Spark Something New

Put it out into the universe. Visualize what you want. Raise your vibration. Trust that the Law of Attraction will bring it your way.

Sounds familiar, right?

But what if we've misunderstood how manifestation actually works?

In this episode, Dr. Katie Sandoe welcomes Brian Trzaskos, somatic coaching expert, co-founder of the Somatic Coaching Academy, and co-author of Manifestation for Dummies, to challenge some popular beliefs about creating the life we want.

Brian believes that when we “speak something into the universe,” we're actually speaking it into ourselves. And while vision boards, affirmations, and positive thinking can be powerful tools, they're only part of the equation.

Together, Katie and Brian explore the fascinating connection between our bodies, subconscious patterns, and decision-making. They unpack why we sometimes resist the very things we desire, how to distinguish fear from purpose, and why slowing down may actually help us move forward.

Because perhaps manifestation isn't about attracting what we want. It's about who we're becoming along the way.

KEY LEARNINGS:

1. Speaking it into the universe is only half the conversation.
Vision boards, affirmations, and visualization aren't necessarily wrong. They're incomplete. Brian explains why creating meaningful change requires more than positive thinking. It requires engaging the body, making intentional decisions, and taking action.

2. Your body influences more than you think.
Our bodily sensations help shape our emotions, which influence our decisions. Brian introduces interoception—our ability to sense what's happening inside our bodies—and explores why we sometimes make choices that contradict what we consciously want.

3. Resistance doesn't always mean you're on the wrong path.
Sometimes the opportunities that feel most purposeful also bring up fear and discomfort. Brian shares how recognizing our unique purpose sensations can help us distinguish between familiar resistance and something that genuinely isn't aligned with us.

4. Maybe you're not attracting opportunities. You're finally noticing them.
Brian offers a different perspective on the Law of Attraction. Rather than believing the universe magically delivers what we desire, he suggests that changing our internal patterns can help us recognize opportunities that were previously outside our awareness.

5. Manifestation is as much about becoming as achieving.
What if the things we want are actually opportunities to grow into new versions of ourselves? Brian invites listeners to shift their focus from simply getting what they want to becoming more intentional creators of their lives.

A LITTLE SPARK TO TAKE WITH YOU:

Brian shares a simple practice for discovering your unique purpose sensations:

1. Recall 3–5 experiences when you felt deeply purposeful. They can come from any part of your life—work, relationships, hobbies, or everyday moments.
2. For each experience, notice where you feel sensations in your body and how you'd describe them. Warmth in your chest? Energy in your belly? A sense of groundedness?
3. Look for patterns. Which sensations and locations show up repeatedly?
4. Begin practicing awareness of those sensations, especially when you're facing a new opportunity that feels both exciting and uncomfortable.

The next time fear or resistance shows up, get curious: Is this something that isn't aligned with me, or is it simply unfamiliar?

LINKS & RESOURCES:

• FREE Resources from Brian to empower your success!
• Somatic Coaching Academy — Explore Brian's work and somatic coaching programs.
• Manifestation for Dummies — Discover Brian and Ani's practical guide to conscious manifestation.

GUEST INFO:

Brian Trzaskos is a nationally recognized somatic coaching expert, educator, and co-founder of the Somatic Coaching Academy. With more than three decades of experience in health, wellness, and personal transformation, Brian helps people understand how the body and mind work together to create meaningful, sustainable change.

He is also the co-author of Manifestation for Dummies, a practical guide to moving beyond wishful thinking and becoming a more conscious creator of one's life.

Through his teaching, writing, and coaching, Brian blends neuroscience, somatic practices, and a deep appreciation for human potential to make complex concepts accessible and actionable.

Connect with Katie on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also get free resources to help you on your purpose journey at www.katiesandoe.com.

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Or is it?!

The holidays can be filled with joy, connection, traditions, and beautiful memories. AND they can be downright exhausting. Especially if you're the person responsible for making all that holiday magic happen.

The planning. The shopping. The cooking. The decorating. The gifting. The coordinating. And ALL THE THINGS that nobody else even realizes you're doing.

But here's a question that might just change everything: What if most of the things you're doing to make the holidays special aren't even the things your family cares about?

In this episode, Dr. Katie welcomes back one of our most popular guests, Dr. Lisa Woodruff, founder and CEO of Organize 365®, for a conversation that just might transform how you approach the holiday season.

Lisa shares why we continue adding more and more to our holiday to-do lists, how the invisible work of household management quietly consumes our time and energy, and why it's time to rethink what actually makes the season meaningful.

They challenge the assumptions, expectations, and traditions that keep us doing things we've never stopped to question. And perhaps the most important reminder of all? You deserve to experience the holiday magic, too. Not just create it for everyone else.

Sponsor Disclosure: This episode of the Spark Something New podcast is sponsored by Organize 365®. This paid collaboration features resources and ideas that align with our mission of helping people create more intentional, meaningful, and fulfilling lives.

KEY LEARNINGS

• The invisible work behind the holiday magic. Why managing a household involves so much more than completing tasks, and how that unseen mental and emotional labor contributes to overwhelm.
• Why doing more doesn't necessarily make the holidays better. How our desire to create the perfect experience, combined with social media inspiration and inherited traditions, can lead to an ever-growing list of obligations.
• The power of asking instead of assuming. Why interviewing your family about what they actually love and remember can help you release unnecessary work and focus on what matters.
• How to plan for the feeling, not just the festivities. Why the most meaningful holiday planning starts with asking how you want the season to feel before deciding what you'll do.
• The shift from homemaker to household CEO. How approaching household management with intention, strategy, and realistic expectations can create more time and capacity.
• Why your needs belong on the holiday calendar, too. How to make room for rest, connection, personal interests, and even a little magic that's just for YOU.

LINKS & RESOURCES

One of the things we love about Lisa's approach is that she doesn't simply encourage us to get more organized. She gives us practical tools to think differently about how we manage our homes, our time, and our lives. 

(1) Holiday Blitz® & Planning Day — FREE!

What if you could approach this holiday season with a little less overwhelm and a whole lot more intention?

Organize 365's Holiday Blitz® is a free, guided experience designed to help you step away from the endless to-do lists and get clear about what actually matters to you and your loved ones.

Through short, engaging videos, thoughtful reflection questions, and a companion workbook, Lisa helps you identify which traditions to keep, what you can simplify, and what you're ready to let go of.

Then, during the Holiday Blitz Planning Day, you'll turn those intentions into a realistic plan for the final weeks of the year, with Lisa guiding you through the process.

This is a great opportunity to put pen to paper, step away from our screens, and intentionally design a season we can actually enjoy!

• Register Here: Holiday Blitz Nov. 2 - 6, 2026 (registration open now!)
• Register Here: Planning Day: Nov. 16, 2026, at 11:30 a.m. ET (replay available)

(2) Household Management System powered by the Sunday Basket®

What if you could reclaim five hours of your week? Not to squeeze in more work, more obligations, or more things for everyone else. But to make room for the things YOU want to do.

Lisa's Household Management System powered by the Sunday Basket® is designed to help household managers approach the work of running a home with the same strategic thinking, systems, and intentionality we bring to managing an organization.

It's about moving beyond constantly reacting to everything that needs to get done and developing a more sustainable approach to household management.

Whether those reclaimed hours go toward reading, exercising, creating, resting, pursuing a dream, or simply enjoying your life, the bigger idea is powerful: Your time, energy, and aspirations matter just as much as everyone else's.

• Explore More Here: Household Management System

MEET OUR GUEST

Dr. Lisa Woodruff is the founder and CEO of Organize 365®, an organization dedicated to helping productive women overcome the overwhelm of modern household management so they can reclaim their time and capacity.

Through her research, teaching, and practical organizing systems, Lisa is changing the conversation around what it means to manage a home. Rather than treating household responsibilities as an endless collection of chores, she encourages people to recognize the complex, often invisible work involved and develop the skills and systems to manage it more intentionally.

Her work is rooted in a powerful belief: when we spend less time managing the demands of our homes, we create more capacity for the lives we want to live.

Lisa's Website: organize365.com

And don't miss Lisa's first appearance on Spark Something New! Listen to our previous conversation.

Connect with Katie on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also get free resources to help you on your purpose journey at www.katiesandoe.com.

What if being good with money has less to do with understanding the stock market and more to do with understanding yourself?

Too often, we convince ourselves that we need to be financial experts before we can make meaningful decisions about our money. We get caught up in market performance, retirement goals, and whether we're saving enough, while overlooking a much bigger question: Is our money helping us live the life we actually want?

In this episode, Dr. Katie is joined by Karen Coyne, financial advisor and host of the Money Without Math podcast, to challenge some of the biggest myths about money and financial confidence.

They explore why so many smart, capable people (especially women!) shy away from financial conversations, how our obsession with accumulating wealth can keep us from enjoying life today, and why a great financial advisor should be more interested in your dreams than impressing you with market knowledge.

Because the goal isn't simply to have more money someday. It's to have the freedom, clarity, and confidence to make meaningful choices throughout your life.

And here's the best part: You don't have to know everything to get started. You just have to be willing to show up.

KEY LEARNINGS

• Financial confidence isn't about being good at math. You don't need to understand every investment strategy or financial acronym to meaningfully participate in decisions about your money.
• The hidden cost of focusing only on the future. Saving for retirement matters, but so does using your resources to create joy, freedom, and meaningful experiences right now.
• Why avoidance is still a financial decision. Deferring to a spouse, partner, or advisor doesn't eliminate your responsibility or the importance of your participation.
• What to look for in a great financial advisor. The best financial partners help you feel seen, heard, and empowered, rather than intimidated by their expertise.
• How to start having more meaningful conversations about money. It begins with knowing what you want, understanding what you have, and asking questions that connect your financial resources to your life.

LINKS & RESOURCES

• Connect with Karen on LinkedIn
• Karen's Website: Karen Coyne / Raymond James Clarity Planning
• Karen's Podcast: Money Without Math

GUEST INFO

Karen Coyne is a financial advisor with Raymond James Clarity Planning and the host of Money Without Math, a podcast that makes financial conversations more approachable, relatable, and human.

Through her work, Karen helps people move beyond financial jargon, intimidation, and an obsession with investment performance to focus on what really matters: making thoughtful decisions that support the lives they want to live.

She believes financial confidence doesn't come from mastering every technical detail. It comes from showing up, asking questions, and recognizing that you already have more of what it takes than you might think.

Connect with Katie on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also get free resources to help you on your purpose journey at www.katiesandoe.com.

We want to get it right with the people who matter most.  

We try to be the supportive partner, the good parent, the thoughtful friend, the leader who knows what to say when things get hard.

And then… we’re human.

We lose our patience. We react instead of respond. We say the thing we wish we could take back. Or our face says the thing even when our mouth doesn’t. And then we worry we might have damaged the relationship.

But according to Mary Willcox Smith, those mistakes aren't necessarily what define our relationships. What matters more are what she calls sticky moments—emotionally charged interactions with people who matter to us that, when repeated over time, can shape what we believe about ourselves, other people, and our relationships.

In this episode, Dr. Katie Sandoe and Mary explore how these moments show up not only between parents and children, but in marriages, friendships, workplaces, and leadership.

They talk about why we struggle to access the best version of ourselves when emotions are high, why accepting someone’s experience doesn't mean agreeing with their behavior, and how connection and accountability can exist at the same time.

And perhaps most importantly, they explore what happens when we get the moment completely wrong. Because the screw-up doesn't have to become the sticky moment. The repair can.

KEY LEARNINGS

1. Not every moment carries the same weight.
Sticky moments happen when emotion is high, someone important to us is involved, and a message is reinforced over time. Those messages—spoken and unspoken—can begin shaping how someone sees themselves and what they expect from the relationship.

2. When we're activated, good intentions aren't always enough.
We can know exactly how we want to show up and still react differently when stress takes over. Mary shares simple microsteps that can interrupt those automatic patterns and give us another response to reach for when emotions are running high.

3. Accepting isn't agreeing.
One of the simplest ways to create connection is to let someone know, I see you. I hear you. That doesn't mean agreeing with their choices or abandoning a boundary. We can validate someone's experience while still holding them accountable for their behavior.

4. “I see you. I’ve got you. You’ve got this.”
Mary's framework combines connection, boundaries, and trust. We can acknowledge what someone is experiencing, provide the steadiness and structure they need, and then give them enough space to discover that they can handle hard things.

5. Repair can become its own sticky moment.
We're going to mess up. Mary argues that resilience isn't built by eliminating every rupture, but through what happens when we come back together. Taking accountability, reconnecting, and repairing can create a powerful moment of its own.

LINKS & RESOURCES

• Mary's Website: marywillcoxsmith.com
• Connect with Mary on LinkedIn
• Mary's Book: The Micro Step Method

GUEST INFO

Mary Willcox Smith is a keynote speaker, parenting expert, author, and creator of the MicroStep Method, a practical approach designed to help people navigate the small, emotionally charged moments that can have an outsized impact on relationships.

Drawing from research, lived experience, and her work with parents, Mary helps people move beyond perfectionism and self-blame and instead develop simple, repeatable tools they can access when stress is high and good intentions aren't enough.

She is the author of The MicroStep Method for the Overwhelmed Parent: Small Moments, Big Impact, and her work explores how small shifts in everyday interactions can build greater trust, resilience, confidence, and connection over time.

Connect with Katie on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also get free resources to help you on your purpose journey at www.katiesandoe.com.

Who are you without the roles you play?

Take away the job title, the accomplishments, the relationship status, the parenting, the caregiving, the things you’re really freaking good at.  Even the things you absolutely love.

Who are you then?

We spend so much of our lives answering "Who am I?" with "What do I do?" ... Answers like I'm a parent, leader, spouse, caregiver, athlete, artist, sports lover.

And none of those answers are wrong.  They’re just incomplete.

Because beneath all those roles is another layer of identity: the qualities you bring into a room.  What you believe.  What you value.  How you move through the world.  The parts of yourself you make visible and the ones you don't.

In this conversation, Dr. Katie and Erin Conlon explore what becomes possible when we loosen our grip on the roles that have defined us and get curious about everything else that's there.

Because an identity can be beautiful, meaningful, and deeply important to you without needing to define you.

Maybe you don't need to become an entirely different person. Maybe there's simply more of you waiting to be discovered.

And that opens up a much more interesting question: Who do you want to become?

KEY LEARNINGS

• You are more than what you do. Roles, accomplishments, jobs, and responsibilities may be part of your identity, but they aren’t the whole of who you are. Your essence also lives in the qualities, energy, and presence you bring into the world.
• Some of our strongest identities were never consciously chosen. We inherit identities from our families, communities, relationships, and culture. Part of becoming more fully ourselves is getting curious about which ones still fit—and which ones we’re simply carrying because we always have.
• What we make invisible matters. There are parts of ourselves we readily show the world and others we protect, suppress, or hide. Making more of ourselves visible requires vulnerability because being truly seen always carries the risk of not being accepted.
• Change can feel like failure when we’ve over-identified with an old version of ourselves. Letting go of a career, role, relationship, community, or long-held way of being can bring real fear and grief. But changing doesn’t erase who you’ve been. It creates room for who you’re becoming.
• Courage is something we practice. We don’t have to magically become brave enough to change our lives. We build courage by taking small actions, surviving the discomfort, and discovering that we can do things differently.
• Identity can be shaped through action. Instead of waiting until you fully believe you’re the person you want to become, start looking for opportunities to practice being that person. Ask yourself: What can I do today to become who I want to be?

LINKS & RESOURCES

Connect with Erin Conlon: erinconlon.com

Try Erin’s identity reflection:
Ask 10–20 people from different parts of your life to describe the qualities you bring when you enter a room. Listen for the patterns—not your accomplishments or roles, but the essence of how people experience you.

Then create two columns:

• What do I do?
• What do I believe about who I am?

Notice where those answers align and where they don’t.

Finally, add one more question: Who do I want to become?

GUEST INFO

Erin Conlon is a writer, strategist, thought partner, former attorney, and... an identity you might not see coming... a comedian. Her work explores the evolving nature of identity, leadership, and personal transformation.

Erin helps people examine the identities they’ve inherited, constructed, hidden, and outgrown so they can live and lead with greater clarity, courage, and choice. Her work challenges the idea that identity is fixed and invites us to see ourselves instead as dynamic, evolving human beings with the power to choose what we carry forward and what we’re finally ready to release.

Connect with Katie on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also get free resources to help you on your purpose journey at www.katiesandoe.com.

Two years ago, Spark Something New began with a conversation about the Human Energy Crisis—a world increasingly overwhelmed, exhausted, disconnected, and running on empty.

One hundred episodes later, that conversation feels more relevant than ever.

In this milestone episode, Dr. Katie looks back at what nearly 100 conversations with incredible humans have taught her about building a life that doesn’t leave us constantly needing to recover from it. Because maybe the answer to our exhaustion isn’t another productivity hack, better routine, or attempt to squeeze more into already-full lives.

Maybe we need to live differently.

Katie shares four lessons that have emerged again and again throughout the podcast: rest, remember, risk, and release. True restoration requires more than stopping. Coming home to yourself means remembering who you were before all the "shoulds". Building a life that actually feels like yours requires the courage to choose differently. And creating space for what’s next often means releasing expectations, identities, relationships, and definitions of success that no longer fit.

After 100 episodes, Katie has come to believe something different about the “spark” at the heart of this podcast: maybe your spark was never gone. Maybe it has simply been buried underneath everything you’ve been carrying.

So perhaps the question isn’t What else do I need to do?

It’s... What could I put down in order to feel fully alive again?

Key Learnings:

1. REST
Rest is not something you earn after you finish living. It’s part of living.
Restoration isn’t simply the cessation of activity. It also means intentionally filling ourselves back up—with experiences, relationships, practices, and white space that restore our energy. Protecting that restoration through boundaries isn’t selfish; it creates the capacity to show up fully for the people and work that matter. 

2. REMEMBER
Come home to who you were before all the “shoulds.”
We build so much of our lives around expectations: what success should look like, what our careers should become, how our families should operate, or what other people appear to be doing. But just because something looks like a good life doesn’t mean it’s your good life. Building a life you love starts with remembering who you are, what energizes you, and what actually matters to you. 

3. RISK
Knowing what you want isn’t enough—you eventually have to risk choosing it.
Living differently requires choosing differently, and those choices can carry real consequences. Instead of treating life like an arena where we either win or fail, Katie offers another metaphor: step into the lab. Experiment. Try something. Gather data. Adjust. A life that feels like you may be built through a series of small, courageous experiments rather than one giant leap. 

4. RELEASE
You cannot build a different life while carrying everything from the old one.
Sometimes moving toward what’s next requires releasing expectations, obligations, identities, relationships, dreams, or old definitions of success. Letting go can involve real grief, but it also creates capacity. We can't fully step into what could be while desperately clinging to what is. 

5. Your spark may not be gone—it may simply be buried.
We may not be able to control the pace of technology, work, culture, or the world around us. But we still have agency over how we choose to live within it. Perhaps we don't need another habit, practice, app, or thing to add. Perhaps we need to ask: What could I put down to make room for the life I actually want to live?

Links & Resources:

• CDC/NCHS Report — Fatigue in Adults: United States — Research discussed in the episode exploring the prevalence of fatigue among U.S. adults and its relationship to work, social activity, physical health, and mental health. Read the CDC report
• Six Seconds — State of the Heart — Research referenced from the original Human Energy Crisis conversation examining emotional intelligence and wellbeing around the world. Explore State of the Heart research
• Gallup — State of the Global Workplace — Ongoing global research on employee engagement, stress, wellbeing, and the experience of work. Explore Gallup's workplace research
• Spark Something New — Episode 1 — Revisit the conversation that started it all: the Human Energy Crisis and why this podcast was created. Listen to the first episode here.

Connect with Katie on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also get free resources to help you on your purpose journey at www.katiesandoe.com.

What if you knew you couldn't get it wrong?

We spend a lot of our lives trying to know what happens next.

We make the plan. Calculate the risk. Imagine everything that could go wrong. And sometimes, we stay in a life that doesn't feel particularly good simply because at least we know what to expect.

But what if the unknown isn't something to fear? What if it's actually an invitation?

In 2017, Kristy Halvorsen walked away from a successful career as a firefighter/paramedic, sold her dream home and most of her belongings, bought an Airstream, and headed into the unknown.

And here's the important part: it wasn't immediately wonderful.

In this episode, Kristy and I talk about what happened next—and what she learned when she stopped fighting reality and started trusting what she calls the "tickles of her soul."

We explore why our brains crave certainty, why we'd sometimes rather stay in a "sucky known" than risk an uncertain possibility, and how worry, expectations, scarcity, and our need for control can keep us from the life that's calling us.

Because maybe the goal isn't to create a life that looks impressive.

Maybe it's to create one that feels deeply alive.

Key Learnings:

• The known isn't necessarily better. It's just known. Sometimes we stay in situations that don't feel good simply because uncertainty feels scarier.
• Question the belief underneath the fear. What are you telling yourself about what's possible—or impossible—that may not actually be true?
• Your knowing often arrives before the explanation. Kristy calls them the "tickles of the soul." You might call it intuition, a gut feeling, or the voice of God.
• You don't need the whole blueprint. Your knowing may only give you the next step. Take it. Then listen again.
• Stop fighting reality. Sometimes our suffering isn't coming from what's happening, but from our attachment to how we thought it was supposed to happen.

And when you're really stuck, try Kristy's question: What would I do if I wholeheartedly knew I couldn't get this wrong?

Links & Resources:

• Kristy Halvorsen
  Explore Kristy's writing, coaching, adventures, and her idea of "coddiwompling"—traveling purposefully toward unknown destinations, remaining open to possibility, and "unpredicting" the journey.
• Perfect Unfolding: Seven Years of Life-Changing Solo Adventure, One Year That Broke Me Open
  Kristy's book chronicles her decision to trade her dream home and firefighting career for a solo, off-grid life in an Airstream—and the much deeper journey from her head to her heart.
• The Courage to Be Disliked
  During our conversation, I also reference this book and its exploration of Adlerian psychology, particularly the freedom that can come when we stop organizing our lives around other people's approval.

Guest Info:

Kristy Halvorsen is an author, speaker, coach, mentor, explorer, and self-described wanderer. In 2017, she sold her home and belongings, stepped away from her career as a lieutenant firefighter/paramedic, and set off in an Airstream with no predetermined destination. What began as an adventure became something much bigger: an ongoing experiment in what happens when we loosen our grip on certainty and learn to trust life as it unfolds.

Connect with Katie on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also get free resources to help you on your purpose journey at www.katiesandoe.com.

Ever find yourself thinking...

I’m stuck.
I don’t know what to do.
There’s no other option.
That person is NEVER going to change.

Yeah. Us too.

But what if the problem isn’t that there are no other possibilities? What if you just can’t see them yet?

In this episode, Dr. Katie sits down with organizational psychologist and executive coach Dr. Irina Cozma to talk about becoming a possibility thinker—someone who refuses to assume that the first answer, the familiar answer, or even the seemingly obvious answer is the only answer.

And this isn’t about toxic positivity or pretending every problem has an easy solution. It’s about getting curious enough to ask: What else could I try?

Irina shares three places to look when you can’t seem to find a way forward: within yourself, within your relationships, and within the process itself. Sometimes possibility means changing your own behavior. Sometimes it means having the conversation you’ve been avoiding. Sometimes it means questioning the way something has always been done.

And sometimes? It means putting a Post-it note on your computer that reminds you to slow the heck down.

From hard conversations and difficult coworkers to career decisions, perfectionism, fear of failure, and our obsession with what other people might think, this conversation is an invitation to loosen your grip on the way it has to be and experiment with what else might be possible.

Because maybe you’re not as stuck as you think. Maybe you just haven’t found your next possibility yet.

Key Learnings:

1. “Stuck” may be a signal that your thinking has narrowed.
When we say things like “There’s nothing I can do,” “They’ll never change,” or “This is just how it is,” we may be treating one interpretation or path as the only one available. A possibility thinker challenges that assumption and asks what else might be available. 

2. Look for possibility in three places: inner, relational, and process.
Sometimes the opportunity is inner—changing how you think, regulate your emotions, or behave. Sometimes it’s relational—changing how you communicate, ask for help, set a boundary, delegate, or influence someone. And sometimes it’s process—changing the approach, structure, sequence, or way something gets done. Looking through all three lenses can reveal options we couldn't see before.

3. A different outcome usually requires trying something different.
Knowing another option exists isn't enough. Irina encourages experimentation—even with something as small as opening a meeting differently, asking a different question, or changing one behavior. Fear of failing, looking ridiculous, or worrying about what others will think can keep us from ever testing the possibilities available to us. 

4. Possibility thinking is a practice, not a personality trait.
Behavior change takes repetition. In one example, Irina shares how a client preparing for emotionally charged conversations used a simple Post-it asking, “Is it worth it?” as a reminder to pause and choose his response. Small experiments, reflection, and repetition gradually create new ways of responding. 

5. Give yourself a chance before deciding something isn't possible.
Irina's simplest starting point is to trust yourself a little more. You have experience, strengths, values, and evidence that you've done hard things before. And as she reminds listeners at the end of the conversation, if another human has found a way to do the thing you want to do, that's evidence that a path exists—even if yours ultimately looks different. 

Try This: The Possibility Post-it

Think about one situation where you currently feel stuck. Instead of trying to solve the whole thing, write one question on a Post-it: “What else might be possible?”

Put it somewhere you'll see it. Then challenge yourself to identify possibilities across three areas:

• ME: What could I think, believe, or do differently?
•  WE: What could change in how I engage with the other person?
•  HOW: What could I change about the approach or process?

You don't need to pursue every possibility. The practice is simply reminding yourself that the first answer isn't necessarily the only answer.

Links & Resources:

• Connect with Irina on LinkedIn
• Explore Irina's Website: www.irinacozma.com

Guest Info:

Dr. Irina Cozma is an organizational psychologist and executive coach who helps accomplished professionals strengthen the human skills that make work—and leadership—better.

After ten years in management consulting and experience with organizations including Salesforce and Wells Fargo, Irina now works with high performers on areas such as emotional regulation, delegation and boundaries, strategic influence, perfectionism, and behavioral change.

At the heart of her work is helping people become possibility thinkers: people who can move beyond “I don't know” and “I'm stuck” to see more options, experiment with new approaches, and become more intentional about how they work, lead, and live.

Connect with Katie on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also get free resources to help you on your purpose journey at www.katiesandoe.com.

What if loving yourself first isn’t selfish, but one of the most loving things you can do for everyone around you?

In this episode, Dr. Katie chats with leadership coach, speaker, and author Lisa Kohn to challenge the way we think about self-love. Lisa shares her philosophy of “First, Most, Always”: the belief that when we learn to extend compassion, grace, acceptance, and care toward ourselves, we have more—not less—to offer others.

Together, they explore the difference between self-love and self-centeredness, why so many of us outsource our worth and validation, and what happens when we stop needing other people to prove that we’re enough. They also unpack achievement, people-pleasing, over-functioning, slowing down, and the freedom that comes from being able to say: This is enough. I am enough.

This conversation is an invitation to rethink self-love not as indulgence, but as a foundation for how we live, lead, work, and love.

Key Learnings:

• Self-love and selfishness aren’t the same thing. Loving yourself “first, most, always” doesn’t mean disregarding other people. It means caring for yourself deeply enough that what you give others comes from abundance rather than depletion, obligation, or a need for approval. 
• You can’t outsource your worth. When we don’t believe in our own value, we may look to achievement, relationships, praise, or other people to convince us we’re enough. Developing an internal sense of worth allows us not only to give love more freely, but to actually receive love when it’s offered. 
• Self-love creates choice. Our drive, perfectionism, people-pleasing, control, and over-functioning can all have value—but the question is whether we’re consciously choosing those behaviors or automatically repeating patterns we learned long ago. 
• Enoughness doesn’t require giving up ambition. You can still want the bigger stage, the meaningful goal, or the next challenge while knowing that who you are and what you’ve already done is enough. Contentment and aspiration can exist at the same time. 
• Small practices can change how we experience ourselves and our lives. Breathing, noticing what’s good, receiving a compliment instead of deflecting it, creating moments of joy, resting, playing, and asking What do I need right now? can gradually build a different relationship with ourselves.

Links & Resources:

• Connect with Lisa on LinkedIn
• Explore Lisa's website: lisakohn.com
• Book Recommendations: Author Dr. Rick Hanson

Guest Info:

Lisa Kohn is a leadership coach, keynote speaker, author, and consultant who has spent decades helping leaders and organizations rethink how they show up for themselves and others. She is the creator of “First, Most, Always,” a philosophy rooted in radical self-love and the belief that caring deeply for ourselves allows us to bring more love, compassion, and humanity to the people around us.

Drawing from both her professional experience and her extraordinary personal journey—including growing up in a cult—Lisa helps people recognize old patterns, reconnect with their inherent worth, and move through life and leadership with greater choice, joy, and self-acceptance. Her message is ultimately a simple but powerful one: you are worth your own love.

Connect with Katie on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also get free resources to help you on your purpose journey at www.katiesandoe.com.

You know the person.

The one everyone can count on. The one who figures it out. Who follows through. Who handles the hard stuff. Who gets. it. done.

Maybe that person is you.

And for a long time, that identity may have served you really well. It helped you build a career, care for the people you love, earn the trust of others, and accomplish things you're genuinely proud of.

But what happens when one of your greatest strengths starts costing you something?

In this episode, Dr. Katie chats with coach and keynote speaker Christine Knapp to explore the hidden side of high achievement—and why exhaustion, overwhelm, and burnout may have less to do with everything on your calendar and more to do with the beliefs and patterns underneath it.

Key Learnings:

• Your strengths can have a shadow side. The question isn't whether achievement is good or bad. It's whether the way you're achieving is costing you something you're no longer willing to give up.
• Exhaustion isn't always about how much you're doing. Two people can have equally full lives and experience them completely differently. Fulfillment, meaning, alignment, and emotional capacity matter.
• Restoration and recovery aren't quite the same thing. Self-care practices matter. But if every evening, weekend, vacation, or day off is primarily about recovering enough to return to a life that continually depletes you, there may be something deeper asking for your attention.
• “I get things done” is an identity, not just a behavior. When achievement becomes connected to worth, changing our behavior can feel like changing who we are. Sustainable change asks us to examine the beliefs underneath our patterns and intentionally decide who else we want to become.
• Change doesn't have to happen all at once. Your brain likes what's familiar, even when what's familiar isn't necessarily serving you anymore. Small changes give us new evidence. Set the boundary. Say the no. Make the different choice. Then do it again.

Links & Resources:

• Connect with Christine on LinkedIn
• Explore Christine's website: https://mindwirecoaching.com/

Guest Info:

Christine Knapp is a coach and keynote speaker who helps high-achieving individuals stop simply managing burnout and begin addressing the deeper patterns that keep them stuck in cycles of overwork and exhaustion. Her work explores the beliefs, behaviors, boundaries, and identities that shape how we show up in our lives, helping people create greater alignment, reclaim their energy, and build lives that don’t require them to constantly recover. 

Connect with Katie on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also get free resources to help you on your purpose journey at www.katiesandoe.com.