Returning to Soul

Who Are You Beyond Your Title? A Conversation with Peggy O'Neal

What happens when you let go of the identity you've built your career around? In this episode, I sit down with Peggy O'Neal — lawyer, business advisor, strategist — for an intimate conversation about career pivots, identity, and what it means to listen to your own inner knowing. Peggy left a 12-year legal career to pursue work in human potential and coaching. And the external leap turned out to be far easier than the internal one. What she discovered: even when we know a change is right, our being takes time to catch up. The discomfort and the inner voice asking what are you doing? — these aren't signs we've made the wrong choice. They're signs we've been deeply identified with a role. In this episode, we explore: * Why saying "I am a lawyer" is different from "I practice law" — and what that distinction reveals about how we understand ourselves * What Joseph Campbell meant when he said people don't want more meaning — they want more aliveness * How our body, language, and mood shape the possibilities we can perceive * The "breadcrumbs" that point us toward what we truly want, even when we can't articulate it yet * Why so many high achievers reach a ceiling — and why it's often an identity issue in disguise * What it looks like to help a business go from $8.5M to $12.25M in nine months by doing this inner work We also talk about a client of mine who became a lawyer to fulfill her mother's dream — and what her story reveals about how many of us are living someone else's vision of a life well-lived. If you've ever felt stuck between who you are and what you do, this conversation is for you. Connect with Peggy O'Neal: LinkedIn: Peggy O'Neal [https://www.linkedin.com/in/peggy-oneal] Email: peggy@peggy-oneal.com Returning to Soul is a podcast for lawyers and other high achievers seeking deeper meaning, purpose, and fulfillment in their work and lives. If this episode resonated with you, please rate and share the show — and download my free Career Alignment Map [https://stan.store/JessieBrownCoaching/p/the-career-alignment-map] to begin exploring what true motivation looks like in your own life.

Lawyer, Musician, Therapist, Reiki Master: Career Pivots & Purpose with Suellen Fagin-Allen

What do you do when the career you chose is not a fit? In this episode, I sit down with Suellen Fagin-Allen, a Florida-based mental health therapist for women in midlife, attorney, performing musician, nonprofit leader, Reiki master, and amateur photographer. Suellen's story is one of the most honest and inspiring I've heard: she went to law school partly out of boredom, partly out of revenge, and partly because a friend secretly signed her up for the LSAT. What followed were decades of exploration and courage — finding the golden thread that was always there, and weaving it into something that truly fits. We talk about the very human experience of throwing up in the bathroom before trials, the decade-long detour that led to co-founding what became the Orlando Philharmonic, and the moment in midlife when she decided to start over again and became a licensed therapist at 50. In this episode, we explore: * Why Suellen's reasons for going to law school were, in her words, "suspect" — and what that taught her * How she leveraged her legal expertise at every stage of her pivot * The concept of the "golden thread" — the through-line that runs from childhood through your career — and how to find it when it feels buried * Why the first step to discovering your purpose might be learning to not freak out about not knowing your purpose * The somatic and mindfulness practices she uses with clients to help them get out of fight-or-flight and reconnect with what's alive in them * Her journey to becoming a Reiki master — what prompted it, what she experienced, and how she incorporates it into her therapy practice * A simple, two-minute reset practice for stressed-out attorneys (and anyone else running on fumes) A practice to try:Set a random alarm on your phone today. When it goes off, step away, take a breath, and ask yourself: What am I doing right now? What am I noticing? That's it. Suellen calls it a reset — and it's more powerful than it sounds. Connect with Suellen Fagin-Allen:📧 sueellen@simmonscounseling.org [sueellen@simmonscounseling.org]📱 407-929-0142🔗 LinkedIn: Suellen Fagin-Allen [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mindfulcounselor1/] Returning to Soul is a podcast for lawyers and other high achievers seeking deeper meaning, purpose, and fulfillment in their work and lives.

Identity Rest: Reclaiming Who You Are Beyond What You Do

In this episode, Jessie explores the concept of identity rest — a powerful practice for anyone whose sense of worth has become entangled with their productivity, performance, or professional title. Jessie first encountered the concept of "identity rest" from Chandani Patel Thompson, a lawyer and creator of the Rest to Rise Summit (May 19–22, free to attend). When we spend years in environments that reward us for what we produce, we can unconsciously begin to equate our value with our output. The result? An inner voice that never lets us fully rest, a "striver driver" that's taken over the wheel. In this episode, I share: * Why children and elders posses a type of wisdom that many high achievers lose touch with * How the law firm model — built around billable hour quotas — can deepen our identity-performance fusion * The Internal Family Systems (IFS) framework and how to understand the parts of us that push, achieve, and strive * A surprising question to ask your inner striver * The childhood photo exercise to reconnect with your essence before the world told you who to be * Three real examples from my clients: dance class, improv, pottery — and why these aren't hobbies, they're medicine * The AWE walk practice and why I stopped tracking my steps This episode is for you if you've ever felt the exhaustion of living from your résumé instead of your soul. Links & Resources: * Rest to Rise Summit (free, May 19–22): register here [https://rest2rise.clarityprint.co/url/speaker-brown] * Sedona Retreat (October 1–4): reach out to reserve your spot * Download my free Career Alignment Map [https://stan.store/JessieBrownCoaching/p/the-career-alignment-map] Returning to Soul is a podcast for lawyers and other high-achievers seeking deeper meaning, purpose, and fulfillment in their work and lives.

How Six Forms of Rest Can Help You Create Sustainable Success

In this conversation, Chandani Patel-Thompson, who spent 20+ years in corporate legal departments, shares how a six-minute daily gratitude practice transformed her capacity to work, parent three young children, and show up as a leader — and how the people around her noticed the shift before she did. We talk about the neuroscience behind gratitude, why lawyers are especially prone to worst-case-scenario thinking, and how reconnecting to why you do your work can restore a sense of meaning — even on the hardest days. In this episode: * How Chandani stumbled upon gratitude journaling and why her executive coach noticed the change first * The Point One Method — a six-minute daily practice Chandani designed for busy professionals * The six forms of rest in Chandani's framework: mental, emotional, physical, identity, relational, and strategic * The FREE Rest to Rise Summit — what it is, who it's for, and how to join (sign up here [https://rest2rise.clarityprint.co/url/speaker-brown]). Resources mentioned: * Clarity Print Co.: clarityprint.co * Point One Daily Gratitude Journal: clarityprint.co * Rest to Rise Summit [https://rest2rise.clarityprint.co/url/speaker-brown]: rest2rise.clarityprint.co * Rest to Rise Guide (post-summit): rest.clarityprint.co * Follow Chandani on LinkedIn and Substack About Chandani Patel-Thompson:Chandani is a seasoned lawyer and the founder of Clarity Print Co., creator of the Point One Daily Gratitude Journal, and host of the Rest to Rise Summit. Her mission is to help professionals in high-pressure roles — law, medicine, education — find clarity, reduce cognitive overload, and build a more sustainable relationship with their work. Returning to Soul is a podcast for lawyers and other high achievers seeking deeper meaning, purpose, and fulfillment in their work and lives. Hosted by Jessie Brown — attorney turned coach, meditation teacher, breathwork facilitator, and retreat leader based in Arizona.

The Power of Soul-Aligned Friendships

When we're doing the brave work of aligning our careers and lives with what truly matters to us — whether that's a professional pivot, stepping into our purpose, or simply living more authentically — the people we surround ourselves with matter deeply. In this episode, Jessie celebrates two friends and fellow coaches, Becky Roberts and Alex Pitt, and their recent wins: Becky signed a lease for her own office space and launched her Substack; Alex launched her coaching program Hopeful Healers for healthcare professionals facing burnout, and closed on her dream home in Costa Rica. These milestones didn't come easily — they came from years of consistent action, facing fear, and trusting the path. Jessie explores what it looks like to have truly aligned friendships as you pursue your dreams, and why the people in your inner circle can either fuel your growth or quietly keep you small. In this episode, you'll explore: * Why the people we spend time with are "seeds" planted in the fertile soil of our minds (a concept from The Four Agreements) * The qualities to look for in friendships that support leveling up — healing, self-trust, courage, healthy boundaries, and celebration of each other's wins * How to distinguish between a friend going through a hard time (whom we support) versus ongoing patterns of negativity or limitation * What happens when our values shift and some friendships no longer feel like a fit — and how to navigate that with compassion * The most common regret at the end of life, from Bronnie Ware's The Top Five Regrets of the Dying — and why it matters for who you choose to walk beside Mentioned in this episode: * Becky Roberts — LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/flourishwithbecky/] * Alex Pitt & Hopeful Healers - LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-pitt-lpcc-acc-168058293/] * The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz * The Top Five Regrets of the Dying by Bronnie Ware * Internal Family Systems (IFS) — Dick Schwartz Jessie's upcoming retreat: A women's retreat in Sedona, Arizona, October 1–4. Three spots remaining. Reach out to learn more: jessie@jessiebrown.org; ReturningToSoul.com Returning to Soul is a podcast for lawyers and other high achievers seeking deeper meaning, purpose, and fulfillment in their work and lives. Hosted by Jessie Brown — attorney turned coach, purpose guide, meditation teacher, sound healer, and retreat facilitator.