The Amberly Lago Show: Stories of True Grit and Grace

Welcome back to another episode of The Amberly Lago Show! Today I'm sitting down with Karlton Butts, bestselling author of The Soundtrack of Leadership, lawyer, engineer, musician, and leadership expert, for a powerful conversation about resilience, mindset, leadership, culture, alignment, and creating high-performing teams.

Karlton's story is an incredible reminder of how adversity can completely change the direction of our lives. While in college and pursuing his love of music, Karlton contracted a severe case of meningococcal meningitis and spent nearly two weeks in the hospital fighting for his life. The experience gave him a completely new perspective and made him ask a powerful question: What am I capable of if I truly make the most of this second chance?

That mindset changed everything. Karlton shifted his focus academically, studied electrical engineering, earned a NASA scholarship, worked on artificial intelligence and robotics at McDonnell Douglas, explored business at Harvard, and eventually pursued law. His journey shows why opportunities rarely just fall into our laps. We have to be willing to take initiative, work for them, and keep moving forward even when life changes the plan.

We also talk about Karlton's philosophy of choosing positivity in the face of adversity. We can't control every challenge life throws at us, but we can control how we respond. Whether it's a major health crisis or simply getting a flat tire on the way to an important commitment, Karlton believes resilience comes from staying resourceful, intentional, and focused on the next step.

And one of my favorite parts of this conversation is how Karlton connects his lifelong passion for music to effective leadership. In The Soundtrack of Leadership, he compares a successful organization to a great band. Everyone may play a different role, but the best results happen when the entire team understands the mission, listens to one another, knows when to lead, and stays in rhythm toward the same goal.

We dive into workplace culture, team building, communication, company values, self-doubt, attitude, and hiring the right people. Karlton explains why true alignment begins with clarity around mission, values, and purpose and why individual growth ultimately strengthens the entire organization.

If you're a business owner, entrepreneur, leader, or anyone navigating an unexpected chapter, this episode is a reminder that setbacks don't have to stop your momentum. Stay positive, surround yourself with the right people, get clear on your purpose, and keep moving forward.

We Discuss:

• Karlton's journey from aspiring musician to engineer, lawyer, author, and leadership expert

• Surviving meningococcal meningitis and receiving a second chance at life

• How adversity can change your priorities and reveal what you're capable of

• Taking initiative instead of waiting for opportunities to find you

• Karlton's experiences with NASA, McDonnell Douglas, AI, engineering, business, and law

• Why resilience is about how you respond to circumstances you can't control

• Choosing positivity when negativity is all around you

• Finding the root cause of a negative workplace culture

• Surrounding yourself with people who lift you up

• The connection between music, teamwork, and effective leadership

• Why a business team should operate like a great band

• Creating alignment around mission, values, and purpose

• The importance of clarity, communication, accountability, and knowing your role

• Attitude, behavior, perception, and skills as foundations for individual growth

• How self-doubt and limiting perceptions can hold people back

• Why attitude can matter more than skill when building a team

• Creating a culture where people can work in rhythm and perform at their best

Timestamps:

00:00 Preview: what a great band can teach us about leadership and teamwork

01:00 Introduction to Karlton Butts and The Soundtrack of Leadership

03:00 Karlton's lifelong passion for music and his dream of becoming a rock star

06:00 Contracting spinal meningitis in college and fighting for his life

10:00 How surviving meningitis gave Karlton a new perspective on life

13:00 Changing direction, studying electrical engineering, and discovering his potential

16:00 NASA, McDonnell Douglas, artificial intelligence, and creating your own opportunities

19:00 Why you have to be proactive about creating the life and career you want

21:00 Staying positive and resourceful when life doesn't go according to plan

24:00 How negativity affects individuals, relationships, and workplace culture

27:00 Finding the root cause of a negative company culture

29:00 Why surrounding yourself with positive people matters

30:00 The Soundtrack of Leadership, team alignment, mission, values, communication, attitude, and building a team that works in rhythm.

To Connect with Karlton Butts:

Instagram @karltonbutts

Learn More About Karlton Karlton Butts on Google

To Connect with Me: New and Exciting!!

Every episode, the whole archive is searchable! Look for a moment, or ask a question and get an answer drawn straight from the episodes, with the clips it came from.

amberlylago.com/podcast

Bring Me to Your Next Event

Looking for a keynote speaker who will inspire your audience with practical tools for resilience, joy, and meaningful connection? Learn more about booking Amberly for your next conference, corporate event, or leadership retreat:

amberlylago.com/speaking

Get Your FREE Joy Playbook

Ready to spark more joy in your everyday life? Download Amberly's free Spark More Joy Playbook and discover simple, actionable practices to help you build resilience and embrace more joy, no matter what life brings.

Get the FREE Joy Playbook

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Start cultivating a daily gratitude practice with Amberly's free downloadable Gratitude Journal.

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Let's Connect

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/amberlylago Instagram: @amberlylagomotivation

Watch the Podcast on YouTube

Catch full video episodes and exclusive content on YouTube:

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Be sure to subscribe, follow, and leave a review! Your support helps us reach more people who need a little more hope, resilience, joy, and encouragement. Every review makes a difference, and we're so grateful you're part of this community.

Welcome back to another episode of The Amberly Lago Show! Today I'm sitting down with my good friend Jennifer "J-Mar" Martinez, founder of J-Mar Solutions and creator of Rapid Restoration.

Jennifer's journey brings together health, entrepreneurship, faith, resilience, and servant leadership. With a background in fitness and athletic performance, she became passionate about helping people understand mineral depletion, heat stress, and why feeling depleted can affect everything from energy and focus to how we show up at work and at home.

But this conversation goes far beyond Jennifer's products. We talk about what it takes to build a business in a male-dominated industry, challenge an established narrative, and continue showing up when entrepreneurship gets incredibly hard.

Jennifer started her company in 2020, right when so much of the world was shutting down. She shares how her faith in God became the foundation that kept her moving forward and why she believes relationships, service, and genuinely helping people are at the heart of great leadership and business.

We also dive into one of the hardest seasons of her entrepreneurial journey. After years of pushing through challenges, Jennifer reached a point where she finally thought, I should quit. Instead of forcing herself to work harder, she surrendered and asked God to take over. What followed was greater clarity, alignment, and a new perspective on the opportunities that hadn't worked out.

Jennifer shares a powerful reminder that sometimes rejection is protection. The opportunity we think we need may not actually be right for us yet, and what feels like a delay can sometimes be preparing us for something better.

We also talk about prioritizing your health while pursuing big goals. As entrepreneurs and high achievers, we can become so focused on our mission that we forget our ability to make an impact depends on how well we're taking care of ourselves.

If you're building a business, navigating rejection, feeling physically depleted, or wondering how you're going to keep going when things aren't happening on your timeline, this episode is a reminder to take care of yourself, stay connected to your purpose, trust the process, and keep the faith when the path gets hard.

We Discuss:

• Jennifer's journey from fitness and athletic performance to founding J-Mar Solutions

• Why she began looking beyond water when addressing heat stress and physical depletion

• Minerals, electrolytes, performance, and supporting the body during demanding conditions

• Building a business around a mission instead of simply selling a product

• Starting a company in 2020 when the world was shutting down

• Faith as the foundation of Jennifer's entrepreneurial journey

• Why relationships and servant leadership matter in business

• Building confidence as a female entrepreneur in a male-dominated industry

• Why Jennifer sees being a woman in her industry as a superpower

• The connection between taking care of your health and increasing your impact

• Developing grit when entrepreneurship becomes difficult

• The moment Jennifer considered quitting her business

• Surrendering control and trusting God when nothing seems to be working

• Why rejection can sometimes be protection

• Learning to recognize delays as opportunities for greater alignment

• Supporting people working in demanding environments and extreme heat

• Jennifer's vision for expanding the Rapid Restoration movement

• Why feeling better can help us show up better in our work, relationships, and lives

Timestamps:

00:00 Preview: hydration, mineral depletion, and the mission behind Rapid Restoration

01:00 Introduction to Jennifer "J-Mar" Martinez

03:00 Jennifer's fitness background, servant leadership, and starting J-Mar Solutions

06:00 Starting a business in 2020 and allowing faith to guide the journey

09:00 When Jennifer realized Rapid Restoration was more than a product

12:00 Heat stress, mineral depletion, athletes, and physically demanding jobs

15:00 Understanding electrolytes, minerals, and why Jennifer focuses on restoration

18:00 Building a business as a woman in a male-dominated industry

21:00 Why Jennifer considers being a female entrepreneur one of her superpowers

23:00 Why your impact is only as strong as your health

25:00 Real-world experiences with depletion and heat stress

27:00 Developing grit when entrepreneurship gets difficult

29:00 Almost quitting, surrendering control, and trusting God

30:00 Rejection as protection, business alignment, Rapid Restoration, and Jennifer's vision for expanding the movement

To Connect with Jennifer Martinez:

Instagram @jmar.solutions

Website jmarsolutions.net

To Connect with Me: New and Exciting!!

Every episode, the whole archive is searchable! Look for a moment, or ask a question and get an answer drawn straight from the episodes, with the clips it came from.

amberlylago.com/podcast

Bring Me to Your Next Event

Looking for a keynote speaker who will inspire your audience with practical tools for resilience, joy, and meaningful connection? Learn more about booking Amberly for your next conference, corporate event, or leadership retreat:

amberlylago.com/speaking

Get Your FREE Joy Playbook

Ready to spark more joy in your everyday life? Download Amberly's free Spark More Joy Playbook and discover simple, actionable practices to help you build resilience and embrace more joy, no matter what life brings.

Get the FREE Joy Playbook

Download Your FREE Gratitude Journal

Start cultivating a daily gratitude practice with Amberly's free downloadable Gratitude Journal.

Download the Gratitude Journal

Let's Connect

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/amberlylago Instagram: @amberlylagomotivation

Watch the Podcast on YouTube

Catch full video episodes and exclusive content on YouTube:

Amberly Lago Motivation on YouTube

Read My Books

Discover Joy Through the Journey and True Grit & Grace and find more resources to help you live an unstoppable life:

amberlylago.com/book

Join the Waitlist for My Mastermind

amberlylago.com/mastermind

Enjoying the Show?

Be sure to subscribe, follow, and leave a review! Your support helps us reach more people who need a little more hope, resilience, joy, and encouragement. Every review makes a difference, and we're so grateful you're part of this community.

Welcome back to another episode of The Amberly Lago Show! Today I'm sitting down with the incredible Cristina Simmons, bestselling author of Eat Your Feelings, TEDx speaker, occupational therapist, and someone who has transformed tremendous pain into purpose.

Cristina's story is one of resilience, trauma recovery, faith, grief, and finding your purpose. She opens up about experiencing the loss of children, challenges in her marriage, cancer, anxiety, depression, panic attacks, and raising an adopted son with autism. For years, Cristina describes feeling disconnected from herself and living life on autopilot until she realized she needed to come home to herself and rebuild her relationship with God.

We talk about what helped Cristina move from simply surviving to actually living again. One of her first steps was surprisingly simple but incredibly difficult: looking herself in the eyes in the mirror. As she began reconnecting with herself and writing her story, she started recognizing not only everything she had survived, but the strength it had taken to keep moving forward.

Cristina also shares her family's experience with autism and sensory processing. After struggling to find the support her son needed, she went back to school and earned her master's degree in occupational therapy so she could better understand his brain and sensory system. That knowledge ultimately changed the way she parented and brought greater grace and understanding into her entire family.

We also dive into the message behind her bestselling book, Eat Your Feelings, and the connection between emotional eating and unprocessed emotions. Cristina shares the moment she found herself standing in the pantry and realized, I'm not hungry. I'm sad. Instead of processing difficult emotions, she had been trying to soothe them with food.

Cristina shares practical ways she began changing those patterns through awareness, breathwork, walking, prayer, meditation, nervous system regulation, and simply learning to sit with uncomfortable feelings instead of immediately trying to escape them.

If you've ever felt like you're living on autopilot, numbing difficult emotions, afraid to share your story, or wondering whether your hardest experiences could ever have a greater purpose, this conversation is a reminder that your pain doesn't have to be the end of your story. Healing can begin with reconnecting with yourself, asking for help, using your voice, and believing that there can still be joy on the other side.

We Discuss:

• Cristina's journey from trauma and survival mode to purpose and confidence

• Finding the courage to share your story when you're afraid of judgment or failure

• Rebuilding your relationship with yourself and with God

• The mirror work that helped Cristina reconnect with herself

• Grief after losing children and learning to give yourself grace

• Adoption, motherhood, and raising a child diagnosed with autism

• Why Cristina became an occupational therapist to better understand her son's needs

• Autism, sensory overload, and understanding the behavior behind the behavior

• Marriage struggles, infidelity, forgiveness, and rebuilding together

• Anxiety, depression, panic attacks, and living in a dysregulated nervous system

• What it means to live on autopilot or feel disconnected from your life

• Simple tools for nervous system regulation, including breathwork, nature, movement, and community

• Emotional eating and recognizing when you're eating feelings rather than physical hunger

• Sitting with difficult emotions instead of numbing or avoiding them

• Replacing old coping mechanisms with healthier responses

• Why Cristina now runs toward difficult things instead of away from them

• Finding confidence through doing hard things

• Using your voice and story to help other women feel less alone

Timestamps:

00:00 Preview: confidence, overcoming fear, and coming home to yourself

01:00 Introduction to Cristina Simmons and turning pain into purpose

04:00 Cristina's turning point and realizing she was meant for more

07:00 The power of community, connection, and surrounding yourself with big dreamers

10:00 Overcoming fear and finding the confidence to share your story

13:00 Mirror work and rebuilding a relationship with yourself

16:00 Writing Eat Your Feelings and turning your story into a message of hope

19:00 Grief, losing children, adoption, and finding purpose through pain

22:00 Raising a son with autism and becoming an occupational therapist

25:00 Understanding sensory overload, behavior, and giving yourself more grace

27:00 Marriage struggles, trauma, anxiety, depression, and living on autopilot

30:00 Emotional eating, nervous system regulation, healthier coping tools, TEDx, and finding the courage to use your voice

To Connect with Cristina Simmons:

Instagram @cristinapsimmons

Website cristinapsimmons.com

Facebook Cristina Simmons on Facebook

To Connect with Me: New and Exciting!!

Every episode, the whole archive is searchable! Look for a moment, or ask a question and get an answer drawn straight from the episodes, with the clips it came from.

amberlylago.com/podcast

Bring Me to Your Next Event

Looking for a keynote speaker who will inspire your audience with practical tools for resilience, joy, and meaningful connection? Learn more about booking Amberly for your next conference, corporate event, or leadership retreat:

amberlylago.com/speaking

Get Your FREE Joy Playbook

Ready to spark more joy in your everyday life? Download Amberly's free Spark More Joy Playbook and discover simple, actionable practices to help you build resilience and embrace more joy, no matter what life brings.

Get the FREE Joy Playbook

Download Your FREE Gratitude Journal

Start cultivating a daily gratitude practice with Amberly's free downloadable Gratitude Journal.

Download the Gratitude Journal

Let's Connect

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/amberlylago Instagram: @amberlylagomotivation

Watch the Podcast on YouTube

Catch full video episodes and exclusive content on YouTube:

Amberly Lago Motivation on YouTube

Read My Books

Discover Joy Through the Journey and True Grit & Grace and find more resources to help you live an unstoppable life:

amberlylago.com/book

Join the Waitlist for My Mastermind

amberlylago.com/mastermind

Enjoying the Show?

Be sure to subscribe, follow, and leave a review! Your support helps us reach more people who need a little more hope, resilience, joy, and encouragement. Every review makes a difference, and we're so grateful you're part of this community.

Welcome back to another episode of The Amberly Lago Show! Today I'm sitting down with the incredible Jill Donovan, entrepreneur, author, speaker, and founder of the nationally loved jewelry brand Rustic Cuff.

Jill's journey is such a powerful example of what can happen when you have the courage to follow your calling, even when the next step doesn't make logical sense. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Jill practiced law and taught as an adjunct law professor. But deep down, she knew she hadn't found the work she was truly created to do.

In this conversation, we talk about entrepreneurship, confidence, faith, purpose, failure, resilience, and finding work that brings you joy. Jill shares how, beginning at just 10 years old, she committed to trying a new hobby every year as she searched for the thing she could say she "gets to" do instead of "has to" do. That willingness to experiment, fail, learn, and keep moving forward became an important part of the woman and entrepreneur she is today.

We also dive into Jill's unforgettable experience with The Oprah Winfrey Show. After years of simply trying to get a ticket to sit in the audience, an email about her regifting habit unexpectedly led to her sitting on stage beside Oprah in front of millions of viewers. But the dream moment quickly became a very public and uncomfortable experience when etiquette experts criticized her on national television.

What I love about Jill's story is how she reminds us that our setbacks, embarrassing moments, and unexpected detours don't have to define us. Sometimes they are preparing us for something much bigger.

Jill also shares how faith and staying grounded have shaped her journey as Rustic Cuff has grown. Instead of making success only about grinding, recognition, or money, she focuses on using the gifts God gave her, protecting what matters, and staying connected to her purpose.

If you've ever questioned your career, wondered what you were created to do, felt afraid to try something new, or experienced a setback that shook your confidence, this conversation is a reminder to stay open, keep trying, trust your path, and believe that God wastes nothing.

We Discuss:

• Jill's journey from divorce attorney and law professor to entrepreneur and founder of Rustic Cuff

• Finding your calling and moving from "I have to" to "I get to"

• Why trying new things can help you discover your purpose

• Building confidence through experimentation, failure, and starting again

• Why Jill started a new hobby every year beginning at age 10

• Trusting that God doesn't waste the experiences in our lives

• Jill's unexpected journey from trying to get Oprah tickets to appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show

• Navigating embarrassment and public setbacks without letting them destroy your confidence

• Staying open when life takes an unexpected turn

• Faith, entrepreneurship, resilience, and trusting God's plan

• Staying grounded as success and visibility grow

• Choosing purpose and impact over constantly chasing money and achievement

Timestamps:

00:00 Preview: confidence, staying grounded, faith, and finding your calling

01:00 Introduction to Jill Donovan and the story behind Rustic Cuff

03:00 Jill and Amberly's connection through the Align event

06:00 Storytelling, humor, family, and connecting with an audience

09:00 From practicing law to realizing she was in the wrong career

12:00 Teaching law, feeling underqualified, and learning along the way

15:00 Public embarrassment, confidence, and having the freedom to fail

18:00 How Jill's search for her calling began at 10 years old

21:00 Starting a new hobby every year and searching for her "get to"

24:00 Why God wastes nothing and what experimentation taught Jill

27:00 Searching for mentors, purpose, and inspiration from Oprah Winfrey

30:00 Jill's unexpected journey onto The Oprah Winfrey Show and the public setback that followed

To Connect with Jill Donovan:

Instagram @jillfdonovan

Website jilldonovan.com

Shop Jill Donovan Collections jilldonovan.com/collections

To Connect with Me: New and Exciting!!

Every episode, the whole archive is searchable! Look for a moment, or ask a question and get an answer drawn straight from the episodes, with the clips it came from.

amberlylago.com/podcast

Bring Me to Your Next Event

Looking for a keynote speaker who will inspire your audience with practical tools for resilience, joy, and meaningful connection? Learn more about booking Amberly for your next conference, corporate event, or leadership retreat:

amberlylago.com/speaking

Get Your FREE Joy Playbook

Ready to spark more joy in your everyday life? Download Amberly's free Spark More Joy Playbook and discover simple, actionable practices to help you build resilience and embrace more joy, no matter what life brings.

Get the FREE Joy Playbook

Download Your FREE Gratitude Journal

Start cultivating a daily gratitude practice with Amberly's free downloadable Gratitude Journal.

Download the Gratitude Journal

Let's Connect

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/amberlylago Instagram: @amberlylagomotivation

Watch the Podcast on YouTube

Catch full video episodes and exclusive content on YouTube:

Amberly Lago Motivation on YouTube

Read My Books

Discover Joy Through the Journey and True Grit & Grace and find more resources to help you live an unstoppable life:

amberlylago.com/book

Join the Waitlist for My Mastermind

amberlylago.com/mastermind

Enjoying the Show?

Be sure to subscribe, follow, and leave a review! Your support helps us reach more people who need a little more hope, resilience, joy, and encouragement. Every review makes a difference, and we're so grateful you're part of this community.

Welcome back to another episode of The Amberly Lago Show! This is a conversation I truly wish more women were having because so many of us experience changes in our energy, sleep, mood, weight, focus, and overall sense of self without understanding what is actually happening.

In this episode, I sit down with the incredible Dr. Mariza Snyder, hormone and metabolic health expert and author of The Perimenopause Revolution, to talk about what really happens to our bodies during perimenopause and, more importantly, what we can do to support ourselves through it.

Dr. Mariza's passion for this work began with her own mom. Growing up, she saw her mom as Superwoman: resilient, capable, energetic, and able to handle just about anything. But at 49, her mom began experiencing intense mood changes, brain fog, sleep issues, low energy, weight changes, and eventually intrusive thoughts that left her feeling like a shell of her former self.

After watching her mom struggle to find answers within the healthcare system, Dr. Mariza took over her care and saw a profound turnaround within 60 days. That experience changed the direction of her work and helped her recognize that millions of women were silently experiencing the same thing.

One of the biggest things Dr. Mariza wants women to understand is that perimenopause isn't simply a reproductive event. It's a full-body recalibration involving the brain, metabolism, bones, muscles, hormones, and so much more.

We break down exactly what perimenopause is and why Dr. Mariza calls it our "second puberty." Just as puberty is a years-long transition into our reproductive years, perimenopause is a transition out of them. It doesn't happen overnight, and for many women, that transition can last anywhere from four to ten years or even longer.

We also talk about the symptoms women often struggle to explain: brain fog, difficulty focusing, changes in stress tolerance, irritability, exhaustion, and that frustrating feeling of knowing what you're capable of but suddenly not having the same bandwidth you once did.

Dr. Mariza shares one of the biggest silent disruptors during this season: stress. The habits and stress loads we've accumulated over the years matter, and entering perimenopause already dealing with inflammation, metabolic dysfunction, or chronic stress can make the transition much more difficult.

But this conversation isn't about accepting that the second half of life has to feel worse.

Dr. Mariza shares the inspiring story of her mom, who decided that her difficult experience with perimenopause wasn't going to define her future. She became a marathon runner and competitive tennis player and, at 65, is thriving. Her story is such a powerful reminder that we get to decide what we want this next chapter to look like.

We talk about something so many women struggle with: putting ourselves last. We take care of our families, businesses, careers, responsibilities, and everyone around us until our bodies finally start demanding our attention. Dr. Mariza reminds us that prioritizing ourselves isn't about giving up on our dreams. It's about becoming more strategic, letting go of what drains us, and creating the energy and resilience to show up fully for the things that matter.

We also dive into practical ways to reduce inflammation, beginning with food. Dr. Mariza explains how protein, healthy fats, fiber, probiotic and prebiotic foods, and eating a variety of colorful whole foods can support blood sugar, cellular energy, the gut microbiome, and greater resilience. We also talk about the impact of ultra-processed foods, added sugar, and alcohol.

And then there's sleep.

Dr. Mariza calls sleep a "force multiplier" because of the impact it has on our energy, brain health, inflammation, and ability to show up the next day. She walks us through her own sacred sleep ritual, from reverse-engineering bedtime and dimming the lights to brain dumping, meditation, breathwork, creating a cool dark room, and treating sleep like a non-negotiable appointment.

If you've ever thought, I know myself, and something just doesn't feel right, this episode is for you.

Perimenopause doesn't mean losing yourself. It can be an invitation to listen more closely to your body, reevaluate what deserves your energy, prioritize your health, and intentionally create the strong, vibrant, joyful second half of life you deserve.

We Discuss:

• Dr. Mariza's personal connection to perimenopause through her mom's experience

• Why so many women struggle silently with hormonal changes

• Brain fog, mood changes, sleep issues, low energy, and changes in mental capacity

• Why perimenopause is more than a reproductive or hormonal event

• Understanding perimenopause as a full-body recalibration

• What perimenopause actually is and why it's called "second puberty"

• The three major hormonal transitions women may experience

• Why the perimenopause transition can last four to ten years or longer

• What happens as communication between the brain and ovaries begins to change

• Why irritability and a reduced stress buffer are so common

• The disconnect between knowing what you're capable of and feeling like your body can't keep up

• Why stress can be a silent disruptor during perimenopause

• Building resilience before and during midlife

• How inflammation, stress burden, blood sugar, and metabolic health can influence the transition

• Dr. Mariza's mom's transformation and how she's thriving at 65

• Why the second half of life can be an opportunity for reinvention

• Learning to prioritize yourself after years of taking care of everyone else

• Why "pushing through at all costs" eventually comes with a cost

• Being strategic instead of giving up on your goals and dreams

• Letting go of responsibilities and habits that drain your energy and joy

• Why symptoms are signals that deserve our attention

• Daily habits that can help support lower inflammation

• Using food to support blood sugar, cellular energy, and resilience

• Protein, healthy fats, fiber, probiotics, prebiotics, and colorful whole foods

• How alcohol, added sugar, and ultra-processed foods can work against our health goals

• Why sleep is a "force multiplier" for health

• Treating your sleep routine like a million-dollar meeting

• Dr. Mariza's sacred sleep ritual

• Brain dumping, meditation, breathwork, and creating a sleep-supportive environment

• Connecting healthy habits to your deeper "why"

Timestamps:

00:00 Preview: understanding perimenopause and the major hormonal shifts women experience

01:00 Introduction to Dr. Mariza Snyder and The Perimenopause Revolution

03:00 How her mom's struggle with perimenopause inspired Dr. Mariza's work

06:00 Brain fog, mood changes, sleep issues, and not recognizing yourself anymore

09:00 Why perimenopause is a full-body recalibration, not just a reproductive event

12:00 Knowing something isn't right even when you're told everything looks normal

14:00 Brain-related changes, irritability, and losing your normal stress buffer

16:00 What perimenopause actually is and why it's called "second puberty"

19:00 The three major hormone shifts women experience throughout life

22:00 What happens when communication between the brain and ovaries begins to change

24:00 Why stress is the silent disruptor of perimenopause

26:00 Building resilience and supporting your body before symptoms intensify

28:00 Reinventing the second half of your life and learning to prioritize yourself

30:00 Inflammation, nutrition, sleep, the sacred sleep ritual, and creating habits that support your future self

To Connect with Dr. Mariza Snyder:

Instagram @drmariza

Website drmariza.com

To Connect with Me: New and Exciting!!

Every episode, the whole archive is searchable! Look for a moment, or ask a question and get an answer drawn straight from the episodes, with the clips it came from.

amberlylago.com/podcast

Bring Me to Your Next Event

Looking for a keynote speaker who will inspire your audience with practical tools for resilience, joy, and meaningful connection? Learn more about booking Amberly for your next conference, corporate event, or leadership retreat:

amberlylago.com/speaking

Get Your FREE Joy Playbook

Ready to spark more joy in your everyday life? Download Amberly's free Spark More Joy Playbook and discover simple, actionable practices to help you build resilience and embrace more joy, no matter what life brings.

Download the Spark More Joy Playbook

Download Your FREE Gratitude Journal

Start cultivating a daily gratitude practice with Amberly's free downloadable Gratitude Journal.

Download the Gratitude Journal

Let's Connect

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/amberlylago Instagram: @amberlylagomotivation

Watch the Podcast on YouTube

Catch full video episodes and exclusive content on YouTube:

Amberly Lago Motivation on YouTube

Read My Books

Discover Joy Through the Journey and True Grit & Grace and find more resources to help you live an unstoppable life:

amberlylago.com/book

Join the waitlist for my Mastermind

amberlylago.com/mastermind

Enjoying the Show?

Be sure to subscribe, follow, and leave a review! Your support helps us reach more people who need a little more hope, resilience, joy, and encouragement. Every review makes a difference, and we're so grateful you're part of this community.

Welcome back to another episode of The Amberly Lago Show! In this episode, I sit down with the incredible Andrea Nakayama, functional medicine nutritionist, writer, educator, and cultural critic whose work challenges us to rethink what healing really looks like.

Andrea's journey into this work began during one of the most heartbreaking seasons of her life. When she was just seven weeks pregnant, her husband was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive form of brain cancer, at only 31 years old. Suddenly, Andrea found herself navigating pregnancy, grief, and a medical system that was incredibly skilled in many ways, but couldn't fully address the complexity of the person behind the diagnosis.

That experience changed everything.

Andrea began noticing something that would eventually become foundational to her work: we are not our diagnoses. A person is not simply Crohn's disease, chronic pain, cancer, menopause, or whatever label may appear in a chart. There is an entire human being behind that diagnosis, with a history, lifestyle, environment, relationships, experiences, and story that matter.

In this conversation, Andrea breaks down what functional medicine actually means and explains its three foundational principles: creating a therapeutic partnership between practitioner and patient, looking for the roots by asking why something is happening instead of only asking what to do about it, and understanding the body through a systems-based approach.

We also talk about the difference between functional medicine and functional nutrition, and why what happens between medical appointments can be just as important as what happens inside the doctor's office. Andrea reminds us that while a healthcare professional may be an expert in medicine, you are the expert in your own lived experience and your body.

One of the most eye-opening parts of our conversation is Andrea's perspective on lab testing. We talk about the difference between conventional lab ranges, looking at those same labs through a functional lens, and the growing trend of expensive specialty testing. Andrea shares her concerns about constantly searching for another diagnosis, deficiency, intolerance, toxin, or problem and how the stories we begin telling ourselves about our bodies can affect the way we experience our health.

We also dive into the wellness industry and the overwhelming amount of information being thrown at us every single day. From peptides and supplements to protein recommendations and the newest wellness trend, it's easy to believe that there's always another product we need to buy in order to finally feel better.

Andrea challenges that thinking.

Instead of immediately searching for another fix, she encourages us to return to the foundations. Her health non-negotiables are refreshingly simple: sleep, elimination, and blood sugar balance. Before chasing every downstream symptom, she encourages us to look at the roots and the environment those roots are growing in.

Andrea also shares an incredibly important reminder about our attention economy. Before buying the supplement, believing the social media post, or jumping onto the next wellness trend, pause and notice what that message is creating inside you. Does it make you feel empowered and understood, or does it create fear and convince you that something else is wrong with your body?

We also talk about sleep and why even something as seemingly simple as saying, "I don't sleep well," deserves curiosity before a solution. Are you struggling to fall asleep? Stay asleep? Are you waking up exhausted? Andrea explains why getting specific about our symptoms allows us to have much more meaningful conversations with our healthcare providers and begin experimenting with our own rhythms instead of immediately looking for another quick fix.

If you've ever felt overwhelmed by conflicting health advice, frustrated that your labs look "normal" when you know something doesn't feel right, or exhausted from constantly trying the next supplement, diet, peptide, or wellness hack, this episode is a powerful invitation to slow down.

Your body isn't simply a problem waiting to be fixed. It's communicating with you.

And sometimes the most powerful thing we can do for our health is stop chasing every answer outside ourselves and start becoming more curious about what's happening within.

We Discuss:

• Andrea's personal journey into functional medicine and nutrition

• Losing her husband to an aggressive brain tumor after his diagnosis while she was seven weeks pregnant

• The gaps Andrea first recognized within the traditional medical system

• Why a person should never be reduced to their diagnosis

• The idea that our biology is connected to our biography

• What functional medicine actually means

• The three foundational principles of functional medicine

• Creating a therapeutic partnership between patient and practitioner

• Why you are an expert in your own body and lived experience

• Looking for the roots and asking "why is this happening?" instead of only "what should I take?"

• Understanding the body through a systems-based approach

• Why the gut, liver, hormones, brain, and other systems cannot be viewed completely separately

• The difference between functional medicine and functional nutrition

• Using nutrition and lifestyle practices to support what happens between medical appointments

• Conventional lab ranges versus looking at lab work through a functional lens

• Why Andrea believes we may sometimes be looking for too many problems through specialty testing

• The danger of self-diagnosing and labeling ourselves based on health trends

• How the stories we tell about our bodies may influence our health experience

• The pressure practitioners can feel to continually offer the newest wellness solutions

• Andrea's concerns about the commercialization of the wellness industry

• What her experience in Japan taught her about food quality and health culture

• Why wellness doesn't have to begin with another supplement or expensive protocol

• Andrea's three foundational health non-negotiables: sleep, elimination, and blood sugar balance

• Looking at the roots instead of constantly treating downstream symptoms

• Understanding where your attention is going in today's wellness culture

• Why Andrea doesn't give generic supplement recommendations

• Pausing before purchasing the next wellness solution you see online

• How large supplement stacks can disconnect us from understanding what our bodies actually need

• Separating the health problem from the proposed solution

• Getting specific about what "bad sleep" actually means

• Tracking your own patterns so you can have better conversations with healthcare professionals

• Experimenting with sleep and daily rhythms instead of immediately searching for another fix

• Why curiosity about your body can be more powerful than constantly trying to control it

Timestamps:

00:00 Preview: cutting through wellness noise and returning to foundational health

01:00 Introduction to Andrea Nakayama and her approach to functional nutrition

03:00 Losing her husband to brain cancer while seven weeks pregnant

06:00 Discovering the gaps in the medical system and realizing we are not our diagnoses

09:00 What functional medicine actually means

12:00 Therapeutic partnership and recognizing yourself as an expert in your own body

14:00 Looking for the roots and asking why instead of only asking what to do

16:00 The systems-based approach and understanding how the whole body is connected

18:00 Functional medicine versus functional nutrition

20:00 Conventional blood work, functional ranges, and the limits of lab testing

22:00 The risks of over-testing, self-diagnosis, and constantly searching for another problem

24:00 The wellness industry's obsession with fixes, supplements, peptides, and optimization

26:00 What Andrea learned about health, food, and culture from spending time in Japan

28:00 The foundational non-negotiables: sleep, elimination, and blood sugar balance

30:00 Attention economy, supplement overload, understanding your symptoms, and becoming more curious about your body's signals

To Connect with Andrea Nakayama:

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/andreanakayama/

Website https://www.andreanakayama.com/

To Connect with Me: New and Exciting!!

Every episode, the whole archive is searchable! Look for a moment, or ask a question and get an answer drawn straight from the episodes, with the clips it came from.

https://amberlylago.com/podcast

Bring Me to Your Next Event

Looking for a keynote speaker who will inspire your audience with practical tools for resilience, joy, and meaningful connection? Learn more about booking Amberly for your next conference, corporate event, or leadership retreat:

https://amberlylago.com/speaking/

Get Your FREE Joy Playbook

Ready to spark more joy in your everyday life? Download Amberly's free Spark More Joy Playbook and discover simple, actionable practices to help you build resilience and embrace more joy, no matter what life brings.

https://go.amberlylago.com/smj-workbook/

Download Your FREE Gratitude Journal

Start cultivating a daily gratitude practice with Amberly's free downloadable Gratitude Journal.

https://mailchi.mp/9beab9de1b2c/gratitudejournal

Let's Connect

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amberlylago/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amberlylagomotivation/

Watch the Podcast on YouTube

Catch full video episodes and exclusive content on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/c/AmberlyLagoMotivation

Read My Books

Discover Joy Through the Journey and True Grit & Grace and find more resources to help you live an unstoppable life:

https://amberlylago.com/book/

Join the waitlist for my Mastermind

http://amberlylago.com/mastermind

Enjoying the Show?

Be sure to subscribe, follow, and leave a review! Your support helps us reach more people who need a little more hope, resilience, joy, and encouragement. Every review makes a difference, and we're so grateful you're part of this community.

Welcome back to another episode of The Amberly Lago Show! In this episode, I sit down with the incredible Linda Fisk, multi-award-winning CEO, two-time International Stevie Business Award winner, TEDx speaker, six-time international best-selling author, TV and podcast host, board advisor, and CEO of LeadHERship Global.

Linda has dedicated her career to helping ambitious women show up, speak up, step into their influence, and become the leaders they were created to be. In this powerful conversation, we talk about leadership, confidence, collaboration, faith, imposter syndrome, and what becomes possible when women stop seeing one another as competition and start creating opportunities for each other.

Linda shares how her experience working in global leadership organizations showed her the incredible power of bringing people with different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives together around a shared purpose. She saw firsthand that when the right people come together around a common goal, the impact can be transformational.

That experience eventually inspired her to create LeadHERship Global, a community built to transform women leaders from the inside out. Linda explains why the world doesn't need more busy women trying to hustle their way to success. It needs values-driven leaders who lead with intention, alignment, confidence, and a desire to leave a meaningful legacy.

One of the biggest themes throughout this conversation is the shift from scarcity to abundance. Linda acknowledges why competition between women can feel so real when women still receive fewer opportunities in areas like funding, board positions, media, and speaking. But instead of accepting scarcity as the answer, she believes women can create something different by opening doors, sharing opportunities, and lifting other women as they rise.

We also talk about the importance of community and why none of us are meant to navigate growth alone. Whether it's a coach, mentor, therapist, mastermind, or trusted circle, having people around you who can offer wisdom, remind you who you are, and believe in you when you're struggling to believe in yourself can completely change your trajectory.

Linda shares one of my favorite perspectives on failure: failure is simply your first attempt in learning. Instead of allowing setbacks to become proof that we're incapable, we can use them as building blocks for greater confidence, resilience, experience, and growth.

We dive deeply into confidence and why it isn't something we have to wait around to feel. Confidence is something we can build by taking action, trying things that scare us, learning from what doesn't work, and proving to ourselves that we're capable of more than we thought.

Linda also shares why women can sometimes underestimate their abilities and how we can begin calling on the confidence we already have in one area of our lives and bring that same strength into the places where we feel uncertain.

We talk openly about imposter syndrome, including those moments when you walk into a room and wonder whether you really belong there. Linda shares a powerful faith-based perspective: remember who you are and whose you are. For her, stepping into purpose isn't about being perfect or proving herself. It's about being obedient to the mission God has placed on her life.

That leads us into an important conversation about getting our ego out of the way and remembering that our work isn't always about us. When we shift our focus away from how we look, whether we're good enough, or what other people might think and instead focus on the people we're called to serve, so much of the pressure begins to fall away.

If you've ever struggled with comparison, self-doubt, imposter syndrome, fear of failure, or questioning whether you're ready for your next level, this episode is a powerful reminder that you don't need to be perfect to step forward. Build your confidence, surround yourself with people who believe in your potential, remember your purpose, and keep taking the next brave step.

We Discuss:

• Linda's journey through psychology, marketing, leadership, and entrepreneurship

• How working inside global leadership organizations shaped her understanding of leadership

• The transformational power of bringing different leaders together around a shared goal

• Why Linda created LeadHERship Global specifically for women

• Leading with frameworks and alignment instead of formulas and more hustle

• Why the world needs more values-driven women leaders

• The difference between scarcity and abundance mindsets

• Why women can feel pressure to compete for limited opportunities

• Creating more opportunities for women in leadership, speaking, media, funding, and business

• Why women can continue climbing while also lifting other women with them

• The importance of community and having people who are deeply invested in your success

• Seeking counsel and wisdom instead of simply collecting opinions

• Why confidence is one of the strongest predictors of success

• Recognizing your own purpose, mission, vision, and brilliance

• Reframing failure as your "first attempt in learning"

• Using setbacks as building blocks for resilience and growth

• How coaches, mentors, therapists, and communities can help when self-doubt takes over

• Why confidence is built through action rather than waiting until you feel ready

• Amberly's experience building confidence through speaking, podcasting, and sharing her story

• Why women can underestimate their abilities

• Taking confidence from one area of your life and bringing it into another

• How to keep moving forward even when imposter syndrome shows up

• Linda's faith-based approach to purpose, confidence, and leadership

• Remembering "who you are and whose you are"

• Why your purpose doesn't require perfection

• Releasing ego and shifting your attention toward the people you're called to serve

• How focusing on service can quiet insecurity and imposter syndrome

• Letting faith, mission, and purpose become bigger than fear

Timestamps:

00:00 Preview: shifting from scarcity and competition to abundance and collaboration

01:00 Introduction to Linda Fisk and LeadHERship Global

03:00 Linda's leadership journey and what inspired her mission to empower women

06:00 The power of community, partnership, and bringing leaders together around a shared purpose

09:00 Building LeadHERship Global and leading with alignment instead of hustle

12:00 Why women compete and the mindset shift from scarcity to abundance

15:00 Creating greater access, visibility, and opportunities for women

18:00 Why women don't have to climb the ladder alone

20:00 The importance of coaches, mentors, masterminds, and seeking wise counsel

22:00 Confidence as a foundation for success

24:00 Reframing failure as your "first attempt in learning"

26:00 Building confidence through action, experimentation, and doing things scared

28:00 Why women underestimate themselves and how to strengthen self-confidence

30:00+ Imposter syndrome, faith, remembering who you are and whose you are, and stepping into your purpose

To Connect with Linda Fisk:

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lindamfisk/

Website https://www.collective54.com/

To Connect with Me: New and Exciting!!

Every episode, the whole archive is searchable! Look for a moment, or ask a question and get an answer drawn straight from the episodes, with the clips it came from.

https://amberlylago.com/podcast

Bring Me to Your Next Event

Looking for a keynote speaker who will inspire your audience with practical tools for resilience, joy, and meaningful connection? Learn more about booking Amberly for your next conference, corporate event, or leadership retreat:

https://amberlylago.com/speaking/

Get Your FREE Joy Playbook

Ready to spark more joy in your everyday life? Download Amberly's free Spark More Joy Playbook and discover simple, actionable practices to help you build resilience and embrace more joy, no matter what life brings.

https://go.amberlylago.com/smj-workbook/

Download Your FREE Gratitude Journal

Start cultivating a daily gratitude practice with Amberly's free downloadable Gratitude Journal.

https://mailchi.mp/9beab9de1b2c/gratitudejournal

Let's Connect

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amberlylago/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amberlylagomotivation/

Watch the Podcast on YouTube

Catch full video episodes and exclusive content on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/c/AmberlyLagoMotivation

Read My Books

Discover Joy Through the Journey and True Grit & Grace and find more resources to help you live an unstoppable life:

https://amberlylago.com/book/

Join the waitlist for my Mastermind

http://amberlylago.com/mastermind

Enjoying the Show?

Be sure to subscribe, follow, and leave a review! Your support helps us reach more people who need a little more hope, resilience, joy, and encouragement. Every review makes a difference, and we're so grateful you're part of this community.

Welcome back to another episode of The Amberly Lago Show! In this episode, I'm in San Francisco sitting down with my good friend Jerrid Sebesta, best-selling author, transformational coach, speaker, and event creator.

Jerrid and I have both experienced what it looks like to have success on the outside while quietly struggling on the inside. In this powerful and vulnerable conversation, Jerrid opens up about the turning points that forced him to stop running, step out of a defensive posture, and begin living with greater authenticity, faith, and purpose.

Jerrid shares how, on New Year's Day in 2022, at 43 years old, he told his wife that he was done playing small, done playing defense, and done running away. He realized that much of the success he had built had actually been a coping mechanism rooted in uncertainty and fear.

We talk openly about the anxiety, self-doubt, and fear that can happen behind the scenes, even for people who appear confident and successful. Jerrid shares what it feels like to wake up at three in the morning questioning whether he has a message or a business, only to later experience powerful breakthroughs that restore his belief.

One of the biggest themes throughout this conversation is surrender. Jerrid explains that while there is a time for work, effort, and action, there also has to be a willingness to release control and trust that everything doesn't have to be figured out by us.

We also dive into what it means to receive life's challenges instead of simply enduring them. Jerrid shares how shifting his perspective has helped him see difficult situations as opportunities to learn, grow, and become the person he is meant to be.

Jerrid opens up about his family and the people who help him grow. He talks about his wife, who serves as his encourager and rock, and his daughter Everly, who has challenged him in ways that have forced him to look at his own behavior, emotions, and areas that still need healing.

One of my favorite lessons from this conversation is Jerrid's simple reminder: "Respond, don't react." When someone triggers us, instead of immediately firing back, we can pause, recognize the situation as a gift, and ask ourselves what it is trying to teach us.

We also talk about burnout, alignment, and the pressure high achievers put on themselves to constantly do more. After an intense 2025 filled with events, travel, speaking, and coaching, Jerrid realized that his joy was beginning to disappear. Instead of simply taking a break, he chose to reevaluate and realign his business around what he actually wanted to build, and what would bring him joy.

If you've ever felt exhausted, overwhelmed, stuck in self-doubt, or like you're constantly trying to keep everything together, this episode is a powerful reminder that sometimes the breakthrough comes when we stop running, surrender control, listen to what life is teaching us, and have the courage to realign.

We Discuss:

• Jerrid's journey as a best-selling author, transformational coach, speaker, and event creator

• The major turning point that happened on New Year's Day in 2022

• Why Jerrid realized he was tired of playing small and playing defense

• How success can sometimes become a coping mechanism

• The difference between what people see on the outside and what can be happening internally

• Dealing with anxiety and self-doubt before stepping onto a stage

• What Jerrid does when fear and negative thoughts hit at 3 a.m.

• Turning to God, surrender, trust, and releasing the need to control everything

• Why high achievers can be especially hard on themselves

• How other people can sometimes see our potential before we see it ourselves

• Learning to receive challenges instead of simply enduring them

• Asking, "What is this trying to teach me?"

• How difficult experiences can help us grow and become who we're meant to be

• The importance of having people in your life who encourage you and challenge you

• How Jerrid's daughter Everly has helped him recognize areas within himself that needed healing

• Why the people who trigger us can sometimes reveal something that needs correction in ourselves

• The powerful practice of pausing before reacting

• Choosing to "respond, don't react"

• Why challenges and difficult people can become opportunities to harvest important lessons

• The difference between being tired and being out of alignment

• Recognizing when your joy starts to disappear

• Why high achievers struggle with erasing goals from their whiteboard

• Re-evaluating your business and creating something that brings you joy

• Letting go of excess and being open to receiving the right people and opportunities

• Finding greater alignment instead of constantly pushing, scaling, and doing more

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction to Jerrid Sebesta and the Better Human Project

03:00 Jerrid's journey and the success that was happening behind the scenes

05:00 The January 1, 2022 turning point and deciding to stop playing small

08:00 When success becomes a coping mechanism

11:00 The hidden anxiety and self-doubt behind success

14:00 Waking up at 3 a.m. with fear and questioning your purpose

17:00 Turning to God, surrender, and learning to release control

20:00 Why high achievers are often so hard on themselves

23:00 How other people can see things in us that we don't see ourselves

26:00 Receiving challenges instead of simply enduring them

29:00 Asking what difficult situations are trying to teach us

32:00 Learning to see challenges as opportunities for growth

35:00 The people who help Jerrid through difficult seasons

38:00 His wife as his encourager and rock

40:00 How his daughter Everly challenges him to grow

43:00 Why the people who trigger us can reveal something within us

46:00 The "pause, respond, don't react" framework

49:00 How to respond differently when someone pushes your buttons

52:00 Praying for difficult people and situations

54:00 Burnout versus being out of alignment

57:00 Losing joy and recognizing when something needs to change

01:00:00 Re-evaluating goals, letting go, and creating a business that brings you joy

To Connect with Jerrid Sebesta:

Instagram instagram.com/jerridsebesta

Website jerridsebesta.com

To Connect with Me:

New and Exciting!!

Every episode, the whole archive is searchable! Look for a moment, or ask a question and get an answer drawn straight from the episodes, with the clips it came from.

amberlylago.com/podcast

Bring Me to Your Next Event

Looking for a keynote speaker who will inspire your audience with practical tools for resilience, joy, and meaningful connection? Learn more about booking Amberly for your next conference, corporate event, or leadership retreat:

amberlylago.com/speaking

Get Your FREE Joy Playbook

Ready to spark more joy in your everyday life? Download Amberly's free Spark More Joy Playbook and discover simple, actionable practices to help you build resilience and embrace more joy, no matter what life brings.

go.amberlylago.com/smj-workbook

Download Your FREE Gratitude Journal

Start cultivating a daily gratitude practice with Amberly's free downloadable Gratitude Journal.

mailchi.mp/9beab9de1b2c/gratitudejournal

Let's Connect

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/amberlylago

• Instagram: instagram.com/amberlylagomotivation

Watch the Podcast on YouTube

Catch full video episodes and exclusive content on YouTube:

youtube.com/c/AmberlyLagoMotivation

Read My Books

Discover Joy Through the Journey and True Grit & Grace and find more resources to help you live an unstoppable life:

amberlylago.com/book

Join the waitlist for my Mastermind

amberlylago.com/mastermind

Enjoying the Show?

Be sure to subscribe, follow, and leave a review! Your support helps us reach more people who need a little more hope, resilience, joy, and encouragement. Every review makes a difference, and we're so grateful you're part of this community.

Welcome back to another episode of The Amberly Lago Show! This conversation is for every parent who has ever found themselves Googling a parenting question at 2 a.m. and somehow ended up feeling even more overwhelmed than when they started.

In this episode, I sit down with Jordyn Koveleski Gorman, licensed speech-language pathologist, feeding specialist, mom, and founder of Eat Play Say, an online resource helping more than 700,000 parents navigate speech, feeding, and childhood development with clear, expert-backed information.

Jordyn shares the personal story that first led her into speech-language pathology. At just 16 years old, her mom became critically ill with bacterial meningitis and spent eight days in a coma. Watching a speech-language pathologist help her mom with swallowing and cognitive recovery introduced Jordyn to a career that would eventually become her purpose.

Years later, becoming a mom herself completely changed her perspective. When her first son developed torticollis and a flat spot on his head, Jordyn experienced firsthand how frustrating it can be to know something isn't right with your child but struggle to find the right answers. That experience helped inspire Eat Play Say and her mission to give parents the reliable guidance she wished she'd had herself.

We talk about the pressure parents face today, from sleep expectations and co-sleeping to purees versus baby-led weaning, picky eating, developmental milestones, speech delays, and tongue and lip ties. Jordyn reminds us that research matters, but so does recognizing that every child is different and sometimes the best approach requires parents to pivot.

One of my favorite parts of this conversation is Jordyn's reminder to trust your intuition. Parenting doesn't have to be about doing everything perfectly. It's about paying attention to your child, asking questions when something doesn't feel right, and getting support when you need it.

We also dive into early speech development and why communication begins long before a baby's first word. Jordyn explains the importance of imitation, why pausing gives toddlers the time they need to process language, and what parents can do if they're concerned about their child's development.

If you're a parent, grandparent, caregiver, or simply someone who wants to better understand early childhood development, this episode is packed with practical information, reassurance, and expert guidance to help you feel a little less overwhelmed and a lot more confident.

We Discuss:

• How Jordyn's mother's illness inspired her career in speech-language pathology

• Becoming a mom and realizing that even experts don't have every parenting answer

• Her son's experience with torticollis and what inspired Eat Play Say

• Why today's abundance of parenting information can actually make parents more anxious

• Learning to trust your intuition while still using evidence-based guidance

• Safe sleep, co-sleeping, and why every family and child is different

• Creating a positive relationship with food from a baby's very first meals

• Purees versus baby-led weaning and why it doesn't have to be one or the other

• The difference between normal food preferences and picky eating that may need intervention

• Early signs to watch for in speech and language development

• Why imitation between 6 and 12 months is important for communication

• The "power of the pause" and giving toddlers enough time to process language

• Why parents should never blame themselves for a developmental delay

• Early intervention resources available for children ages 0 to 3

• Understanding tongue and lip ties and when they may need professional attention

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction to Jordyn Koveleski Gorman and Eat Play Say

03:00 How her mother's bacterial meningitis inspired Jordyn's career

07:00 Becoming a mom and experiencing developmental challenges firsthand

11:00 Her son's torticollis diagnosis and the inspiration behind Eat Play Say

15:00 Parenting information overload and learning to trust your intuition

19:00 Sleep expectations, co-sleeping, and finding what works for your family

24:00 Starting solids and building a positive relationship with food

28:00 Purees versus baby-led weaning and why parents don't have to choose one approach

32:00 Picky eating versus normal food preferences

36:00 Early signs of speech and language development

40:00 Why imitation is important before a baby's first words

43:00 The power of pausing when communicating with toddlers

46:00 What parents should know if they're worried about a speech or developmental delay

49:00 Early intervention and when to seek professional support

52:00 Tongue and lip ties, feeding challenges, and functional symptoms to watch for

To Connect with Jordyn Koveleski Gorman:

Instagram @eatplaysay

Website Eat Play Say

Free Resources & Downloads Eat Play Say Freebies

To Connect with Me:

New and Exciting!!

Every episode, the whole archive is searchable! Look for a moment, or ask a question and get an answer drawn straight from the episodes, with the clips it came from.

amberlylago.com/podcast

Bring Me to Your Next Event

Looking for a keynote speaker who will inspire your audience with practical tools for resilience, joy, and meaningful connection? Learn more about booking Amberly for your next conference, corporate event, or leadership retreat:

amberlylago.com/speaking

Get Your FREE Joy Playbook

Ready to spark more joy in your everyday life? Download Amberly's free Spark More Joy Playbook and discover simple, actionable practices to help you build resilience and embrace more joy, no matter what life brings.

go.amberlylago.com/smj-workbook

Download Your FREE Gratitude Journal

Start cultivating a daily gratitude practice with Amberly's free downloadable Gratitude Journal.

mailchi.mp/9beab9de1b2c/gratitudejournal

Let's Connect

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/amberlylago

• Instagram: instagram.com/amberlylagomotivation

Watch the Podcast on YouTube

Catch full video episodes and exclusive content on YouTube:

youtube.com/c/AmberlyLagoMotivation

Read My Books

Discover Joy Through the Journey and True Grit & Grace and find more resources to help you live an unstoppable life:

amberlylago.com/book

Join the waitlist for my Mastermind

amberlylago.com/mastermind

Enjoying the Show?

Be sure to subscribe, follow, and leave a review! Your support helps us reach more people who need a little more hope, resilience, joy, and encouragement. Every review makes a difference, and we're so grateful you're part of this community.

About this Episode:

Welcome back to another inspiring episode of The Amberly Lago Show!

Have you ever looked like you had everything together on the outside while quietly struggling on the inside? In this powerful conversation, I sat down with Keren Eldad, executive coach, bestselling author, speaker, and trusted advisor to Olympic athletes, Fortune 500 leaders, entrepreneurs, and high performers around the world.

Keren joins me to celebrate her new bestselling book, Gilt Free, and challenges one of the biggest misconceptions about success: that looking successful is the same as feeling fulfilled.

Together, we explore the difference between living with healthy guilt and living gilt-free, free from the pressure to constantly perform, impress, and prove your worth. Keren shares how so many high achievers unknowingly build beautiful lives that look incredible from the outside but feel empty on the inside, and why true freedom begins by letting go of perfection, comparison, and the need for external validation.

We also dive into her powerful G.O.L.D. Framework, a practical approach to changing the thinking patterns that keep us stuck. From learning that you are already enough to becoming more open, living lit up with purpose, and devoting your ambition to serving others, Keren offers a roadmap for creating lasting success without sacrificing authenticity.

We talk about manifestation in a completely different way than you've probably heard before. Instead of wishing and hoping, Keren explains why real manifestation begins with certainty, courageous decisions, and aligned action.

If you've been feeling trapped by perfectionism, comparison, burnout, or the pressure to keep proving yourself, this conversation will inspire you to stop performing and start living as your authentic self.

We Discuss:

• The inspiration behind Keren's new bestselling book, Gilt Free

• The difference between guilt (G-U-I-L-T) and living gilt-free

• Why external success doesn't always create internal fulfillment

• Letting go of perfectionism, comparison, and the need to impress

• The hidden cost of chasing validation through achievements

• How to recognize when you're living an inauthentic version of success

• Keren's G.O.L.D. Framework for creating lasting transformation

• Why believing you're already enough changes everything

• Living with openness instead of fear and limitation

• Finding purpose by becoming "lit up" instead of burned out

• How devotion creates more meaningful and sustainable success

• Why awareness makes it easier to break old patterns

• The importance of protecting your peace and reconnecting with yourself

• A powerful story about trusting the process instead of forcing outcomes

• The difference between wishing for success and making a committed decision

• Why manifestation happens through aligned action, not simply positive thinking

Timestamps:

00:00 Welcome and introduction to Keren Eldad

02:15 The inspiration behind writing Gilt Free

06:00 Guilt vs. living "gilt-free" and why authenticity matters

11:30 Admitting when outward success doesn't match inner fulfillment

17:00 Letting go of perfectionism, comparison, and performing for others

22:30 Introducing the G.O.L.D. Framework

30:00 Good Enough: overcoming the belief that you're not enough

36:00 Openness, possibility, and expanding your thinking

42:00 Becoming lit up and reconnecting with purpose

48:00 Devotion, service, and creating meaningful success

53:00 Breaking old patterns and protecting your peace

58:00 The Miami story: trusting instead of forcing

1:05:00 Manifestation through certainty, aligned decisions, and action

To Connect with Keren Eldad:

Instagram @coachkeren

Website Keren Eldad

Free Gilt Free Audiobook Get the Gilt Free Audiobook

To Connect with Me:

New and Exciting!!

Every episode, the whole archive is searchable! Look for a moment, or ask a question and get an answer drawn straight from the episodes, with the clips it came from.

amberlylago.com/podcast

Bring Me to Your Next Event

Looking for a keynote speaker who will inspire your audience with practical tools for resilience, joy, and meaningful connection? Learn more about booking Amberly for your next conference, corporate event, or leadership retreat:

amberlylago.com/speaking

Get Your FREE Joy Playbook

Ready to spark more joy in your everyday life? Download Amberly's free Spark More Joy Playbook and discover simple, actionable practices to help you build resilience and embrace more joy, no matter what life brings.

go.amberlylago.com/smj-workbook

Download Your FREE Gratitude Journal

Start cultivating a daily gratitude practice with Amberly's free downloadable Gratitude Journal.

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Let's Connect

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Watch the Podcast on YouTube

Catch full video episodes and exclusive content on YouTube:

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Read My Books

Discover Joy Through the Journey and True Grit & Grace and find more resources to help you live an unstoppable life:

amberlylago.com/book

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