The Audacious Living Podcast

Healing, Trauma & Self-Awareness with Jason VanRuler

Full Episode Description Sometimes the hardest part of healing isn’t what happened to us. It’s finally being willing to look at it honestly. In this deeply thoughtful — and surprisingly fun — conversation, Jason VanRuler joins Audley to unpack trauma, self-awareness, healing, leadership, relationships, and the stories we quietly carry about ourselves. Jason shares insights from his work as a therapist and author, including why so many people stay stuck in old patterns and how understanding your “origin story” can completely change the way you move through life. What makes this conversation stand out is the balance between depth and humanity. One minute they’re talking about emotional wounds and self-sabotage, and the next minute they’re somehow using Spider-Man as a therapy metaphor. And honestly… it works. Because the conversation never feels clinical or performative. It feels real. Throughout the episode, Jason explains why behavior always serves a purpose, how unresolved experiences shape our relationships, and why courage often starts with one small step instead of one giant leap. Audley also opens up about identity, authenticity, and the realization that no matter how much we try to reinvent ourselves, the real version of who we are eventually rises to the surface. There’s also a powerful discussion around leadership and self-awareness, including why great leaders can’t lead effectively if they’re disconnected from themselves emotionally. Jason’s perspective on healing, communication, and resilience brings both practical wisdom and emotional clarity to the conversation. And maybe most importantly, this episode is a reminder that your past doesn’t have to become your prison. Sometimes the very thing that hurt you becomes the thing that teaches you how to help others heal. If you’ve been feeling stuck, emotionally exhausted, disconnected from yourself, or simply trying to figure out how to move forward without ignoring what you’ve been through, this conversation is for you. In this episode, you’ll hear about: * Why understanding your “origin story” matters * How unresolved pain shapes behavior and relationships * The connection between self-awareness and leadership * Why healing starts with honest reflection * The difference between “building a ladder” and “building a camp” * How courage often begins with one small step forward Guest Bio Jason VanRuler is a therapist, speaker, and author who specializes in trauma, relationships, communication, leadership, and emotional healing. Through his work with individuals, couples, and leaders, he helps people better understand themselves, improve relationships, and move forward with greater self-awareness and purpose. He is the author of Get Past Your Past and Discovering Your Communication Type. Guest Links 🌐 jasonvr.com⁠ 📸 instagram.com⁠ - @jason.vanruler Listen on Major Platforms 🎧 Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/2jVR6V7X2kRiCCDXE0FTyl?si=IR3TsfEWR3WA6BzfBRnVXQ⁠ 🍎 Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-audacious-living-podcast/id1547447345⁠ 📦 Amazon Music → https://music.amazon.ca/podcasts/9f7902bb-dec8-4bd9-918d-d1fef21b7c67/the-audacious-living-podcast?ref=dm_sh_pGv57yQvAmAQVp2IIaXoDwtFt⁠ CTA Enjoying the show? Share this episode with someone who needs to hear this. ⭐ Leave a review: 👉 ratethispodcast.com⁠/audacious

Why Your Best Days May Still Be Ahead of You — David McNally | Audacious Living

What if aging isn’t the end of relevance… but the beginning of a deeper kind of purpose? In this deeply thoughtful and surprisingly energizing conversation, Audley sits down with author, speaker, and leadership expert David McNally to explore purpose, reinvention, aging, contribution, and what it really means to continue growing through every stage of life. And trust me, David brings the kind of perspective that makes you sit back for a second and go, “Okay… I needed to hear that.” At nearly 80 years old, David shares why he still believes his best days are ahead of him, why purpose influences everything, and why so many people quietly struggle with feelings of irrelevance as they get older. But this conversation isn’t heavy in the way you might think. There’s warmth here. Humor. Curiosity. The kind of wisdom that doesn’t feel preachy because it’s clearly been lived. Audley and David also explore grief, reinvention, creativity, and the importance of continuing to move forward, even after life stretches you in ways you never expected. One minute they’re discussing Terry Fox and the “power of purpose,” and the next they’re laughing about going with the flow and embracing the unpredictability of conversation. It feels less like an interview and more like sitting in on two people genuinely unpacking life together. One of the most powerful moments comes when David says: “If you’re alive, your mission on earth isn’t finished.” Yeah. Let that one sit for a second. This episode is for anyone who’s ever questioned their relevance, wondered if it’s too late to start over, or felt the tension between comfort and growth. It’s also for people who need a reminder that purpose doesn’t expire, curiosity doesn’t have an age limit, and reinvention is still available to you, no matter where you are in your journey. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ In this episode, you’ll hear about: • Why purpose influences every area of life • The difference between aging and becoming irrelevant • How to continue reinventing yourself at every stage of life • Why growth still matters, even when comfort feels easier • The emotional impact of grief and continuing to move forward • What audacity looks like after the age of 70 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Guest Bio David McNally is an internationally recognized speaker, author, filmmaker, and leadership expert known for his work on purpose, personal growth, and human potential. He is the author of several influential books including Even Eagles Need a Push and If You’re Alive, Your Mission on Earth Isn’t Finished. Through decades of speaking and coaching, David has helped people and organizations reconnect with meaning, contribution, and the courage to keep growing. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Guest Links¹1 🌐 Website: https://www.davidmcnally.com 📘 Books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/David-McNally/author/B001H6P9GS ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Listen on Major Platforms 🎧 Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/2jVR6V7X2kRiCCDXE0FTyl?si=IR3TsfEWR3WA6BzfBRnVXQ⁠ 🍎 Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-audacious-living-podcast/id1547447345⁠ 📦 Amazon Music → https://music.amazon.ca/podcasts/9f7902bb-dec8-4bd9-918d-d1fef21b7c67/the-audacious-living-podcast?ref=dm_sh_pGv57yQvAmAQVp2IIaXoDwtFt⁠ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Enjoying the show? Share this episode with someone who needs to hear this. ⭐ Leave a review: 👉 https://ratethispodcast.com/audacious⁠

Critical Thinking, Courage & Personal Responsibility with Kevin Dolan and Peter Calfee

What happens when people stop listening to each other? In this thought-provoking episode of The Audacious Living Podcast, Audley Stephenson sits down with Kevin Dolan and Peter Calfee, co-authors of Hijacked: Our Republic… Unless We Can Save It, for a deep conversation about critical thinking, courage, communication, education, AI, and the growing breakdown of meaningful dialogue in society. This conversation goes far beyond politics. At its core, it’s about learning how to think for yourself, how to question assumptions, and how to engage with people who may see the world differently than you do. Kevin and Peter explore the importance of intellectual curiosity, personal responsibility, and the courage required to speak honestly in a world increasingly driven by tribal thinking and emotional reactions. Audley also reflects on how growth happens through conversation, perspective, and evolution — not isolation. One of the most powerful moments in the episode comes when the discussion turns toward the role AI may play in shaping human thought, and the important distinction between knowledge and wisdom. Throughout the episode, the conversation remains grounded, reflective, and deeply human. There are moments of tension, humor, vulnerability, and insight that challenge listeners to slow down, think critically, and approach difficult conversations with greater openness and empathy. If you’ve ever felt exhausted by division, overwhelmed by noise, or uncertain about how to navigate today’s rapidly changing world, this episode offers a thoughtful reminder that courage, curiosity, and meaningful dialogue still matter. In this episode, you’ll hear about: * Why critical thinking matters more than ever * The difference between teaching people how to think versus what to think * How AI can influence and potentially hijack human thinking * The role courage plays in speaking up and thinking differently * Why meaningful growth requires conversation and perspective * How personal responsibility connects to societal change Guest Bio Kevin Dolan and Peter Calfee are the co-authors of Hijacked: Our Republic… Unless We Can Save It. Drawing from backgrounds in finance, leadership, aviation, and systems thinking, they explore critical thinking, societal evolution, education, and the importance of open dialogue in modern culture. Their work encourages readers to think independently, communicate courageously, and engage more thoughtfully with the world around them. Guest Links Hijacked: Our Republic… Unless We Can Save It https://www.amazon.ca/HIJACKED-Our-REPUBLIC-Unless-SAVE/dp/B0FK9RTGTRListen on Major Platforms Spotify → open.spotify.com [http://open.spotify.com]⁠ Apple Podcasts → podcasts.apple.com [http://podcasts.apple.com] Amazon Music → music.amazon.ca [http://music.amazon.ca]⁠ CTA Enjoying the show? Share this episode with someone who needs to hear this. Leave a review: ratethispodcast.com [http://ratethispodcast.com]⁠/audacious

Why Confidence Is Built Before the Big Moment with Sandy Cohan

Confidence doesn’t suddenly appear when life gets hard. It’s built quietly, long before the pressure arrives. In this episode of The Audacious Living Podcast, Audley Stephenson sits down with mental performance coach Sandy Cohan for a thoughtful conversation about confidence, focus, discipline, emotional control, and what truly separates high performers from everyone else. Drawing from years of experience working with athletes, business leaders, and elite performers, Sandy shares why mindset isn’t just about motivation. It’s about preparation, self-awareness, and learning how to respond under pressure. Throughout the conversation, Audley and Sandy unpack the difference between confidence and belief, why failure is often the foundation of growth, and how controlling your controllables can completely shift the way you approach challenges. From sports stories to everyday life situations, this episode explores how emotional resilience gets developed through repetition, perspective, and intentional habits. There’s also a deeply relatable side to this conversation. Whether they’re discussing unsent draft emails, emotional reactions, parenting, or handling adversity, the discussion constantly circles back to one truth: pressure reveals what preparation built. The lessons shared here extend far beyond athletics and into leadership, relationships, business, and personal growth. If you’ve ever struggled with self-doubt, overthinking, fear of failure, or trying to stay grounded under pressure, this episode will remind you that confidence isn’t something you wait for. It’s something you build through action, repetition, and learning to trust yourself one moment at a time. In this episode, you’ll hear about: * Why confidence is built before pressure ever arrives * The difference between confidence and belief * How elite performers control their focus under pressure * Why failure is essential for growth and resilience * The importance of emotional control in everyday life * How preparation creates calm in high-stakes moments Guest Bio Sandy Cohan is a mental performance coach, speaker, and author who works with athletes, executives, and high performers to strengthen mindset, focus, emotional control, and resilience. With a background in hockey as both a player and coach, Sandy now helps individuals develop the habits and mental frameworks needed to perform at their best under pressure. He is also the author of the 99 Rules book series focused on athletes and sports parents. Guest Links Sandy Cohan sandycohan.com [http://sandycohan.com]⁠ Listen on Major Platforms Spotify → open.spotify.com [http://open.spotify.com]⁠ Apple Podcasts → podcasts.apple.com [http://podcasts.apple.com]⁠ Amazon Music → music.amazon.ca [http://music.amazon.ca]⁠ Call to Action Enjoying the show? Share this episode with someone who needs to hear this. Leave a review: ratethispodcast.com [http://ratethispodcast.com]⁠

Audacious Leadership, Curiosity & Human Connection — Chris March

What happens when leadership stops being about control and starts becoming about connection? In this episode of The Audacious Living Podcast, Audley Stephenson sits down with Chris March for a thoughtful conversation about leadership, curiosity, communication, AI, and what it means to remain human in a rapidly changing world. Chris brings a unique global perspective shaped by living and working across Canada, Australia, and the UK. Together, he and Audley explore how curiosity strengthens leadership, why people simply want to feel seen, heard, and valued, and how growth often begins the moment we stop pretending to have all the answers. The conversation moves beyond traditional leadership ideas and into something much deeper. They discuss emotional intelligence, adaptability, vulnerability, feedback, and the quiet forms of audacity that shape both our personal and professional lives. One particularly powerful moment comes when they explore the possibility that AI might actually help people become more human again by creating more space for connection, curiosity, and meaningful interaction. There’s also a deeply relatable layer to this conversation around identity and change, especially as Chris reflects on moving back to Australia after 16 years in Canada and navigating the unexpected experience of reverse culture shock. This episode is for anyone trying to lead better, grow personally, navigate change, or reconnect with what really matters in their relationships, careers, and everyday interactions. If you’ve been feeling stretched by uncertainty or overwhelmed by the pace of modern life, this conversation offers a grounded reminder that curiosity, consistency, and human connection still matter deeply. In this episode, you’ll hear about: * Why leadership is about bringing people along, not controlling them * How curiosity can improve communication and reduce judgment * The role AI may play in strengthening human connection * Why feedback is a roadmap, not a roadblock * The importance of emotional intelligence in leadership and life * How small consistent actions build influence over time Guest Bio Chris March is a leadership and executive coach who has worked across Canada, Australia, and the UK helping leaders strengthen communication, navigate change, and build stronger team cultures. Alongside his coaching work, Chris also advises business owners and shares leadership insights centered around curiosity, adaptability, emotional intelligence, and growth. Guest Links chrismarchcoaching.com [http://chrismarchcoaching.com]⁠ Listen on Major Platforms open.spotify.com [http://open.spotify.com]⁠ podcasts.apple.com [http://podcasts.apple.com]⁠ music.amazon.ca [http://music.amazon.ca]⁠ CTA Enjoying the show? Share this episode with someone who needs to hear this. Leave a review: ratethispodcast.com [http://ratethispodcast.com]⁠