Andrea Owen: Speaking with a Damn Good Coach

Andrea Owen is an author, global keynote speaker, and professional certified life coach who helps high-achieving women master their confidence and resilience. But as she puts it, “I was not born an evolved person.” In this podcast, Tami Simon speaks with Andrea about her personal journey and her new audio program, Getting Damn Good at Life: Strategies for Managing Your Inner Critic, Growing Confidence, and Experiencing More Happiness Now.

Give a listen to this inspiring podcast that will leave you feeling seen, understood, and acknowledged—and ready to start getting damn good at life yourself. Tami and Andrea discuss listening to difficult-to-hear inner truths; working with your inner critic and understanding your values; the practice of writing down your values; setting boundaries and having hard conversations; the profession of life coaching; recognizing the “acknowledgement-starved”; the value in trusting that everyone is doing the best they can; why you have to “name it to tame it” (and the commitment this entails); the subconscious need to avoid feeling shame; reconciling our unwanted identities and our ideal identities; unshakable confidence; self-compassion; body-based trauma therapy; how and why women tend to experience feelings of unworthiness; the powerful question, “What’s important about that?”; tapping into your inner light and shining it into the world; and more.

Andrea Owen: Speaking with a Damn Good Coach

Andrea Owen — April 6, 2023

[ENCORE EPISODE] Richard Schwartz, PhD: No Bad Parts

**SPECIAL ENCORE PRESENTATION**

Richard “Dick” Schwartz earned his PhD in marriage and family therapy from Purdue University. He coauthored the most widely used family therapy text in the United States, Family Therapy: Concepts and Methods, and is the creator of the Internal Family Systems Model, which he developed in response to clients’ descriptions of various “parts” within themselves. With Sounds True, Dick has written a new book titled No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon talks to Dick about the transformation that occurs when we welcome every part of who we are. He explains that even our most destructive parts have protective intentions, put in place to shield us from unprocessed pain, and details his method for accessing and mending these inner wounds. They also discuss the myth of the “mono mind,” and why the mind is naturally multiple; how “exiled” trauma can manifest as bodily pain; connecting with our core Self and letting it lead us in our healing; and how the language of “parts” can be useful in our relationship dynamics.

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Listeners of Insights At The Edge get 10% off their first month at www.betterhelp.com/soundstrue.

Diana Hill, PhD: How to Discover Your Deepest Motivati...

Learn how to move beyond trivial, distracting goals and tap into your hidden (and most fulfilling) motivations and latent “genius gifts,” with clinical psychologist Diana Hill’s research-backed “Wise Effort Method.”

Have you ever felt on a gut level that you’ve been distracting yourself with “surface-level” goals—rather than being passionately pulled toward what truly fulfills you? In this episode of Insights At The Edge, Tami Simon joins Diana Hill, PhD, a leading psychologist and the author of Wise Effort. With them, you’ll learn and practice some of Diana’s most effective, research-backed exercises for discovering your heart’s deepest hidden motivations—and your overlooked “genius gifts” for empowering those desires.

Don’t miss this exceptionally practice-rich episode to explore:

The difference between surface goals and deep motivation.
“Deep Motivation” – Why willpower and discipline never win long-term, and how to let your true North Star values pull you passionately into your days.
3 questions for getting unstuck from unhealthy relationships, work situations, and addictive behaviors.
How to identify your “genius qualities” (yes, you have plenty of them!)
An incredibly effective one-minute exercise: “To reveal your deepest values, just follow your pain.”
“Choice Points” – Tuning in to the daily crucial moments where our values and actions accrue a life of either joy or regret.
How to gain “psychological flexibility,” the one science-backed strength crucial to positive emotional wellness, and more.

Intrigued? Tune in now!

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Listeners of Insights At The Edge get 10% off their first month at www.betterhelp.com/soundstrue.

Note: This interview originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com.

Chelsia Potts, EdD: Unmask Your Glory

— August 5, 2025

Receiving a diagnosis of ADHD or autism, especially for someone in their adult years, can lead to a serious existential crisis. On one hand, it’s a relief to have a new understanding of the way your brain works. On the other hand, coming to grips with one’s neurodiversity often leaves us asking: OK, so who am I as a person? This was the case for Dr. Chelsia Potts, the writer, educator, and founder of the online platform Divergenthood.

In this episode of Being Open, Tami Simon speaks with Chelsia about her empowering “unmasking” process for recognizing and offering the gifts of neurodiversity. Tami and Chelsia discuss the existential whirlwind that can come with a diagnosis of neurodiversity; the overall utility of diagnosis and labeling; being “gifted and talented”—and also on the spectrum; empathy, intuition, deep listening, and other “blessings” of neurodiversity; showing up fully versus self-suppression; letting go of shame and unmasking neurodiversity; resisting the system; self-reflection and taking your power back; why there are no shortcuts to the lifelong process of becoming who you really are; finding the tools to flourish after an official diagnosis; managing the boundless energy of ADHD; pattern recognition and the autistic mind; owning our personal limitations; the big question: How do I use this gift so that how we live together can be better?; the “unconventional intellectual” and the importance of bringing the heart into any learning process; finding equal value in thinking and feeling; ancestral spirituality; “autistic glory”; and more.