Live Like You Were Dying. Buy the Dang Castle.

Why Fitting In Was Holding Her Back

What happens when the career that looks successful on paper no longer feels right? In this episode of Bring Your Big Energy, Stacey sits down with branding strategist and founder of Flower Buds Creative, Nikki Holbrook, to explore the journey from corporate burnout to building a business rooted in purpose, authenticity, and personal values. After spending nearly a decade climbing the corporate ladder in marketing and UX design, Nikki found herself exhausted, disconnected, and questioning whether success was supposed to feel this way. A breaking point during the pandemic forced her to listen to what her body had been telling her all along: she was living out of alignment with who she truly was. Together, Stacey and Nikki discuss: ✨ Recognizing the warning signs of burnout before they become impossible to ignore ✨ Why trying to "fit in" can keep you from finding the right path ✨ The role therapy played in Nikki's transformation ✨ How to identify your mission, values, and North Star as a business owner ✨ Building confidence through branding and authentic storytelling ✨ Letting go of perfectionism and embracing imperfect action ✨ Defining success beyond corporate titles, KPIs, and paychecks ✨ Why authenticity matters more than ever in an AI-driven world Whether you're considering a career pivot, building a mission-driven business, or searching for work that feels more aligned with who you are, this conversation offers both practical guidance and inspiration for taking the next step.

Learning to Choose Yourself

What happens when life forces you to start over — and you never saw it coming? In this powerful episode of Bring Your Big Energy, Stacey sits down with author and speaker Amy DeAnne to talk about healing, reinvention, and the courage it takes to choose yourself. After the end of a 29-year marriage and finding herself living alone for the first time during the pandemic, Amy faced a crossroads: stay stuck in anger, isolation, and heartbreak, or begin the journey back to herself. Amy shares the honest realities of healing — the setbacks, the fear, the baby steps, and the surprising lessons she discovered along the way. From “dating yourself” and trying new experiences to practicing vulnerability and releasing expectations, this conversation is full of practical wisdom and hope for anyone navigating a major life transition. In this episode, you'll learn: • Why healing isn't a destination — it's a journey • How to stop staying stuck in the "should've, could've, would've" cycle • The power of vulnerability and why it can become your superpower • How gratitude and forgiveness can help release anger • Why learning to trust yourself changes everything • What life can look like on the other side of healing If you're standing at your own intensity point and wondering what's next, this episode is your reminder that your story isn't over — it may just be beginning. Keep bringing that big energy.

Grab Your Permission Slip

She went back to the place that broke her… to heal the version of herself she left there. 🇮🇹✨At 20 years old, Mari was studying abroad in Florence, Italy when her life completely changed. Pregnant, alone, heartbroken, and overwhelmed, she spent months in deep despair before eventually returning home and building what looked like the “perfect life.”Fast forward 20+ years later:✔️ Married for 20 years✔️ 3 kids✔️ Businesses✔️ Success on paper…but internally, she was falling apart.So she did something most people would never dare to do:She left for Italy alone during Thanksgiving week with nothing but her old journals and a need to feel her feelings instead of outrunning them.What happened there changed everything.In this episode, we talk about:✨ Healing your younger self✨ The danger of living life on “default”✨ Why women wait for permission to choose themselves✨ Burnout, identity, and learning to trust yourself again✨ What it really means to create a life you love waking up to“One of the saddest seasons of my life became the place that healed me.” 🤍This conversation is your permission slip to stop sleepwalking through your life.

Embracing Second Chances

In this heartfelt episode of Bring Your Big Energy, Stacey sits down with author, musician, and retired clinical social worker Jeanine M. Jones for a deeply honest conversation about burnout, healing, faith, and second chances. With over 38 years in mental health, Jeanine shares the powerful personal story that changed the course of her life — a terrifying health scare in her late 20s that forced her to confront perfectionism, chronic stress, and the pressure of trying to carry everything for everyone. What followed was a life-changing moment of surrender, spirituality, and rediscovery. Together, Stacey and Jeanine explore: * The hidden signs of burnout and overwhelm * How trauma can shape perfectionism and people-pleasing * The connection between mental health, music, and healing * Why listening is one of the greatest gifts we can give * How to find the right therapist and prioritize self-care * What it means to move toward purpose, passion, and peace in every stage of life Jeanine also shares insights from her book God Gives Second Chances and opens up about how faith, music therapy, journaling, and learning to let go helped her rebuild a more meaningful life. This episode is a reminder that healing doesn’t always happen all at once — sometimes it begins with a whisper, a song, or a moment that asks us to finally listen.

From Spiraling to Stepping Into Power

This episode is a live coaching session, not a polished interview. Listeners are brought directly into the coaching process as Stacey guides Lisa Van Slyke through the real-time unpacking of limiting beliefs, emotional triggers, identity shifts, and the hidden patterns keeping her stuck. Through powerful coaching questions, reflection exercises, mindset reframes, and honest breakthrough moments, Stacey helps Lisa uncover the deeper roots behind perfectionism, people-pleasing, fear of visibility, and the exhausting habit of dimming herself to make others comfortable. Rather than simply talking about transformation after it happens, this episode allows listeners to witness the actual coaching work that creates it. As the session unfolds, Lisa vulnerably explores childhood bullying, addiction recovery, divorce, reinvention, confidence struggles, and the fear of fully stepping into visibility online and in life. Together, Stacey and Lisa work through the stories, emotional barriers, and internal resistance that have shaped her identity and begin creating a new path forward grounded in confidence, self-worth, authenticity, and aligned action. This episode offers an inside look at what transformational coaching can actually sound and feel like in practice: messy, emotional, honest, insightful, and deeply human. Topics include: • Coaching through fear of visibility and judgment • Identifying and reframing limiting identity stories • Breaking patterns of people-pleasing and perfectionism • Processing emotional triggers tied to rejection and trauma • Rebuilding confidence after addiction, divorce, and life transitions • Learning how to stop spiraling and start taking aligned action • Creating a life and identity rooted in authenticity instead of approval This is not surface-level inspiration or polished perfection. It is real coaching, real vulnerability, and real transformation unfolding live in real time.