Through her own journey of healing from multiple traumas, including an abusive relationship, Elyssa Smith studied and developed methods to hack the survival brain, rewiring the limiting beliefs that were keeping her stuck. Elyssa is a trauma informed life strategist who helps female executives, entrepreneurs, and professionals squash their limiting beliefs and heal from hidden trauma so they can stop playing small and get to their next level. As a nervous system regulation and mindset mastery expert, she now gets to equip other women with tools and techniques that not only saved her life and skyrocketed her business, but will actually reprogram their brains to unleash their wildest potential for unprecedented success and happiness. Elyssa has been featured in Forbes, she's been on the TEDx stage, and is a regular contributor on Fox 59 Morning News.

What You Will Hear in This Episode:

02:33 Elyssa's Personal Journey of Healing

04:43 The Impact of Hidden Trauma

06:53 Lessons Learned and Overcoming Self-Sabotage

12:41 Gender Differences in Self-Sabotage

15:10 Reprogramming the Brain for Lasting Change

22:23 Exploring Family Dynamics and Hidden Criticism

26:19 Understanding Healthy Attachment and Reparenting

31:28 The Concept of Tiny T Trauma

36:26 Addressing the Inner Critic

Quotes

“We all have the potential to be a badass.”

“Our negative thoughts and beliefs, our fears, our self doubt, prevent us from stepping up and living our best life.”

“Your survival brain literally forms based on what you went through as a kid.”

“There's no healing in shame.”

“If you want lasting change, you've got to create new neural pathways.”

“The inner critic is the number one survival brain response.”

Mentioned:

LinkedIn

Facebook

Instagram

eConnect with Bonnie

Online Course for Ambitious Women: https://www.female-career-accelerator-online.com/

Substack Newsletter: Own Your Ambition

Gendered Ageism Survey Results

Forbes article

5 Tips to own the superpower of your age

IAMMusicGroup

Purchase my book Not Done Yet on Amazon:

If you enjoyed this episode of Badass Women Podcast, then make sure to subscribe to the podcast and drop us a five-star review

Lori Duff's journey began with strong academic success, which led her parents to steer her towards law school. Initially focused solely on her legal career, Lori truly discovered her love for creative writing after a challenging election loss in 2012. This moment of introspection prompted her to start blogging, humorously chronicling her husband's antics, which then evolved into a more public writing career. Lori is a lawyer, a judge, and an award winning writer. She's a past president of the Georgia Council for Municipal Court Judges, and the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. A two time winner of the Georgia Bar Journal's Annual Fiction Competition, she also won the Forward Indies Gold Medal for Humor, and the National Society of Newspaper Columnists Annual Column Contest, and many other awards for her work. Her new novel, Devil's Defense, is a finalist in the American Book Fest Best Book Awards in General Fiction and Thriller Adventure categories and her novella, Broken Things, won the Georgia Independent Author of the Year Award for Literary Fiction.

What You Will Hear in This Episode:

01:46 Lori's Background

04:24 Journey to Writing

05:34 Balancing Law and Writing

15:20 Creative Inspirations

18:05 Character Development

30:46 Upcoming Projects

Quotes

“People are complicated. Nobody thinks they're the bad guy.”

“Don't let anyone else tell you no. There's enough people telling you no.”

Mentioned:

loriduffwrites.com

Substack @loriduffwrites

Twitter: @loriduffwrites

Facebook: Lori Duff Writes

Instagram: @loriduffwrites

LinkedIn: Lori Duff

eConnect with Bonnie

Substack Newsletter: Own Your Ambition

Gendered Ageism Survey Results

Forbes article

5 Tips to own the superpower of your age

IAMMusicGroup

Purchase my book Not Done Yet on Amazon:

If you enjoyed this episode of Badass Women Podcast, then make sure to subscribe to the podcast and drop us a five-star review

Linda Descano's personal journey is an inspiring tale of resilience, adaptability, and unwavering determination. Raised in a traditional Italian Catholic family in South Philadelphia, Linda was instilled with the importance of education by her parents despite their lack of formal schooling. Influenced by strong, hardworking women in her family, Linda embraced the idea that she could be anything she wanted to be—that nothing could hold her back.  Linda is a certified financial advisor. She is now global Chief Integration and Marketing Officer for the Havas, Red Network, a Merge Media agency micro network within the Havas group. In addition to overseeing the agency's global marketing and thought leadership activities, Linda provides communications counsel to clients across multiple industry sectors and stages of growth on brand reputation and corporate communication strategies and tactics. This is not Linda's first career, she shares her inspiring story about her journey. Full disclosure, I met Linda years ago in New York City when she was in a different role and in fact, I was so inspired by her that I had to include her story in my book, Not Done Yet.

What You Will Hear in This Episode:

01:54 Linda's Early Life and Influences

04:09 Career Journey and Multiple Pivots

05:32 Facing Challenges and Overcoming Failure

10:05 The Power of Networking

30:56 Advice for Women Over 50

Quotes

“You don't have to just be one thing. Keep learning, keep growing, and don't let anyone put you in a sandbox.”

“Build real relationships by being willing to give, not just take. Practice good karma and always be respectful.”

“Every experience teaches you something. Use failures as a learning opportunity to repackage your skills and present them in new ways”.

“Never let age be a barrier to success. Your experience is invaluable; it's all about how you present it and continue to learn.”

Mentioned:

LinkedIn

eConnect with Bonnie

https://substack.com/@ownyourambition

Gendered Ageism Survey Results

Forbes article

5 Tips to own the superpower of your age

IAMMusicGroup

Purchase my book Not Done Yet on Amazon:

If you enjoyed this episode of Badass Women Podcast, then make sure to subscribe to the podcast and drop us a five-star review.