What happens what we plan to do doesn't come to fruition? What happens what we expect to happen doesn't happen? How do we still remain motivated? My guest today, Heather MacFadyen is an author, podcast host and motivational speaker. She speaks about how her faith has guided her as a mother and kept her grounded. We also chat about the highs and lows of being a mother. And how things do end up working out when we live a life of purpose. Heather is vulnerable about her own mental health hurdles an...
Oct 27, 2023•1 hr 1 min
If you’re feeling a little lost, stuck or overwhelmed with grief as we watch the violence unfolding in the Middle East, this episode is for you. A fair warning: There are no hot takes. No confident opinions. Just shared grief for every precious human being impacted by the acute conflict happening, and also those impacted by the systematic violence and dehumanization that has been happening for decades in the region and across the globe. Today’s episode is a re-aired conversation with Muslim-Amer...
Oct 19, 2023•47 min
Hey Pluckies! Welcome back to our new series called Third Way Thinking. In this series, I'll dive into interesting topics and my own insights on a different outlook towards them. In this week's episode, I am actually doing a solo podcast! It's like a personal journal, but open for all of you to hear as well. I look into how the podcast and hosting it over these years has actually helped me and guided me as a parent. How can we be okay making mistakes as parents? What does it teach our kids? How ...
Oct 12, 2023•23 min
“When I sat with my anger long enough, she told me her real name is grief.” That was just one of the many gems I got to hear from my guest today, Jake Kauffman. Jake is a business coach and motivational speaker, and author of ‘Let Love In,’ a truly inspiring book. We dive in almost immediately into an open conversation about accepting our trauma and learning to be vulnerable about the pain. Jake explains how our suffering, pains and shame manifest externally as anger sometimes in our lives. He a...
Oct 05, 2023•50 min
You ever feel like there’s an expectation of what you SHOULD be like overshadowing who you truly are? And that these expectations may come from the outside but are also present in our egos and thoughts? I can totally relate to that struggle! My guest today, Mike Foster is an executive coach, speaker and best-selling author. He speaks to me about the hurdles of being a founder of a company and learning to break the barriers of expectations. He speaks on not being stressed by the paths we are told...
Sep 29, 2023•47 min
“We are manifestations of who we were as children.” Such a bold but true statement that our guest today said, during my conversation with her. Ritu Bhasin, a leadership coach, author and motivational speaker, talks to me about how her childhood trauma and hurdles shaped her. Ritu is unabashedly honest about the racism she faced as a South Asian child of immigrants and the mental health hurdles she overcame. She speaks to me about how she learned to embrace her true self and cultural identity. Sh...
Sep 21, 2023•52 min
What if I told you this was the most meta episode of Plucking Up yet? Okay, I’ll explain what I mean! I couldn’t believe how many pluck-ups occurred while preparing and recording this podcast itself. Planning this episode was filled with pluck-ups. And lots of laughter as a result! But it did become a catalyst for conversation with my wonderful friend and guest today, Ryan Leak. Ryan is an executive coach and leadership speaker. We spoke about embracing our mistakes and blunders - because that m...
Sep 15, 2023•47 min
Many times in my conversations with successful people, I see that they never planned to do what they ended up doing. Somehow and in some way, we stumble upon the mission and goals we seek to achieve. But our guest today is someone who knew exactly at a young age what he wanted to succeed in. But that doesn't mean his journey didn’t come with hurdles and pluck-ups! My guest today is Danny Pellegrino, comedian and host of the popular entertainment podcast, 'Everything Iconic with Danny Pellegrino....
Sep 07, 2023•56 min
To combat the racial injustices plaguing America, as organizations and individuals we tend to take action in different ways. Whether that means providing more equitable resources, access to opportunities, economic mobility or even just educating ourselves to be more aware of the racism around us. But our guest today teaches us about something as important - emotional justice. Esther Armah is the founder of the Armah Institute of Emotional Justice. Esther is an award-winning journalist and playwr...
Aug 31, 2023•50 min
Hey Pluckies! I wanted to give you all an opportunity to listen in on a different type of conversation here on Plucking Up. In this monthly series of 'Third Way Thinking,' I'll be joined by my good friend, Ken, to talk about some relevant topics in the news and entertainment worlds. We open up the conversation to a more nuanced, middle-ground approach to these topics that may sometimes seem missing in our public discourse. At the core, I think this gives us a good chance to have an open-minded, ...
Aug 25, 2023•49 min
Can the trauma we’ve faced heal or even shape the stories we tell? My guest today, Dan O’Brien certainly has insight and wisdom on this question. He’s a renowned playwright for plays like The Body of an American. His plays have won him prestigious awards like PEN American Award for Drama and The Guggenheim Fellowship. With his bestselling poem collections and books, Dan is a storyteller at heart. In this extremely transparent and vulnerable conversation, Dan speaks about his childhood trauma, hi...
Aug 17, 2023•1 hr 3 min
‘The universe has something greater planned for you.’ Have you heard that quote being thrown around? It’s so commonly said - but I believe it’s also so true. And our guest today would totally agree! Anabel Oelmann is the co-founder and director of The Healing Company, building and running path-breaking wellness brands including Deepak Chopra’s Chopra Global. But before becoming a health & wellness expert and nutritionist, Annabel was an aspiring model. The physical and mental toll on her hea...
Aug 10, 2023•1 hr 4 min
Hey Pluckies! Welcome back to a new season on this journey with me. I'm so excited to share these new conversations filled with insights and wisdom from some of the most influential and inspirational guests. As always, we’ll see trailblazers being vulnerable and open - sharing their pluck-ups! Today, I'm joined by Phoebe Robinson. She's a standup comedian, actress, author and host of the popular podcast, Two Dope Queens. In our conversation, Phoebe opens up about her childhood and genuine passio...
Aug 03, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Season 7Ep. 1
Do we tend to shape our lives according to the expectations of others? Why do we stop engaging ourselves with things that actually make us joyful? Our guest today knows exactly how that feels! And as a successful life coach, she understands how we can get ourselves to be more present in the process of self-care. Marie Forleo was named by Oprah as a thought leader for the next generation. A best-selling author of the book, ‘Everything is Figureoutable,’ Marie is a successful life and career coach...
Mar 20, 2023•51 min
“I am a women’s rights activist at heart and I shall die trying…I will always fight for women’s rights, resources and voices.” This is just one of the many powerful quotes from our inspirational guest today, Zainab Salbi. The co-founder of Women for Women International, Zainab worked to empower women from war torn countries for more than 20 years. After helping nearly a half a million women survivors of conflicts, Zainab now works with women to solve climate change issues through her Daughters f...
Mar 13, 2023•54 min
In today’s episode, I spoke with a business leader who showed me that my own entrepreneurial abilities as a business owner can be used in so many aspects of my life. Our guest today is Samantha Skey, the CEO of SHE Media, a top five lifestyle media company which reaches 88 million women each month. Samantha has been an innovator and pathbreaker in the digital media landscape providing avenues and opportunities for women empowerment and voices through the brand. By launching SHE Media’s social in...
Mar 06, 2023•53 min
How does an elementary school classroom exercise conducted by a teacher more than 50 years ago continue to impact, teach and remain socially relevant today? For that, you’ll need to listen to our guest, Jane Elliott. The educator and social activist famously conducted the ‘blue eye-brown eye’ exercise with her classroom in 1968, to teach the young students the foolishness and sad reality of discrimination and racism in America. Elliott went on to conduct the social experiment in other classrooms...
Feb 27, 2023•50 min
What does it mean to truly learn from one’s mistakes? What does it mean to learn and grow from one’s flaws? The former ‘Entourage’ star, Adrian Grenier talked to me in this fireside chat about these very questions and his own life reflections. From becoming a young Hollywood star to now removed from the glamor of celebrity life, Adrian tells us how he now chooses to live a life committed to climate change activism. Adrian talked to me about acting actually being a Plan B for him. In this convers...
Feb 20, 2023•59 min
Rediscovering who we are and owning our story is a journey that we might find ourselves in. Our first guest of 2023, Lo Bosworth, is telling us the path she’s on, with hopes that it will help others. The former reality star from MTV’s ‘Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County’ in 2004 became popular during the infant years of reality television. Today, Lo is the founder and CEO of Love Wellness, a personal wellness brand providing natural products and solutions for women’s health. Lo speaks to us ab...
Feb 15, 2023•57 min
Working toward anti-racism is a journey that involves asking questions, educating ourselves, listening, and speaking out. But knowing when to do each of these vital tasks can be extremely difficult. That’s where Jenny Booth Potter hopes to help other white women stand up against racism. She is an author, storyteller and creative producer and co-host of The Next Question , a web series about expanding our imagination for racial justice. She is also the Chief Content Officer of HerSelf Media, a Bl...
Dec 06, 2022•50 min
Yasmine Cheyenne is a self-healing educator, motivational speaker and author. She has consistently been helping people take care of their mental health, through her speeches and webinars, but also through her app, The Sugar Jar Community App, providing tools and prompts to help for a self-healing journey. Yasmine and I had a beautiful conversation about how her military journey led to her building a passion for the wellness space, how to manage compassion fatigue and limiting what we give oursel...
Nov 22, 2022•46 min
Tali Sharot is a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience in the department of Experimental Psychology at University College London and best-selling author of The Optimism Bias and The Influential Mind. Her research integrates neuroscience, behavioral economics and psychology to study how emotion and motivation influences people’s beliefs, decisions and social interactions. Tali and I had a fascinating conversation about why we do the things we do, what can help us change, what works and what doesn’t...
Nov 15, 2022•59 min
Inspiring is one of many words I'd use to describe Daniela Pierre-Bravo, who has faced many adversities immigrants know all too well. She's emerged victoriously and is now a producer for MSNBC's Morning Joe and the author of Earn It! Know Your Value and Grow Your Career, in your 20s and Beyond! Alongside Mika Brzezinski. She recently released her book The Other: How to Own Your Power at Work as a Woman of Color. She's Empowering young women and offering advice and guidance on navigating the work...
Nov 08, 2022•53 min
There are thousands of ways to measure success. As a poet, Bianca Stone measures it through the people that connect with her work. She feels most successful when she gets a message from an individual reader about how her poetry spoke to their specific situation. On the show, we talked about success and the different ways to measure it. We also talked about success as a poet. Bianca is the granddaughter of another iconic female poet, Ruth Stone. And while she clearly told me that her poetry is he...
Oct 31, 2022•52 min
Chanel Dokun is uniquely qualified to help us find purpose and to help us get through the pluck ups along the way. She’s a life planner, therapist, podcaster, and author of the book, Life Starts Now. According to Chanel, everyone deserves a life of purpose and many of us don’t feel like we have one. Her work and her book are about helping people figure out who they are, what they want, and how they can get there. On the show, we dove into building a life of purpose, the feelings of self doubt th...
Oct 24, 2022•58 min
Katy Milkman is a professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and the former president of the international Society for Judgment and Decision Making. She’s also the author of the best selling book, How to Change: The Science of Getting From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be. So, with all her expertise and years of study, one would think Katy is the ultimate decision maker. But, she says she struggles to make decisions just like the rest of us! And that’s why she loves ...
Oct 17, 2022•58 min
Maybe quitting is a good thing. Once you find your passion, vocation and community, leaving can be really hard but moving on to the next chapter and growing is part of life. Today’s guest, Katelyn Beaty, found her community as the first female managing editor of Christianity Today. But it eventually came time to move on to the next season of her life. She’s now editorial director for Brazos Press and the author of two books, one of which was just released! "Celebrities for Jesus: How Personas, P...
Oct 10, 2022•57 min
Jessamyn Stanley does it all! She’s a yoga teacher, wellness influencer, fat acceptance advocate, author, podcaster and so much more! In each of these roles Jessamyn is reframing how we view people and things. As founder of The Underbelly, which she describes as a “wellness community for the rest of us,” Jessamyn is making room for everyone to achieve holistic wellness. On her podcast, Dear Jessamyn, she gives listeners access to her own relationship to act as an example. On the show, Jessamyn a...
Oct 03, 2022•56 min
Authorship and podcasting have a lot in common. You’re putting a piece of yourself out, into the world. Putting ourselves out there is something our next guest and I found we have very much in common. Keltie Knight is an author and one third of the trio behind the LadyGang podcast. She came on the show to talk about the group’s new book of essays, Lady Secrets: Real, Raw, & Ridiculous Confessions of Womanhood. In this episode, Keltie and I talk about therapy, what getting canceled looks like...
Sep 26, 2022•49 min
Laura Chinn is one of those people who gets it. She got me, she got the point of this show, and in true Plucking Up style she got why it’s so important to share stories of failure, loss, and instability. On the show, I had the opportunity to chat with the author, script writer, and actress about her new memoir, Acne. Laura says the process of writing a memoir and putting it out into the world is cathartic. We also got into what we’ve learned through therapy and working on ourselves. Do some self...
Sep 19, 2022•1 hr
