17. Hiking the Inca Trail in Peru: Mountains, Meaning and Machu Picchu

21. Flourish: Stop Playing Small and Start Living Fully

In this episode of The Resilience and Grit Podcast, I share the simple practice that has helped guide my life with greater clarity and intention: choosing one word for the year. My word for 2026? Flourish. You'll hear reflections on what it means to stop merely surviving and instead grow emotionally, spiritually, relationally and professionally. Drawing inspiration from Harvard professor Arthur Brooks and a powerful Marianne Williamson quote about not “playing small,” I also encourage listeners to choose their own guiding word for the rest of the year. Growth doesn’t require perfection, sometimes we simply need direction. Here's the quote by Marianne Williamson: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

20. A Guest Episode with Bernadette Pohl: Pregnancy Loss, Motherhood and Meaning

In this heartfelt episode of The Resilience and Grit Podcast, I welcome fellow podcaster and my niece, Bernadette Pohl, to share her deeply personal story about motherhood, miscarriage, suffering, resilience and faith. This episode unfolds a little differently than many of my others. Bernadette courageously and thoughtfully shares her journey in her own words--and what a powerful story it is. She speaks openly about pregnancy loss, difficult pregnancies, severe food allergies affecting her children, exhaustion, and the emotional toll of navigating challenge after challenge while still trying to remain hopeful. In this episode, Bernadette reflects on: • The grief and loneliness that can accompany pregnancy loss • How suffering changes us, strengthens us and forms our character • The role of faith, prayer and community support during difficult seasons • Finding gratitude and meaning even amid hardship This episode is for anyone carrying invisible burdens, hidden grief, walking through uncertainty, or needing a reminder that they are not alone in the hard things. Resilience is not about avoiding suffering. It is about learning how to walk through it with courage, grace and hope. Here's the link to the Moving Mountains Podcast that Bernadette and her two friends host: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/moving-mountains-podcast/id1661002470 Books Mentioned: The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter He Leadeth Me by Walter Ciszek

19. Gratitude and Grit: Fuel for Hard Times

In this episode, I’m reflecting on something that has become absolutely essential in my own life: gratitude. I share three powerful reasons why gratitude matters so much to me: * Gratitude can help carry us through hard times * The best way to receive more of what we want in life is to become deeply grateful for what we already have * Gratitude has the power to interrupt negative thinking and rewire how we see the world This episode is for anyone who: * Feels emotionally drained or discouraged * Wants more peace and grounding * Is walking through a hard season * Finds themselves stuck in negative thinking * Needs a reminder that joy and gratitude can coexist with struggle One thing I know for sure: Gratitude doesn’t erase the hard things. But it absolutely changes how we walk through them. And here's the link to the Gratitude Journal [https://www.amazon.com/Gratitude-Journal-Catherine-Price/dp/081186720X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2VBLHUL82A3LZ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Q7GhLqWI9pE5a54_YJaXNHo3znIngwOaRAnjH50StJBMc1O11eu2AqYjb0PFh84Qhwj9Vc4frVj1djeKCh2QXOlKDZ-X5hRFaWPCdCPmI-rwBH53ntjrPRgH29_jN3kQjb1KlzwWhR14VOOPtI7cr5Tv_TLp1BAqrjvilUB0oA27natk7VhKq3ewYUQ19J13o4Z0Po5uLEx9gy05wZlU7f3_2ii8MmOtm0a5dHrJ4g4.jHvy8Fm5h7N-r61Ssc7rj0iiZVi9Wim2U2HVErK5B80&dib_tag=se&keywords=gratitude+a+journal+by+chronicle+books&qid=1779931962&s=books&sprefix=gratitude+a+journal+by+chronicle+books%2Cstripbooks%2C92&sr=1-1] I mentioned and love it (...I receive no benefit from promoting this, other than sharing things I love with my listeners). Onward and upward!

18. Courage, Grit and the Day I Became Spider Woman

In this episode of The Resilience and Grit Podcast, I share the story of attending a personal development seminar years ago with my friend Laura and several others… and the unforgettable day we tackled a high ropes adventure course. What started as a morning of exhaustion, shaky nerves quickly turned into one of the most memorable moments of my life. Faced with the decision between the smaller “Chicken Little” climb or a towering 30+ foot telephone pole and trapeze jump, I somehow found myself climbing higher and higher until I was standing at the very top of a giant telephone pole, balancing above the ground with my heart pounding. I felt like Spider Woman. Somewhere during that experience, something shifted in me. It was one of the first moments I realized I wanted more adventure, more courage, more aliveness and less of the things (like alcohol) that were draining my energy and spirit. This episode is about: • Courage before confidence • Doing hard things even when conditions are far from perfect • Why growth often begins with discomfort • The surprising clarity that can come from challenge • And how one terrifying leap helped shape the direction of my life Sometimes resilience begins the moment we decide to climb anyway. 🎙️💕

17. Hiking the Inca Trail in Peru: Mountains, Meaning and Machu Picchu

What started as a hiking adventure in Peru became something much deeper. In this episode (and that's Percy and Edson on today's podcast cover), I share the story of trekking the legendary Inca Trail to Machu Picchu--from acclimating to the altitude in Cusco, to climbing up, up, up to Dead Woman’s Pass at nearly 14,000 feet, to finally arriving at the breathtaking Sun Gate entrance overlooking Machu Picchu. Along the way, I reflect on: * The physical and emotional challenge of the trek * The beauty and brilliance of the Incan civilization * What resilience is really built from * Why hard adventures can change us from the inside out This episode is about more than hiking. It’s about mountains, meaning, growth, and the realization that sometimes we come home from an adventure not depleted, but deeply alive. If you love hiking, travel, culture, or stories of resilience and transformation, this episode is for you (and I'm linking Episode 1 below--my Kilimanjaro trek story. Oof!) Until next time… onward and upward. --Links for You!-- If you'd like to hear my Kilimanjaro story, here's Episode 1: The Summit I Didn't Reach - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1-the-summit-i-didnt-reach-lasting-lessons-from-kilimanjaro/id1868855299?i=1000745071237 Interested in doing the Inca Trail? Here's the trip link to the company I went with--fantastic! https://iantaylortrekking.com/inca-trail/classic-5-day-inca-trail-trek/