Rachele Brooke Smith's life changed when she saw Center Stage as a teenager, as it made her realize she wanted to be a dancer and an actress. And despite years of getting what seemed like no closer to her dream, she continued to show up and audition, despite how much her self-talk tried to keep her down. One day, she finally realized that dream, getting cast in the lead of Center Stage 2! Through this and many other experiences, Rachele realized that to create her life as she wanted it to be, she would have to fight through fears. Now, when fear arises, she envisions how much worse it would feel to miss out on opportunities like the audition for Center Stage 2 that she almost didn't attend. With that in mind, she's able to disrupt negative thoughts and let her creative superpowers run free.

Have you ever told a lie and then felt that tension - the friction that comes from knowing you're living out of integrity? Imagine the cumulative stress from lying not only to others, even if small lies, but to yourself - all in the name of preserving appearances and keeping others happy.

This was the situation Amrit Sandhu found himself in when a diagnosis of depression led him to take a hard look at his life. He was able to see the diagnosis as a positive, as it led to the personal development work that has brought him into alignment and which he teaches others today.

We've all felt guilt before. Guilt is the feeling we did something bad. But shame is an even more detrimental emotion, as it tells us that we ARE something bad. And whether we grew up in strict families or strict religions or strict societies, there's never been a shortage of places to help us shovel shame onto ourselves.

But there's hope. This week's guest, author, podcast host and fitness expert Drew Manning, battled immense shame from a young age through growing up in a very shame-based environment, which led to feeling that he was a failure…which, as he points out, led him to participate in failure-type behaviors, like pornography overuse and infidelity. And through his own recovery from his porn addiction and the personal development work he did during that time, Drew has learned that shame can be overcome by changing your stories and your perception.

He tells a story of how truly learning to love and accept himself, along with shining a light on the things he'd been ashamed about, led him to release the shame he felt and helped him live an authentic life.

Ted Ryce is a celebrity trainer and high-performance health coach, and through his work he's learned that what keeps often people from attaining their goals is them giving away their power, underestimating how much what they do matters, and holding themselves to unrealistic standards.

He says that if someone wants to perform like a superhuman, they first have to realize that they're only human. He says understanding your limitations can help you set yourself up for success in all areas of life. He suggests attacking challenges with an attitude of determination versus desperation to put yourself in the most beneficial mindset to achieve your goals.

Dr. Michelle Mudge-Riley has always refused to settle. In medical school, she realized patient care wasn't for her…which was a difficult realization for someone on the road to becoming a doctor. Deciding NOT to settle for a job with patient care led her down a path through more schooling, then through a leapfrog job, and eventually on to what she does now - helping mid-career professionals make career transitions using the techniques she'd picked up along her journey.

She points out that it's a great time to not know what you want to do, as you no longer need another degree to do something different. She encourages thinking about ways to educate yourself outside of the debt-ridden educational system, and also points out that it has never been easier to go get experience in careers of your choice.

And lastly, she helps professionals wrestle with the loss of identity often experienced when leaving a high-profile professional career - which often includes pointing out both that they can always go back, but also, reminding them to look at what they're running toward…which is generally a happier, healthier work life.

Check out the Physicians Helping Physicians conference in Austin this April!

Transformational facilitator Stef Sifandos knew things had to change. He no longer wanted to be the person that he had been, one who was unfaithful, mistrusting, and full of shame. But to be someone he'd never been, he'd have to start doing things he'd never done - which started with letting go of old patterns, quitting mindsets and friendships that no longer served him, and setting his attention and intention on revealing the authentic person he was deep inside.

Through his own transformation, he developed a deep understanding of relationships and realized he had to move from selfishness to selfish selflessness, a lesson he passes along to others through his work today.

If your phone and your computer are driving you crazy with their constant distractions, may I humbly suggest you QUIT most of your notifications? It may make a big difference in your focus and your ability to stay calm and peaceful.

Dr. Alessandra Wall has quit many things in her life, such as believing she had to be perfect to be good enough, putting energy into doing what's right without thinking about whether it was also right for her, and believing that she would be a psychologist and only a psychologist for the rest of her life.

She was deep in promoting her own business (of helping others) when she realized she had to quit the hustle…to help herself.

Health Optimization practitioner Jason Prall was on track to completely fulfill society's definition of success: he had a good job, a good salary, two dogs, and had even bought a house. Then one day he realized the whole thing was a charade, because it didn't make him happy. He realized his number one value was freedom, and that he had to find a way to get there.

But the path wasn't easy - it required him to face the uncertainty of selling a house and most of his possessions to go somewhere he'd never been and do something he'd never done. Listen to how he navigated the uncertainty and his tips on how to make your quit as strategic as possible.

Prior to the #metoo movement, many women who had survived sexual assault kept their story under wraps. And for years, this week's guest Sheree Trask had done the same, which led to years of damage done to her physical health from the toll that keeping such a secret took on her.

Once Sheree began speaking, she realized the impact of sharing her story, both in its ability to empower others to do the same, but also to heal herself mentally and physically.

It's a powerful story everyone should hear.