The Leadership Skills We Were Never Taught

Joy - Your Birthright

As part of our June series, Joy & Aliveness, we're revisiting one of the earliest conversations from the Your Odyssey archives. What if joy isn't something you have to earn? Many of us have been taught to treat joy as a reward—something that comes after the work is done, after the healing happens, or after life becomes easier. But what if joy was never meant to be a prize waiting at the finish line? In this conversation, Tara and Karen explore the idea that joy is a fundamental part of who we are. Not because life is always easy. Not because difficult emotions disappear. But because joy can exist alongside grief, uncertainty, challenge, and change. Together, they discuss the duality of joy, why we often lose touch with it, and simple ways to reconnect through gratitude, laughter, movement, presence, and wonder. In This Episode * Why joy is more than a fleeting emotion * The difference between happiness and joy * How joy can coexist with difficult seasons * Simple practices for reconnecting with delight * Remembering what has always been available to you Why We're Revisiting This Episode Throughout this month's Joy & Aliveness series, we've been exploring the idea that joy isn't something we stumble upon after everything is fixed. It's something we return to. And this conversation reminds us that perhaps joy has been part of us all along. Whether you're hearing this episode for the first time or returning to it years later, we invite you to listen for what resonates now. Follow us on Instagram! [https://www.instagram.com/yourodyssey.life/] Music:   Opening/Interlude/Outro: Love Is Waiting [https://open.spotify.com/track/6a4UbgIgQkCwcDGbrhNGvt?si=63543081d4244e3e]Featured Song: Walking on Sunshine - Katrina & The Waves [https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=HmR2IZjuMVc&si=wTCHTQMO0U14x4d-]

Joy Isn't Frivolous

What if joy isn't something you earn, but something you need? In this episode, Tara and Karen challenge the belief that joy is frivolous, unproductive, or something to be put off until everything else is finished. They explore why play, curiosity, wonder, and delight are not distractions from healing but part of the healing itself. Through a thought-provoking conversation about our most essential human needs, they invite listeners to reconsider what it means to truly care for themselves. What if joy belongs alongside oxygen and water? What if making space for laughter, creativity, connection, and awe isn't selfish, but necessary? In This Episode * Why joy doesn't have to be earned * The connection between play and well-being * How curiosity helps us stay open to life * Releasing the belief that rest and delight are frivolous * Why surviving and living are not the same thing * Making room for wonder in everyday life If you've been postponing what brings you life until a "better time," this episode offers permission to stop waiting. Follow us on Instagram! [https://www.instagram.com/yourodyssey.life/] Music:   Opening/Interlude/Outro: Love Is Waiting [https://open.spotify.com/track/6a4UbgIgQkCwcDGbrhNGvt?si=63543081d4244e3e]Featured Song: Joy - Voices of Fire [https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=7Hm3tdcuJcQ&si=SMhm5Jcxb8mgx9LX] Playlists: Spotify - Volume 2 [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/00JFCmxn0Y0wCRN4Di2x5A?si=vW1LQhhPTHaiPj9KmYDR0g]YouTube Music - Volume 2 [https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnW38w_wffWHMSwmAlBd7dTvy-PPMUIaw&si=EKJsWWmRsKWkXY3y]

When Did You Stop Feeling Alive? Reconnecting with Joy, Presence & Yourself

What if the reason you feel disconnected isn't that you've lost your purpose, but because you've lost touch with what makes you feel alive? In this episode of Your Odyssey Podcast, Tara and Karen explore the quiet ways we drift away from ourselves through responsibility, achievement, survival mode, and the endless pressure to keep doing more. Together, they unpack why joy doesn't live at the end of a completed to-do list, how aliveness often shows up in ordinary moments, and what it looks like to reconnect with the parts of yourself that have been waiting for your attention. In This Episode * Why many women feel disconnected despite doing "everything right" * The difference between functioning and feeling alive * How achievement can quietly pull us away from ourselves * Why joy isn't waiting at the finish line * Small ways to reconnect with aliveness in everyday life If you've been functioning but not fully feeling, this conversation is an invitation to slow down, pay attention, and begin finding your way back. Follow us on Instagram! [https://www.instagram.com/yourodyssey.life/] Music:   Opening/Interlude/Outro: Love Is Waiting [https://open.spotify.com/track/6a4UbgIgQkCwcDGbrhNGvt?si=63543081d4244e3e]Featured Song: Alive - Sia [https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae51BA_W1Fc&si=0BJ8Jd-SKEVoLQ01] Playlists: Spotify - Volume 2 [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/00JFCmxn0Y0wCRN4Di2x5A?si=vW1LQhhPTHaiPj9KmYDR0g]YouTube Music - Volume 2 [https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnW38w_wffWHMSwmAlBd7dTvy-PPMUIaw&si=EKJsWWmRsKWkXY3y]

The Future of Leadership: Why We're Hopeful About Human Beings

What if the future of leadership isn’t hopeless after all? In the final episode of this 3-part series, Tara and Karen continue their conversation with Merry about culture change, emotional intelligence, and the future of leadership, and why, despite the instability we see around us, she remains deeply hopeful about people. Together, they explore: * Why most people are already doing the best they can with the tools they’ve been given * The connection between education, emotional intelligence, and healthier cultures * What leaders actually need to create sustainable transformation * How small acts of courage ripple outward into organizations and communities * Why culture change begins with human beings, not systems alone * The future of leadership in a rapidly changing world This conversation is a hopeful reminder that transformation becomes possible when people are given the right support, resources, and environments to grow. If you’ve been longing for a different way forward, for leadership, relationships, or culture, this episode invites you to imagine what becomes possible when we stop leading through survival and start leading through awareness, courage, and care. Follow us on Instagram! [https://www.instagram.com/yourodyssey.life/] Music:   Opening/Interlude/Outro: Love Is Waiting [https://open.spotify.com/track/6a4UbgIgQkCwcDGbrhNGvt?si=63543081d4244e3e]Featured Song: Glory - Common featuring John Legend [https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=HUZOKvYcx_o&si=7rvD5pM2wB678M9M] Playlists: Spotify - Volume 2 [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/00JFCmxn0Y0wCRN4Di2x5A?si=vW1LQhhPTHaiPj9KmYDR0g]YouTube Music - Volume 2 [https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnW38w_wffWHMSwmAlBd7dTvy-PPMUIaw&si=EKJsWWmRsKWkXY3y]

Visionary Leadership Today: How We All Get Stuck

Why does transformation feel so difficult, even when we know change is necessary? In Part 2 of this 3-part leadership series, Tara and Karen continue their conversation with Merry Graham, exploring why to explore why so many visionary leaders find themselves caught between outdated definitions of success and the need for deeper transformation. Together, they explore: * Why transformation often feels uncomfortable and uncertain * Emotional intelligence and self-regulation in times of instability * How fear and reactivity keep leaders stuck * The emotional climate leaders create around them * What visionary leadership requires in today’s world * The tension between who we were and who we’re becoming If you’ve been feeling caught between exhaustion and expansion, certainty and change, this conversation offers language for the in-between—and a reminder that transformation is rarely linear. Follow us on Instagram! [https://www.instagram.com/yourodyssey.life/] Music:   Opening/Interlude/Outro: Love Is Waiting [https://open.spotify.com/track/6a4UbgIgQkCwcDGbrhNGvt?si=63543081d4244e3e]Featured Song: Hold On - Alabama Shakes [https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=4NDV4t1wCSg&si=1Te1bBooi2JjNqM3] Playlists: Spotify - Volume 2 [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/00JFCmxn0Y0wCRN4Di2x5A?si=vW1LQhhPTHaiPj9KmYDR0g]YouTube Music - Volume 2 [https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnW38w_wffWHMSwmAlBd7dTvy-PPMUIaw&si=EKJsWWmRsKWkXY3y]