sponsored by http://SwitchtoUSAMade.com

Contact Kimberly Henrie at https://livingthegoodlife.us/

If this episode resonated with you, take a moment to leave a review or share it with someone who might need a little nudge toward their own version of the good life.

Have you checked off all the boxes of conventional success but still find yourself quietly asking, "Is this it?"In this episode, host Kimberly sits down with Meghan DeFord—speaker, coach, host of the Wait! What Do You Do Again? podcast, and founder of DeFord Coaching and Consulting. Meghan shares her powerful journey from leading multimillion-dollar nonprofit campaigns to confronting a sudden life upheaval during COVID, including an unexpected layoff and divorce. 

Together, Kimberly and Meghan explore how societal conditioning traps us on a consumer-driven hamster wheel, why women specifically face intense pressure to perform for others, and how you can use curiosity and core values as a compass to stop performing your life and start authentically living it.

Key Takeaways

• The "Surface-Level" Trap: We often hide our true feelings behind generic answers like "I'm good" or find ourselves constantly chasing the next consumer milestone (a new house, a vacation) without stopping to check how we actually feel.
• Worth vs. Productivity: Societal and systemic formatting conditions women from a young age to tie their self-worth to how productive they can be for other people, leading to persistent imposter syndrome even at the highest levels of success.
• Perceived vs. Real Restrictions: While life brings real logistical and financial boundaries, we frequently talk ourselves out of tracking new paths due to perceived stories and boundaries we've built in our own heads.
• Values as a Compass: Aligning your daily schedule with your core values—rather than an imaginary societal timeline—makes decision-making cleaner, easier, and inherently more fulfilling.
• The Power of the Reframe: Shifting from self-criticism to a mindset of curiosity allows us to transform minor daily mistakes (like forgetting something or letting food spoil) into simple, stress-free learning experiences.

Episode Highlights & Timestamps

[00:00:00] – IntroductionKimberly introduces Meghan DeFord and frames the core theme of the show: breaking free from a life that looks great on paper to build one that actually feels like ours.[00:03:55] – Meghan's Personal ReckoningMeghan opens up about her personal turning point during COVID, navigating a sudden divorce and unexpected career layoff while managing a depression diagnosis, forcing her to rediscover who she was outside of her career title.
[00:10:45] – The Conditioning of Women & The C-SuiteA deep dive into why women consistently deprioritize their own desires. Meghan reflects on her time working with C-suite executives and the discrepancy in how ambitious mothers are perceived versus their male peers.
[00:22:00] – Overcoming the Immediate "No"Meghan shares a practical story about designing a personal Q1/Q2 "business retreat" at home, illustrating how to identify the "why" underneath a dream when a massive expense (like jetting off to Europe) isn't realistic.
[00:26:40] – Mapping Your ValuesMeghan breaks down her foundational coaching practice: selecting top core values from a list of 100 to guide your calendar and intentions. She shares her personal top five: Authenticity, Adventure, Optimism, Belonging, and Impact.
[00:34:20] – The Grape ReframeA humorous look at mindset work in daily life—how cleaning rotten grapes out of the fridge shifted from a moment of self-judgment to a simple note on weekly grocery habits.
[00:36:00] – Visualizing the Audacious FutureKimberly and Meghan walk through a future-self visualization exercise. Kimberly shares her dream of a private beach cabin for her grandkids, and Meghan reveals her five-year dream of hosting international retreats for women in Italy or Spain.[00:49:15] – Closing Thoughts: Fall in Love with Your LifeMeghan reminds listeners that choosing intentionality doesn't mean you have to throw a grenade at your current life—it can start as simply as trying a new restaurant or adjusting your morning alarm.

Connect with Our Guest

• https://www.megdeford.com/
• Podcast: Wait! What Do You Do Again?
• Socials: @megdeford

Join the conversation: Come hang out with us in the Living the Good Life Facebook community for:

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• A community of people choosing to live with more intention and joy

Join the Living the Good Life FB Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/LTGLCommunity

Every episode proudly sponsored by http://SwitchtoUSAMade.com

Contact Kimberly Henrie at https://livingthegoodlife.us/

If this episode resonated with you, take a moment to leave a review or share it with someone who might need a little nudge toward their own version of the good life.

What if life—and business—was never meant to be this hard? In this episode, we sit down with Sebastian Samuel, a strategic brand architect, clarity coach, and the founder of Infuiz. With over 40 years of experience spanning fashion, advertising, and communications, Sebastian shares his core philosophy: people buy what they feel first.We dive into his fascinating career journey—from navigating the fast-paced corporate fashion world in Canada to launching four distinct businesses (including a global comic book company!) Sebastian opens up about his unique, deeply empathetic approach to branding, why generic AI-generated logos miss the mark, and how finding your true "brand strategy" can unlock absolute professional freedom. Whether you are a solopreneur, a purpose-driven business owner, or someone looking to take a leap of faith on yourself, this conversation is packed with wisdom on how to build a brand that people instantly understand, trust, and remember.

KeyTakeaways from This Episode

• The Power of Response: Shifting your mindset from "I can't" to "I choose not to" reclaims your personal power and stops you from feeling like a victim of circumstance.
• The "Infuiz" Method: Authentic branding requires diving deep into a client's specific values, dreams, and personality rather than following a rigid, one-size-fits-all checklist.
• Why Generic Tools Fall Short: While AI and discount design platforms are highly accessible tools, they only copy what has already been done. True branding requires finding the unique "ether" that makes people stop and notice you.
• Less is Always More: When it comes to your website and marketing materials, don't crowd the page with a copy of your resume. Use targeted, concise language that speaks directly to your ideal client's current experiences.
• The Signature Trick: If you are on a tight budget, ditch the generic corporate logos and focus on finding a unique, intentional font that visually represents the true nature of who you are.

Notable Quotes"People buy what they feel first." — Sebastian Samuel

"When you switch that 'can't' to 'I choose not to,' you bring your power back to yourself."

"All you want is people to stop long enough to say, 'Let me learn more about this person.' You just need to get their attention long enough that they are intrigued to keep going forward." — Sebastian Samuel

Connect with Sebastian

• Website: https://infiuz.com/ 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastian-samuel/
• Find Sebastian as a featured speaker at the Anchored in Freedom Summit (http://anchoredinfreedomsummit.com)

Join the conversation: Come hang out with us in the Living the Good Life Facebook community for:

• Episode previews
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• A community of people choosing to live with more intention and joy

Join the Living the Good Life FB Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/LTGLCommunity

Every episode proudly sponsored by http://SwitchtoUSAMade.com

Contact Kimberly Henrie at https://livingthegoodlife.us/

If this episode resonated with you, take a moment to leave a review or share it with someone who might need a little nudge toward their own version of the good life.