This week on the Marli Williams Podcast, we have an incredible episode with special guests Taryn Laakso and Cynthia Gene Maloney on how to harness the wisdom of the seasons on our leadership journey. The conversation dives into understanding and honoring the seasons of our life to lead with ease, grace, and compassion. Taryn, a conscious leadership coach, and Cynthia, a seasoned life coach, share their unique journeys and offer insights into realigning personal and professional activities according to natural cycles. Listeners will discover the significance of community, the concept of seasonal planning in business, and practical strategies to incorporate rest and intuition for better decision-making. Join us as we explore how balancing personal and professional rhythms can transform your leadership approach. They also introduce a seasonal assessment tool and share the benefits of community and reflective practices. Tune in for an inspirational episode that promises to reshape your understanding of leadership, highlighting the value of aligning with the seasons for sustained success and balance.

Taryn Laakso Bio:

I am a passionate advocate for women’s empowerment. As an experienced coach and a certified xchange facilitator with expertise in Positive Intelligence® and women’s Biorhythms, I am uniquely qualified to share with you the essential keys to unlocking our feminine wisdom. I believe deeply in this work and have seen its immense positive impacts on my own personal and professional life. I am thrilled to share these tools with you! I want to help you find your strengths as a woman who is leading from an empowered state of being in both your life and career. We’ll expand your horizons when faced with difficult challenges. Together, we’ll take you to your personal summit so you can live on top of the world in your business and personal relationships!

Cynthia Gene Bio:

I am a neurodivergent creative coach who is dedicated to your holistic well-being and burnout prevention. After 25 years in small business sales, marketing, and operations, I pivoted my career to bring my knowledge to coaching and consulting. Today I am focused on a mission for supporting others through their integrative wellness journey, leveraging my expertise and certifications in unlocking the collective wisdom within groups as an xchange Guide, Positive Intelligence® Mental Fitness, Emotion Code energy healing practitioner, and Essential Oil Specialist to fully integrate the mind, body, heart, and soul in order to meet professional and personal goals while enjoying work, relationships, and life to the fullest.

Check out their seasonal assessment

To learn more about their amazing work in the world check out one of their community events through complimentary workshops monthly at https://bit.ly/UFWWorkshops or our quarterly annual virtual retreats for a small investment at https://bit.ly/UFWHalfDay

Schedule an individual strategy session to navigate seasonal changes in your life or business here: https://bit.ly/SeasonalStrategySession

PS - There are still some spots left to join us for the HELL YES Baja Retreat coming up Jan. 10th-15th.

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Our...

This week on the Marli Williams Podcast, I am hanging out with the AMAZING transformational leader, Preston Smiles. Together we dive into the art and heart of creating experiences that truly transform and change people's lives. Discover the powerful balancing act of challenge and support in personal development, and why creating brave spaces, where people can lean in to some edgy, stretchy places to experience genuine transformation. Preston shares insights on breaking superficial workshop norms, emphasizing intimacy and real connections over performative elements to achieve retention and success. We both highlight the importance of loving people into their greatness. Learn how to make participants feel they're a part of a family and not just attendees at a seminar. This episode is a goldmine of wisdom for coaches, therapists, and anyone interested in creating, leading and facilitating transformative experiences.

Preston's Bio:

Unapologetically Himself, Preston Smiles is the epitome of someone who’s committed to the work and humanity. As an abundance Coach, thought leader, Conscious businessman, father, husband, experiential speaker, and author of his newest groundbreaking book, Spiritual Millionaire Unlock the 7 Inner Laws of Abundance and Money and Love Louder: 33 Ways to Amplify Your Life (published by Simon & Schuster), Preston Smiles is a force to be reckoned with on the personal growth scene.

Coaching over 100k people since 2005 and leading cutting-edge workshops all over the world with his equally powerful wife, Alexi, Preston Smiles is on fire, like his HUGE personality. Winning awards like Millennial Mentor of the Year, gracing the cover of Inspired Coach Magazine, and being featured on some of the biggest podcasts and media platforms, such as Impact Theory and School of Greatness, Preston is touching the hearts and souls of thousands of people daily through his provocative social media videos and writings. As Jack Canfield has said, “Preston Smiles is unstoppable!”

Have you ever felt lonely as a leader? Leadership can be a lonely place sometimes, but it doesn't have to be. Join us this week for an inspiring and thought-provoking episode with creative coach Jen Jones Donatelli in an episode that redefines leadership and building community. This conversation covers the ethics and challenges of forming deep connections while maintaining professional boundaries, and the human need for belonging and community. Together we discuss the difference between being the 'sage on the stage' to being the 'guide on the side', making the case for genuine relational leadership. They also touch on overcoming fears, finding purpose in new environments, and how leaders can support their mental health. If you're intrigued by the balance of leading with empathy, maintaining authenticity, and finding your tribe, this episode is packed with invaluable insights. Tune in to discover how to overcome leadership loneliness and how to create safe and supportive spaces for growth and transformation

Jen's Bio:

Jen Jones Donatelli is a certified Co-Active coach (PCC-level), creative facilitator and founder of Creative Groove—a small business offering courses, coaching, and community around the art of creative living. Jen has also taught for schools and organizations including Loyola Marymount University, Ohio University, MediaBistro, StoryStudio Chicago, Literary Cleveland, and Chautauqua Institution. Prior to her work with Creative Groove, Jen worked in various forms of media and entertainment for nearly 20 years. Her resume spans feature films, award shows, talk shows, sitcoms, red carpet reporting, and print/online journalism for outlets including Glamour, REDBOOK, Business Insider, Playboy, Los Angeles Confidential and many more. Jen's work has taken her into the kitchens of Wolfgang Puck and Thomas Keller, hidden gems throughout California and Mexico, and even into Ozzy Osbourne’s bedroom. (True story!) She is a proud graduate of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University.