We talk a lot about the roles we hold—parent, partner, leader, creator—but how often do we ask if those roles actually feel fulfilling?

In this powerful conversation, Dr. Katie chats with Professor Daiki Kato, who coined the term rolefulness: a practical, human way to experience meaning and harmony in everyday life by nurturing both our “big” roles and the small, easily overlooked ones.

Katie and Professor Kato explore why modern life pulls us toward checklists and away from connection—and how simple, intentional practices can restore joy, identity, and purpose.

What You'll Learn:

• Two sides of rolefulness: (1) Social rolefulness (feeling useful, needed, connected with familiar people—even two people make a “society”); and (2) Internal rolefulness (how those experiences internalize into confidence, identity, and self-trust).
• Why we feel role distress: over-investing in a few “big” roles while ignoring smaller, nourishing ones; living by facts and to-dos while neglecting feelings and connection.
• Balance beats perfection: shifting from “I have to be a perfect ___” to “I can be myself in this role.”
• Micro-practices that work: express gratitude often, enjoy short real conversations, exchange simple greetings, and intentionally notice the small roles that light you up.
• Identity connection: how social rolefulness becomes internal rolefulness—turning moments of contribution into confidence and a more grounded sense of self.

About Professor Kato:
Daiki Kato is a clinical psychologist and professor at Kinjo Gakuin University in Japan. His research and practice bridge art therapy and everyday well-being. He coined the concept of rolefulness and studies how cultivating small, interpersonal roles can strengthen mental health, confidence, and purpose.

Links & Resources:

• Connect with Professor Kato on LinkedIn
• Explore more about Rolefulness

Connect with Katie on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also get free resources to help you on your purpose journey at www.katiesandoe.com.

In this conversation, Dr. Katie sits down with Marina Ivanov, co-founder and CEO of Apex Transit Solutions, a transportation and logistics company. They explore what it really means to lead as yourself—especially when the room, the industry, and the playbook weren’t designed with you in mind.

They talk about the inner work it takes to step into your own power, how to find purpose in an industry that doesn’t look “sexy” from the outside, and what it really means to be the only (or first) woman in the room—and refuse to shrink.

What You'll Learn:

• Why “I just help…” is a red flag
  How and why so many women instinctively downplay their leadership—and what shifts when you finally name what you actually do.
• How empathy becomes a leadership superpower
  Why Marina stopped hiding her deep care and emotion and how showing it has made her a stronger, not weaker, leader.
• Moving from hustle to alignment
  The belief Marina let go of about hard work—and what she’s replaced it with instead (hint: relationships, systems, and the right “who,” not just more “doing”).
• Being the only woman in the room
  Practical ways to walk into spaces with grounded confidence, prepare yourself energetically, and remember it’s not about proving your worth—it’s about shifting what’s possible for the women who come after you.
• Reframing power
  How to move from power-over and scarcity to a more expansive, shared model of power rooted in agency, impact, and collective rise.
• Why allies matter
  The role supportive men and colleagues have played in Marina’s journey—and how we can all champion women leaders in more intentional ways.

About Marina:

Marina Ivanov is the co-founder and CEO of Apex Transit Solutions, a transportation and logistics company she helped build from a single truck into a thriving business that supports dozens of families. A first-generation woman leader in a traditionally male-dominated industry, Marina advocates for drivers and small carriers at both the state and national level, serves on multiple advisory boards, and is passionate about creating workplaces where people feel valued, seen, and safe to be themselves. She is a powerful example of what happens when a woman stops playing small, owns her leadership, and chooses to lead with both strength and heart.

Links & Resources:

• Connect with Marina on LinkedIn
• Explore Apex Transit Solutions

Connect with Katie on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also get free resources to help you on your purpose journey at www.katiesandoe.com.

We live in a culture that worships busy, celebrates burnout, and treats worthiness like something you earn through overwork. In this beautiful, soulful conversation, Dr. Katie and Fabi Preslar gently challenge that narrative.

Fabi is the founder and president of SPARK Publications and the author of Wilted and Worthy: Essays on Holding On, Letting Go, and Living Fully. She shares how a cancer diagnosis, a healing sabbatical, and a camera turned toward wilting flowers completely shifted her relationship with control, achievement, and what it means to live a meaningful life.

Katie and Fabi talk about why so many of us cling to productivity, how to recognize when we’re forcing a dream that no longer fits, and what it looks like to honor our “wilted” seasons as just as worthy as our perky, high-achieving ones.

This episode is an invitation to soften your grip, listen to your own heart, and move into your next season with more courage, clarity, and compassion—for yourself and your story.

What You'll Learn:

• A new way to think about “living fully” that centers authenticity, courage, and creative self-expression (not constant doing)
• How to notice when you’re forcing a dream, identity, or path—and a simple question Fabi uses to discern whether it’s time to rest or to release
• The emotional cost of hustle culture and what happens when you stop chasing scale, status, and other people’s definitions of success
• Why contentment is not complacency, and how gratitude for this moment can coexist with desire for what’s next

About Fabi Preslar:

Fabi Preslar is the founder and president of SPARK Publications, an award-winning publishing firm that helps thought leaders and business owners turn their expertise into high-impact books and magazines. She is the author of Wilted and Worthy: Essays on Holding On, Letting Go, and Living Fully, a lyrical collection of essays and images that invites readers to honor every season of their becoming.

Proceeds from Wilted and Worthy support Radiant Chapters Collective, the nonprofit Fabi founded to help underrepresented authors get published and share their stories with the world. Across all of her work, Fabi is devoted to helping people embrace their authenticity, find rest in stillness, and transform their stories into legacies of healing and empowerment.

Links & Resources:

• Connect with Fabi on LinkedIn
• Connect with Fabi on Instagram
• Purchase Fabi's book: Wilted and Worthy
• Explore SPARK Publications

Connect with Katie on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also get free resources to help you on your purpose journey at www.katiesandoe.com.