Melissa was already crying at the start of this episode. When she first lost her daughter, Leyden, she could barely leave the house, let alone get to a grief counselor’s office. But that is what she did. And that grief counselor is the special guest today, Kendra Allen. Melissa was a puddle at Kendra’s office in the beginning. But everyone deserves to have a space held for them. And Kendra allowed that space for Melissa. And what Melissa thinks is powerful is not only the tools in which she was taught the ways that widened her understanding of grief but the space that Kendra fostered.  Me ..read more

Melissa’s excited to introduce you to an incredibly dear friend and soul connection of hers. John Kempf is an amazing coach, an amazing human, and an amazing healer.  And when you talk about our beings and souls being medicine for this planet and other people, John is literally medicine in human form. He has so much wisdom to share.  Melissa and John talk in this episode about not only our nervous system regulation but about rebirth and past lives. So it's something that you might find really supportive and healing if you are on a grief journey to think about the rebirth and death th ..read more

This is Melissa’s person. Former Nike Master Trainer. Former New York City Rockette. Current multi-six figure entrepreneur. Melissa and Samantha are meant to be in each other’s lives. Get ready to get in touch with your intuition. Samantha shares the harrowing and brave story of moving through divorce, choosing herself over her dance career, and how she discovered her superpowers.  Samantha is a person whose energy you want in your life. Melissa often shares that you are the product of the energies you surround yourself with - and this person should be a part of your energy. This episode ..read more

In this special episode, Melissa shares parts of her story she has never shared. Melissa’s guest shares so many similarities with Melissa’s story it’s almost eerie! Melissa and Sydni O’Connell go deep on betrayal and moving forward after all you envisioned for your life is taken from you. Sydni talks about fighting for her job on her honeymoon and the surreal reality check of managing the unexpected.  Melissa and Sydni also explore the following: Why you owe yourself to build your safety from within. How and why to visualize the highs and lows. Believing “If I don’t do anything wrong, ev ..read more

Melissa rides solo and shares THE MOST life-changing lesson she learned from her daughter Leyden. We’ve all experienced something being taken from us and the ground ripped out from underneath. However, Melissa is here to share some hard truths - we are not entitled to anything but worthy of everything.  Melissa explores the power of worthiness and invites you to curiously explore the possibilities when we move from entitlement to ownership. In this episode, she examines the gap between expectation and ownership and how that impacts all areas of your life (fitness, finances, business, rela ..read more

This episode provides a glimpse into Melissa’s life and one of the major factors that led to Melissa reinventing herself and finding the clarity to take action. Brad Barnes has changed Melissa’s life and will change yours.  Brad and Melissa discuss their grief journeys and offer mindset tips and support no matter what stage of the grief or life journey you find yourself. Brad shares how he had to discover that he had something to grieve and the role that gender had in his grief experience. He highlights why you might want to check in on the strong people in your life and why mindset is th ..read more

The podcast has returned to explore the not-so-comfortable things of life. The podcast started in honor and memory of Melissa’s daughter Leyden who passed in 2014. But like many of you, Melissa’s journey has evolved, and new lessons are coming alive in her that she’s ready to share with you! Grief is a lot more than the loss of life. It’s a fertility journey, job loss, a relationship ending, or leaving your hometown. In this episode, Melissa dives into the why and how to talk about grief so we’re not shocked, shut down, or afraid of it. We’re empowered.  Melissa also highlights the idea o ..read more

Melissa goes live with the founder of the NEC Society, Jen Canvassar, to talk about Leyden's story, how her case was termed a catastrophe and the feeling of being powerless in her grief. She talks about channeling that energy and educates on the link between NEC and Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) in honor of CHD Awareness week, to contribute to others having the information that Melissa didn't have. Learn more about the NEC Society at https://necsociety.org/. About this podcast Each episode we abandon our comfort zones to get a little gutsy and hold space to grow into stronger versions of ourse ..read more

LCP and EMDR practitioner, Michelle Quiroga joins Melissa on the pod today. They go deep on understanding what toxic positivity is and how it can be damaging in grief and in life and dive further into how the body and brain store trauma and emotional experiences and share tips for releasing. About this podcast Each episode we abandon our comfort zones to get a little gutsy and hold space to grow into stronger versions of ourselves. In 2014, the birth of my daughter Leyden changed my entire world. Four months later, grief shattered it. I was broken, scared, lost, angry, and hopeless. I didn’t w ..read more

Melissa breaks down the dark and light side of competition to explain how society can negatively position competition and how you can shift energy to allow competition to be a place of growth and inspiration. About this podcast Each episode we abandon our comfort zones to get a little gutsy and hold space to grow into stronger versions of ourselves. In 2014, the birth of my daughter Leyden changed my entire world. Four months later, grief shattered it. I was broken, scared, lost, angry, and hopeless. I didn’t want to live and wasn’t really sure how to. I sought every means to “fight” grief: re ..read more