What if 2026 doesn’t need more pressure... just more energy?

This is the final episode of 2025 on The SMARTA Podcast, and it’s not about resolutions you’ll abandon by February. It’s about learning how to enter 2026 with clarity, confidence, and sustainable energy, without burning out or betraying yourself.

In today’s conversation, I’m joined by Michele Phillips, an expert in emotional intelligence, happiness, and energy management, to break down what actually creates momentum in your life. Not motivation. Not hustle. Alignment.

We talk about why happiness comes before success, how emotions are simply energy asking for direction, and how small, repeatable habits, not massive goals, are what change your life year over year.

This episode is an invitation to slow down, reset, and choose a different way of moving forward.

What you’ll learn:

• How to enter 2026 with more energy (not exhaustion)

• Why happiness is a habit, not a destination

• How to stop letting emotions run your life, and start guiding them

• Why small habits beat big resolutions every time

• How to build confidence by keeping promises to yourself

• The difference between running on adrenaline vs alignment

Michele Phillips is a speaker, corporate trainer, and bestselling author of Happiness Is a Habit and Energize Your Happiness. Her work focuses on emotional intelligence, energy management, and helping people live with greater clarity, confidence, and joy.

In this episode:

00:00 – Welcome & why this episode matters for 2026

02:34 – You have more power than you think

04:20 – Happiness as a habit (not a reward)

06:10 – Journaling, clarity & celebrating small wins

09:18 – Navigating emotional lows without spiraling

12:30 – Naming emotions: “name it to tame it”

15:30 – Energy vs time as the real performance driver

18:05 – Why dopamine shortcuts don’t work

20:35 – Alignment vs adrenaline

23:40 – Rejection as redirection

27:14 – Why New Year’s resolutions fail

30:10 – The power of starting so small you can’t fail

34:49 – Consistency, patience & long-term confidence

37:00 – Morning rituals & grounded leadership

39:00 – Energize Your Happiness (book pitch)

42:20 – Advice Michele wishes she knew at 17

46:40 – How to live a more energized, happy life

47:50 – Final reflections & closing the year

If you learned something new from this episode, do me a huge favor: double-check that you’re subscribed, follow the show, and rate this episode 5 stars. It’s the single best way to help us bring you more amazing guests and tools to help you live your best life ever. Now, go out there and make this your best year yet!

📺 Watch on YouTube: The SMARTA Podcast Playlist

📖 See Sonia’s books: www.soniamarta.com/books.

📲 Follow Sonia’s Journey linktr.ee/soniamartauthor

Music by epic_musictracks on Pixabay

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What if your future success has less to do with your grades… and everything to do with how well you run the business of YOU?

In this very first debate-style episode of The SMARTA Podcast, I sit down with Marnie Stockman and Nick Coniglio, co-authors of The Business of You, to tackle one of the most important conversations for students, young professionals, and leaders navigating an AI-driven world: why soft skills, self-awareness, and character matter more than ever.

We talk about the character revolution, why 85% of success comes from human skills, how AI is commoditising technical abilities, and why every single one of us, whether we realise it or not, is already running a personal business called YOU. This episode is practical, honest, and packed with frameworks you can actually apply starting this week.

What you’ll learn:

• Why self-awareness is the #1 predictor of leadership success

• The difference between confidence and self-promotion

• How to answer “Tell me about yourself” with clarity and authenticity

• Why storytelling beats facts 22x over in interviews and leadership

• How to build resilience, confidence, and momentum through small risks

• How to future-proof your career in the age of AI

• Why failure is feedback—and how to use it to grow faster

Marnie Stockman is a former educator, leadership coach, and co-founder of Blue, a character-development platform helping young people build self-awareness, confidence, and purpose.

Nick Coniglio is a tech leader, entrepreneur, and leadership expert with a background in IT and innovation, focused on helping individuals treat themselves like startups and build careers with intention.

Together, they are the authors of The Business of You, a practical guide for students and young professionals learning how to invest in themselves, build value, and stand out through human skills.

📘 The Business of You is available on Amazon

📲 Learn more about Blue → coming soon

In this episode:

00:00 Welcome

02:34 Top 3 Takeaways

05:27 The Importance of Self-Awareness

08:43 Finding Your Stories and Superpowers

10:16 Confidence vs Self-Promotion

12:32 Creating the Business of YOU

17:00 Taking Ownership of Your Future

20:15 Leveraging Technology for Self-Discovery

23:18 The Role of AI in the Future of Work

26:24 Mastering Soft Skills for Success

28:44 Overcoming Self-Doubt and Imposter Syndrome

30:44 The Role of Failure in Personal Growth

34:28 Finding Balance Between Purpose and Paycheck

38:06 The SMARTA Podcast Traditions

48:13 End Message

49:11 Thank You

If you learned something new from this episode, do me a huge favor: double-check that you’re subscribed, follow the show, and rate this episode 5 stars. It’s the single best way to help us bring you more amazing guests and tools to help you live your best life ever. Now, go out there and make this your best year yet!

📺 Watch on YouTube: The SMARTA Podcast Playlist

📖 See Sonia’s books: www.soniamarta.com/books.

📲 Follow Sonia’s Journey linktr.ee/soniamartauthor

Music by epic_musictracks on Pixabay

https://pixabay.com/music/main-title-epic-drama-113886/

What if AI doesn’t replace you…but amplifies exactly who you choose to become in 2026?

As we step into a future shaped by automation, algorithms, and artificial intelligence, the real question isn’t what AI will do to us, it’s how we choose to work with it.

In today’s episode of The SMARTA Podcast, I sit down with one of the world’s leading voices on human-centered AI to break through the fear, the hype, and the noise, and get practical about what actually matters.

This is a grounded, honest, future-focused conversation about how humans stay relevant, creative, and in control in an AI-powered world.

What you’ll learn:

• Why AI is an amplifier, not a replacement

• What skills will matter most as automation accelerates

• How to think critically instead of fearfully about AI

• Why soft skills, ownership, and creativity are becoming non-negotiable

• How young people can shape AI policy, ethics, and real-world impact

• What “human + machine collaboration” actually looks like

• How to prepare for a future where learning never stops

Dr. Bryan Reimer is a Research Scientist at MIT, working at both the MIT AgeLab and the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics, and one of the leading global thinkers shaping the future of mobility, automation, and human-centered AI. He has authored 300+ publications, co-directs major MIT research consortia, advises governments and global companies, and was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to the Transforming Transportation Advisory Committee, serving as Vice Chair of the AI Subcommittee. Bryan is also the co-author of the upcoming book

How to Make AI Useful: Moving Beyond the Hype to Real Progress in Business, Society, and Life, where he explores how AI can genuinely improve human life, not replace it.

In this episode:

00:00 Introduction & why this conversation matters in 2026

02:50 Top 3 takeaways you shouldn’t miss

03:50 “AI is an amplifier” - what that really means

06:17 Moving beyond the AI hype

09:13 AI as an opinion, not a truth

12:16 Soft skills vs hard skills in an AI world

15:00 Regulation, ethics & guardrails

18:03 How to stop fearing AI and think critically

21:56 Jobs, education & the future of work

26:36 Skills young people must develop now

28:48 How youth can shape AI policy & impact

32:20 How to use AI without losing creativity

35:59 Advice Bryan would give his 17-year-old self

39:48 Books that shaped his thinking

43:07 Final message

If you learned something new from this episode, do me a huge favor: double-check that you’re subscribed, follow the show, and rate this episode 5 stars. It’s the single best way to help us bring you more amazing guests and tools to help you live your best life ever. Now, go out there and make this your best year yet!

📺 Watch on YouTube: The SMARTA Podcast Playlist

📖 See Sonia’s books: www.soniamarta.com/books.

📲 Follow Sonia’s Journey linktr.ee/soniamartauthor

Music by epic_musictracks on Pixabay

https://pixabay.com/music/main-title-epic-drama-113886/