Do you have a book, business or service that you want to promote, and are you interested in showcasing the story behind that thing?
At the heart of Take a Beat are people’s stories–what led them to want to climb the mountain, start the new career, write the book or start a coaching business.
Everyone loves a good story. What’s yours?
Interested in being a guest? Reach out here.
Designing a Home and Life That Fits
Today’s episode is an interview with Kim Costa, creator of the Wheel House Assessment—a system designed to help people align their personal needs with their home so that their environment best supports their wellbeing.
In this episode, Kim shares how a horseback riding accident led to the creation of the assessment, which was inspired by Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and the Wheel of Life and bridges personal growth and the spaces we live in.
You're One Breath Away From Better Decisions
Today’s episode is a conversation with Ed Howard, founder of One Breath Leadership, a new human-centred leadership framework that combines neuroscience, psychology, AI and three decades of Zen training to help people prevent burnout and overwhelm.
Take a listen to hear the story behind Ed's system that blends his 20 years experience in the high-pressure environment of global investment banking with what he learned living and teaching in Japan, where he was introduced to the Zen tradition.
Uncorked: Parenting, Wine and Embracing Life’s Plot Twists
This week’s podcast episode features a conversation with Danielle Frank, a newly published author whose debut book offers a tongue-in-cheek take on parenting, which she found has some striking similarities to winemaking.
Drawing on her background in the wine and spirits industry, Danielle noticed the parallels between making a great bottle of wine and raising great kids and decided it would make a perfect blend—A Wine Lover’s Guide to Parenting.
Is College the Right Next Step? Exploring Post–High School Paths
Deciding what comes after high school can carry a lot of weight. With the pressure to "stay on track," young people may feel that four-year college is the only option, but it doesn't have to be.
In this episode, Prasant Nukalapati—a mentor and coach who works with young people as they navigate their post-high school paths—shares practical strategies for evaluating whether four-year college is the right next step.
Beyond the Classroom: A Story of Healing, Growth and Reinvention
Today's episode features an interview with Nan Saysana, who made the decision to leave a 20-year career in teaching to become an emotional-eating coach.
Nan shares the pivotal moments that inspired her to step away from a secure role within the French civil service and follow a new calling to support women through a struggle she once faced herself.
What Happens When You Fall Out of Love With Work?
Today's episode explores passion decline, or what happens when your passion for work starts to fade, and what you can do to get it back.
To help dive deeper into this topic, international speaker and consultant Dr. David Shar joins to share some of his research-backed insights and real-world examples of how people can rediscover meaning and excitement in their careers.
'Fired to Inspired': Turning Setbacks into Meaningful Work
Today's episode is an interview with Merry Korn, a serial entrepreneur and author of Fired to Inspired.
Merry opens up about the shock of being fired just two months into a job and the subsequent challenge of rebuilding her life with bills to pay, children to support, and no clear path forward. She speaks candidly about the fears she had to confront and the intentional choices she made to not just land another job, but to pursue work that genuinely motivated her.
How to Advance at Work Quietly
Today’s episode explores the idea of quiet ambition, or how to grow in your career without feeling pressure to be loud or overly self-promotional.
Joining to help dive deeper into this topic is Patrick Kamba, author of Quiet Ambition: Achieving Your Goals with Confidence and Discretion.
In this episode, Patrick shares the moment he realized that while career progression wouldn’t happen automatically, it also didn’t require him to become someone he wasn’t. Instead, he found ways to advance that aligned with his values and natural style, without aggressive self-promotion.
How Early Adversity Inspired a New Way of Doing Business
Today's episode features an interview with Glenn Bostock, founder and CEO of SnapCab, a design and manufacturing company known for its innovative elevator interiors and custom privacy pods.
Glenn is also the author of the upcoming book A Human Business, which explores his people-first philosophy and the power of building a company rooted in kindness and respect.
From his beginnings as a cabinet maker to leading a multimillion-dollar company, Glenn shares how his early struggles with learning disabilities and the challenges of feeling misunderstood shaped his compassionate approach to business.
The Art of Reinvention: What Goes Into Starting Over
Today's episode features an interview with Sabine Hutchison, often called the “queen of reinvention.”
After leaving a career in science to work with a world-famous magician and then moving to a new country where she didn't speak the language, Sabine is very familiar with the art of starting over. She shares her journey—that often involved following her intuition into unknown territory—and how she transitioned from scientist to entrepreneur, co-founding a biotech vendor-relations company and authoring Beyond the Ladder, a book that empowers women to redefine what success means for them.
I'm Retired! Now What?
For many, retirement is a long-awaited milestone, a time to celebrate newfound freedom. But that freedom can sometimes come with a cost in the loss of structure and purpose.
That’s exactly what happened to Nick Shelton, who after retiring at 49 felt confused and invisible. So Nick began a journey of reinvention, learning how to release his pre-retirement identity and build a new one.
In this episode, Nick shares the five-step process he used to rebuild his identity—a process he now uses to guide others through similar transitions—and how he found a new purpose that motivates him every day.
How a Hollywood Executive Embraced Failure and Found Flow
After stepping away from the film industry, Steven Puri set out to build something of his own—launching two tech startups that ultimately didn’t succeed. But he didn't give up.
Now, Steven is part of the team behind the Sukha Company, a thriving community and online platform that helps people tap into flow states.
In this episode, Steven opens up about the lessons he’s learned from failure and reinvention, including the signs that it’s time to move on, and why he’s come to fall in love with problems. He also shares practical insights into how to reach and sustain a flow state.
By Design: Hack Your Career (and Life) Using Innovation Tools and Mindsets
Today's episode explores how to apply innovation tools and design thinking to your career—a passion for Ashley Jablow, who has 20+ years of experience working in design and strategy at places like IDEO and the White House.
She now helps others through career transitions and, in this episode, shares practical strategies for applying innovation tools and mindsets to your next career move.
Balance Over Burnout: Building a Business That Works For You
Being an entrepreneur means wearing many hats, which can sometimes lead to burnout and self-sacrifice. But it doesn't have to be that way.
Chanda Coston, a business and strategy coach, is on a mission to help empower women over 40 to build businesses that align with their lives, not consume them.
Why Career Pivots Sometimes Come With a Surprising Side Effect—Grief
While they are often exciting and rewarding, career pivots—like any significant life transition—can also bring up feelings of grief.
In this episode Shelley McIntyre, who coaches midlife professionals interested in leaving corporate life, shares some of the different ways that grief can surface when making a career change, including a loss of identify, feeling adrift and scattered in the transition phase, loneliness, and more.
Are You Promotion Ready? Tips for Taking the Next Step in Your Career
Feeling stuck or overlooked in your career?
In this episode, Rosie Zilinskas, a certified career coach and former Fortune 500 executive who knows what it's like to wait for recognition that doesn't come, shares her experience of taking the lead in her own career.
Take a listen to hear more of Rosie's story after she started campaigning for herself as well as her strategies for readying yourself for promotion.
Finding Career Growth and Fulfillment Outside of Your Job
Not all career paths are straight or linear. Just ask Carlee Wolfe, a seasoned HR pro with more than 20 years at brands like Under Armour, Hyatt Hotels, and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee.
In this episode, Carlee shares how curiosity, intentionality and a strong sense of self helped her navigate change.
Reclaim Your Time, Focus and Creativity with Digital Minimalism
Could you go 24 hours without your phone?
That’s a question and a challenge Kelsey Green is presenting to folks as part of a passion to help people reduce the distractions of screen time in daily life.
As an entrepreneur and someone who is helping other women achieve big goals, Kelsey advocates for a more mindful, value-centered approach to technology, or digital minimalism, to help increase opportunities for improved focus, creativity and mental health.
Pivot Points: Navigating Planned and Unexpected Career Turns
Career transitions—whether carefully planned or unexpected—can shake our sense of identity and direction.
This episode explores both the planned and unexpected types of transitions through the lens of Meggi Rombach, who over the course of her career has navigated several career pivots, including a move from the private sector into the humanitarian field and moving from the world of marketing into fundraising and now education and coaching.
Entering the Workforce? How to Decode Workplace Dynamics
After climbing the career ladder fast–moving from editorial intern to managing editor in a year and employee to vice president in four–Brianne Rush is now helping other women to do the same.
In this episode, Brianne shares how she learned to decode unspoken workplace dynamics and capitalize on soft skills to advance in her career. She also shares her career journey and how she's translating her experience to help Gen Z women transition from college to career with confidence as part of the Independence Lab.

