The Rising with Janel Gonzalez

What if the thing holding you back isn't a lack of motivation — it's the shadow side of the very principles you're trying to live by?

This October, Janel goes dark. In this special episode she walks through each of the four RISE principles and explores their shadow — what it looks like when reflection turns into rumination, intention turns into sleepwalking, simplicity turns into overconsumption, and enjoyment turns into waiting for life to be perfect before you live it.

This season, find the light — even when everything around you feels dark.

In this episode:

• Carl Jung's shadow work and why it matters for your personal growth
• What avoiding reflection is actually costing you
• The danger of suppressing your feelings — it always comes back
• What it means to sleepwalk through your life and how to wake up
• Aligning your daily actions with your core values this season
• Why you don't have to wait for the perfect moment to enjoy your life
• How Janel found joy during one of the darkest seasons of her own life
• Finding the duality — you can be in a hard season and still rise

✨ Shop The Rising Quote Journal: https://www.amazon.com/Rising-Quote-Journal-Quotes-version/dp/B0G8T1BPKF

✨ Explore VIVÉA 44: https://vivea44.com

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Click here to follow Janel on Instagram.
Click here to WATCH this episode.

Nobody asks how the caregiver is doing. It's time to change that.

When journalist Juana Libedinsky's husband suffered a traumatic brain injury during a family ski trip in the Patagonia Andes, she didn't fall apart — she became a machine. In this powerful episode, Juana shares the story behind her book Downhill, what really happens to the person doing the caregiving, and why the caregiver's journey is just as important as the patient's.

This one is for every person carrying something heavy in silence.

In this episode:

• What it means to become the family caregiver overnight
• The diagnosis that came with a 90% chance of death or vegetative state
• Why Juana never had a fog moment — and what that taught her
• The pressure caregivers feel to hold everything together
• What happens when the patient's story becomes the caregiver's whole identity
• How to keep living — tennis, books, and not becoming just your story
• The surprising way writing became a form of healing
• What Jane Austen has to do with hope and happy endings
  
  

📚 Book Mentioned: Downhill by Juana Libedinsky https://a.co/d/06Mq2weE

🤳 Follow Juana: https://www.instagram.com/jlibedinsky

✨ Shop The Rising Quote Journal: https://www.amazon.com/Rising-Quote-Journal-Quotes-version/dp/B0G8T1BPKF

✨ Explore VIVÉA 44: https://vivea44.com

👉 If this episode helped you, please rate, subscribe, and share it with someone who needs a reset.

Click here to follow Janel on Instagram.
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We were never meant to find meaning in our stuff — and deep down, we all know it.

Joshua Becker — bestselling author, pastor, and the man behind Becoming Minimalist — joins Janel for a powerful conversation about why we keep accumulating, what we're really chasing, and how his newest book Uncluttered Faith is helping people make space for the things that matter most. From human nature to faith to the RISE principles, this episode goes far deeper than decluttering tips.

It's a reset for your home, your heart, and your life.

In this episode:

• What people are actually searching for — and why possessions can't deliver it
• The lie marketers tell us and why our hearts keep believing it
• Why be the change you want to see is the only financial ethic that matters
• How a garage, a neighbor, and a Saturday afternoon changed everything for Joshua
• What a truly quiet hour of solitude can do for your direction and purpose
• Reflection, intention, simplicity, and joy — the RISE framework meets minimalism
• Why Joshua is intentionally doing nothing new for the rest of the year
• What brings him the deepest, most lasting joy — and it's not what you'd expect

📚 Books Mentioned:

• Uncluttered Faith by Joshua Becker https://a.co/d/0g0Y2SzG
  
  
• The More of Less by Joshua Becker https://a.co/d/0efkN1fp 
  
  
• The Minimalist Home by Joshua Becker https://a.co/d/03tm6RCj 
  
  
• Discipline Is Destiny by Ryan Holiday https://a.co/d/0aT6Zobw 
  
  

✨ Shop The Rising Quote Journal: https://www.amazon.com/Rising-Quote-Journal-Quotes-version/dp/B0G8T1BPKF

✨ Explore VIVÉA 44: https://vivea44.com

🤳 Follow Joshua: https://www.instagram.com/joshua_becker

🌐 Visit Joshua's website: https://www.becomingminimalist.com

👉 If this episode helped you, please rate, subscribe, and share it with someone who needs a reset.

Click here to follow Janel on Instagram.
Click here to WATCH this episode.

Back-to-school season can bring new routines, packed schedules, overstimulation, and plenty of unexpected changes—but the energy we bring into our homes can make a difference.

In this episode, Janel explores what it means to raise your vibe as a parent and as a family. Inspired by Vibrate Higher Daily by Lalah Delia, she shares practical ways to create a calmer, more positive home where both parents and kids have space to reset after the demands of the school day.

From starting the morning with gratitude and music to slowing down after school, Janel shares simple practices that can help families come back to center. She also explains why parents need to pay attention to their own energy, habits, and the content they're consuming—because kids notice and absorb the environment around them.

Janel also shares her family's Friday and Sunday reset rituals, including clearing away school clutter, creating peaceful spaces, meditation, music, rest, and intentional family connection.

In this episode:

• How to raise your family's energy during the school year
• Helping overstimulated kids come back to calm
• Why your energy as a parent matters
• Creating calmer morning and after-school routines
• Using gratitude and music to set a positive tone
• Creating a peaceful home where kids can decompress
• Protecting downtime during busy school weeks
• Simple Friday and Sunday reset rituals
• Making more room for family connection

📚 Book Mentioned: Vibrate Higher Daily by Lalah Delia https://a.co/d/0fwZV1GI

✨ Shop The Rising Quote Journal: Amazon

✨ Explore VIVÉA 44: vivea44.com

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Click here to follow Janel on Instagram.
Click here to WATCH this episode.

Your calendar should reflect your values — not everyone else's expectations.

Janel is back with another back to school essential, and this one is for every parent who said yes to too much last year and paid for it by December. In this episode she breaks down how to approach the school year calendar with intention, protect your family's rest, and stop letting the schedule run your life.

Because the calendar cannot be your family's boss.

In this episode:

• What calendar clutter actually costs you
• How to pad your schedule before and after events
• Why it's okay to say no without guilt — and how to do it gracefully
• How to protect white space and keep it open
• Involving your kids in the calendar conversation
• What over-scheduling does to your children's nervous system
• How to let your calendar reflect your values
• A RISE framework check-in for the school year ahead

✨ Shop The Rising Quote Journal: https://www.amazon.com/Rising-Quote-Journal-Quotes-version/dp/B0G8T1BPKF

✨ Explore VIVÉA 44: https://vivea44.com

👉 If this episode helped you, please rate, subscribe, and share it with someone who needs a reset.

Click here to follow Janel on Instagram.
Click here to WATCH this episode.

What do you do when your child comes home and tells you another kid has been mean to them?

In this episode, Janel continues her Back to School series with a practical conversation about bullies, mean kids, and difficult situations at school. Inspired by Jefferson Fisher’s book The Next Conversation, she shares tools parents can teach their children to help them respond with greater confidence, self-control, and resilience.

From pausing before reacting and confidently addressing hurtful comments to knowing when to walk away or ask a trusted adult for help, Janel explores ways to help kids protect their self-esteem without teaching them to retaliate or engage in negative behavior.

She also discusses the parent’s role—gathering the full story before reacting, modeling healthy conflict resolution, addressing problems early, and recognizing that sometimes our own child may be the one behaving unkindly.

In this episode:
• How to help kids respond to bullying and mean behavior
• Teaching children to pause before reacting
• What kids can say when someone makes a hurtful comment
• When to walk away and when to ask for help
• Helping kids build confidence and protect their self-esteem
• Why parents shouldn't immediately react to school conflict
• Teaching empathy without excusing bad behavior
• What to do when your child is the one being mean
• Helping kids navigate difficult friendships and classmates


📚 Book Mentioned:
The Next Conversation by Jefferson Fisher
https://a.co/d/0jdLPsom


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What does it really mean to raise a teenager well — and what does success actually look like?

In this special episode, Janel sits down with her son Alex Gonzalez for a freshman year recap that every parent and teenager needs to hear. From drumming with Tommy Lee to navigating a new school, building discipline, and figuring out what actually matters — this conversation is honest, funny, and full of heart.

Spoiler: it's not about the GPA.

In this episode:

• How Alex's freshman year surprised him
• Why character matters more than grades
• Performing at The Whisky and Viper Room at 15
• Rock Fantasy Camp with Tommy Lee and John 5
• What discipline really looks like in a teenager
• What Alex wishes parents would stop worrying about
• How teenagers can actually decompress and rest
• What Alex hopes to become by junior year

✨ Shop The Rising Quote Journal: https://www.amazon.com/Rising-Quote-Journal-Quotes-version/dp/B0G8T1BPKF

✨ Explore VIVÉA 44: https://vivea44.com

👉 If this episode helped you, please rate, subscribe, and share it with someone who needs a reset.

Click here to follow Janel on Instagram.
Click here to WATCH this episode.

Back-to-school preparation is about more than school supplies, new clothes, and getting back into a routine. It’s also an opportunity to prepare kids with the social skills, manners, and character they need to navigate the school year with confidence.

In this episode, Janel sits down with world-renowned etiquette expert Carla Shellis for a much-needed Back-to-School Manners 101 refresh. Carla shares practical etiquette tips every child should know—from making eye contact, greeting adults, and saying please and thank you to respecting teachers, practicing good hygiene, and noticing the people who are often overlooked. 

They also go beyond traditional manners to discuss emotional etiquette and parenting: why character matters just as much as grades, how to help children handle conflict respectfully, creating a home where kids feel safe telling the truth, and why parents have to model the behavior they expect from their children. 

Plus, Janel and Carla tackle digital etiquette and the lasting impact of what kids post, text, and share online. 

Whether you’re raising an elementary schooler or a teenager, this conversation is a timely reminder that some of the most important lessons children carry into the classroom begin at home.

🤳 Follow Carla: @carlashellis

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Why is it so hard to put your phone down?

In this episode, Janel dives into the science of dopamine and how our constant search for stimulation is affecting our focus, creativity, relationships, and overall well-being. Drawing inspiration from Dopamine Nation by Dr. Anna Lembke, she shares practical ways to slow down, embrace boredom, reconnect with nature, and restore balance to your brain.

Topics discussed:
• Dopamine and instant gratification
• Social media and device addiction
• Why boredom sparks creativity
• Breaking unhealthy habits
• Nature as a nervous system reset
• Living with more intention
• Consuming less and creating more
• Building healthier daily rhythms

📚 Books Mentioned:Dopamine Nation by Dr. Anna Lembke
https://a.co/d/07Jn8o19

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Does summer always seem to come with pressure to spend more money?

From expensive vacations and concert tickets to dining out and keeping up with everyone else's plans, summer can quickly become one of the most expensive seasons of the year. But what if you could create a memorable, joyful summer without draining your bank account?

In this episode, Janel shares practical mindset shifts inspired by Morgan Housel's The Art of Spending Money and explores how to overcome summer FOMO, spend with intention, and create meaningful memories—without breaking the bank.

In this episode:
• How to avoid summer spending traps
• The truth about vacation FOMO
• Why comparison leads to overspending
• How to spend money more intentionally
• Creating memorable summers on a budget
• The difference between external validation and internal fulfillment
• Free and low-cost summer activity ideas
• Why your energy is your greatest currency

📋 Grab the free Summer on a Budget guide mentioned in this episode: 
https://canva.link/9cw7u1smmsn950b

📚 Books Mentioned:

• The Art of Spending Money
https://a.co/d/07TOsUyJ

• The Psychology of Money
https://a.co/d/01DTmDQc

• Same As Ever
https://a.co/d/0cV0x2Cm


🤳 Follow Janel:
https://www.instagram.com/the.rising.co

👉 If this episode helped you, please rate, subscribe, and share it with someone who needs a reset.

Click here to follow Janel on Instagram.
Click here to WATCH this episode.