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What if the very thing that keeps tripping you is the doorway to freedom? Cassandra sits down with author and spiritual director Jessica Morris for a soul-deep conversation about addiction, faith, and the surprising grace of surrender. Jessica grew up in an alcoholic family, carried the wound of being called “a mistake,” and learned to survive with food and alcohol. The turning points came through brave love: a sister who set a boundary, a counselor who named the blockage, and a recovery room where honesty didn’t equal shame.

From there, the path opens into Higher Powered—how a “higher power” becomes a living relationship. Jessica shares how she moved from numbing to noticing, from hiding to looking up, guided by a counselor who modeled truth without judgment. Seminary enters the story not as a career track but as a quest to understand why encounters with Jesus divide life into before and after. A class on Revelation sparks the idea of personal eschatology: endings that are actually beginnings. Paul’s new sight, Lazarus stepping out of the tomb, and Nicodemus seeking at night echo Jessica’s own transformation.

The heart of the episode is practical and piercing: dying to self is not a one-time vow. It’s the daily chipping of barnacles—sugar, alcohol, judgment, pride, the need to control—so the boat can move again. Jessica’s guidance is refreshingly simple: get honest with God, even if the prayer is only “help me.” Write the letter you’ll never send. Trust that the scales fall in time. If you’re stuck, longing to live on your own terms while anchored in faith, this conversation offers language, tools, and hope to start where you are and keep going.

If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs courage today, and leave a quick review to help more people find these stories. Your words matter—and they might be the nudge someone is waiting for.

Get ready to break free from obstacles and live life on your terms!

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Support the show

Are you ready to create and design your best life on your terms?

If so, click here and schedule a complimentary discovery call with Cassandra. https://www.cassandracrawley.com/discovery-call

If this podcast helped you rethink whether you are living your best life on your terms, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review to help more women find it.

To get a copy of my debut book, "Is Your Way in Your Way", visit https://www.cassandracrawley.com/book

To get a copy of my brand-new book, "Is Your Way In Your Way", visit https://www.cassandracrawley.com/book

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What if your breakthrough doesn’t come from pushing harder, but from reclaiming joy as your operating system? We sit down with strategist and licensed therapist Nicole Van Valen, founder of Keen Insights and author of The Joyful Leader, to explore a practical path out of burnout and into purpose-driven performance. Nicole brings 25+ years across healthcare, behavioral health, and corporate leadership, blending mental health expertise with real-world tools leaders can use when the calendar is packed and the pressure is high.

We start by naming the traps—perfectionism, people pleasing, and the grind reflex—that keep high performers stuck in toxic environments. Nicole shares how she cultivated a “second battery” outside of work through dance and creativity, and why joy must be built, not waited on. You’ll learn the Joy Menu technique to lower friction in stressful moments, a simple three-breath reset you can use mid-meeting, and a clear distinction between happiness (event-based) and joy (internally cultivated). The conversation anchors on Nicole’s Ready–Set–Go framework: Ready to rediscover yourself and recharge, Set to design your landscape and boundaries, and Go to deliver aligned results without sacrificing your well-being.

Along the way, we dive into psychological safety, resilient cultures, and why service and philanthropy expand your capacity to lead. Nicole’s stories—from boardrooms to community projects in South Africa—highlight how purpose fuels energy, creativity, and follow-through. If success still feels heavy, this is your invitation to shift from surviving to thriving, to swap grit-only tactics for a sustainable strategy that restores clarity, connection, and courage.

Want more conversations like this? Subscribe, share the episode with a friend who needs a lift, and leave a quick review to help others find the show. Then tell us: what’s the first item on your Joy Menu today?

Get ready to break free from obstacles and live life on your terms!

Are you readdy to create and design your best life?

If so, click the link here.

To make sure you never miss an episode, make sure you subscribe to the podcast and head on over to www.cassandracrawley.com and join our mailing list.

Support the show

Are you ready to create and design your best life on your terms?

If so, click here and schedule a complimentary discovery call with Cassandra. https://www.cassandracrawley.com/discovery-call

If this podcast helped you rethink whether you are living your best life on your terms, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review to help more women find it.

To get a copy of my debut book, "Is Your Way in Your Way", visit https://www.cassandracrawley.com/book

To get a copy of my brand-new book, "Is Your Way In Your Way", visit https://www.cassandracrawley.com/book

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cassandracrawleymayo
• Website: https://www.cassandracrawley.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cassandra_crawleymayo/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassandracrawley/
• YouTube: https://cassandracrawleymayo
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Ever feel like you’re doing “all the right things” for your health and still spinning your wheels? We open up a different path with health strategist and Grace & Grit host Courtney Townley—one that trades perfection for practical skills and turns midlife into a launchpad rather than a slowdown. Instead of chasing one-off outcomes, we build the foundations that make change stick: honest awareness, smart organization, reliable follow-through, and the courage to realign without the drama.

We start by unpacking why the wellness rulebook fails so many women—especially at midlife. Courtney shares how a postpartum wake-up call revealed the blind spot in mainstream health: obsessing over weight while ignoring mindset, identity, and nervous system capacity. We explore integrity pain (that inner friction when your habits don’t match your values), the stress bucket model for simplifying life’s load, and why resilience is less about gritting your teeth and more about how you recharge. From micro-recovery breaks and nervous system respect to habit design you can actually maintain, the conversation offers tools that feel doable on your busiest days.

Midlife becomes a liminal space—between who you’ve been and who you’re becoming—where health serves as base camp for the climb of your life. You’ll learn how to reduce unnecessary stressors, add intentional challenges to build capacity, and parent your brain with useful thoughts that pull you forward. We also cover when talk therapy isn’t enough and how somatic support can unlock long-stuck patterns. If you’re ready to lead your health with clarity and grace, this is your roadmap to living full out.

Grab Courtney’s free Midlife Magic Quick Start Guide, keep an eye out for her book The Consistency Code (November 4, 2025), and connect at graceandgrit.com. If this episode helped you rethink your health story, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review to help more women find it.

Get ready to break free from obstacles and live life on your terms!

Are you readdy to create and design your best life?

If so, click the link here.

To make sure you never miss an episode, make sure you subscribe to the podcast and head on over to www.cassandracrawley.com and join our mailing list.

Support the show

Are you ready to create and design your best life on your terms?

If so, click here and schedule a complimentary discovery call with Cassandra. https://www.cassandracrawley.com/discovery-call

If this podcast helped you rethink whether you are living your best life on your terms, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review to help more women find it.

To get a copy of my debut book, "Is Your Way in Your Way", visit https://www.cassandracrawley.com/book

To get a copy of my brand-new book, "Is Your Way In Your Way", visit https://www.cassandracrawley.com/book

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cassandracrawleymayo
• Website: https://www.cassandracrawley.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cassandra_crawleymayo/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassandracrawley/
• YouTube: https://cassandracrawleymayo
• x: https://www.tiktok.com/