When something major happens – death of a loved one, loss of a career, identity crisis, or other significant worldview shift – how do we figure out how to just “be” again? 

On my journey, I’m realizing that to find that purpose, we have to peel back a lot of layers – the societal norms, cultural expectations, family pressures; the fears, doubts, confidence-shaking beliefs. 

We have to learn to turn down the outside voices and listen for that small, still voice within each of us that's been saying, "I've got you. Just listen."

For this episode, I wanted to tag in two marvelous colleagues, coaches and friends, inspirations, Billy Ward and Tambre Leighn. Both of these beautiful souls have devoted themselves to the hard work of Being True to Your Self/Your Soul.

As we talked about purpose (which I have a strong feeling we'll be returning to often on this show), we also talked about humility, faith, peace, frustration, ego, and much more.

I hope you'll walk with us for this one.

In This Episode

Notable Quotes

• “After Gary passed, I realized for the first time he wasn't walking back through the door and I was sitting in broad daylight in the house, on our couch and everything literally went black. I could not see a thing. And I panicked and was like, what is this? What is this blackness? What is this nothingness? Is this all there is? And there was some little spark in me that said, There has to be some pinprick of light here somewhere. If you find it, it will be the thread that leads you back. And I did finally, you know, see a little bit of light, you know, came through that, but where that thread led was into six years of absolute utter darkness. I suffered from grief related depression. This journey was not easy. I only continued on it because I got up every morning and I was breathing for a while. You know, it took a lot to come out of it. And I did.” – Tambre (13:41)

• “All my life, I had tried to pretend that I had all my sh*t together and what I found in the void and the darkness was that in my brokenness and in sharing my brokenness and admitting that I was broken, I felt more whole and more free. And I was like, this is actually kind of a funny dance. I'm telling people that I'm a f*cking mess…and I feel better about where I'm at. And people seem to be sharing from the bottom and the depths of their heart too. And so it was kind of like a funny thing was happening even though I was feeling so low, I was starting to connect in a really meaningful way.” – Billy (16:16) 

Our Guests

Certified professional coach Tambre Leighn is the founder of Well Beyond Ordinary, a consulting company that helps healthcare clients use coaching skills to improve communication, patient engagement, and build trust. Tambre’s work integrating coaching into patient support was inspired by her experience as a caregiver for her late husband. 

Billy Ward is a motivational speaker, mental health advocate, life coach and former professional football player. His podcast, The Billy Ward Podcast, aims to help people live with greater awareness so that they can experience more peace, freedom, joy and love.

Resources & Links

On This Walk