Find Your Voice, Change Your Life

#182 A Diagnosis, a Divorce, and a Decision to Speak Up

Today, I interview Karen Rudolf who believed she wasn’t enough and learned early on to stay quiet, especially after being told as a child to stop asking questions. That moment shaped how she saw herself. She became very quiet, carried that into her relationships, and continued to feel small and unheard into adulthood. Growing up, her curiosity was shut down, and with a mother who was also timid and a people pleaser, she learned not to speak up. She entered a relationship where her voice was again dismissed, reinforcing the belief that what she thought and felt did not matter. Everything began to shift when her life circumstances intensified. Going through a divorce while raising three daughters, facing health issues like hair loss and a pre-diabetes diagnosis, and even being told she might not walk again forced her to confront how she had been living. These moments pushed her to listen to herself and realize she could no longer stay silent. She began to speak up, ask for what she needed, and trust her intuition. Today, Karen uses her voice to help others uncover the root cause of their patterns and express who they truly are. __________________ Karen Rudolf is the founder of Tranquil SOULutions™, where science meets soul to support high-performing, heart-led women and leaders shift out of survival mode and into grounded alignment. With a background in nursing and training in neuroscience-informed tools, somatic awareness, and trauma-release principles, she helps clients reconnect with their inner voice, regulate their nervous system, and lead from a place of embodied clarity. Karen is also the creator of the Tranquil SOULutions Mind Mosaic™ and The Butterfly Technique, practical and intuitive frameworks for decision-making and inner realignment. She is the author of the upcoming book Spiraling UP: The Light You Command. __________________ Find Karen here: https://www.facebook.com/officialkarenrudolf/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenrudolf/ https://www.instagram.com/officialkarenrudolf/ https://www.youtube.com/@officialkarenrudolf Clarity compass: https://karenrudolf.com/free-clarity-compass-pdf-967946480054 Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1751770/support] I’m Dr. Doreen Downing and I help people find their voice so they can speak without fear. Get the Free 7-Step Guide to Fearless Speaking https://www.doreen7steps.com .

#181 Silence Kept Her Safe… Until It Didn’t

Today, I interview Dori Eversmann who grew up in a family where speaking up could lead to disconnection, learning as a young girl to stay silent, watch people’s faces, and only speak when it felt safe. That pattern followed her into school and adulthood, where she became the quiet, compliant, invisible one, often freezing when asked to speak and doubting her own voice. For decades, she lived this way, until in her 40s she felt invisible, disposable, and replaceable, reaching a breaking point that pushed her to seek help and begin healing. A major shift came later after building and selling a business, when a COVID experience made her realize, “This is not what I am on this earth to do,” leading her to finally pursue something more meaningful. She began taking small, courageous steps, training as a coach, practicing speaking, and learning to connect from the heart. Today, she helps others move out of silence and fear and into authentic, heart-centered communication in their work and relationships. __________________ Dori Eversmann is the owner of Resilient Relationships and a speaker, facilitator, and coach specializing in communication skills and leadership presence. She works with leaders and managers to build cultures of healthy communication and create high-trust teams where people actually want to stay and grow. Her career spans both business and nonprofit leadership. Along the way, she discovered one truth that shows up everywhere: effective communication is the key to success at work and in life. While she teaches these skills, she also lives them imperfectly. She openly shares that communication can still be a challenge, especially with her husband of 33 years. __________________ Find Dori here: https://www.instagram.com/dorieversmann/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/deversmann/ https://www.facebook.com/dori.eversmann https://www.youtube.com/@RiseUpWithDori Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1751770/support] I’m Dr. Doreen Downing and I help people find their voice so they can speak without fear. Get the Free 7-Step Guide to Fearless Speaking https://www.doreen7steps.com .

#180 When “You Can’t” Becomes “Watch Me”

Today, I interview Mikki St. Germain who grew up being told to “keep your mouth shut” and made to feel like her voice didn’t matter. At 14, her mother left, and she stepped into adult responsibility, working, caring for her siblings, and eventually becoming an emancipated minor at 16. When a guidance counselor told her, “Girls like you don’t go to schools like this,” something inside her woke up. With $263 in her pocket, she drove to Florida after graduation and decided she would figure life out on her own. That decision marked a shift from living in desperation to choosing inspiration. She stopped allowing other people’s opinions to become her reality and began building courage from the inside out. Today, Mikki is a high school football coach with 17 years of experience, one of the rare female head coaches to win a divisional league and championship. She also coaches people off the field, helping them move from setback to comeback. Her message is clear: only you can tell your story, and when you choose to step up and use your voice, it can change everything. __________________ Coach Mikki St. Germain is an international speaker, published author, and one of the rare female football coaches leading in a male-dominated sport. With over 17 years of coaching experience from Pop Warner to high school head coach, she has won a divisional league and championship while building teams that succeed both on and off the field. As the founder of The 4th and 1 Mindset, Mikki helps individuals turn setbacks into comebacks by choosing inspiration over desperation and refusing to let other people’s opinions define their reality. __________________ Find Mikki here: Website: http://www.4thand1mindset.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HailMaryInHeels Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1751770/support] I’m Dr. Doreen Downing and I help people find their voice so they can speak without fear. Get the Free 7-Step Guide to Fearless Speaking https://www.doreen7steps.com .

#179 Success that Hides the Truth

Today, I interview Robin Goad who grew up believing that if her own mother did not love her enough to protect her, then she must be unlovable. From a young age, she learned to perform. Achievement was praised. Expectations were high. On the outside, she looked confident and capable. On the inside, she was hiding pain and building a life around approval. That pattern followed her into adulthood. She excelled in corporate America, rising into leadership while staying driven by performance and approval. At home, she was in a painful marriage. Then she made a choice that went against her own values, a choice that forced her to confront the life she had been living. But what felt like a nervous breakdown was actually the beginning of something new. Alone and finally facing herself, she uncovered the lie she had been living from for decades. Facing that lie marked the turning point in her life. Today, Robin shows up differently. Through her book Girl by Birth, Woman by Fire and her coaching, she creates space for women to be real and authentic, to tell the ugly raw truth without judgment. She helps women heal from trauma and guides young women in corporate America to discover their superpowers and rise without losing who they are. __________________ Robin Goad is a powerhouse technology executive at Amazon Web Services, speaker, and coach who helps ambitious women master the corporate game without losing themselves. With over 30 years of leadership across Fortune 100 companies like Dell and Gartner, she has closed billion dollar deals, earned recognition as Dell's Working Mother of the Year, and built a reputation as a warrior in heels. But Robin's journey was not paved in perfection. It was forged in fire. Behind the titles were battles with childhood trauma, divorce, and a breaking point that forced her to confront the lies she had believed. That moment became her turning point. As the author of Girl by Birth. Woman by Fire., Robin equips women with her R.E.A.L. Framework and The Unwritten Rulebook, practical strategies for thriving in corporate America and in life. Her message is simple and bold: you can achieve extraordinary success without sacrificing your soul. __________________ Find Robin here: https://www.therealrobingoad.com/ https://www.facebook.com/robin.goad.5/ https://www.youtube.com/@robingoad5604/ https://www.instagram.com/fiftyfavoredfiguringitout/ https://www.tiktok.com/@therealrobingoad/ Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1751770/support] I’m Dr. Doreen Downing and I help people find their voice so they can speak without fear. Get the Free 7-Step Guide to Fearless Speaking https://www.doreen7steps.com .

#178 The Hidden Cost of Being the Strong One

Today, I interview Shelly Grimm, who reflects on growing up alongside chronic illness and learning, from a very young age, how to take care of herself and others. Much of Shelly’s childhood unfolded in hospitals, financial strain, and ongoing uncertainty. She learned how to manage, decide, and keep going without much protection or guidance. Confidence developed through necessity. Speaking up was less about expression and more about making sure life continued to function. As the conversation unfolds, Shelly starts to recognize how much of her strength came from necessity. Naming this brings a new awareness to the cost of always having to handle things alone, and how that shaped her confidence and voice. Today, Shelly’s work supports caregivers and families navigating long-term illness and responsibility. In this conversation, we explore how voice and confidence can form through lived experience, and what becomes possible when those early patterns are finally seen and understood. __________________ Shelly Grimm is the founder of The Perpetual Caregiver Collective, a national movement dedicated to supporting caregivers and those living with chronic illness through compassion, financial clarity, and renewal. A former insurance executive with 27 years of experience in financial consulting, Shelly blends her professional expertise with deeply personal experience. Her mother was the first woman in the United States diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in 1956, an event that shaped Shelly’s lifelong empathy for those facing chronic illness and the families who care for them. She is the author of her debut memoir Some Asses Just Need Wiping and the upcoming sequel Some Loves Just Need Leaving, part of her Some Just Need… book series. Shelly has been featured on Fox Business, Bloomberg, and Tom Hegna’s Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, and was named by MSN as one of the Top 10 Most Inspirational Women to Follow in 2025. Her work through The Perpetual Caregiver Collective bridges the gap between practical financial preparedness and emotional well-being, ensuring no caregiver—or care recipient—ever feels unseen or unsupported. __________________ Find Shelly here: www.linkedin/in/shellygrimm/ www.facebook.com/theperpetualcaregiver/ www.instagram.com/perpetualcaregiver/ Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1751770/support] I’m Dr. Doreen Downing and I help people find their voice so they can speak without fear. Get the Free 7-Step Guide to Fearless Speaking https://www.doreen7steps.com .