What if the hardest thing you’ve ever faced… became the very thing that saved your life?

Dan Reilly is a husband, father, and self-proclaimed ordinary guy—until life gave him three wake-up calls: a bank robbery, a wildfire evacuation, and a stage III esophageal cancer diagnosis. In this powerful conversation, Dan shares how he turned crisis into purpose, how writing helped him heal, and what it really means to get it right in midlife.

We talk about resilience, healing, family, faith, and what it means to carry a backpack full of burdens—and finally put it down. If you’ve ever needed a reminder that second chances are real and you’re not too far gone to begin again, this episode is for you.

🎒 Dan’s book Seize Your Second Chance is available now.

🔗 CONNECT WITH US

📖 Grab Dan’s book & connect: www.danielpreilly.com

📸 Dan on Facebook: @dan.reilly.773

🎙 Follow me on Instagram: @iamtiffcarson

🌐 My Website & Free Meditation: www.tiffcarson.com

What if the pain you’re carrying…was never yours to begin with?

In this powerful conversation, Rapid Transformational Therapist Kate Semeniuk shares how she helps people heal the deep subconscious beliefs formed in early childhood—beliefs that still shape our adult lives through anxiety, people-pleasing, burnout, and depression. Kate and I talk about the power of hypnotherapy, healing our inner child, and why we must stop saying “my anxiety” or “my depression.”

This episode is a gift for anyone who’s been stuck in patterns they don’t understand and who’s finally ready to come home to themselves.

00:00 – Welcome + Intro

02:00 – Kate’s “aha” moment that started her healing path

05:00 – The pain wasn’t outside—it was within

07:20 – How childhood beliefs silently shape adult patterns

11:00 – Co-parenting and conscious communication with kids

15:00 – The power of explaining pain to children

21:00 – What a RTT session actually looks like

27:00 – The ego’s grip and identity

30:00 – Depression and the loss of hope

35:00 – Becoming your own loving parent

40:00 – What we say after “I am” shapes our lives

46:00 – It’s time to rewire your beliefs

50:00 – Gratitude, healing, and final thoughts

📲 Stay Connected:

🔗 Connect with Kate on Instagram: @kate.semeniuk

🌐 Learn more or book a session: katesemeniuk.com

🫶 Find healing tools and retreats with me: tiffcarson.com

🎙 Follow on Instagram: @iamtiffcarson

Have you ever whispered to yourself, “I don’t know how much longer I can keep going?” In this raw and powerful episode of Hard Beautiful Journey, Tiff Carson sits down with therapist and podcast host Malisa Hepner, whose story reads like a trauma survivor’s handbook—childhood abuse, parental loss, CPTSD, and burnout so intense it nearly took her life. But what followed is a breathtaking example of choosing healing over perfection, embracing imperfection as power, and learning to love the fire within.

This conversation is for anyone who feels broken, exhausted, or like they’ve lost themselves in the chaos of motherhood, trauma, and people-pleasing. We talk about nervous system regulation, parenting through grief, emotional hygiene, and what it really takes to rebuild a life you actually love.

✨ We also explore Malisa’s incredible upcoming Empowerment Exchange Summit and how it aligns with finding your own timbre—the sound signature of your soul.

Let this be your permission slip to stop holding it all together.

Connect with Malisa Hepner:

Instagram: @malisa.hepner

Website: www.empoweredwithmalisahepner.org

Connect with Tiff Carson:
Instagram:⁠ @iamtiffcarson⁠

Website:⁠ www.tiffcarson.com⁠

In this episode of Hard Beautiful Journey, Tiff sits down with former criminal trial lawyer turned author and spiritual seeker, Bob Martin. From Miami's cocaine cowboy era to Taoist teachings and deep soul shifts, Bob shares how he moved from a life built on power to one built on purpose. They explore the intersections of faith, storytelling, unconditional love, and why curiosity just might be the most spiritual act of all.

0:00 Intro – From Power to Purpose

3:45 How Bob's Legal Career Collapsed Spiritually

11:12 Meeting the Taoist Grandmaster

20:04 The Wake-Up Call After 9/11

27:30 Writing Children of Abraham

36:48 Blending Taoism and Christianity

44:15 The Messy Middle in Faith

53:00 Garage Book Sales and Publishing Realities

1:02:20 What Healing Looks Like Now

1:08:40 One Thing Bob Hopes You Remember

Connect with Tiff on Instagram: @iamtiffcarson

Connect with Bob on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/awiseandhappylife

Visit Bob's website: awiseandhappylife.com

What if the thing you’re most afraid to let go of is the very thing keeping you stuck?

In this powerful episode, transformational coach Michelle Gauthier shares her personal story of walking away from a high-achieving, burnout-fueled life to rebuild from the inside out. We talk about how to tune into your body’s whispers before they become screams, release perfectionism, reclaim joy, and live a life that feels as good as it looks.

🎧 If you’ve ever wrapped your worth around your work or struggled to slow down, this is the conversation your heart’s been waiting for.

00:00 – Intro

01:25 – When Michelle’s body said “Enough”

07:40 – Fear, divorce, and identity unraveling

13:00 – Signals from the body: anxiety, back pain & blood pressure

19:15 – Rebuilding a new life: what joy looks like now

26:40 – Dropping the disclaimer and the five “Whys”

33:10 – Sustainable life vs. busy life

39:00 – The myth of doing it all

42:55 – When joy felt like a luxury

48:10 – What would you say to your past self?

50:30 – The ripple effect of calm mothers

53:00 – Gratitude & closing reflections

💛 Connect with Michelle on Instagram: @michellegauthiercoaching

🌿 Visit her website: www.michellegauthier.com

🎙️ Follow me on Instagram: @iamtiffcarson

What if grief wasn’t something to fix—but something to feel, carry, and even grow through?

In this powerful episode of Hard Beautiful Journey, I sit down with Laura Walton—licensed therapist, grief and trauma expert, and founder of Grief on Purpose—to explore how unthinkable loss led her to the work she's doing today. Laura shares how losing her father and partner cracked her open, what it means to grieve with intention, and how her relationship with grief has shifted after nearly two decades.

We talk spirituality, somatic healing, the loneliness of grief, and how your relationship with a loved one can continue long after they’re gone.

If you're grieving—or supporting someone who is—this episode is here to remind you: you're not alone, and you will survive this.

0:00 - Intro: Grief as a Beginning

2:24 - Laura’s Life Before Loss

5:01 - The Losses That Changed Everything

8:17 - What Grief Is (and Isn’t)

11:32 - Being Misunderstood in Grief

15:45 - Judgment & Silence Around Death

19:12 - Creating Grief on Purpose

22:38 - Evolving the Relationship with Grief

27:03 - Spirit Connection After Death

32:20 - Supporting Others Through Grief

36:01 - Using Your Voice

38:24 - Finding Your Tribe

41:33 - Yoga, Somatics & Grief in the Body

47:22 - What Society Gets Wrong About Grief

51:12 - Final Message for the Brokenhearted

56:20 - Gratitude + Gentle Close

CONNECT WITH US:

Tiff on Instagram → @iamtiffcarson

Laura on Instagram → @grief.on.purpose

Laura’s Website → www.griefonpurpose.com

What does it take to rise from unimaginable pain and turn it into purpose? Jennisue Jessen, founder of Compass 31, joins me to share her extraordinary journey from being trafficked at just four years old to becoming a global advocate for freedom and healing. We talk about the misconceptions around human trafficking, why survivors often don’t identify as victims, and how healing truly begins in relationship.

Her story will shift how you see trauma, resilience, and what it means to be seen.

0:00 - Intro

1:42 - Jennisue’s early experiences & Southeast Asia

5:25 - Misconceptions about trafficking

8:17 - What grooming really looks like

11:02 - Why victims don’t see themselves as victims

16:10 - Healing after escape

20:22 - The reunion with LB (cue tears)

26:00 - How Compass 31 was born

29:40 - What makes Compass 31 unique

34:50 - Joy amidst darkness

37:00 - Community and the power of tribe

41:10 - Real ways we can help

45:00 - Final thoughts and gratitude

📲 Connect with Jennisue on Instagram: @compass_31

🌐 Learn more: www.compass31.org

💖 Connect with me: @iamtiffcarson

Motherhood is already a challenge—but what happens when your own childhood trauma resurfaces while raising your kids? In this deeply powerful conversation, Emily Cleghorn, an award-winning Trauma Recovery Coach, author, and speaker, shares her journey of recognizing and healing childhood trauma in the midst of parenting.

Emily gets real about the triggers, guilt, and breakthroughs that come with unlearning generational patterns. She opens up about the moment she realized her past was affecting her parenting, how she learned to pause before reacting, and how gratitude rewired her brain from a trauma response to grounded motherhood.

If you're a parent struggling with triggers, trying to break cycles, or simply looking for healing tools for emotional resilience, this episode is for you.

00:00 - Intro: Why This Episode Matters

02:15 - The Moment Emily Realized Trauma Was Affecting Her Parenting

06:30 - How Triggers Are Instant Time Machines

10:45 - Breaking Generational Cycles: Becoming the Parent You Needed

14:20 - How Self-Compassion Changes Everything

19:00 - The Power of Pausing Before Reacting

23:15 - Gratitude & Rewiring the Trauma Response

28:45 - What Moms Need to Hear Most Right Now

35:10 - Closing Thoughts & Special Offer

🎧 Plus, get 50% off Emily’s Trigger Toolkit! Use code HBJ50 at coaching.mamahoodaftertrauma.ca/triggertoolkit.

Connect with Emily Cleghorn:

Instagram: @emily.mamahoodaftertrauma

YouTube: Mama Hood After Trauma

Connect with me, Tiff Carson:

Instagram: @iamtiffcarson

Instagram: @hardbeautifuljourney