Becoming Your Best Version
Becoming Your Best Version

Becoming Your Best Version

Maria Leonard Olsen

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Episodes

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Award-winning podcast about living your best life, by Maria Leonard Olsen & her inspiring guests. Maria is a lawyer/journalist/author/two-time TEDx speaker who seeks to amplify women's voices to share about their lives, work & life lessons. She graduated from Boston College & Univ. of Virginia Law. She served in the Clinton Justice Dept. and is a lawyer in Washington, D.C. Her latest book, 50 After 50--Reframing the Next Chapter of Your Life, has helped thousands reinvigorate their lives. See MariaLeonardOlsen.com and follow @FiftyAfter50

Recent Episodes

A Conversation with Julie Nise, Relationship Trainer and Communication Strategist
MAY 29, 2026
A Conversation with Julie Nise, Relationship Trainer and Communication Strategist
Julie Nise is a Relationship Trainer and Communication Strategist known for her direct, results-oriented approach. With more than two decades of combined corporate, entrepreneurial and clinical experience, Julie brings a rare balance of empathy and practicality to her coaching. She has successfully guided more than 8,000 individuals and couples through challenges in communication, trust and leadership, offering clear, actionable strategies that create lasting change. Her insight and authenticity have earned her national recognition, including multiple appearances on the Dr. Phil Show, where her compassionate yet focused style resonated with both audiences and producers. As a regular commentator on NewsRadio KTRH Houston, Julie shared expert perspectives on relationships, communication, current events and leadership.In this episode, we discuss:--The Communication Reset: How to Stop Arguing and Start Understanding--Building Real Connection in a Digital World--Rebuilding Trust After Betrayal: The Step-by-Step Path to Healing--Leadership Through Listening: What Great Relationships Teach Us About Influence--From Conflict to Clarity: Turning Relationship Stress into Growth"Over the years, I’ve helped thousands of people—including couples on the brink of divorce and leaders seeking clarity in their relationships—achieve breakthroughs and focus on creating positive change," Julie says. "Whether you’re looking to improve your marriage, reconnect with your family, or lead your team with confidence, my goal is to provide the clarity, tools, and strategies you need to thrive.... We are who we practice to be."Her new book, Romance ESP--Seeing Patterns and Responding to the Changes in Your Relationship, comes out in 2026. Among other things, readers will learn how to master the art of understanding and reacting to the non-verbal clues that influence relationship dynamics.Outside her work, Julie enjoys time with family, coastal living and encouraging others to grow in purpose and connection.Learn more and follow Julie:https://www.outcomesonly.com/https://www.instagram.com/outcomesonly/https://www.facebook.com/people/Outcomes-Only/61572479851741/
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27 MIN
A Conversation with Ally Shaw, Author of “Chasing Tigers in the Dark, Life Lessons of a Fierce Survivor”
MAY 22, 2026
A Conversation with Ally Shaw, Author of “Chasing Tigers in the Dark, Life Lessons of a Fierce Survivor”
Ally Shaw is a fierce survivor who has reinvented herself multiple times after devastating loss. Ally is a proud cancer survivor who became an opera singer. She also is an award-winning entrepreneur who became an author. Ally and her husband Kevin recently retired as business owners of a multi-state Domino's franchise, after achieving eight Gold Franny awards (top 2% of franchisees worldwide). Ally launched a new career as a speaker in 2016, presenting to audiences of 100 - 10,000. Her passion for writing had always played understudy but the quietness of the pandemic provided time for inspiration to grow. Ally became a first-time author of the narrative non-fiction book Chasing Tigers in the Dark, Life Lessons of a Fierce Survivor (Library Tales Publishing/Simon & Schuster) in 2022/2026. She won an International Impact Book Award for her memoir in 2026. Ally recently signed a two-book contract for a new fiction project with Wicked Ink Publishing in Canada. The novels (Tiger Eye and Daisy Chain) will shine a spotlight on the global human trafficking crisis and are slated to launch in 2026 and 2027. The title of her book and accompanying book tour speech (“I Caught the Tiger, Now What?”) are metaphors for facing the fears that attempt to stunt our productivity and prevent us from achieving our ultimate success. This topic feeds her evolving purpose of building awareness around mental health struggles (affecting more than 50% of the population) and providing resources for healing complex trauma (affecting more than 70% of the population.) Ally earned a bachelor's degree from Elon University and a master's degree from Loyola University New Orleans. Ally is also a graduate of Leadership NRV, a prestigious leadership program facilitated in southwest Virginia. Proceeds from Ally's books support cancer, domestic abuse, hurricane relief and human trafficking recovery charities. Ally's "fierce tiger lady" brand is characterized by positivity, vulnerability, and embracing the art of reinvention. She is a proud wife and mother of seven children and lives in Sunset Beach, NC.Learn more and follow Ally:www.fiercetigerlady.comhttps://www.tiktok.com/@allyshawauthor?_t=ZP-8tHeKsDAWFy&_r=1https://www.facebook.com/allyshawfiercetigerlady?      https://www.instagram.com/allyshawauthor?igsh=MTFjM3M2NTYybWFwaw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
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28 MIN
A Conversation with Katie Asmus, Somatic and Nature-Based Therapist, International Teacher/Speaker, Ceremonialist and Rites of Passage Guide
MAY 15, 2026
A Conversation with Katie Asmus, Somatic and Nature-Based Therapist, International Teacher/Speaker, Ceremonialist and Rites of Passage Guide
With several decades of experience in outdoor education, therapy, teaching, mentoring and rites of passage guiding, Katie Asmus, MA, BMP, LPC, incorporates present-moment awareness, relationship to the natural world, body-mind connection and ceremonial practices to support people in more deeply and compassionately connecting to themselves, others and the earth.She believes strongly in the power of spending time in nature as a way to deeply listen inward, and has a long history of creating, practicing and facilitating personally meaningful, culturally relevant ceremonies and rites of passage.  Katie also has had a 30-plus-year career working with therapy and coaching clients and over 20 years teaching wilderness therapy, adventure therapy, ecotherapy and somatic therapy at a graduate level.Currently, Katie directs and facilitates rites of passage trainings and experiences, sees therapy and coaching clients, guest teaches and trains therapists and healers through The Somatic Nature Therapy Institute in Colorado, though she also has online offerings. She is known for saying that “Inner work is world peace work.”https://www.somaticnaturetherapy.com/https://www.linkedin.com/company/somatic-nature-therapy-institute https://www.instagram.com/somaticnaturetherapy/https://www.facebook.com/somaticnaturetherapyhttps://www.youtube.com/@infosomaticnaturetherapy https://www.tiktok.com/@snti_boulderhttps://www.pinterest.com/somaticnaturetherapyinstitute/nature-therapy/ 
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26 MIN
A Conversation with Kathleen Conner, Coach and Expert in Purposeful Living
MAY 1, 2026
A Conversation with Kathleen Conner, Coach and Expert in Purposeful Living
Kathleen Conner is the woman everyone calls when they need something—ranch hand, stucco guy, chief bottle washer—you name it. Known as the unofficial “mayor” and “Angie’s List of People,” she built a life of service as a business owner, wife, mother, volunteer and humanitarian. At 53, she realized she had built a perfect life serving everyone else while becoming nothing to herself. This awakening launched her transformation from depletion to authenticity.Kathleen spent 16 years building the “perfect life” that was perfectly wrong for her. At 53, she hit rock bottom, losing herself to roles like The Good Employee, The Perfect Mother and The People Pleaser. That awakening led to her transformation: losing 47 pounds, getting sober, and reclaiming her identity. Today, Kathleen helps women stop performing their lives and start living them. With a mix of candor, humor, and empathy, she shares raw stories of being successful yet miserable, helpful yet depleted, and needed yet lost, while offering women a way to align head, heart and soul so they can finally live lives that feel as good as they look.Guided by her father’s wisdom about givers and takers, Kathleen now teaches women how to give with intention and receive without guilt. Her mission is to help women break free from the boxes they didn’t even know they were in—and build lives that feel as good as they look.In this episode, we discuss life transitions and wake-up calls, finding yourself under all the roles you play and more. Kathleen joined us from Colorado.Learn more:https://chasingpurpose.com/https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61564208863634https://www.instagram.com/chasingpurpose_lifecoaching***Please like, comment on and share my new TEDx Talk about my DNA test surprise and risks of taking these tests that are marketed as fun holiday gifts yet upend many people's lives! Here is a link: https://youtu.be/LDl3B-TKSgAThank you!
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29 MIN