The Wellness Driven Life Show

A spiritual awakening at 27 brought back the gift Regan Caruthers shut off at nine. Regan, author of the memoir Tragic Magic and founder of Aset Center, talks about childhood trauma, the morning she forgave the stepfather who had been violent toward her, and the daily practice she teaches for staying loving when something triggers you. At nine she screamed for the visions to stop, and they did. Eighteen years later she woke at a national sales meeting to a luminous figure at the foot of her bed. The next morning she called home to tell her stepfather she forgave him, and he put the phone down to tell her a golden eagle had just landed on the crab apple tree in the backyard. ▶️ Watch the full conversation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/fmcvy-ic21w CHAPTERS 00:00 The man on the fiery throne 00:19 What if sensitivity is a gift? 01:19 Meet Regan Caruthers 02:35 "My mother dated a king" 03:37 A school where three-year-olds meditated 04:07 Shutting it all down at age nine 04:38 The basement and the washing machine 05:46 He came back when she was 27 06:20 X-Men school and Jean Grey 08:30 A mother who never said she was wrong 09:50 "It's only you. I'm not afraid of you." 10:51 The phone call to her stepfather 11:27 A golden eagle and a red fox 12:44 Who was the man? 15:58 Why we're all here 16:22 Luke Skywalker and the dark portal 18:01 Start with your favorite ice cream 20:09 When the wounded parts run the show 20:54 The toddler who made her own sandwich 21:45 Organic food and no media 22:40 Remember a moment of profound love 23:20 Nature, bare feet and fresh water 24:54 The novel she's writing 27:44 Where to find Regan WHAT YOU'LL TAKE AWAY Why the wounded parts of you do the reacting, and what changes when you stop arguing with them. Where to start if the only thing you can feel love for right now is your favorite ice cream. A daily practice: a long spine, one remembered moment of love, nature, bare feet and fresh water. ABOUT REGAN CARUTHERS Regan Caruthers is a spiritual teacher, yoga teacher and the founder of Aset Center in Washington, Missouri. She taught HeartMath programs at the HeartMath Institute after a career as a Silicon Valley executive in educational software. Her memoir, Tragic Magic, came out in November 2024. regancaruthers.com · Instagram @regancaruthers STAY CONNECTED Every episode: drivenlivin.com/the-wellness-driven-life-show Newsletter: drivenlivin.substack.com/subscribe The Drive Collective: drivenlivin.com/community PRODUCTION CREDITS Hosted and executive produced by April Chavez. Video production by Manlee J. Chavez. Music by Steve Stuntz. Guest agreements and disclaimer: drivenlivin.com/guest-agreements

At 29, five months pregnant, Eileen M. Vélez-Vega was diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin lymphoma. She had chemotherapy while she was pregnant, and her daughter was born that December, healthy, with a lot of hair. Years later she became the first woman to lead Puerto Rico's Department of Transportation and Public Works in its 105 years. She grew up in Sabana Grande writing letters to NASA and NOAA for posters, fundraised her way to Space Camp, and became the first engineer in her family. When the governor's office asked for her résumé in November 2020, she said no. Her husband told her she was ready, even though she did not feel ready. She tells us what four years of public scrutiny after Hurricanes Maria and Fiona required, why she chose honesty over looking like she knew everything, and why she always saves the cancer story for last. ▶️ Watch the full conversation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/HNE2Iv7Smy4 CHAPTERS 00:00 Chemo while pregnant 00:26 What if the hardest thing you ever rebuilt was yourself 01:36 Meet Eileen M. Vélez-Vega 02:56 Growing up in Sabana Grande 03:39 Letters to NASA and Space Camp 04:29 The first engineer in the family 05:22 The call from the governor's office 07:39 Diallo Wallace and the Space Camp Hall of Fame 09:49 Never underestimate your network 12:25 Saying yes before you feel ready 14:18 An aviation engineer at heart 15:09 Why she said no 16:55 The first, but not the last 17:36 The best and the worst job of her career 19:09 Leading through public and media resistance 20:27 Who is this girl 21:09 Listening in the field 22:12 Telling the public when the plan changes 23:45 What she is building now 24:45 Her daughter, and daring to dream 26:29 Where to find Eileen 27:01 The story she always tells last 28:13 The relapse and a stem cell transplant 29:16 Everything is different after cancer 31:15 Esther 4:14 31:38 Not perfect, but the life you were supposed to have WHAT YOU'LL TAKE AWAY A good leader cannot pretend to know it all, so she went to the experts, then to the field. Say your aspiration out loud. She told a colleague she would be Secretary of Transportation, and that colleague made the call. In your career, you can be replaced. With your family, you cannot." ABOUT EILEEN M. VÉLEZ-VEGA Eileen M. Vélez-Vega is a professional engineer and Strategic Infrastructure Director at Kimley-Horn Puerto Rico. From 2021 to 2024 she served as Puerto Rico's Secretary of Transportation and Public Works, the first woman to hold the post, leading recovery work after Hurricanes Maria and Fiona. An aviation engineer by training, she is a member of the Space Camp Hall of Fame class of 2024 and speaks to cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers about life after a stem cell transplant. Eileen on LinkedIn STAY CONNECTED Every episode: drivenlivin.com/the-wellness-driven-life-show Newsletter: drivenlivin.substack.com/subscribe The Drive Collective: drivenlivin.com/community PRODUCTION CREDITS Hosted and executive produced by April Chavez. Video production by Manlee J. Chavez. Music by Steve Stuntz. Guest agreements and disclaimer: drivenlivin.com/guest-agreements

What if your skin is telling you about more than your skin? Dr. Mimi Vega, PhD biochemist, former biotech executive, and founder of VGAM Biome, talks about the skin microbiome, the gut-skin connection, and how sleep, stress, and hormones show up on your skin. She started as a teenager in the chemistry club, trying ingredient after ingredient on her own inflamed skin. Years later, working in oncology, she looked at her son's MRI and knew in an instant what it meant. He is doing well today. The questions that came after led her to the organisms living on our skin. She also talks about the three layers on the surface of your skin, the book she is finishing for early 2027, and why no product can make up for a bad night's sleep. ▶️ Watch the full conversation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/T2oIuuMlMbM CHAPTERS 00:00 Your skin is telling you something 00:14 What if your skin isn't a problem to fix 01:20 Meet Dr. Mimi Vega 02:38 Asking the same question since childhood 05:12 A teenager in the chemistry club 06:20 Her mother's leukemia 08:43 The MRI 09:31 Discovering the skin microbiome 10:18 The largest organ 12:15 The three layers of your skin 13:47 Why she stopped building correctors 15:18 Your skin changes every day 17:05 A conversation with your skin 17:48 Emotions, autoimmunity, and a food journal 19:31 Science you can't apply is useless 22:02 Her book, coming in early 2027 24:54 Her morning routine 26:09 Breathing through perimenopause 27:11 Eating the rainbow across a week 28:15 You can't outsmart a bad night's sleep 30:34 Where to find Dr. Mimi WHAT YOU'LL TAKE AWAY Inflammation is local and also systemic, so your skin can be flagging something that has nothing to do with skin. Perimenopause lasts about twenty years, and breathing is what helped her most. Even the best formulation in the world will not make up for a bad night's sleep. ABOUT DR. MIMI VEGA Dr. Mireille "Mimi" Vega is a PhD biochemist and former biotech executive who worked across oncology and immunology before founding VGAM Biome in Canada. Her One Human Skin approach formulates for what every skin needs rather than for skin types. She has appeared on Dragons' Den, and her book comes out in early 2027. SimpleScience.ca STAY CONNECTED Every episode: drivenlivin.com/the-wellness-driven-life-show Newsletter: drivenlivin.substack.com/subscribe The Drive Collective: drivenlivin.com/community PRODUCTION CREDITS Hosted and executive produced by April Chavez. Video production by Manlee J. Chavez. Music by Steve Stuntz. Guest agreements and disclaimer: drivenlivin.com/guest-agreements

Letting go of a dream does not make you a failure. Dr. Kimberly Robinson, a 31-year NASA veteran, former astronaut trainer, and former CEO of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, talks about the astronaut who changed the course of her life at a high school awards ceremony, the eyesight rule that closed the door on her own astronaut dream, and why she stopped defining herself by one title. A NASA astronaut in a blue flight suit flew in on a T-38 to hand a Birmingham high school student an award, and that student decided on the spot what her life would be. She never caught the astronaut's name, and she spent years trying to find her so she could say thank you. She also talks about taking over the U.S. Space & Rocket Center when it could not promise to pay her salary, and what young people around the world are looking for when they picture a technical career: the next handhold, not the whole route up the mountain. ▶️ Watch the full conversation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/XFQgXbK226I CHAPTERS 00:00 The astronaut who flew in on a T-38 00:20 What if one moment you didn't choose set your course 01:28 Meet Dr. Kimberly Robinson 03:51 Faith and belief in yourself 04:38 Prayer, meditation, and choosing the day 05:07 The award that changed everything 06:31 "Women shouldn't be in this field" 07:35 The astronaut dream that didn't happen 09:05 "Women of True Grit" and the grain of sand 11:06 The eyesight rule 12:14 "Now you've waited too long" 13:04 A missed dream doesn't make you a failure 14:26 Finding another route to the same vision 15:27 Don't define yourself by one title 18:11 Turning around to help others 19:30 "We may not be able to pay your salary" 21:06 Tuskegee Airmen, Victor Glover, and the look in kids' eyes 22:16 You can't see yourself in a career until you see someone doing it 24:03 Training astronauts 24:56 Looking for the next handhold 26:08 Years spent trying to say thank you 28:07 The moon landing was a human achievement 30:01 Where to find Kimberly WHAT YOU'LL TAKE AWAY A dream you never reach can still set the direction of your whole career. Most people don't need the whole route up the mountain, just the next handhold. Nobody pictures themselves in a career until they meet someone doing it. ABOUT DR. KIMBERLY ROBINSON Dr. Kimberly Robinson spent 31 years at NASA, starting at Marshall Space Flight Center as a propulsion engineer. She trained astronauts, helped develop the Space Launch System, and served as payload mission manager for Artemis I. She led the U.S. Space & Rocket Center as CEO from 2021 to 2025, and was inducted into the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame in 2025. Kimberly Robinson on LinkedIn STAY CONNECTED Every episode: drivenlivin.com/the-wellness-driven-life-show Newsletter: drivenlivin.substack.com/subscribe The Drive Collective: drivenlivin.com/community PRODUCTION CREDITS Hosted and executive produced by April Chavez. Video production by Manlee J. Chavez. Music by Steve Stuntz. Guest agreements and disclaimer: drivenlivin.com/guest-agreements

AI overwhelm is the feeling that everyone else already figured this out. Eliot Prince, an AI coach and the founder of Prince AI Training, breaks down the one hour a day that changed his work, why human expertise matters more as AI becomes a commodity, and why nobody has a head start on you. Eliot went from twelve-hour shifts in France to fitting five days of work into eight hours, and the method was slower and simpler than most people expect. He talks about the project that was going to fail, the wedding in Greece he was not going to be allowed to work through, and what he did with the hours once they came back. ▶️ Watch the full conversation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/_1XTPLBglZk CHAPTERS 00:00 When everyone has AI, what is left 00:27 What does a person do with the hours once they come back 01:33 Meet Eliot Prince 03:28 Twelve-hour shifts in France and the laptop dream 05:17 The biggest project of his career, and a wedding in Greece 06:16 One hour a day, do or die 06:47 Five days of work in eight hours, without the exhaustion 08:51 Falling into teaching 10:04 The tap on the shoulder in the pub 13:55 Wrapping a warm blanket around the fear 15:58 AI as a mirror, and finding your zone of genius 17:52 Thinking with a framework, not just a prompt 20:53 Rehearsing the difficult conversation 21:41 Retirees writing their memoirs 24:52 Your expertise still matters 26:13 The only thing left is human 27:22 You are not behind WHAT YOU'LL TAKE AWAY One hour a day inside your working day is enough, and the payoff arrives slowly and then all at once. When everyone has the same tools, your people become the advantage, so creativity and connection matter more. AI can spot the patterns in your own work that the people around you are too close to see. ABOUT ELIOT PRINCE Eliot Prince is an AI coach and the founder of Prince AI Training, and he leads AI curriculum at The Uncommon Business. He teaches professionals to work with AI in a way that gives time back instead of filling it, through his YouTube channel, a newsletter of more than nine thousand readers, and live workshops. He lives in Cornwall in the southwest of the UK. eliotprince.com STAY CONNECTED Every episode: drivenlivin.com/the-wellness-driven-life-show Newsletter: drivenlivin.com/newsletter-sign-up The Drive Collective: drivenlivin.com/community PRODUCTION CREDITS Hosted and executive produced by April Chavez. Video production by Manlee J. Chavez. Music by Steve Stuntz. Guest agreements and disclaimer: drivenlivin.com/guest-agreements