The Life Actually Podcast

Jamilah Lang knows what it's like to struggle.  She understands working so hard for something you want so badly and still having it not work out in the way you expect.  But that struggle is all part of her story.  It's a huge reason why she's currently living a life of abundance.  As a professional organizer and interior stylist she brings a holistic approach to helping people simplify and design a home they love.  Because, as she knows through experience, organizing your life and your purpose goes deeper than cleaning out your closet.  But that's certainly a good place to start!  Jamilah has gone from a successful career in the corporate world, to starting over on her own.  She's gone from struggling to buy groceries for her family to now fully supporting that family so her husband can stay home with their kids.  All thanks to her own spiritual awakening, as she learned how to let go in order to let in opportunity and peace of mind.  Links:  Instagram: @laurabbehnke  Instagram: @thelifeactuallypodcast  Website: laurabehnke.com  Guest Links:  Instagram: @jamilahlangFree Guide: Decluttering For Abundance Get full access to The Life Actually at thelifeactually.substack.com/subscribe

It didn't take Amanda Greenspan-D'Souza long to realize her now-husband was "the one" when they first met. She expected them to get married and start a life together at some point. What she didn't expect was how quickly that point would arrive. But four months into dating they both had to make a life-changing decision as he faced possible deportation back to his native India. The result? They had two weeks to plan a wedding and get married. Amanda never doubted her decision or their relationship, but that didn't make the reality of their situation any easier. Gone was the big wedding celebration, the perfect dress, and the enjoyment of a proposal and engagement. Instead Amanda found herself worrying about what people would think as their plans moved so quickly. Now five years into marriage, she's fully realized just how special her story is. And that what makes it special is its uniqueness. That's why she's telling her story now. Because life rarely goes according to plan--and that's okay. This is Amanda's journey, and she's owning it.Links:  Instagram: @laurabbehnke  Instagram: @thelifeactuallypodcast  Website: laurabehnke.com  Guest Links:  Instagram: @its_agd Get full access to The Life Actually at thelifeactually.substack.com/subscribe

Elizabeth DiAlto is all about telling it like it is. Because when we have a deeper connection to ourselves through embodied living and self liberation, well, we have the tools needed to help us through the difficult times. But Elizabeth never planned to become the spiritual guide that she is today. No, she was going to become a millionaire selling knives. And, yes, you read that correctly! But after experiencing burnout at just 25 she knew there had to be more to life than just going after a paycheck. That realization eventually led her to create the Institute For Embodied Living and the Wild Soul Movement. She knows life isn't perfect but believes there is a freedom that comes with giving ourselves permission and grace to get through the messy times. At 38, Elizabeth is single, and after really learning to date on her terms she knows the right relationship is out there, but it has to enhance the life she's already created. Because that life is already pretty special.Links:  Instagram: @laurabbehnke  Instagram: @thelifeactuallypodcast  Website: laurabehnke.com  Guest Links:  Instagram: @elizabethdialto  YouTube: @elizabethdialto  Facebook: @elizabethdialto  Website: untameyourself.com  Wild Soul Archetypes Quiz  Embodied Living Center Enrollment (ends 11/22/21)  Become An Embodiment Specialist (apply by 12/12/21)   Get full access to The Life Actually at thelifeactually.substack.com/subscribe

On paper Tiffany Paul was living her own definition of success. Happily married, a mom of two, and working her way up the corporate ladder over a 10-year career at Proctor & Gamble. But what that on-paper success didn't show was the struggles it took to actually become pregnant and then the struggles to find joy and satisfaction in the career she was building. It all made her wonder, was this where her heart was leading her? The answer to that question would change her life and her family's lives as she left her six-figure salary and ventured into the world of entrepreneurship, eventually becoming the founder of The Slept Life. It would also challenge her original idea of what it means to be successful, and what society tells us about success.Links:  Instagram: @laurabbehnke  Instagram: @thelifeactuallypodcast  Website: laurabehnke.com  Episode 28: Solo Episode: Our Pregnancy Story  Guest Links:  IG: @iamtiffanypaulIG: @thesleptlife  Website: thesleptlife.com  Podcast:  Break the Matrix: Wake Up To Your Dream Life (formerly known as Dream Life)   Get full access to The Life Actually at thelifeactually.substack.com/subscribe

For as long as she can remember Femi Olafioye-Omogbehin wanted to be in a relationship. In fact, the rest of the details of her plan were pretty fuzzy. Because the real expectation was to fall into her husband's plan. But as she grew up, Femi realized how much this plan was shaped by her own internalized racism. The daughter of Nigerian parents, she also realized how little she saw of women who looked like her in the mainstream media she consumed. And that didn't sit right with her. After giving the corporate world a try, Femi is now building her own brand that seeks to increase the representation of black women and encourage them on their journeys of self love. She is a speaker, writer and self love activist. She's also still single. Which she appreciates while also still finding herself sometimes grieving the relationship she doesn't have yet. Femi is all about supporting black women by sharing her own observations and life lessons. And her honesty and transparency are things that can inspire us all.  Links:  Instagram: @laurabbehnke  Instagram: @thelifeactuallypodcast  Website: laurabehnke.com  FREE Guide and Workbook: Dating, Actually: The Anti-Dating-Guide Dating Guide  Guest Links:  Podcast: The Femiio Podcast  TikTok: @femiio  Instagram: @femiio  Twitter: @_femiio  PayPal: @femiio Get full access to The Life Actually at thelifeactually.substack.com/subscribe

Gigi Robinson's life changed in ways she never could have expected at the age of 11 when she was diagnosed with a chronic illness.  It altered not only her childhood but also her dreams for the future. Now just 23, this New York City-based content creator has already experienced living with chronic pain, disordered eating, and pushing herself to the point of burnout in college. Not to mention graduating from college during a global pandemic while also realizing you're never too young to feel all of those dating and societal pressures placed on women. Now she creates content that reaches and supports a global Gen Z audience, focusing on mental health, chronic illness, body image and self advocacy. Gigi knows her story is just beginning, but already she has plenty of twists and turns to share.    Links:  Instagram: @laurabbehnke  @thelifeactuallypodcast  Website: laurabehnke.com    Guest Links:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsgigirobinson/  Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@itsgigirobinson?lang=en  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gigirobinson  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GigiRobinson/featured  Twitter: https://twitter.com/itsgigirobinson?lang=en  Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/itsgigirobinson/_created/  Website: https://www.gigirobinson.com  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/52gJoINiT5B86t1CdwMb6F?si=frTtgIZ0T7KOAuJx9eUmyw&dl_branch=1  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itsgigirobinson  FB podcast page: https://www.facebook.com/everythingyouneediswithin   Get full access to The Life Actually at thelifeactually.substack.com/subscribe

What do you do when you're 32 and find everything you've spent your life working toward just disappear before your eyes? This was Ruth Chan's reality when she found herself getting a divorce at the same time that she lost her job. For a while she didn't know her way forward. Especially because she had spent her life assuming it would all go according to plan like the rest of her friends. Instead Ruth made a complete career and life pivot... going from a decade spent working with youth and families in underserved communities to becoming a writer and illustrator of comics and children's books. You can bet she never saw that career coming years earlier! Now Ruth is very happily remarried, enjoying a newfound love of surfing, and doing things that truly make her happy. But getting to this point was anything but simple or easy. Because putting things back together after life seemingly falls apart is complicated and heavy. But can be so rewarding, too.    Links:  IG: @laurabbehnke  @thelifeactuallypodcast  Website: laurabehnke.com    Guest Links:  IG: @ohtruthWebsite: ohtruth.com Get full access to The Life Actually at thelifeactually.substack.com/subscribe

There are so many topics and life experiences for women that have been silenced by society, including being childless not by choice. Which is something Jody Day is on a mission to change. As the founder of Gateway Women, a global friendship and support network for childless women, she is a voice for so many who are facing a reality they never expected in life. Jody's own life has followed an unexpected path as well. From ending a pregnancy when she was 20, to struggling to conceive years later, to watching her marriage end, to eventually coming to the realization at 44 that she would never be a mother, none of it went according to plan. And all the while she came to this childless acceptance she faced another unexpected part of life--grief. Known as the "voice of the childless generation" and the author of Living The Life Unexpected: How to Find Hope, Meaning and a Fulfilling Future Without Children, Jody works with women every day to help them accept and process their grief in order to keep going in their own unexpected lives.  Links:  IG: @laurabbehnke  @thelifeactuallypodcast  Website: laurabehnke.com  FREE Guide and Workbook: Dating, Actually: The Anti-Dating-Guide Dating Guide  Guest Links:  IG: @gatewaywomen  Facebook: @gatewaywomenuk  Twitter: @gatewaywomen  Website: gateway-women.com  Book: Living the Life Unexpected: How to Find Hope, Meaning and a Fulfilling Future Without Children Get full access to The Life Actually at thelifeactually.substack.com/subscribe

Ever since she was young Debbi Rice wanted one thing in her life--to be single. Okay, maybe two things--to be single AND amazing. What she didn't expect were the societal pressures, especially from her church, that would push her toward marriage, even when she knew it wasn't right for her. Years later now Debbi truly is living her single and amazing life. She even created a community to support other women who are looking for the same thing. But getting here wasn't easy. From getting married at a young age to navigating divorce and becoming a single parent, Debbi has persevered. And now it's her mission to make it clear that being single is so much more than just a relationship status.  Links:  IG: @laurabbehnke  @thelifeactuallypodcast  Website: laurabehnke.com  FREE Guide and Workbook: Dating, Actually: The Anti-Dating-Guide Dating Guide  Guest Links:  IG:  @singleandamazing  Facebook: @singleandamazing  Website: singleandamazing.com Get full access to The Life Actually at thelifeactually.substack.com/subscribe

Getting married, having kids and achieving professional success.  That is exactly how Winn Clark expected her life to go.  The professional success?  She had that covered.  But a husband and family?  That was a lot more difficult to find.  Winn struggled through years of being single, eventually coming to the difficult realization that she might never have kids.  But she never gave up on the idea of love.  Winn is now happily engaged and running her own coaching business, things that didn't happen until after she was 40 and 50, respectively.  She's proof that it's never too late to make a change, or to find true happiness.    Links:  IG: @laurabbehnke  @thelifeactuallypodcast  Website: laurabehnke.com  FREE Guide and Workbook: Dating, Actually: The Anti-Dating-Guide Dating Guide  Guest Links:  IG: @winnclark  Website: winnclark.com  Work With Winn: All-In With Winn Group Coaching Program Get full access to The Life Actually at thelifeactually.substack.com/subscribe