Julie Marvel, What’s Your Story?

What happens when you finally get everything you thought would make you feel worthy, successful and secure, and discover that it still isn’t enough?

Judy Hehr’s story is one of extraordinary transformation.

After unexpectedly losing her mother at 18, Judy entered a painful season of grief that eventually led to addiction, homelessness, bankruptcy and a life she barely recognized. She describes those years as a time when she confused what she had done with who she had become.

Then her life began to change.

Judy entered treatment in 1989 and has been clean and sober ever since. A chance encounter with a man who saw her potential helped open the door to an entirely different future. She went from working as a bartender to tremendous professional success, eventually becoming a millionaire by age 30.

But success brought its own lesson.

Money, achievement and recognition changed Judy’s circumstances, but they did not give her the peace she was searching for.

In this deeply personal conversation, Judy shares how faith, surrender, forgiveness and rigorous honesty eventually transformed not only what her life looked like, but who she was becoming.

We talk about the stories we tell ourselves, the difference between what we have done and who we are, why achievement cannot heal what is hurting inside us, and what it takes to move from judgment toward understanding, acceptance and joy.

Judy also shares how her experiences now shape her work helping others “edit” the narratives of their own lives so they can live more authentically and purposefully.

This conversation is a powerful reminder that our past can inform us without defining us.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Losing Judy’s mother unexpectedly at 18 and the years that followed• Addiction, homelessness and reaching a point of complete hopelessness• Entering treatment and becoming sober in 1989• The person who saw Judy’s potential before she could see it herself• Becoming a millionaire by 30 and discovering that success was not the answer• Separating what you have done from who you are• Forgiveness, surrender and faith• Moving from judgment toward understanding and acceptance• Learning to rewrite the narratives we carry about ourselves• Why Judy now believes her hardest experiences have become part of her purpose

Today, Judy is a speaker, coach and trainer who helps people examine and edit the stories shaping their leadership, relationships, parenting and lives.

Learn more about Judy, connect with her and find her book, Shattered, at judyhehr.com.

What’s Your Story? with Julie Marvel

We share the experiences that change women and remind the rest of us that we are never as alone as we might feel.

If this episode made you think of another woman, send it to her and tell her why. Sometimes a story reaches us at exactly the moment we need it.

You can know how to lead a team, build a career, and handle enormous responsibility, then find yourself wondering how to join the women going to lunch after tennis.

That’s part of Lisa Beaufait’s story, and a moment I think so many women will recognize.

In this conversation, Lisa shares how childhood trauma and the loss of two family members to suicide shaped her drive to succeed. She built a rewarding career at FedEx, earned the Chairman’s Award, and spent years helping others grow.

Then, after 24 years, she stepped away from full-time corporate life to be more present with her husband and sons.

What followed brought freedom, but also uncertainty. Without the schedule and identity she had known for so long, Lisa had to rediscover what she enjoyed, how to make friends, and who she was beyond her work.

We talk about those awkward first steps into friendship, the courage to begin again, and how a rainy afternoon playing pickleball led to an idea scribbled on napkins and a new business built with friends.

Today, Lisa is the founder of Track Solutions and a co-founder of Hot Shots Pickleball Club in Ohio, where connection and community are at the heart of what she’s building.

In this episode, we explore:

• Finding your identity beyond your career• Recognizing when it’s time for a new chapter• Making friends when you feel like the outsider• Learning to enjoy yourself without always being in charge• Turning painful experiences into a foundation for helping others• Creating spaces where people feel welcome and belong

One thought from Lisa that stayed with me:

“You cannot escape your past, but you can stand on it.”

If you’re navigating retirement, an empty nest, a career change, or simply wondering what comes next, I hope this conversation helps you feel less alone and a little more willing to take that first step.

Connect with Lisa

Find Lisa Beaufait on LinkedIn to learn more about her coaching, Track Solutions, and Hot Shots Pickleball Club.

Continue the conversation

What part of your identity are you rediscovering in this season of life? Leave a comment. Your experience might be exactly what another woman needs to hear.

Share this episode with a friend who is finding her way into a new chapter, and follow What’s Your Story with Julie Marvel for more honest conversations with women about the lives behind their stories.

Visit juliemarvel.com for more stories, resources, and information about applying to share your story on the podcast.

Content note: This conversation includes discussion of childhood trauma and the loss of family members to suicide.

How many women spend their lives believing they need to do more, give more or accomplish more before they can finally feel worthy?

In this episode of What’s Your Story? with Julie Marvel, I talk with Carlene Marie, author of Enough Already, about the experiences that changed her life and eventually led her to help other women reconnect with their worth.

Carlene shares how losing her father at a young age introduced her to the connection between the mind and body, how visualization supported her through cancer and how the end of her marriage forced her to rediscover who she was outside the roles she had known.

We also talk about boundaries, intuition, navigating major life transitions and Carlene’s Compass Method for helping women move through uncertainty with greater clarity and trust.

This conversation is a reminder that your worth was never something you needed to earn. It has been there all along.

Learn more about Carlene Marie, her work and her book Enough Already at carlenemarie.com.

If this episode speaks to you, subscribe to What’s Your Story? with Julie Marvel and share it with a woman who may need this reminder today.

Caroline Markstrom had always known how to push herself. As an elite hockey player in Sweden, a Division I college athlete, and an ambitious professional, she built her identity around energy, achievement, and the belief that hard work could take her anywhere.

Then a concussion changed everything.

Caroline went from living at full speed to spending months in a dark room, unable to tolerate light, music, conversation, or even a short walk. Doctors told her she would never return to the person she had been, work full time again, or step onto the ice.

She had to grieve more than her hockey career. She had to grieve the future she believed she was building and learn how to value herself when she could no longer measure her worth by how much she accomplished.

In this honest conversation, Caroline shares how she began rebuilding her life with limited energy, started a business when the people who loved her urged her to wait, and created a new definition of success centered on freedom, relationships, purpose, and impact.

We talk about listening to your body, taking small steps before you feel ready, and recognizing that strength does not always mean pushing harder. Sometimes it means resting, adjusting, and choosing to begin again tomorrow.

Caroline’s life does not look the way she once imagined. In many ways, it has become something more meaningful.

In this episode:

• What it feels like to lose the identity you worked your whole life to build

• Learning to value yourself beyond performance and productivity

• Why Caroline started a business despite having very limited energy

• The difference between giving up and creating a new way forward

• Redefining achievement through friendship, family, freedom, and purpose

• Why life changing decisions often require us to move before we feel ready

• The small daily choices that help us rewrite our stories

Caroline offers a powerful reminder for any woman facing grief, loss, illness, or an unexpected change:

“Your life will be hard. Your life will be tough, but so are you.”

Follow What’s Your Story with Julie Marvel for more honest conversations with women whose experiences remind us that we are never as alone as we may feel.

Find more stories, reflections, and conversations at juliemarvel.com.

Why You’re Stuck, and Why It Has Nothing to Do With Motivation

Do you know something needs to change, but you cannot seem to make yourself take the first step?

You may have blamed a lack of motivation, confidence, or discipline. But what if the real problem is that somewhere along the way, you stopped trusting yourself?

In this episode, Julie explores why capable women can feel frozen at the edge of something new. Through the story of a woman sitting in her car outside a gathering she wants to attend, Julie explains how our brains can interpret uncertainty as danger—even when the unfamiliar thing in front of us could lead to friendship, joy, purpose, or an entirely new chapter.

You will learn why confidence usually comes after action, how small promises rebuild self-trust, and why courage is so much easier when another woman is willing to walk through the door with you.

In This Episode

Why feeling stuck is not necessarily a motivation problem

How years of caring for everyone else can weaken trust in your own voice

Why the familiar can feel safe even when it no longer fits your life

The difference between your brain protecting you and predicting your future

Why confident women are rarely as fearless as they appear

A simple three-step practice for taking action before you feel completely ready

How connection helps women become braver together

Try This This Week

Ask yourself:

What door am I sitting outside of—and what would it look like to open it for just ten minutes?

Choose one small action you can take within the next twenty-four hours. Send the message. Make the appointment. Attend the event. Spend fifteen minutes exploring the idea.

Then tell one supportive woman what you plan to do—or invite her to walk through the door with you.

Go Deeper with Julie

If you are ready to stop overthinking, rebuild trust in yourself, and create real momentum, become a paid subscriber to Julie Marvel on Substack.

Paid subscribers receive access to:

The complete 90-Day Success Workshop

Julie’s six-part audio coaching series

Practical guidance and encouragement to help you move forward with greater clarity, courage, and consistency

Upgrade here: Julie Marvel on Substack

Share This Episode

If this episode made you think of a woman who may be sitting in her own emotional parking lot, send it to her with a simple note:

“I’ll walk in with you.”

Sometimes a new life begins with one woman making room and another woman choosing to sit down.

Episode Quote

“You do not need the whole map—only one honest desire, one small step, and perhaps one woman who will remind you that you do not have to take it alone.”

Who Am I Now?

If you've been wondering who you are after the kids leave home, your career changes, or life simply doesn't look the way it used to, this conversation is for you. Today we're talking about why so many women feel lost in midlife and how this season might actually be an invitation to create a life that fits the woman you are today.

In this episode, I share why it's completely normal to question your identity during times of transition, why I don't believe you've lost yourself, and a few simple ways to begin reconnecting with the woman you've always been beneath all the responsibilities you've carried for everyone else.

If this conversation resonates with you, I'd love to invite you to become a paid subscriber and join me for my exclusive six-part audio coaching series, Create the Life You Love.

In this private series, we'll dive even deeper into topics like:

• Why you feel stuck and how to move forward

• Stop Waiting for Permission

• Quiet the Voice That Holds You Back

• Rediscover Who You Are

• Build the Life You Actually Want

• Your Next Chapter Starts Today

Each episode is designed to help you build confidence, change the way you think about yourself, and take practical steps toward creating a life you truly love.

Become a paid subscriber here:https://juliemarvel.substack.com/foundingmember

Thank you for listening. If this episode encouraged you, I'd love for you to share it with a friend who may need to hear it today.

Have you ever noticed that two people can go through similar challenges and come away with completely different perspectives?

In this episode, Julie explores why that happens and how becoming mentally strong begins with the thoughts we practice every day. Drawing from her own journey and what she's been learning about the Reticular Activating System (RAS), she explains how our brains filter the world through the beliefs we hold about ourselves—and why changing those beliefs can change our future.

If you've ever caught yourself thinking, "It's too late for me," "I'm not confident," or "Nothing ever works out," this episode will help you recognize those patterns and replace them with thoughts that support the life you want to create.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why negative thinking becomes a habit without us even realizing it.

• How the Reticular Activating System (RAS) influences what you notice and believe.

• The connection between your thoughts, your identity, and your actions.

• Why mentally strong women don't eliminate negative thoughts—they learn how to challenge them.

• A simple exercise to help you interrupt destructive thinking and begin building a healthier mindset.

This Week's Challenge

Pay attention to three negative thoughts that come up throughout your day.

Write each one down and ask yourself:

"Is this actually true, or is it a story I've been telling myself?"

Then replace it with a thought that is both truthful and empowering.

Small shifts in your thinking create lasting changes in the person you're becoming.

If this episode encouraged you, I'd love to hear from you. Join the conversation on Substack and share one thought you're choosing to replace this week. We become mentally stronger together, one decision and one thought at a time.

https://substack.com/@juliemarvel