What does leadership look like when a leader has done their own work? Not the theoretical version. Not the version that shows up in leadership development programs. The version that changes how people experience being in the room with you. Laura Roach is a partner at McCathern and one of the most recognized family law…
Most conversations about unconscious bias in the workplace stay at the surface: acknowledge it exists, commit to doing better, move on. What those conversations rarely reach is the survival conditioning underlying the bias, the patterns that formed before anyone entered the workforce, and the organizational cost of leaders who cannot see what drives their decisions.…
Most leaders who operate from survival patterns in leadership do not know they are doing it. They know something feels off. They may have been told they are too intense, too controlling, or too hard on themselves. But they attribute it to the pressure of the role, not to a wound that predates the job…
This conversation with Chason Forehand on survival mode leadership starts where most leadership discussions never go: not with strategy or skill gaps, but with what was happening underneath. For years, Forehand led teams in the restaurant and hospitality industry while unresolved trauma from childhood abuse quietly shaped every interaction. Trust issues became harshness. Emotional walls…
“I was so heavy in my addiction, my phone had just got cut off. My family had been praying for me to get help. My kids would reach out, breaking down, and I wouldn’t respond. When I was in that dark place, I didn’t want to be around anyone. I didn’t want to connect.” Davis…
“I woke up to find out I had systemic lupus, which also gave me a blood-clotting disorder. During those 25 days in the hospital, I flatlined three times.” Evelina Solis wasn’t supposed to survive. And if she did, doctors told her she would never have children. But sitting beside her today is the miracle they…
“I’m doing great. It’s a beautiful Saturday afternoon.” That’s how Eddy Anderson introduces himself on the very first episode of Let’s HEAL! airing on Brave Hearts TV. But his ability to say he’s “doing great” today came only after decades of trauma recovery, addiction recovery, criminal justice system contact, suicide attempts, and the deep work…
“Far better than I deserve.” That’s how Travis Blakeley describes his life today, a perspective shaped by sobriety and a deep reliance on his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Three years ago, his life looked nothing like this. For more than two decades, high-functioning addiction ruled quietly beneath professional sports, athletic success, and a thriving…
“I have to stop pleasing everybody because I will lose myself.” At 24, Ebony Jones-Thomas hit rock bottom. After a lifetime shaped by foster care, adoption, multiple sexual assaults, identity struggles, and relentless people-pleasing, she made one decision that changed everything. This sexual assault survivor story isn’t just about overcoming childhood trauma, it’s about healing…
“Today marks seven years since I lost my son, Dylan. He died by suicide seven years ago today. He was 25.” These are Paula Baldwin’s words on the seventh anniversary of Dylan’s death, the day we recorded her podcast episode, and the first time she shared her story publicly. Paula is a suicide loss survivor,…