What happens when your story becomes the support you never had?

In this episode of The Rise, Sara Connell is joined by Sarah Cassidy—author, coach, and founder of Postpartum With a Plan. What started as a deeply personal experience of new motherhood turned into a powerful movement supporting thousands of women navigating the unexpected gap between what’s promised… and what’s real.

Together, they explore how to turn your truth into transformation—not only for yourself, but for your community, audience, and brand.

Meet the Guest: Sarah Cassidy

Sarah is a certified coach and the founder of Postpartum With a Plan, a resource-driven support system and coaching platform that empowers new moms with real talk, expert tools, and emotional support. Her personal story of motherhood inspired her to write the book she needed—and to build a platform that continues to change lives.

Get Sarah's book here:  https://a.co/d/4Uz5DIx

In This Episode You’ll Learn:

• How Sarah turned her story into a bestselling book

• The disconnect between motherhood expectations vs. reality

• What it takes to create a mission-driven brand

• How to build community through storytelling

• The secret to turning pain points into platforms of impact

Who This Is For:

This episode is a must-watch for:

• Authors ready to share personal stories

• Coaches building impact-driven platforms

• Speakers & thought leaders growing communities

• Entrepreneurs who want to write the book they needed

Subscribe & Join the Rise

If you’re a coach, author, speaker, or entrepreneur ready to elevate your message and grow your thought leadership—subscribe for more weekly episodes and interviews.

 

#therisepodcast #saraconnell #thoughtleadership #authorlife #momlife #sarahcassidy #postpartumtruth #buildyourplatform #writetoinspire #bookmarketing #coachingbusiness #purposefulplatform

What if your next level of impact isn’t in your mind… but in your body?

In this energizing episode of the RISE Podcast, Sara Connell sits down with Helen Birney, a holistic health expert, to uncover how your physical vitality is the secret weapon behind your success as a thought leader.

Helen shares the truth about burnout, the power of energetic alignment, and how entrepreneurs can nourish their minds and bodies for sustainable impact and creative genius. From nutrition and nervous system regulation to spiritual alignment, this episode is a roadmap to becoming the most energized, magnetic version of yourself.

Whether you're scaling your business, writing your next book, or preparing to speak on the world’s biggest stages—this conversation will leave you feeling grounded, inspired, and ready to RISE.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why thought leaders must prioritize energy to achieve visibility and impact

• The surprising connection between food, boundaries, and burnout

• How to regulate your nervous system to unlock your highest vision

• Helen’s personal journey from hustle to holistic alignment

• Actionable tips to create energetic rituals that fuel your purpose

This is for you if:

• You’re a coach, author, or entrepreneur tired of pushing through fatigue

• You want to build a business from a place of pleasure, not burnout

• You’re curious how to integrate health, purpose, and spiritual alignment

• You’re ready to RISE as the leader you came here to be

🎧 Listen on the go:
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Amazon Music

💛 Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this with a fellow visionary.

📲 69Tag us on Instagram @saraconnell and let us know your biggest takeaway from this episode.

In this powerful episode, Sara Connell sits down with Carol Look—one of the original EFT Masters in the world—to explore how Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT or tapping) can unlock abundance, release blocks, and help authors, coaches, and thought leaders magnetize ideal clients.

This conversation is an invitation to tune into your body, clear out scarcity programming, and create energetic alignment with your most abundant life and business.

Why This Episode Is For You:

If you’ve ever felt stuck—even though you're doing “all the right things”—or you’ve hit an invisible income plateau, Carol reveals the energetics and practical tools to shift your reality.

Whether you're a bestselling author, purpose-driven entrepreneur, coach, speaker, or creative—this episode will show you how to use EFT to call in clients, confidence, and clarity.

Topics Covered:

• What is EFT and why it works (especially for thought leaders)

• The hidden abundance blockers you might not know you have

• How to use EFT to attract high-aligned clients & sales

• Why your beliefs about “deserving” influence your income

• Real-time examples of tapping to release old stories

• Daily practices to stay in an energy of abundance

Meet Carol Look:

Carol Look is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, intuitive healer, and one of the first Certified EFT Masters globally. She is known for helping people clear limiting beliefs and emotional blocks so they can experience abundance in every area of life.

🖥 Learn more at: www.carollook.com

Subscribe to the RISE Podcast with Sara Connell for weekly episodes that empower you to turn your message into a movement—and your movement into a 7-figure brand.

#RISEPodcast #SaraConnell #EFTTapping #AbundanceMindset #ThoughtLeader #AttractClients #CarolLook #HealingTools #MonetizeYourMessage #RISEWithSara

In this episode of The Rise, Sara Connell sits down with Noelle McWard Aquino—therapist, speaker, and author of Anxiety Unpacked: Discover Your Type and Recover Your Peace.

With over 30 years of clinical practice, Noelle has guided thousands of people in healing anxiety. What she discovered through her clients—and her own family’s journey—turned into a revolutionary model: anxiety isn’t one-size-fits-all. Instead, there are three distinct anxiety types, each with its own root cause, underlying needs, and path to peace.

Meet Noelle McWard Aquino, MA, LCSW

Noelle earned her Master’s in Social Work from the University of Chicago in 1993. Over the course of her career, she has received advanced training in CBT, ACT, Mindfulness, The Gottman Method, EFT, and Relational Life Therapy, and she has a background in hospice care and end-of-life issues.

She served as an adjunct instructor at Loyola University’s Graduate School of Social Work and is a Licensed Continuing Education Provider for Illinois social workers and professional counselors, offering professional development training to fellow clinicians.

Through her therapy practice, trainings, and thought leadership, Noelle empowers people to understand their unique anxiety type and transform their relationship with anxiety into one of peace and empowerment.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• The 3 root causes of anxiety: catastrophizing, control, and distorted beliefs
• How to identify your anxiety type and its underlying needs
• Why anxiety often disguises itself as “stress” or “overwhelm”
• The objections anxiety uses to keep itself alive
• Tools to break the cycle and create a more peaceful, empowered life

This Is For You If:

• You’ve tried therapy or self-help tools but still feel “stuck” in anxiety
• You want strategies that address root causes—not just symptoms
• You’re a therapist or coach looking to bring fresh insights to your clients
• You’re ready to rewrite your relationship with anxiety and recover your peace

Resources

Pre-order Noelle’s book: Anxiety Unpacked: Discover Your Type and Recover Your Peace: https://www.amazon.com/Anxiety-Unpacked-Noelle-McWard-Aquino/dp/1960876902

 Follow Noelle on Instagram: @noellemcwardaquino

Bonus for Listeners

Don’t miss Sara Connell’s upcoming live event:

Women Starting Movements

 New York City | October 7–9, 2025

 Turn Your Mission Into a 7-Figure Movement While Impacting Millions

saraconnell.com/women-starting-movements

Subscribe + Review

If this conversation inspired you, share it with someone you love. Rate & review on Apple or Spotify to help us amplify voices of women creating powerful change.

In this empowering episode, Sara Connell is joined by Stacey Brass-Russell, a former Broadway performer turned coach for thought leaders to talk about why you don’t have to start over to rise. They explore what it means to evolve your identity and message without erasing your past, and how to claim your space as a bold, visible, soul-led leader.

Why listen: If you’ve ever felt like you’ve outgrown parts of your brand, business, or identity but don’t want to throw it all away. This conversation will remind you that every version of you is still worthy. It’s not about reinvention. It’s about integration.

Who it’s for:
Coaches, creatives, speakers, and authors navigating a personal or professional evolution.

What you’ll gain:

• Tools for visibility
• Mindset breakthroughs
• Practical steps for turning your past into your power.

🎟️ Join us August 6 for the Monetize Your Book Summit!
For authors, coaches & entrepreneurs ready to amplify their impact through a bestselling book.
Sign up: Click here to register

🔔 Subscribe + Follow for more weekly episodes on building your platform and becoming the leader you’re here to be.

Let’s be honest: hiring can be one of the hardest parts of growing a business—and one of the most liberating when done right.   In this episode, Sara Connell sits down with Tim Francis—entrepreneur, hiring strategist, and founder of Great Assistant—to talk about the real reason most hiring fails and what to do instead. You’ll hear the behind-the-scenes story of how Tim went from five failed assistants to building a multi-million dollar team—plus the genius strategy that helped him hire like a pro (and finally reclaim his time). In this episode:

• Why entrepreneurs should operate like surgeons in the room
• The 3 things ONLY you should be doing in your business
• What happened when Tim imagined being legally bound to his next hire for 3 years
• How dinner parties turned into an empire of 1,000-person events
• The mindset shift every founder needs before building a team

Whether you’re just getting started or scaling fast, this episode is your reminder that you don’t have to do it all alone.

EP64: WATCH THIS BEFORE You Write with AI — with Elizabeth Wardle   What is writing really for—and what happens when we outsource it? In this eye-opening episode, Sara Connell sits down with Elizabeth Wardle—Distinguished Professor, Writing Expert, and Director of the Howe Center for Writing Excellence—to talk about the future of writing, AI, and why the way we teach and create needs to evolve fast. We explore the true purpose of writing in a world where AI is rapidly replacing human expression—and what it really costs when we give it all away to the machines. You’ll hear:

• Why “play it through to the hangover” applies to AI-generated writing
• What students and writers actually need to learn
• How to stop policing and start teaching better writing
• Why not all “problems” AI solves are real
• The powerful reason we should keep writing ourselves

If you care about education, creativity, connection—or you’re using AI in your business—this episode is your reminder to pause, question, and lead with intention.

What if your book wasn’t the end of your message—but the beginning of a business?

In this powerful episode, Sara Connell sits down with Melissa Pharr—coach, spiritual medium, and multi-hyphenate entrepreneur—for a candid conversation about the future of publishing, soul-aligned marketing, and how to build a business that transforms lives.

Melissa shares her unique path from money strategist to medium, what it really takes to write and launch a book in today’s world, and why 2025 is calling us to be more multidimensional in our businesses and our leadership.

You’ll hear:
✨ How to align your book with transformational offers
✨ The truth about energetics + identity shifts while writing
✨ Why your book isn’t your business—but your invitation
✨ How mediumship and entrepreneurship intersect in healing work
✨ What every heart-led creator needs to know right now

Whether you’re writing your first book or building a brand that blends service, soul, and success—this episode is your permission slip to do it your way.

#therisepodcast #entrepreneurialpublishing #melissapharr #saraconnell #heartledbusiness #spiritualentrepreneur

Ready to sell more books and look like a pro on Amazon?   In this tactical, game-changing episode of Thought Leader Launch, Sara Connell is joined by publishing strategist Susie Schaefer, who walks us through the most overlooked (and powerful) tools authors can use to elevate their Amazon presence: Author Central and A+ Content.   You’ll learn:

• How to actually set up and optimize your Amazon Author Central page
• The secrets of A+ Content—and how it turns browsers into buyers
• Why your book may be missing critical sales page elements (and how to fix it fast)
• How to position yourself as a thought leader, not just an author
• Simple changes that make your Amazon page look polished, professional, and searchable

  If you’re publishing on KDP, IngramSpark, or both—this is the masterclass you didn’t know you needed.   Join Sara's community: https://www.saraconnell.com/thought-leader-academy   Women STARTING MOVEMENTS: A  3 day curated event for experts, coaches, visionaries, & entrepreneurs- https://www.saraconnell.com/women-starting-movements

What if making money didn’t require hustle, burnout, or endless pressure? In this inspiring episode of Thought Leader Launch, bestselling Hay House author and top 1% podcast host Kate Northrup joins Sara Connell to reveal how she created success and abundance without stress—and how you can too.   You’ll learn:

• The life-changing event that redefined Kate’s relationship with money and success
• Why hustle no longer works—and what to do instead
• The real meaning of “relaxed money” and how to create it in your life
• Kate’s surprising #1 first step to shift into ease and abundance—starting today
• A behind-the-scenes peek at what she's considering for her next book deal

  Whether you’re scaling your business, launching your next offer, or healing your relationship with money, this episode is your permission slip to do it differently—and thrive.   Explore more of Kate’s work: https://katenorthrup.com/   Want to become a bestselling author or thought leader?    Join Sara's community: https://www.saraconnell.com/thought-leader-academy   Women STARTING MOVEMENTS: A  3 day curated event for experts, coaches, visionaries, & entrepreneurs- https://www.saraconnell.com/women-starting-movements