Before Nancy Leighton became a career counselor, she spent six years in retail — including a stint as the hat, glove, and muffler buyer at Brooks Brothers. One class, audited on a whim at the Teachers College of Columbia University, changed everything. Nancy shares what it took to walk away from something stable (against her family's wishes), finish a two-year master's over four years while working full-time, and eventually build a practice she now runs with two counselors under her. Thirty years in, she breaks down what actually helps people find the right career fit — and what to do if you're stuck in your own version of the hat and glove department right now!

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What do you do when the career you love is suddenly taken from you? For Adriana Brangi, the answer was: you find a new way to swim.

In 2020, Adriana was diagnosed with primary progressive multiple sclerosis — a diagnosis that ended her career as a preschool teacher and forced her to completely rethink what her life and work would look like going forward.

Rather than letting MS dictate her limits, Adriana found something unexpected: freedom in the water. She became a certified scuba diver and discovered that diving gave her a sense of physical control she couldn’t find on land. As she puts it, “When I go into the water, I have full range of motion… everything works better. I’m me again.”

That experience led her to found Diving Beyond MS, a nonprofit dedicated to spreading MS awareness and helping people with chronic illnesses experience the healing and freedom of diving firsthand.

In this episode, Adriana shares her full career journey — from the life she built as a preschool teacher, through the disruption of her diagnosis, to the moment she found a new sense of purpose underwater. It’s a conversation about resilience, reinvention, and what it means to find a new way forward when the life you planned is no longer available to you.

Topics discussed:

• Adriana’s career as a preschool teacher and how her MS diagnosis upended it

• Adapting to life with primary progressive MS

• Discovering scuba diving and the physical/emotional relief it provided

• Founding Diving Beyond MS and its mission

• Advocacy for chronic illness and disability awareness

• Redefining identity and purpose after a life-altering diagnosis

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What if the path you thought you were supposed to take was only the beginning? Stephanie Clapp shares how she went from a 20-year career in education to embracing her intuitive gifts as a psychic medium and mentor, and how that leap helped her—and the women she works with—trust themselves more deeply. This episode explores spiritual awakening, career reinvention, and the power of messy action, with practical tools for overcoming self-doubt and stepping into a more authentic life!

To learn more about Stephanie: https://www.instagram.com/thestephanieclapp/

Key topics:

• Stephanie’s journey from educator in Westchester County to psychic medium and intuitive mentor
• How the pandemic accelerated her willingness to share her gifts publicly
• Understanding the differences between psychic and mediumship, and the importance of certification in the UK versus the US
• The role of Clairsentience—including hearing and gut feelings—in intuitive readings
• Practical tools like EFT tapping, meditation, and somatic practices to build confidence and trust in intuition
• Overcoming societal skepticism and stereotypes about being spiritual or intuitive
• Lessons on messy action and failing forward in career transitions
• Upcoming book that combines memoir and self-help to activate and heal your intuition

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction and Stephanie Clapp's career background

00:33 - Stephanie's early career in education and the career pivot

01:42 - The influence of family and innate gifts on her journey

03:16 - Skepticism and societal perceptions of psychic work

04:07 - Growing up in a spiritual environment and her family’s influence

05:02 - The impact of the pandemic in embracing her intuitive mentoring

06:07 - Personal story of losing a neighbor to COVID and using mediumship gifts

07:03 - How clair senses work and Stephanie’s intuitive methods

08:04 - Remote versus in-person readings and client experience

09:10 - Difference between psychic and mediumship work, including UK practices

10:08 - Communicating with passed loved ones and spiritual guides

11:08 - Feeling energy remotely and the integrity of intuitive practice

12:03 - How Stephanie helps women lead themselves and trust their intuition

13:15 - Overcoming societal programming and deprogramming fears

14:02 - Using somatic practices, EFT tapping, and mindset work for self-trust

15:02 - The importance of messy action and embracing failure

16:25 - Debunking stereotypes around spiritual practitioners

17:20 - How to connect with Stephanie and her social media presence

18:11 - Announcing her upcoming book on healing, intuition, and purpose

20:01 - Closing thoughts on living authentically and embracing your true self

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