The Ripple Effect Podcast with Steve Harper

The Ripple Effect Podcast with Steve Harper

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The Ripple Effect Podcast with Steve Harper episodes

  • If Everyone's Nodding, Something's Wrong | The Ripple Effect Podcast ft. Hacia Atherton

    You can have a room full of people nodding along and think everything is fine. That's actually the problem.

    When everyone agrees, when nobody pushes back, when the room goes quiet the moment a decision is made, that silence isn't peace. It's a warning sign. And most leaders miss it entirely because they're chasing the next win, the next KPI, the next quarter, and they've stopped looking at the people doing the actual work.

    Hacia Atherton works with leaders to figure out why good teams fall apart, why great people leave, and what most organizations are quietly getting wrong about the people they depend on most.

    Hacia didn't arrive at this work from a textbook. She got there through one of the most harrowing personal experiences you'll hear about on this show. And what came out of it wasn't bitterness. It was clarity. A deep, lived understanding of what human beings actually need to thrive, and why so many workplaces are accidentally working against that.

    We talked about the difference between someone who is hesitant to leave and someone who is genuinely committed to stay. Those sound like the same thing, but they are not. And once you understand the gap, you'll start seeing it everywhere.

    We also got into something that stopped me mid-conversation: the parallel between what it takes for AI to function at its best, and what it takes for a person to do the same. If you lead a team, you'll want to hear that one out.

    This is a conversation about culture, resilience, and what it really means to lead people rather than just manage them. Hit play.

    More About the Guest

    Hacia Atherton is a globally recognized, award-winning voice in workplace culture reform, known for helping organizations turn burnout and bias into retention and results. She is the founder of the non-profit Empowered Women in Trades, which supports women in male-dominated industries and promotes inclusive workplaces. She also serves on Victoria's Our Equal State reference group, advising the state's gender equality strategy, and on the La Trobe Business School Advisory Board.

    With a Master's in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Melbourne and credentials as a Certified Practicing Accountant, Hacia brings a rare combination of human insight and strategic depth to her leadership consulting and keynote speaking.

    Before all of that, Hacia survived a horse accident that left her hospitalized for six months, required over 30 surgeries, and fundamentally changed the direction of her life. Everything she learned about resilience, being truly seen, and what it means to have people genuinely invest in you became the foundation for the work she now does with leaders worldwide.

    Ripple with Hacia Atherton

    Website: https://www.haciaatherton.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haciaatherton/ Instagram: @hacia.atherton

    More About the Host

    Steve Harper is the founder of Ripple Central and host of The Ripple Effect Podcast, where he explores what it really takes to build authentic, meaningful relationships. He also owns Owner Insite, a construction project management software company. Steve runs The Pond, a community built around intentional connection and 8-Minute Ripple events.

    Ripple with Steve Harper: https://instagram.com/rippleon https://facebook.com/rippleon https://twitter.com/rippleon https://ripplecentral.com

    Stay in the loop: ripplecentral.com/subscribe Be a Patron: patreon.com/SteveHarper Join The Pond: ripplecentral.com/pond Speaking and coaching inquiries: [email protected]

    57 min
  • What You're Willing to Risk Shapes the Life You Get (The Ripple Effect Podcast ft. Jason Boulette)

    You can do everything right in your career and still find yourself staring at the ceiling at 2 am, wondering what exactly you're building. The title sounds impressive, and the salary looks good, but somewhere along the way the thing that was supposed to give you a life started quietly taking it. The years go faster than the days, and it's easy to look up one morning and realize the schedule you built isn't the life you meant to have.

    This episode is about what you're willing to risk to change that, and how much of your time you're okay trading for comfort. Work-life balance sounds like a scheduling puzzle, but it comes down to priorities. And if you lead people, there's the conversation you haven't had yet, with the employee you're sure has to go, or the one you're afraid will sue you. Jason asks clients one question early on that changes how it all plays out.

    Then there's the worry humming behind nearly every profession right now. Will AI replace lawyers? Will it replace you? Jason has a view from the legal world, and he weighs in on non-compete agreements too.

    Today's guest is employment lawyer Jason Boulette, out of Austin, Texas. I've been looking forward to this one for a long time, and he's a lot more interesting than the stereotype of a litigator (he also has surprisingly strong feelings about Star Wars).

    Stay until the end. Jason talks about the people who shaped him and the small moments that Ripple further than we realize.

    More About the Guest

    Jason is Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and the former Chair of the Labor and Employment Section of the State Bar of Texas. Jason has been named Lawyer of the Year in Management Employment Law by Best Lawyers in America, Top Attorney by Austin Monthly, a Top 50 Attorney in Central & West Texas and a Top 100 Lawyer by Texas Super Lawyers. Jason is a frequent speaker and has received the W. Page Keeton Award for Excellence in Continuing Legal Education. Previously with Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., Jason founded Boulette & Golden L.L.P. with Mike Golden in 2006. Now known as Boulette Golden & Marin, the firm represents employers in employment, litigation, and corporate immigration matters.

    More About the Host

    Steve Harper is the founder of Ripple Central and host of The Ripple Effect Podcast, where he explores what it really takes to build authentic, meaningful relationships. He also owns Owner Insite, a construction project management software company. Steve runs The Pond, a community built around intentional connection and 8-Minute Ripple events.

    Ripple with Steve Harper: https://instagram.com/rippleon https://facebook.com/rippleon https://twitter.com/rippleon https://ripplecentral.com

    1 hr 20 min
  • Proof You Can Start Over Without Walking Away From Everything ft. Michele Trongaard

    Twenty-three years is a long time to spend earning a reputation. Michele Trongaard has one that precedes her everywhere she goes in this industry, and after sitting across from her for this conversation, I understand exactly why.

    Michele is stepping away from her role as a district CFO after more than two decades in public school finance, and she's doing it on her own terms, heading into a new chapter rather than just closing the book on the old one. I wanted to talk with her about what actually built that reputation, because it wasn't the budgets or the balance sheets. It was something much harder to teach.

    She told me about her early career, trying to become a carbon copy of a boss she admired, right down to the tone he used in a room, and how much pressure that put on her before she finally gave herself permission to lead in her own voice instead. We got into the real financial pressures facing public education today too: inflation, unfunded mandates, and the balancing act of meeting rising costs without raising taxes on the communities these districts serve.

    What stuck with me most was hearing her talk about staying visible as a leader. She made a habit of getting out from behind her desk to walk the halls and talk directly with principals, teachers, and staff, and that one habit shaped her entire leadership style, and her legacy. She also shared what pulled her into education in the first place, advice for young CPAs weighing private practice against public service, and what finally told her it was time for something new, without losing the parts of this world she still loves.

    This one's an honest look at what it means to build a career around service, and what it actually looks like to walk away from something you love while still holding onto the parts that made it meaningful. More About the Guest

    Michele Trongaard, CPA, RTSBA, SFO, has spent 23 years in school finance, most recently serving as Associate Superintendent of Business and Finance for Mansfield ISD, a role she's retiring from this year. She holds a BBA in Accounting from the University of Texas at Dallas and an MBA in School Finance and Operations from Concordia University. Michele is a Past President of TASBO and has been recognized with the ASBO Pinnacle Achievement Award in 2019 and the ASBO Eagle International Award in 2024. She currently serves on the ASBO SFO Committee and the TEA/TASBO Accounting and Auditing Advisory Committee, sits on the TASBO RISE Award Committee as a reviewer, and reviews for the TASBO Scholarship Award as well.

    Ripple with Michele Trongaard: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michele-trongaard-cpa-rtsba-sfo-bb801472

    More About the Host

    Steve Harper is the founder of Ripple Central and host of The Ripple Effect Podcast, where he explores what it really takes to build authentic, meaningful relationships. He also owns Owner Insite, a construction project management software company. Steve runs The Pond, a community built around intentional connection and 8-Minute Ripple events.

    Ripple with Steve Harper: https://instagram.com/rippleon https://facebook.com/rippleon

    Subscribe to the Ripple newsletter: https://ripplecentral.com/subscribe

    Join the ever-growing community of Ripplers in The Pond: https://ripplecentral.com/pond

    To inquire about Steve's availability for conference keynotes, corporate training, or performance coaching, please contact [email protected].

    45 min
  • What the Best Leaders Can't See About Themselves (The Ripple Effect Podcast ft. Brian Vogel)

    Picture your ideal Tuesday.

    You come in with a clear head, a short list of things that actually matter, and a couple of hours of uninterrupted time to think strategically about where you're taking this thing.

    Now picture your actual Tuesday.

    Six fires before noon. Three decisions that landed on your desk that someone else should have made. A calendar that left no room for anything except reacting. And somewhere around four in the afternoon, the quiet feeling that you've been incredibly busy and somehow accomplished nothing.

    If that second picture is more familiar, this episode is for you.

    My guest Brian Vogel has spent 25 plus years watching this happen to brilliant founders and high-performing leaders. The same relentless grit that built their initial success eventually starts working against them. And most of the time, they're the last ones to see it.

    We got into what it actually looks like when a leader becomes the bottleneck without realizing it, why most founders get stuck in the doing instead of the leading, and why Brian firmly believes nice wins more than it doesn't. There's also a line about winners and losers from one of his old swim coaches that I want you to stick around for.

    Watch this one to the end.

    đź’§ More About the Guest

    Brian Vogel is the Principal and Head Coach of Sundog Coaching and a battle-tested HR executive with over 25 years of experience scaling teams through hyper-growth at global organizations including Indeed, Verizon, and USAA.

    At Indeed, he helped scale the workforce from 2,500 to over 10,000 employees in just three and a half years. At Verizon, he orchestrated workforce transitions during the historic Bell Atlantic and GTE merger involving over 6,000 employees, driving more than 12 million dollars in direct labor cost savings.

    Brian is also a former NCAA Division I competitive swimmer and collegiate coach. The eye in the sky perspective he developed on the pool deck, spotting blind spots athletes can't see while they're in the water, is exactly what he brings to founders and executives drowning in operational fires today.

    He works with proven founders and growth-stage executives to help them step out of the daily weeds, overcome executive isolation, and build highly autonomous teams. He is a certified Positive Intelligence coach and Co-Founder of Sensible HR.

    If this conversation resonated and you're at a critical inflection point in your business, Brian offers a Mutual Fit Assessment at sundogcoaching.com. It's a focused 30-minute strategy session to uncover your hidden bottlenecks and see if a one-on-one advisory partnership is the right fit.

    For practical insights and unfiltered operating strategies for growth-stage founders, subscribe to his Substack, Eye in the Sky Leadership, at sundogcoach.substack.com.

    Ripple with Brian Vogel: Website: sundogcoaching.com Mutual Fit Assessment: sundogcoaching.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/brianmvogel/

    More About the Host

    Steve Harper is the founder of Ripple Central and host of The Ripple Effect Podcast, where he explores what it really takes to build authentic, meaningful relationships. He also owns Owner Insite, a construction project management software company. Steve runs The Pond, a community built around intentional connection and 8-Minute Ripple events.

    Want to go even deeper? Check out our Substack and Patreon for exclusive content and behind-the-scenes insights. And if you're ready for something more immersive, our Connect + Grow Ripple coaching program is a full year of community, coaching, and accountability designed to help you build more meaningful relationships and create an even bigger Ripple out there in the world.

    Ripple with Steve Harper: Instagram: instagram.com/rippleon Facebook: facebook.com/rippleon X: twitter.com/rippleon Website: ripplecentral.com

    50 min
  • You Were Creative Once. Find Your Way Back. (The Ripple Effect Podcast ft. Maria Gatling)

    When was the last time you made something?

    A drawing, a photo, a collage, a doodle in the margin of a notebook. Something you made with your hands because something in you wanted to.

    Most of us have to think about it. And the longer we think, the further back the answer goes.

    Somewhere along the way, we handed our creative lives back. Not all at once, and not on purpose. Just gradually, between the jobs and the responsibilities and the screens and the schedules, the things we used to make got quietly set aside. And we told ourselves we'd get back to them. And then we didn't. And eventually we stopped telling ourselves that too.

    My guest today has a lot to say about that.

    Maria Gatling is one of the most genuinely creative people I know. She gives herself creative assignments every single week. She runs a weekly creativity group. She builds her own notebooks. She teaches short workshops and helps people start creativity clubs in their own communities. And the way she talks about creativity, not as a talent you either have or don't, but as a practice you simply show up for, is something I think every single one of you needs to hear.

    This conversation is a first for this podcast. Maria is the first guest I've ever had sitting right here in my studio. Same room, same table, no Zoom, and no screens between us. Just two people who love this topic, finally talking about it the way it was meant to be done. You can hear the difference.

    Let's get into it.

    More About the Guest

    Maria Gatling's life experiences across publishing, advertising, art, and raising four children have shaped everything she creates and teaches. She's the author of two creativity workbooks, Coffee Break Creativity - Grande! and Project 52, and she facilitates small-group mini-workshops and short classes designed to help people reignite their creative lives. She also helps others start their own creativity clubs. Whether you consider yourself an artist or have never picked up a paintbrush in your life, Maria meets you exactly where you are. Ripple with Maria:

    Website More About the Host Steve Harper is the founder of Ripple Central and host of The Ripple Effect Podcast, where he explores what it really takes to build authentic, meaningful relationships. He also owns Owner Insite, a construction project management software company. Steve runs The Pond, a community built around intentional connection and 8-Minute Ripple events. Ripple with Steve Harper:

    Website Instagram Facebook X

    1 hr 10 min
  • The One Thing Your Competition Can Never Buy or Copy (The Ripple Effect Podcast ft. Joe Fusco)

    Here's a question I want you to think about before you hit play. When was the last time you felt like the work you were doing actually mattered? Not mattered as in the numbers went up or the boss was happy. Mattered in that way where you finished a day and felt genuinely full rather than just done. Most of us have forgotten what that feels like. Or maybe we never had it to begin with. This conversation goes deep on that. My guest Joe Fusco and I got into what actually makes a company great, why people don't fit in a spreadsheet no matter how hard we try to make them, and what it really means to lead in a way that brings out the best in the people around you. We talked about AI coming for the people business, why capitalism is at an inflection point, and an analogy involving Newtonian versus quantum physics that completely reframed the way I think about connection and networking. And then we got into retirement, which in Joe's world looks nothing like what most people picture. It's less about slowing down and more about finally having the freedom to point everything you've built toward something that actually matters to you. This one's a slow burn in the best possible way. Stay with it.

    More About the Guest For 28 years until his retirement in 2022, Joe Fusco was a senior executive with a publicly-traded mid-cap company, where he served as an advisor to the chairman and CEO. Joe has spoken frequently to companies and organizations on leadership, organizational culture, business and cultural trends, and business strategy and sustainability. He's been engaged as a speaker by groups and companies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Credit Union National Association, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the Telecommunications Association of the Southeast. He is currently the co-host of "Retirement Unscripted," a regular series of conversations exploring the design of that next stage of life through a lens of freedom, creativity, wisdom, and identity. Joe is on the board of Internality, a non-profit corporation dedicated to engaging an expanding coalition of business leaders, academics, and other key stakeholders in catalyzing a systemic rework of how business is conducted and how the economy works. He is also an advisor and teacher in the University of Vermont's top-ranked Sustainable Innovation MBA program, and advises senior executives on leadership, culture, and strategy in an array of industries from hospitality to clean energy. Joe lives in Chittenden, Vermont with his wife, Renae. They are the parents of five grown children. Ripple with Joe Fusco LinkedIn

    Tune in to Retirement Unscripted

    Catch Joe Fusco's Graduation Ripple sessions in The Pond community. More About the Host Steve Harper is the founder of Ripple Central and host of The Ripple Effect Podcast, where he explores what it really takes to build authentic, meaningful relationships. He also owns Owner Insite, a construction project management software company. Steve runs The Pond, a community built around intentional connection and 8-Minute Ripple events. Ripple with Steve Harper: Instagram Facebook X

    1 hr 26 min
  • Hurricane Katrina at 21: The Story the Media Never Fully Told featuring Sandy Rosenthal

    Here's a question I want you to think about before you hit play.

    When was the last time you felt like the work you were doing actually mattered? Not mattered as in the numbers went up or the boss was happy. Mattered in that way where you finished a day and felt genuinely full rather than just done.

    Most of us have forgotten what that feels like. Or maybe we never had it to begin with.

    This conversation goes deep on that. My guest Joe Fusco and I got into what actually makes a company great, why people don't fit in a spreadsheet no matter how hard we try to make them, and what it really means to lead in a way that brings out the best in the people around you. We talked about AI coming for the people business, why capitalism is at an inflection point, and an analogy involving Newtonian versus quantum physics that completely reframed the way I think about connection and networking.

    And then we got into retirement, which in Joe's world looks nothing like what most people picture. It's less about slowing down and more about finally having the freedom to point everything you've built toward something that actually matters to you.

    This one's a slow burn in the best possible way. Stay with it.

    More About the Guest

    For 28 years until his retirement in 2022, Joe was a senior executive with a publicly-traded mid-cap company, where he served as an advisor to the chairman and CEO.

    Joe has spoken frequently to companies and organizations on leadership, organizational culture, business and cultural trends, and business strategy and sustainability. He's been engaged as a speaker by groups and companies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Credit Union National Association, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the Telecommunications Association of the Southeast.

    He is currently the co-host of "Retirement Unscripted," a regular series of conversations exploring the design of that next stage of life through a lens of freedom, creativity, wisdom, and identity.

    Joe is on the board of Internality, a non-profit corporation dedicated to engaging an expanding coalition of business leaders, academics, and other key stakeholders in catalyzing a systemic rework of how business is conducted and how the economy works.

    He is also an advisor and teacher in the University of Vermont's top-ranked Sustainable Innovation MBA program, and advises senior executives on leadership, culture, and strategy in an array of industries from hospitality to clean energy.

    Joe lives in Chittenden, Vermont with his wife, Renae. They are the parents of five grown children.

    Ripple with Joe Fusco www.linkedin.com/in/joefusco

    Tune in to Retirement Unscripted: https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/retirement-unscripted-with-joe-john-and-jeff/id1870902365

    Catch Joe Fusco's Graduation Ripple sessions in The Pond community: ripplecentral.com/pond

    More About the Host

    Steve Harper is the founder of Ripple Central and host of The Ripple Effect Podcast, where he explores what it really takes to build authentic, meaningful relationships.

    He also owns Owner Insite, a construction project management software company. Steve runs The Pond, a community built around intentional connection and 8-Minute Ripple events.

    Ripple with Steve Harper: https://instagram.com/rippleon https://facebook.com/rippleon https://twitter.com/rippleon https://ripplecentral.com

    1 hr 3 min
  • Pressure-Proof Leadership with Claire Hayek (The Ripple Effect Podcast)

    Be honest. When's the last time you actually felt calm, not just looked calm?

    Because those are two very different things, and most of us have gotten so good at faking the second one that we forget what the first one even feels like. You handle the hard conversation. You keep your voice steady in the meeting that's falling apart. You hold it together for everyone else in the room. And then later, alone in your car or lying awake at night, it all comes flooding back.

    That gap between performing calm and actually being calm is something my guest today has spent her entire life studying, first as a matter of survival, and later as her life's work. Claire Hayek is an engineer, a musician, a TEDx speaker, and someone who's spent decades inside high-pressure environments long before she ever had language for what was happening to her under the surface. In this conversation, we get into pressure-proof leadership, why habituation and resilience get confused all the time, even though they are not the same thing, and what she calls common authority, that steady presence that holds up even when everything around you isn't.

    Huge thanks to Claire for such an open, generous conversation. Her book, Calm Under Fire: The Leadership Skill No One Taught You, comes out this September, and you're going to want to be first in line.

    clairehayek.com/books

    Free Resources for You!

    If you're a leader looking to reset your own relationship with pressure, grab Claire's free Pressure Reset Scripts at clairehayek.com/reset

    If you're leading a team and want a clearer read on where pressure is quietly costing you, check out the free Pressure and Performance Scorecard at clairehayek.com/pp-scorecard

    More About the Guest

    Claire Hayek is a Neuroleadership expert, TEDx speaker, and founder of Mind. Soul. Purpose. Teambuilding. She is the creator of Pressure-Proof Leadership™, a neuroscience-based framework that helps leaders and organizations maintain clarity, resilience, and performance in high-pressure environments.

    For more than 30 years, she has operated in high-pressure environments, from growing up in war-torn Lebanon to engineering and executive leadership. Her work examines how sustained pressure shapes the human nervous system, identity, performance, and how high performers can harness drive without letting it quietly erode clarity, health, or voice.

    Ripple with Claire Hayek: Website: https://clairehayek.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairehayek Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/claire.hayek X: https://x.com/clairehayek Threads: https://www.threads.com/@claire.hayek Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theclairehayek Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/clairehayek.bsky.social Substack: https://substack.com/@theclairehayek

    More About the Host

    Steve Harper is the founder of Ripple Central and host of The Ripple Effect Podcast, where he explores what it really takes to build authentic, meaningful relationships.

    He also owns Owner Insite, a construction project management software company. Steve runs The Pond, a community built around intentional connection and 8-Minute Ripple events.

    Ripple with Steve Harper: Instagram: instagram.com/rippleon Facebook: facebook.com/rippleon X: twitter.com/rippleon Website: ripplecentral.com

    Subscribe to the newsletter: ripplecentral.com/subscribe Be a Patron: patreon.com/SteveHarper Join The Pond: ripplecentral.com/pond Speaking and coaching inquiries: [email protected]

    55 min
  • Is Your Survival Brain Leading Your Team? (The Ripple Effect Podcast ft. Dr. Annie Campanile)

    Most of us have spent years learning how to communicate better.

    Better words, better models, better frameworks. And yet somehow the same conflicts keep happening, the same conversations keep getting avoided, and the same people keep making the room tense the moment they walk in.

    Dr. Annie Campanile has a different theory about why, and it starts somewhere most leadership training never goes.

    Watch to learn what's actually driving workplace conflict beneath the surface, why the protective patterns you developed as a kid are probably still showing up in your leadership today, and what your nervous system is doing in the split second before you open your mouth in a difficult conversation.

    We also discuss the four fundamentals of drama-free communication, what it really takes to have high-stakes conversations without your own survival response getting in the way, and why calm might be the most underrated leadership skill nobody is teaching right now.

    This one goes deep. Worth every minute.

    More About the Guest

    Dr. Annie Campanile is a trauma-informed executive coach, author, and host of Drama Free Teams, the podcast for leaders who care deeply and want their teams to thrive without sacrificing themselves or losing sleep over interpersonal drama at work.

    With over two decades of experience in healthcare leadership and executive coaching, Annie helps senior leaders and clinicians move beyond communication scripts and complicated models to address what is really driving workplace conflict: the survival responses that unconsciously erode trust, fuel burnout, and keep teams stuck in drama.

    Ripple with Dr. Annie Campanile: Website: anniecampanile.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/anniecampanilephd Podcast: Drama Free Teams

    Before you go, grab Dr. Annie's free Drama Free Leadership Starter Kit at anniecampanile.com/drama-free-leadership-starter-kit. It is exactly the kind of practical, no-fluff resource this conversation deserves a follow-up from.

    More About the Host

    Steve Harper is the founder of Ripple Central and host of The Ripple Effect Podcast, where he explores what it really takes to build authentic, meaningful relationships.

    He also owns Owner Insite, a construction project management software company. Steve runs The Pond, a community built around intentional connection and 8-Minute Ripple events.

    Ripple with Steve Harper: Instagram: instagram.com/rippleon Facebook: facebook.com/rippleon X: twitter.com/rippleon Website: ripplecentral.com

    Subscribe to the newsletter: ripplecentral.com/subscribe Be a Patron: patreon.com/SteveHarper Join The Pond: ripplecentral.com/pond Speaking and coaching inquiries: [email protected]

    1 hr 8 min
  • Honest Thoughts on Surviving Online Hate (The Ripple Effect Podcast ft. Ileana Garcia: Part Two)

    If you caught Part 1, you know Ileana Garcia doesn't hold anything back. Part 2 goes even further.

    We start with something that still stings a little: the Wall Street Journal feature that was supposed to be a proud moment, but turned into a pile-on. Ileana walks us through what actually happened behind that headline, why the internet turned on her over it, and how she's made peace with something her own brother calls "engagement by enragement."

    From there, we get into the harder stuff nobody really talks about out loud: the anonymous accounts that stitched her videos together to mock her, the men who show up just to be cruel, and how she's learned to tell the difference between hate that's actually about her and hate that's really about the person typing it.

    But this episode isn't just about the hard parts. Ileana opens up about staying close with her ex-husband and why that friendship makes sense to her, even when it confuses everyone else. We talk about what the rising rate of gray divorce actually tells us about marriage right now, and Ileana shares a little about her new relationship and what it's like to navigate it publicly, in front of an audience who's followed her whole story.

    If Part 1 was about the decision to leave, Part 2 is about everything that gets rebuilt after.

    Watch Part 1 here: https://youtu.be/WHHU-JBrwEY

    More About the Guest

    Ileana Garcia is the creator behind Illy in the Streets on TikTok, where she's built a following of over 50,000 by talking openly about what life actually looks like after leaving a long marriage. Featured in The Wall Street Journal, her content covers the parts most people go through quietly: the agonizing decision itself, navigating friends and family, guilt and sadness, untangling finances, and the slow work of reinvention and reflection. She's just as candid about what comes after, from dating again to building new relationships, and doesn't shy away from talking about the internet hate that comes with putting your life online. Before entering content creation, Ileana spent her career in enterprise sales, and it shows in the way she naturally tells a story.

    Ripple with Ileana Garcia: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@illyinthestreets

    More About the Host

    Steve Harper is the founder of Ripple Central and host of The Ripple Effect Podcast, where he explores what it really takes to build authentic, meaningful relationships. He also owns Owner Insite, a construction project management software company. Steve runs The Pond, a community built around intentional connection and 8-Minute Ripple events.

    Ripple with Steve Harper Instagram: http://instagram.com/rippleon Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rippleon X: https://twitter.com/rippleon Website: http://www.ripplecentral.com

    Ripple with Steve Harper: Instagram: instagram.com/rippleon Facebook: facebook.com/rippleon X: twitter.com/rippleon Website: ripplecentral.com

    Subscribe to the newsletter: ripplecentral.com/subscribe Be a Patron: patreon.com/SteveHarper Join The Pond: ripplecentral.com/pond Speaking and coaching inquiries: [email protected]

    42 min

About The Ripple Effect Podcast with Steve Harper

From the publisher's feed

Welcome to The Ripple Effect Podcast with Steve Harper, where the power of connection, building better relationships, and creating a positive impact on the world take center stage. Join us on a transformative journey as we explore the profound effects that small actions can have on individuals, communities, and the global community as a whole.