Things I Learned Yesterday

Kim put a call out on Instagram for people to share their stories with her and her next guest accepted that call. Kim grew up with Brooke--they lived in the same neighborhood, went to the same schools and same church, but neither of them knew they were both going through similar experiences at home. Hint: If you're paying attention, life will bring connection and healing in the sweetest of ways. Brooke House is the mother of four fascinating kids & two ridiculous dogs. She has a BA in Psychology, an MA in Leadership and Human Resource Development along with numerous certifications and licenses focused on trauma recovery. She's the Chief Program Officer for Kendall County Women's Shelter and spends her time developing staff members and programs focused on a foundation of support for survivors of domestic violence and their families. She's a powerhouse who's turned her struggles into fuel for others. Join Kim and Brooke in this casual conversation as they talk about their experiences growing up, about foster care, trauma and trauma recovery. Here's the thing: Everybody's experienced something traumatic in their life—a car wreck, being bullied, divorce, infertility, abuse and sometimes our healing comes when we hear someone else tell their story. Hearing each other's story helps us feel less alone and more connected to each other.

About six months ago, I started noticing my mood, my energy level and my overall excitement about life. I was caught in a loop, operating out of patterns I'd created years ago. I wanted help navigating me being stuck, but I also knew I didn't want to sit in a therapist's office and re-hash all my old trauma. Sarah's approach is one of the things that makes her work so impactful. She combines her life experiences and training as a certified Life Coach and Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner, to help people who feel overwhelmed with the demands of life move through their current stress and past trauma to create new patterns that help them reclaim their lives with joy and passion. She's really good at harnessing information and using it to help her clients transform their lives. Join us as we talk about my experience working with her, how the brain and nervous system work and how they store trauma, why breath is so important, and how regulating our stress response can help us create new patterns that help us thrive in life. This episode is packed with goodness, so listen and enjoy.

I'm excited to introduce you to my next guest. Jane Sampson is a seasoned athlete and mom who loves the sports world and values the relationship between kids and their parents. Raising kids to be good athletes AND humans can be hard. Jane knows first-hand how much support it takes to be successful in the sports world. She started playing sports in elementary school and was eventually recruited to play volleyball at The University of Texas at Austin. She launched a coaching company called Raising the Game as a way to educate parents of young athletes, teaching them how to confidently and effectively support their child's athletic experience. Join us as we talk about her own experience growing up as an athlete and how Raising the Game can support all of us as we navigate the sports world with our kids.

On the day Karen Warner Schueler became a sudden caregiver, she was a wife, a mom, a consultant and business owner, a coach, a runner, a friend, and a consumer of too much Starbucks coffee. She was not a caregiver. Until she was. On that day when her late husband was diagnosed, out of the blue, with stage IV cancer, Karen had no idea that she had instantly joined a silent army of informal, unpaid family caregivers around the world who had also been pressed into sudden service. Join Kim as she talks with Karen about her experience as a sudden caregiver and how she turned her experience into a guidepost for others. You can find her book "The Sudden Caregiver: A Roadmap for Resilient Caregiving" on Amazon.

Listening to other people's experiences and stories can sometimes be better than therapy. Kim's next guest has had quite the journey building her family. Megan Feuille lives in El Paso, TX with her husband, Jimmy, and their four kids. She's Managing Director at Beautycounter and spends most days working and wrangling her babies. She struggled with infertility and shares how God miraculously built her family through adoption and getting pregnant… twice. Join Kim and Megan as they talk about the intimate parts of adoption that will open your eyes and give you empathy for both the birth moms and adoptive parents. Her story is beautiful, moving, inspiring, and really special.

Join Kim as she talks to Becca Kyle, a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner who helps exhausted and stressed out mamas, who feel like they've tried everything, uncover the root of their weight, hormone, and gut issues. Becca's basically your personal health detective, after you've tried everything else. You've heard the term “leaky gut” and know about food allergies like gluten and/or dairy intolerances, but have you heard of gut bugs? It seems like everyone is gluten-free or on The Paleo diet and while these seem like trendy things, the food we put in our bodies is important to think about when it comes to our gut health. Becca's had her own journey with hormone imbalance, gut dysfunction and a weak immune system and is now helping other women find hope and healing through her functional health coaching business. She's on a mission to educate women and help bring their bodies back in balance. In this episode, Kim and Becca talk about gut health, the importance of understanding our bodies, and how to make the necessary changes for us to live pain-free healthy lives.

Our home is important—it's where we rest, play, raise our families, share meals together, dream, and work. Our home is our safe place and whether we recognize it or not, it matters. Did you know there's a whole psychology behind the design of our homes? There's a whole thing around color, too. You don't have to have a luxury resort with high-end finishes to feel safe, inspired or your best. The home you're in right now matters and how and where you put things makes a difference in your mood, attitude and daily productivity. Join Kim as she talks with Amy Hadley, owner of Hey Now Interiors, an award-winning Austin, TX based interior design studio that believes in the power of place. They talk about the impact of design, how to make simple changes to bring more inspiration in your space and the power of risk when it comes to bringing color in your home. They also talk about light switch candy—a simple trick that adds fun dimension to any room. Hopefully this conversation brings you inspiration and as always, hopefully you learn a few things, too.

Join Kim as she talks with Amy Price about yoga and the power it has in our lives. Amy started her journey nearly 20 years ago. She experienced healing and transformation from it and decided she wanted to share this practice with others. She opened The Haven, a small yoga studio, three years ago and has been helping her community with their practices ever since. Yoga is good for anxiety, depression; it increases your flexibility and strengthens your core; it helps create balance not only on the mat, but in your life, too. Hopefully this conversation will help de-mystify this practice and bring some inspiration to all of us when it comes to our own health and healing journeys.

Join Kim as she talks with Breca Tracy, or Dr. Breca as she's known around the office, a scientist on a mission to help people. She's the Director of Science and Operations at Regenerate—a regenerative medicine clinic just outside of Austin, TX. They talk about science, stem cells, vitamin therapies and the importance of taking care of ourselves—and for those who don't have a science background, she explains science-y concepts really well. Breca's work is changing lives and there's nothing that gets Kim more excited than lives being changed for the better.

Last October, Kim sat down with Kelley Denby to talk about her journey and choice to be alcohol free. At that time she had been sober for 235 days and this last week she celebrated 1 year. Join Kim as she talks with Kelley about this big milestone and how she's doing today.

Have you struggled to follow your dreams or stick to your goals? Do you need clarity or confidence in order to pursue your passion? Join Kim as she talks with life and business coach, Sue Bidstrup about saying yes to what you want so you can live the life you really want to live.

Sobriety isn't something we like to talk about, but something a lot people struggle with and something we should talk more about. Join Kim as she talks with Kelley Denby of Hemlock and Heather about her journey with alcohol and now sobriety. She shares the moment she realized she needed help and how the pandemic turned into the biggest sobriety blessing. Her vulnerability is inspiring and her humility will want to make you be a better person. Regardless if you struggle with alcohol or not, this conversation will encourage, inspire and bring you hope.

Infertility is difficult to live with and hard to talk about. Join Kim as she talks with MarrGwen Dickson about her struggle getting pregnant and her journey through infertility. Her story of overcoming (and having triplets!) is encouraging and inspiring, and whether you've walked this road or not, you'll find some valuable takeaways in this conversation.

When people think of a rebel they typically think of a trouble-maker or someone who causes inconvenient disruptions. They're usually labeled as the problem kids or problem adults. Rebels aren't highly regarded and they're typically frowned upon. Join Kim as she challenges you to consider a different way of thinking about these rule-breakers, as well challenging you to break some rules of your own.

Life teaches us lessons all along the way. Join Kim as she shares how a simple hair appointment helped her see the difference between settling and compromising.

School during a pandemic is less than ideal. Listen as Kim shares ways you can help your family, yourself, the teachers and your neighbor.

Join Kim as shares her experience with fear and courage in this emotional and poignant episode.

Our minds get tangled and it can be easy to get into unhealthy and unmotivating emotional and mental cycles. Join Kim as shares how she flipped the conversation in her mind and got unstuck by using one simple technique: look for proof.

Join Kim Willis as she shares her inspiration behind Things I Learned Yesterday. You'll find inspiring stories from her own journey, meaningful interviews, and a whole lot of fun. Pour a glass of wine and come along for the ride! Subscribe so you don't miss an episode!