Shows
Overcomers ApproachPermission, Faith, And The Power Of Becoming A LighthouseWhat if the fastest way to lead better is to stop striving and start listening? I sit down with bestselling author and strategist Cortney McDermott to explore intuition as a practical, reliable guide, one you can access in minutes with simple, science-backed resets like lying down, yawning, and shaking off stuck energy. Cortney shares how chasing gold stars led to a cold, lonely “top,” and how tuning into her inner teacher opened doors that policies and precedents said were impossible.She traces her journey from executive assistant to main-stage presenter at The North Face, unpacking why so-called coin...
2026-02-1039 minOvercomers ApproachFrom Stress To Resilience Through Creative MindfulnessWhat if calm could be something you can see on paper? I sit down with mindful art educator and creator Cynthia Hawk to explore how drawing, doodling, and watercolor, paired with simple breathwork, become practical tools for stress relief, better sleep, and emotional regulation you can feel within minutes. No perfect sketchbooks, no pressure, just process over product and a kinder way to meet your day.Cynthia breaks down mindful art as short, accessible practices that make meditation visible. From “drawing the breath” to her aquadoodles approach, she shows how externalizing your focus steadies attention and expands your...
2026-01-2833 min
Soulfully AwakenedE194: Optimization Through EmbodimentWhat if optimization wasn’t about fixing your body…but about finally listening to it?In this episode, we gently and powerfully reframes what “optimization” truly means ....moving away from biohacking culture, force, and endless to-do lists, and into embodiment, nervous system coherence, and self-trust.This is a conversation especially for women navigating midlife, perimenopause, motherhood, business, or simply feeling called to live with more vitality and alignment without adding more pressure.I will explore how your nervous system acts as the director of your energy, mitochon...
2026-01-1627 minOvercomers ApproachShe Survived, Started Eleven Companies, And Still Has Time For Nineteen GrandkidsWhat if surrender is the catalyst your strategy has been missing? I sit down with transformational leader and serial founder Holly Porter to trace the arc from a 70‑day near‑death experience to a purpose-first life defined by service, intuition, and bold execution. Holly unpacks SHIFT—Surrender, Hope, Intuition, Faith, Transformation—and shows how each element turns chaos into clarity, not as a slogan, but as a lived operating system for health, business, and legacy.Holly shares the moment she returned with two clear directives: start a nonprofit and walk away from an enticing tech partnership that wasn’t a...
2026-01-1334 minOvercomers ApproachFrom Wounds To PowerWhat if the loudest voice in your head isn’t truth, but a hurt mind replaying an old script? Nichol from Overcomers Approach Podcast sits down with Hilary Momberger Powers, voice of Sally from the Peanuts specials and a mentor with 40 years in recovery, to trace how trauma, family dynamics, and early fame shaped a life she later rebuilt from the inside out. The conversation moves from survival roles like people-pleasing, isolation, and control to the practices that actually restore safety: stabilizing your senses, telling the truth, setting boundaries, and building a daily relationship with a higher power.
2026-01-0656 minOvercomers ApproachFighting for Us: How Couples Turn Pain and Trauma Into Deeper LoveI had an insightful conversation with Licensed Family and Marriage Therapist Kayla Crane. She specializes in relationships and trauma. She works with couples to help them improve communication, heal from infidelity, and develop conflict resolution skills. She practices relational life therapy, EMDR therapy, solution focused therapy, systematic affair recovery therapy, and attachment theory.We converse about how conflict isn’t proof your relationship is broken; it’s a signal that growth is knocking. Therapist Kayla unpack show couples can turn tension into connection by building better communication, honoring trauma histories, and learning the language of attachment. From anxi...
2025-12-3035 minOvercomers ApproachRebuilding Life After Brain Injury And Breast CancerWhat if rebuilding your life starts with a single, present moment? I have great conversation with author Shannon Michelle to trace an extraordinary path from a catastrophic motorcycle accident and months in a coma to living with severe short‑term memory loss and then confronting a breast cancer diagnosis. Shannon’s story isn’t framed by grand gestures; it’s anchored in tiny, repeatable practices that restore dignity: taking bullet‑point notes to remember conversations, choosing a quiet cup of tea, walking the dog, and meeting each day without demanding it look like the last.We talk honestly ab...
2025-12-1630 minOvercomers ApproachRebuilding After LossI have a awesome conversation with Chanoa Inez, author of Dream On: How to create the new life of your dreams after upheaval or loss. The heart of this conversation with Chanoa Inez is the quiet stretch between loss and the life that waits beyond it. We explored how a dream trip turned tragic in a single night, and how that shock rippled into years of hidden grief, health issues, and a muted version of normal. The turning point wasn’t a single fix but a series of choices: leaving a familiar city, shedding an inherited identity, and building da...
2025-12-1132 minOvercomers ApproachHealing From Complex TraumaWhat if high functioning is just a polished form of survival? I sit down with therapist and podcast host Malisa Hepner to trace a life from chaotic beginnings to grounded, embodied healing and the messy middle where most of us get stuck. Melissa opens up about growing up with addiction, foster care, and never feeling safe, then explains how those patterns shape perfectionism, overthinking, and the urge to push people away while craving connection.We dig into practical ways to build safety from the inside out. Malisa breaks down why your brain’s job is survival, not ha...
2025-12-0239 minOvercomers ApproachRedefining Success Without BurnoutWhat if the version of success you’re chasing is the very thing draining you? Nichol sits down with Dorota, a former consultant and go-to-market leader who hit her “success wall” and rebuilt a life that performs at a high level without burning out. We unpack the turning points that matter: trading pride in five-hour nights for restorative sleep, swapping perfectionism for clear priorities, and using neuroscience-based tools to calm a busy mind.You’ll hear how micro-habits like a book before bed, seven-hour sleep minimums, and a mindful morning routine created compounding gains in focus and energy...
2025-11-1933 minOvercomers ApproachRewriting Identity After Divorce, Cancer, And ChangeThe ground can fall out from under you—divorce, cancer, a job ending—and still become the place you learn who you are. I converse meditation teacher and Breathe app co-founder Lynn Goldberg to unpack how identity gets rebuilt from the inside out and why presence is more reliable than control when life swerves. Lynn’s story moves from profound loss to radical reinvention, and along the way she shares the practical tools that turned fear into agency.We dive into a clear, science-backed view of stress as the gap between expectation and outcome, and how attention traini...
2025-11-1235 minOvercomers ApproachCareer joy, on your terms.Your work shouldn’t drain the life you’re trying to build. In this candid, energizing conversation with veteran coach and therapist Rachel Speckman, we unpack how to find the “right room” for your talents and design a career that matches who you are now—not who you were five roles ago. Rachel draws on 15 years in brand marketing, a decade with startup founders, and clinical training to translate big ideas into small, doable moves that restore momentum.We dig into her strategic overlap framework—where skills you enjoy, values that feel true, and topics that spark curiosity me...
2025-10-2834 minOvercomers ApproachFrom Caregiving Burnout to Boundaries: Building a Life That Honors You.What if the bravest thing you do for your health is say “no” on a Sunday? I sit down with Tiffany Moore, Chief Inspirational Officer of Moore to Wellness, to explore how a life built on caregiving, faith, and trial-and-error became a blueprint for sustainable self-respect. From packing up Minneapolis for Dallas with no safety net to navigating the shock of full-time caregiving, Tiffany shows how the wellness wheel—emotional, spiritual, social, financial, physical, occupational, intellectual, and environmental—turns real when one spoke wobbles and the whole ride gets rough.We dig into the difference between therapy and coac...
2025-10-0738 minOvercomers ApproachUnleashing Your Personal Brand: A Holistic ApproachAuthenticity in branding isn't just a buzzword—it's becoming essential for entrepreneurs who want their message to resonate in today's hyper-connected world. In this fascinating conversation, Nichol Ellis-McGregor speaks with Hersch Rephun, a holistic brand therapist who transforms how conscious entrepreneurs present themselves and their missions.Hersch shares his personal journey from corporate brand strategist to personal brand therapist, sparked by the isolation of the pandemic and a desire for more meaningful connections. "I wanted to feel like I was helping people one-on-one with their personal brand, because attached to every personal brand is a mission," he ex...
2025-09-3034 minOvercomers ApproachConquering Self-Doubt: A Psychologist's Guide for creatives, entrepreneurs, artists and influencersEver feel like you're playing a role in your own life? Dr. Albert Bramante, psychologist and veteran entertainment industry professional, joins the Overcomers Approach podcast to reveal why so many talented performers struggle with debilitating self-doubt.Drawing from his doctoral research and over twenty years of experience as a talent agent, Dr. Bramante unpacks the psychological underpinnings of imposter syndrome in actors and other creative professionals. He explains how constant rejection combines with childhood wounds to create powerful patterns of self-sabotage that can derail even the most promising careers.The conversation takes a fascinating turn...
2025-09-2426 minOvercomers ApproachBreaking Free from Credit Card DebtWhat if everything you believed about credit card debt was built on a misunderstanding of banking? Tommy Kilpatrick's remarkable story begins with $85,000 in credit card debt and ends with a financial revelation that changed his life forever.When Tommy found himself drowning in credit card obligations after a promised contract fell through, he didn't accept defeat. Drawing on his accounting background, he questioned the fundamental nature of his financial arrangement with the banks. His discovery was stunning – the banks had no invoices for his purchases and he had never signed a promissory note, two essential components of a...
2025-08-2638 minOvercomers ApproachOne Life, No Regrets: Building Your Second ActWhat happens when your successful career starts stealing life's most precious moments? Shannon Russell faced this reality when she missed her son's first birthday while working as a television producer. That wake-up call sparked a complete reinvention of her professional life and ultimately led her to help others find their own "second acts."Shannon shares her compelling journey from 16 years in entertainment to entrepreneurship, revealing how she transformed fear into opportunity by reframing her career pivot as an exciting challenge rather than a leap into the unknown. She explains the methodical approach that allowed her to launch...
2025-08-1927 minSoulfully AwakenedE188: Decoding the Stories Your Body is Communicating with YouIn today's episode I chat about how to decode the stories you hold in your body, energetics, and field through some tangible practices that you can do at home for yourself.I dive into topics around how trauma, past life imprints, ancestral trauma and wounds, false beliefs, stuck energies, stunted (incomplete) energy charge, and so much more can get lodged/stuck/stunted in the tissue, organs. fascia, crystalline blueprint, chakras, etc.I share the processes on how to decode and unwind through tools such as:Body Wisdom and...
2025-07-1050 minOvercomers ApproachBreaking the Silence: How One Call to 988 Saved a LifeWhat happens when the strongest person in the room is silently drowning? In this deeply moving conversation, Gretchen Schoeser reveals how a single phone call to 988 saved her life after months of "masking up" her depression as a lifelong extrovert. Despite facing an overwhelming cascade of personal crises—early retirement, family illness, unexpected deaths, and seasonal depression—no one around her, not even her wife of 28 years, recognized her suffering until it nearly became fatal.Gretchen takes us through that pivotal Christmas Day when, standing with a bottle of pills in her hand, she heard a small voic...
2025-06-1033 minOvercomers ApproachThe Worthy, Authentic, and Abundant Method for Personal TransformationEver feel like you're attracting the same problematic relationships over and over? Or that despite professional success, something fundamental is still missing? This powerful conversation with Nicolette Neris might just hold the key to breaking those patterns.Nicolette's journey from high-achieving chartered accountant to holistic lifestyle coach wasn't planned. After a divorce at 28 followed by the isolation of the pandemic, she found herself in what she calls "the pit of darkness," questioning everything about her identity and worth. What emerged from this crucible of transformation was the realization that 95% of our behavior stems from subconscious programming—and th...
2025-06-0333 minOvercomers ApproachPowerful conversation with bestselling author Marcy Axelrod on how we choose to show up changes everything around us.We're all born with the innate capacity to connect, but somewhere along the way, many of us learned to hide instead. In this powerful conversation with bestselling author Marcy Axelrod, we explore the science behind authentic human connection and how the simple act of showing up transforms not just our own lives, but ripples outward in ways we never imagined.Marcy shares her deeply personal journey from developing a severe stutter at age six to becoming an expert on human connection. This early trauma launched her on a lifelong quest to understand how humans navigate presence and...
2025-05-2751 minOvercomers ApproachDance Your Way to WellnessWhat if your body already knew how to heal itself through movement? In this transformative conversation with Jennifer Joy Jimenez, co-founder of the Brave Thinking Institute and director of their Health and Wellbeing Division, we explore the revolutionary power of conscious dance as a healing modality.Jennifer shares her personal journey from professional dancer to wellness pioneer, revealing how her own struggles with body image and burnout led to the creation of Transcendence Dance. Unlike technical dance forms that demand perfection, this approach welcomes all bodies, abilities, and experience levels into a judgment-free space where healing naturally...
2025-05-2034 minSoulfully AwakenedE185: Are you doing all the things and not seeing the needle move?In today's episode I want to share what I see and observe often in the healing and spiritual spaces. And guess what? I have been guilty of it to.So, if you've been doing all the things and not seeing the needle move in a way that you desire....stick around and listen.Please share this episode with someone you feel may benefit : )Enjoy!NicholConnect with Nichol:Email: nichol.c.altman@gmail.com
2025-05-1614 minOvercomers ApproachThe Power of Perseverance: Kay Bodude's Journey to Success.Kay reminds us change only happens when staying the same becomes more painful than changing.Kay Bodude doesn't believe in being a statistic. Her transformative journey from teenage motherhood to becoming a successful healthcare entrepreneur, business owner, and community leader offers a masterclass in resilience and purposeful living.As the daughter of a preacher and one of fourteen siblings, Kay's foundation in faith and service shaped her path to nursing—a career her hospital-housekeeper mother had envisioned for one of her children. Though Kay describes taking "the long road" through various healthcare roles before earning her MSN, her story powerfully demonstrates how determination overcomes obstacles. "It doesn't matter when you make it, as...
2025-05-1335 minOvercomers ApproachFinding Light in Darkness: How Author Laura Bratton Transformed Loss Into PurposeWhat happens when your entire world changes at age nine? Laura Bratton faced this reality when diagnosed with an eye disease that would gradually claim her vision over the next decade. In this deeply moving conversation, Laura reveals how she transformed from a place of complete denial and despair to becoming a beacon of hope for others facing seemingly insurmountable challenges.Laura's journey begins with raw honesty about her initial response—the desperate belief her sight might magically return and the constant refrain of "I can't" that dominated her thoughts. But what unfolds is a masterclass in re...
2025-04-3035 minOvercomers ApproachReconnecting with Nature: How Plants Can Become Our Greatest MentorsWhat if your limiting beliefs aren't problems to solve but bodyguards trying to protect you? This perspective-shifting conversation with Tigrilla Gardenia, a nature-inspired mentor and certified life coach, reveals how plant wisdom can transform our approach to personal development and relationships.Tigrilla's remarkable journey began at Damanhur, a spiritual community in Northern Italy, where she encountered a plant creating music through an instrument. This experience awakened her to plant intelligence beyond biological existence, revealing personalities and awareness we typically overlook. A former Microsoft employee with backgrounds in music and technology, she now helps people access ancient wisdom...
2025-04-2235 minSoulfully AwakenedE183: Uncomplicate Yourself Out of OverwhelmHello, Hello, Hello!Today's podcast is brought to you by a little nature walk download I had. This message is most certainly one for me, but one that wanted to be shared with those who tune in (it's meant for you too. Not an accident).So, join me on this beautiful weaving of insight, ramblings, stories, and energy around:SimplifyingSafetyStillnessSunshineSatiationSurrenderThis 6 words came to me around helping oneself to uncomplicate and unhook themselves from the energy of overwhelm in the day...
2025-04-1855 minOvercomers ApproachPause & Reset: The Therapy Breakthrough You Didn't Know You NeededBurnout doesn't discriminate, but it particularly affects high-achieving people juggling professional ambition with personal responsibilities. Licensed psychotherapist Maryanne Nicholls joins Nichol Ellis-McGregor to share powerful insights on recognizing burnout signals before they derail your life."Our body gives up on us or needs a rest. It really lets us know and it's really important to listen to that," explains Maryanne, drawing from both professional expertise and personal experience. She challenges the common belief that ambitious people must fundamentally change who they are to prevent burnout. Instead, she advocates for self-acceptance as the foundation for sustainable success.
2025-04-0835 min