Shift Happens: From Pain to Purpose

Have you ever downloaded a dating app and immediately thought… What am I doing here? Or wondered if you can actually find something real in a world of swipes, DMs, endless options, and people who always seem to be looking for the next best thing? Today’s guests are actually the second couple I’ve ever interviewed together on Shift Happens, and I wanted to bring them on because they didn’t just find love—they found each other online. Emily Freeman is a dating coach, and alongside her husband, Mike, they have a unique perspective on what it looks like to go from navigating online dating—with all the doubts, reservations, and uncertainty that come with it—to building an actual marriage. And I don’t just want to hear the highlight-reel version of their love story. I want to know what almost made them count each other out. What doubts came up. What made them realize this relationship was different. And maybe more importantly… what happens after you find the person? Because finding someone is one thing. Learning how to love them well is another. How do you handle conflict when you both think you’re right? How do you repair instead of keeping score? What do you do when jealousy or insecurity shows up? And how do you build enough trust that your relationship doesn’t require control to feel safe? And because Emily spends her career helping people navigate dating, I also want to know: Does knowing all the “right” things actually make relationships easier or does it make it harder in its own way So whether you’re single, dating, married, completely over the apps, or still holding out hope that your person might somehow be one swipe away—this conversation is about what it actually takes to not just find and choose love but how to keep love once the dating story becomes real life. This is Emily and Mike's story. @emilyfreemancoaching @mike.liguori RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE - to help you process, own and share your story FOLLOW @alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod

What happens when following Jesus means walking away from the person you’re attracted to? Saying no when the world tells you it’s normal to say yes? Holding a boundary when no one would blame you for crossing it? Or choosing obedience when compromise would be easier and honestly, more convenient? Faith is easy to talk about when it isn’t costing you anything. Dating in today’s culture is already complicated. But dating as a man of faith brings another question entirely: My guest today is Brad Ledford. Brad is a California cowboy but online he’s become a voice for something that feels increasingly countercultural: what it looks like to lead well, pursue relationships intentionally, and be a man whose private choices actually match the faith he professes publicly. But Brad’s faith isn’t a highlight reel. He’s walked through seasons that challenged what he believed and forced him to decide what was truly non-negotiable. Those convictions have shaped the way he dates, the boundaries he sets, the kind of husband he hopes to become—and even his experience being cast for last seasons The Bachelorette that ultimately never aired. it’s one thing to say you have standards when they’ve never been tested. It's another thing to keep them when there’s an opportunity in front of you, when you’re lonely, or when culture tells you you’re being too rigid. Because we live in a world that tells us to follow our feelings, keep our options open, avoid labels, sleep together before commitment, and leave the second something becomes uncomfortable. So where does conviction fit into modern dating? Can you date with standards without becoming judgmental? Can you desire sex and still choose purity? Can you be intentional without rushing? Will you stay devoted to Jesus when obedience costs you the relationship or the opportunity you wanted? And for the men listening: What does it actually mean to lead a relationship instead of simply saying you’re a “man of God”? This is Brad’s story. RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE - to help you process, own and share your story FOLLOW @alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod

My friend Erica Tyson has buried a child after unthinkable tragedy. Shes raising a daughter with severe disabilities. She’s walking through divorce. And now she’s doing it all as a single mom. But that’s not her whole story. On this episode of Shift Happens, we’re asking the hard question: who do you become when everything falls apart? we’re talking about relationship patterns, trauma, control, faith, and what happens when everything you thought would save you… doesn’t. We’re asking the hard questions: Why do we choose the love we choose? What happens to your faith when tragedy hits your front yard? And what does resilience actually look like when no one’s watching? This is one of the most raw conversations we’ve ever had on the podcast. This is Erica's story. @erica___tyson RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE - to help you process, own and share your story FOLLOW @alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod

Katelyn spent much of her life trying to stay quiet, unseen, and out of the way. At 22 years old, she was selling her clothes to just to afford groceries. Today, she’s built a seven-figure personal brand from the ground up—using social media to create opportunities that changed the trajectory of her life. She’s worked with brands like Meta and Adobe, been featured in Forbes, and built a life she once couldn’t even imagine. Katelyn didn’t just change her circumstances—she changed the story she believed about herself. Not because she suddenly became confident not because She learned that confidence isn’t something you’re born with—it’s something you build every time you stop hiding. this conversation isn’t about followers, brand deals, or business strategies. It’s about what happens when you stop letting your circumstances write your story. It’s about healing the parts of yourself that learned to stay small. It’s about becoming visible after a lifetime of hiding. This is Katelyn’s story. @thekatelynrhoades @callhercreator RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE - to help you process, own and share your story FOLLOW @alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod

Today’s guest is Laura Higgins—entrepreneur, branding expert, and business owner who built a multi-million dollar company helping women grow their visibility, content, and personal brands online. From the outside, Laura had every marker of success: the business, the ambition, and the image of someone who had figured it all out. But behind the scenes, the constant pressure to achieve, perform, and keep pushing eventually caught up with her In this episode, we’re talking about burnout—but not just the trendy version we see online. We’re talking about the deeper layers underneath it: the identity built around overworking, the fear of slowing down, the pressure high-achieving women place on themselves to hold everything together, and the childhood patterns that can quietly shape our relationship with success. Laura opens up about what burnout actually looked like in real time, the moment she realized the life she built was no longer sustainable, and how she’s had to redefine ambition, leadership, and worth outside of productivity. This is Laura’s story. @ laurahiggins RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE - to help you process, own and share your story FOLLOW @alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod

Today’s guest is Natalia Benson—podcast host, and coach helping women step into abundance, financial empowerment, and deeper alignment within themselves. Through her work in astrology, spirituality, Natalia has built a platform centered around self-awareness, healing, and personal transformation. But behind the wisdom she shares online is also a woman who has had to navigate profound change in her own life. In this episode, we’re talking about divorce—not from the lens of bitterness, but from the complicated reality of grief, identity loss, self-trust, and choosing yourself even when it hurts. Because sometimes the hardest thing isn’t leaving. It’s accepting that you can deeply love someone, grieve them, and still know the relationship was no longer aligned for who you were becoming. Natalia opens up about the identity death that can happen after heartbreak, the patterns from childhood that quietly follow us into adult relationships, and the fear of self-abandonment many women experience in dating and love. We also talk about what it feels like to navigate pain publicly. The pressure to appear healed online. The temptation to hide the messy parts. And what happens when you choose to be seen while you’re still in the middle of becoming. This conversation is soft, honest, wise, and deeply human. And if you’ve ever questioned whether choosing yourself was worth the loss… I think this episode is going to meet you exactly where you are. This is Natalia’s story. natalia_benson RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE - to help you process, own and share your story FOLLOW @alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod

Today’s guest lida was born into physical adversity—before she even had the language to understand it. Surgeries, comparison, and learning how to navigate a body that didn’t move like everyone else shaped her early years in ways most people never see. And while resilience may be easy to name now… back then, it felt like something else entirely. As she stepped into adulthood, marriage, and the dream of becoming a mother, life didn’t unfold the way she expected. Miscarriage after miscarriage began to rewrite what she thought her story would be. At the same time, everything around her seemed to be falling apart—financial pressure, instability, and questions that didn’t have easy answers. But somewhere in the middle of the pain… something shifted. In this episode, we’re talking about what it really looks like to wrestle with your faith, to question everything you thought you believed, and to keep showing up when life doesn’t make sense. This is Lida’s story. @lida_benites RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE - to help you process, own and share your story FOLLOW @alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod

At just 16 years old, Samantha Harper was living on her own—no safety net, no roadmap—just figuring out how to survive. Before she was a speaker… and Before she was a CEO She was a girl trying to understand what love, stability, and her future looked like. In this episode, we talk about What survival actually felt like… The beliefs she formed about herself… How those stories showed up in her marriage and the moment she was left with just $19 to her name during her divorce; forced to rebuild from nothing. I ask if she ever wrestled with God in her pain asking why her story looked the way it did. But this isn’t just about what she went through— it’s about what she built from it. From trauma counselor… to CEO… to helping others heal through her app Sensry. If you’ve ever felt like you’ve had to figure life out on your own… this one’s for you. This is Samantha's story. @sam_e_peace @sensry.app RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE - to help you process, own and share your story FOLLOW @alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod

My guest today is Margot Miller, and her story is one of those stories. From a young age, Margot faced things that forced her to wrestle with identity and pain in ways most people never have to. That path eventually led her into addiction at a young age, and later into a devastating neurological condition that left her bedridden for nearly a decade. For ten years, life as she knew it stopped. But what’s incredible about Margot isn’t just what she’s walked through—it’s what she’s done with it. Today she’s living a life she once could only dream about and helping others see that their past, their pain, and even their darkest chapters can become the very thing that shapes their purpose. Margot often says, “The more darkness you’ve walked through, the more light you can hold.” And today we’re talking about what that actually looks like. This is Margot's Story. @margotelisemiller RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE - to help you process, own and share your story FOLLOW @alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod

Like the clarity fades, the momentum slows, and you’re left wondering— is this resistance because I’m growing… or because something’s off? Today’s conversation is real-time. I’m sitting down with my friend Beatrice— and our paths look really similar. We both started in creative fields, pivoted into coaching, started podcasts… and we’re both in seasons of building something with purpose. But we’re also in the middle of the questions. So today, we’re talking about resistance— when to push through it… and when it might actually be a sign to pause and realign. No perfect answers. Just an honest conversation we’re still walking through. If you’ve been feeling stuck between pressing forward and pulling back— this one’s for you. This is Beatrice's Story @letstalkrelationships_ RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE - to help you process, own and share your story FOLLOW @alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod

Today’s guest, Chellie Carlson, is an LA-based stylist and creative entrepreneur who has built her brand around one powerful belief: when a woman feels confident and magnetic in how she presents herself, everything in her life begins to shift—including her income. But Chellie’s path wasn’t conventional. She started her business at 40 years old with less than $10,000—proving that it’s never too late to build something powerful from the ground up. What began as a personal realization quickly turned into a mission: helping women understand that style isn’t superficial—it’s strategic. The way you dress communicates before you ever speak, shaping how you’re perceived, how you’re treated, and ultimately, the opportunities you attract. Through her work, Chellie has helped women move from playing small and dressing “safe” to showing up with intention, confidence, and presence—becoming magnetic in both their personal and professional lives. In this episode, we dive into her journey of starting over, the mindset shifts that changed everything, and why so many women resist investing in how they show up. If you’ve ever underestimated the power of your presence—or questioned whether style really matters—this conversation might just change the way you see yourself. How to know when resistance means to press on or if it’s a warning signal. This is Chellie's story. @ chelliecarlson RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE - to help you process, own and share your story FOLLOW @alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod

If you answered yes to any of those questions today’s conversation is for you. On this episode of Shift Happens, I’m sitting down with Maeva — founder of Flying Cat Marketing, and a third culture kid who spent 15 years living abroad, and a woman navigating who she is as her business changes and as she prepares to be a mom. We talk about what it means to grow up between cultures and how that shapes your sense of self. How homeschooling influenced her independence. What it’s like to move “home” and realize it doesn’t feel like home anymore. This episode is about identity. Belonging. Letting go. And learning to meet yourself honestly in seasons of transition. This is Maeva's story. @maevaeverywhere RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE - to help you process, own and share your story FOLLOW @alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod

Today, Haelie Queen is taking us inside her story. Growing up without her biological father, she met him at 18, only to face abuse. That trauma led her into addiction—Adderall, alcohol—and it nearly dismantled her life and marriage. But Haelie found a way out. Now sober, she and her husband have rebuilt everything and are helping others do the same. Let’s dive into the truth of addiction, rock bottom, and the climb back up. This is Haelie's story. @haeliequeen RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE - to help you process, own and share your story FOLLOW @alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod

From being bullied by the same group of girls from middle school through high school… to surviving third-degree burns as a young child… Lauren knows what it feels like to walk through pain early in life and carry the weight of those experiences. And like so many women, life didn’t stop throwing curveballs. In this conversation, we talk about how those early wounds shape confidence, what it really takes to rebuild your identity after hardship, and how to move forward when your life doesn’t look the way you once imagined—including what it’s like navigating the dating world after divorce. Because the truth is, owning your story isn’t always clean or polished. Sometimes it’s messy. Sometimes it’s uncomfortable. But sometimes the very things we want to hide… are the things that end up setting us free. This is Lauren’s story. RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE - to help you process, own and share your story FOLLOW @alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod

So many of us have learned to measure our worth by how much we produce, how much we achieve, how much we can hold together. From the outside, it can look like everything is working. But internally… there’s a quiet tension. A lack of peace. A feeling that something is missing. Today’s conversation is for the woman who’s doing everything “right”— and still feels unfulfilled. I’m sitting down with Kaylyn, co-founder of Richwife , a lifestyle brand built around redefining what it truly means to be “rich.” But this isn’t just a conversation about business—this is about identity. We talk about what happens when your worth becomes tied to productivity… the moment you realize success isn’t the same as peace… and the courage it takes to set boundaries, shift your environment, and realign your life with what actually matters. If you’ve ever felt like you’re striving, achieving, checking all the boxes… but still not fully at peace—this episode is going to meet you right where you are. This is Kaylyn’s story. RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE - to help you process, own and share your story FOLLOW @alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE - to help you process, own and share your story FOLLOW @alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod

On today’s episode of Shift Happens I sit down with Savannah — a pastor’s kid, the oldest daughter, and someone who learned early that being “good” often meant being exceptional. Excellence wasn’t just encouraged in her world — it was expected. And over time, that striving didn’t just shape who she was personally… it shaped how she showed up professionally. That same drive for precision, performance, and getting it right helped her rise quickly in the marketing world — building a reputation for clarity, strategy, and results, and helping businesses communicate in a way that actually connects and converts. But behind the success is a deeper tension we unpack today: how her upbringing wired her for perfection, how that fueled both her growth and her burnout, and what she’s learned about showing up differently — not just in life, but in business. This is Savannahs story. RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE - to help you process, own and share your story FOLLOW @alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE - to help you process, own and share your story FOLLOW @alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod

Ada moved to America from China at just seven years old. She entered the second grade without speaking English and grew up in an immigrant household where success meant stability — a secure job, a predictable path, something safe. Creativity wasn’t part of the plan. She was doing everything right but still felt felt completely disconnected from herself. So, she took a risk. Bought a camera. And built a business. This conversation is about redefining success, choosing courage over comparison, and building a creative life in the very place she once felt behind. This is Ada’s story. RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE - to help you process, own and share your story FOLLOW @alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE - to help you process, own and share your story FOLLOW @alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod

What happens when your highlight reel doesn’t match your real life? And somewhere along the way… you start to lose who you are? Today’s guest is Briana Williams—a single mom of two who knows what it feels like to look like you have it all together while your real life is unraveling behind the scenes. Briana has walked through abuse, broken relationships, and seasons where she lost herself just trying to survive it all. And while the world saw one version of her online, the reality was something very different—filled with pain, confusion, and the pressure to keep up appearances. But her story doesn’t end there. Because what happens when you can’t pretend anymore? When the life you’ve been living no longer aligns with who you are? Now, she’s in the process of rebuilding—learning who she is again, healing from her past, and choosing honesty over image. And today, she’s opening up about what that journey has really looked like. This is Briana’s story. RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE - to help you process, own and share your story FOLLOW @alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod @lovexbriana RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE - to help you process, own and share your story FOLLOW @alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod

What happens when the girl who holds everything together on the outside finally realizes she’s falling apart inside? By nineteen Amber Richards had already sold her first home. By adulthood she had climbed to Vice President of Sales and Marketing in the homebuilding industry. But success has a way of hiding pain ; not healing it. At twenty-three, eight months pregnant, my friend lost her father suddenly, and the grief she never had space to process began shaping her life in ways she didn’t fully understand at the time. She grappled with not feeling good enough in childhood, which began a theme that would keep showing up in her relationships as she felt the need to prove herself. She questioned, if people knew the real her - the imperfect version - would thy still accept her? Love her? Today we talk about what happens when the life you built to protect yourself stops working and you’re finally forced to face the patterns underneath it. This is Amber’s story RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE - to help you process, own and share your story FOLLOW @alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod @amberichard RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE - to help you process, own and share your story FOLLOW @alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod

What do you do when your perfectly healthy two-year-old stops responding as they typically do? Today on Shift Happens , we’re talking about the kind of shift that no mother prepares for. How do you learn how to do life with a child with profound autism? How do you grieve what you thought life would look like — while still fighting for the child right in front of you?Today, you’re going to hear from a mother who didn’t just survive that reality — she transformed it. Tiffany Sumner found herself navigating being a single mom to a child with profound autism, and the crushing loneliness that so many caregivers silently carry. But instead of staying silent, she went public. What began as survival became advocacy. What felt like devastation became purpose.This conversation is about grief and grit. It’s about a mother who never gets to clock out.And about what happens when the hardest chapter of your life becomes the reason someone else feels less alone. This is Tiffany’s story. FOLLOW @alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod @tiffanysumner RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE - to help you process, own and share your story RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE - to help you process, own and share your story FOLLOW @alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod