Takeaways

• Growth rarely starts with a perfect plan. It starts with one decision to show up, even when you don't feel ready for it.
• Almost no one walks into a new room feeling fully confident. Courage tends to show up after you take the first step, not before it.
• You can't expect your life to change if you never change your environment. The rooms you're willing to walk into shape what becomes possible next.

In this episode of Find the Joy, Courtney Vroman explores a simple but powerful idea: the next chapter of your life doesn't have to start with a giant leap. It can start with one decision, one yes, one room. She reflects on how many of life's most meaningful relationships, jobs, and opportunities began the same ordinary way, by someone simply showing up.

Courtney gets honest about the fear that keeps so many women on the sidelines: the worry that we're not ready, that we won't know anyone, or that it isn't worth it. She reminds listeners that almost nobody feels fully confident walking into a new room, and that some of the strongest friendships start because two people were both brave enough to walk in alone. Confidence, she says, often comes after obedience. Courage shows up after your feet do.

She also tackles the guilt so many women carry around investing in themselves, pointing out that we'll research equipment, vacations, and home projects for hours, yet hesitate the moment it's our own growth on the line. Taking care of yourself isn't selfish. It's what allows you to keep showing up for everyone else.

The episode closes with an invitation, both to Empower Her and to whatever room listeners have been quietly avoiding. Courtney's challenge is simple: you don't have to know what's waiting on the other side of the door. You just have to be willing to walk through it.

Key Topics Covered

• Why growth requires changing your environment, not just your mindset
• The fear of showing up alone, and why almost everyone feels it
• How encouraging community can change the direction of your week
• Learning to invest in yourself without guilt
• Empower Her as a real-world example of what's possible when you say yes
• Practical encouragement for identifying the room you've been avoiding

https://www.empowerhermn.com/

Takeaways

• The spaces that change your life are often the ones that don't exist yet, so you build them. Courtney didn't wait for someone to create the community she was craving. She found her inspiration and brought it home to the women in her own region.
• Showing up open and willing to be changed is how the most important relationships in your life find you. The friendships that came out of Empower Her weren't accidental. They happened because women walked in the door ready for them.
• Sometimes the thing you almost quit is the thing that was made for you. Courtney was close to walking away from Empower Her entirely until a single testimony from a friend reminded her exactly what she was building.

Summary of the Episode

In Episode 18 of Find the Joy, Courtney Vroman pulls back the curtain on the event that has become the heartbeat of her year: the Empower Her Women's Empowerment Conference.

She traces the origin story back to a single invitation from her older sister to a women's event in Central Minnesota that opened a door she hadn't known she'd been searching for. That experience led her nine hours across state lines to a similar conference in Colby, Kansas, with one of her sisters in tow and nothing but a hunch that it would be worth it. It was. So much so that she went back the following year.

And then she brought the whole idea home to Minnesota.

Four conferences later, with more than 20 speakers and 300+ women impacted, Courtney shares an unexpected detour: a season when she was on the verge of quitting. She reads aloud a testimony from Vicki, a past attendee and close friend, that stopped her cold and reignited a passion she thought she'd lost. It's one of the most honest moments in the episode and worth every second.

The episode is also an invitation. The fifth annual Empower Her Conference is coming to Minnesota on March 6, 2027. Early bird discounted tickets go on sale July 28th, 29th, and 30th at empowerhermn.com. Whether you're a first-timer or you've been waiting for exactly this kind of space, you're welcome here.

Key Topics Covered

• The origin story of Empower Her: a sister's invitation and what it unlocked
• The 9-hour drive to Colby, Kansas and why it was one of the best decisions Courtney ever made
• What a one-day Empower Her Conference actually looks like (keynote speakers, workshops, breakfast, catered lunch, door prizes, swag bags)
• Vicki's full testimony and how it kept Empower Her alive
• Who this event is for: every age, every stage, every kind of woman
• The fifth annual conference: March 6, 2027, early bird tickets July 28-30, empowerhermn.com

https://www.empowerhermn.com/

Takeaways

• The ordinary, unremarkable moments of summer — the muddy shoes, the karaoke in the car, the laughter at supper — are the ones you'll miss most. You don't have to make every day magical for it to matter.
• Summer is going to pass whether you stress about it or enjoy it. Being present for the season you're actually in is more valuable than optimizing it.
• Try looking at your everyday life through the eyes of someone experiencing it for the first time. Visitors at the World Cup are finding joy in free refills. Imagine what you're walking past every day.

In this feel-good installment of the Find the Joy summer series, Courtney Vroman delivers the one thing we all actually need right now: a deep breath and a reminder to unclench.

After spending the last several episodes encouraging listeners to let go of perfection, notice the small things, and give themselves permission to enjoy the season they're in, Courtney wraps the series with a simple, grounding message: the summer you're already living is enough.

She takes listeners back to her own childhood summers in a small rural town in the late '90s and early 2000s — rollerblading all over town, running lemonade and jewelry stands at the end of the driveway, spending babysitting money on gas station candy and rented movies. Kids, she points out, don't stress about how to spend their summers. They just enjoy them.

Courtney also draws inspiration from an unexpected source: social media videos of World Cup visitors experiencing the United States for the first time, completely captivated by things Americans overlook every day — including free refills. She challenges listeners to spend the rest of summer looking at their own lives through that same lens of fresh-eyed wonder.

The episode closes with a quiet, powerful invitation: joy isn't hiding in some perfect summer waiting to be unlocked. It's already tucked into the ordinary moments you're living right now. Don't miss it.

Key Topics Covered

• The social pressure to "make summer count" and why you're allowed to let that go
• Nostalgia as a tool for reconnecting with what summer actually feels like
• How kids naturally approach summer versus how adults complicate it
• World Cup visitors finding joy in everyday American experiences
• Simple, practical invitations to re-engage with ordinary summer life
• The reminder that presence, not perfection, is what makes a season meaningful

https://www.empowerhermn.com/

Last week's episode: https://rss.com/podcasts/find-the-joy/2901623

Many of us enter summer with high expectations: family adventures, productive days, meaningful memories, and a perfectly balanced schedule. But what if the biggest obstacle to enjoying summer isn't your calendar, budget, or circumstances? What if it's the pressure you're putting on yourself?

In this episode of Find the Joy, Courtney shares five powerful permission slips designed to help you release unrealistic expectations, embrace rest, and find more joy in your everyday life. If you've been feeling overwhelmed trying to create the "perfect" summer, this episode is your reminder that joy doesn't require perfection.

Takeaways

• Give yourself permission to have an imperfect summer.
• Learn why saying no protects your time and energy.
• Discover the difference between true rest and simply staying distracted.
• Understand why it's okay to change your mind and pivot.
• Stop waiting for a future season and enjoy your life right now.

Key Topics Covered:

• Letting go of the perfect summer mindset
• The importance of saying no
• Why rest is necessary and productive
• Reevaluating goals and commitments
• Finding joy in your current season of life
• Being present with your family and experiences
• Protecting your peace and energy

Takeaways

• Stop chasing the idea of a perfect summer and embrace the one you already have.
• Comparison steals joy, especially during seasons that look different from everyone else's.
• Joy is often found in ordinary moments when we're present enough to notice them.

Summer finally arrives and yet for many families it doesn't feel like the relaxing season they imagined. Between sports schedules, camps, endless snacks, work responsibilities, and the pressure to create magical memories, summer can quickly become overwhelming.

In this kickoff episode of the Find the Joy Summer Mini Series, Courtney Vroman shares how she's learning to let go of unrealistic expectations and stop striving for the "perfect summer." Instead, she explores how reframing our thoughts, embracing imperfection, and focusing on the good already present can help us experience more joy in the season we're living.

If you've ever felt disappointed that your summer doesn't look like everyone else's, this episode will encourage you to release comparison, lower the pressure, and discover joy in everyday moments.

Key Topics Covered:

• Summer expectations versus reality
• Why the perfect summer doesn't exist
• Letting kids experience boredom and creativity
• Overcoming comparison during summer months
• Reframing disappointment and unmet expectations
• Finding joy in ordinary family moments
• Being present instead of striving for perfection
• Creating meaningful memories without added pressure

https://www.empowerhermn.com/

Takeaways

• Progress often happens beneath the surface before visible results appear
• Consistency matters more than immediate outcomes
• Learning to trust the process creates resilience and long term growth

In this episode, Courtney explores why so many of us give up too early and what happens when we shift our mindset from chasing immediate results to embracing steady growth. Using the metaphor of farming and reflecting on powerful wisdom from Galatians, this conversation is about patience, trust, consistency, and learning to believe in progress even when we cannot yet see it.

Key Topics Covered:

• Why we abandon goals too quickly
• The farmer mindset versus instant gratification
• Trusting invisible progress
• Faith, consistency, and personal growth
• Building resilience through patience

https://www.empowerhermn.com/

Takeaways

• Talking about the people we've lost is one of the most powerful ways to keep their memory alive, even years after they're gone.
• The small, specific details, a lipstick shade, a perfume, a favorite movie, are what make someone's memory feel close and real.
• The values, confidence, and grit a parent instills in their children carry forward in everything those children do, long after that parent is gone.

In this deeply personal episode of Find the Joy, host Courtney Vroman takes a pause from her usual format to honor a very special day. May 26th would have been her mom Carol Mensen's 66th birthday, and Courtney uses this episode to share memories, celebrate her mom's life, and keep her legacy alive through storytelling.

Carol was a cosmetologist, salon owner, interior decorator, community volunteer, and above all, a devoted mother and grandmother. Courtney paints a vivid picture of a woman who was always well put-together, endlessly community-minded, and the kind of mom who would show up to a volleyball game in a coconut bra just to win a costume contest and make her kids laugh.

From the kitchen sink haircuts and frosting caps to homemade pizza and late-night baking, Courtney shares the little details that make her mom impossible to forget. She also reflects on how her mom shaped the woman she is today, from her love of painting and being on stage to the confidence to chase her dreams and the grit to keep going when things get hard.

This episode is a reminder that grief doesn't have to be quiet. Sharing memories keeps people present, and the best way to honor someone you've lost is to live out the very best of what they gave you.

Key Topics Covered

• Celebrating a late parent's birthday and why it matters to speak their name out loud
• The life and personality of Carol: cosmetologist, volunteer, mother, grandmother
• Small but meaningful memories that preserve a loved one's identity over time
• How a mother's encouragement shapes a child's confidence and direction in life
• Carrying a parent's legacy into your own motherhood
• Finding joy in grief through memory, gratitude, and a Diet Coke

https://www.empowerhermn.com/

Takeaways

• Decluttering becomes manageable when you focus on small spaces instead of entire rooms.
• Momentum is built through finishing small projects, not creating bigger messes.
• The “container concept” helps you set limits and intentionally curate your space.
• Asking better questions about your belongings leads to lasting change.
• Decluttering is not about perfection. It is about creating space for what matters most.

In this episode of Find the Joy, Courtney Vroman shares practical decluttering strategies that help reduce overwhelm and create lasting progress. After experiencing firsthand how clutter followed her through a major life transition, Courtney realized that sustainable decluttering starts with small, intentional steps instead of tackling everything at once.

She explains why momentum matters more than perfection and introduces the powerful “container concept” from Dana K. White, which encourages you to let your space determine how much you keep. Courtney also shares the mindset shifts that helped her stop equating “more” with “better” and start making room for peace, clarity, and joy.

Whether you are overwhelmed by overflowing closets, kids’ toys, or cluttered kitchen cabinets, this episode will help you begin your decluttering journey with confidence and purpose.

Key Topics Covered:

• How clutter creates emotional overwhelm
• Why starting small is the key to successful decluttering
• The importance of building momentum
• Questions to ask before keeping an item
• The “container concept” explained
• Decluttering without perfectionism
• Creating intentional spaces that support your life
• Letting go of excess without guilt