Bring Your Big Energy Podcast

What if the life you’re living… isn’t actually the one you would choose?

And what if the only reason you’re still in it is because it makes sense on paper, meets expectations, and feels safer than asking for more?

In this episode of the Bring Your Big Energy podcast, Stacey sits down with Ayla Den Hartog, who quite literally said “what if”… and answered it by uprooting her entire life and moving her family into a 1500s castle in the ...

130 MPH crash.

14 surgeries. Rock bottom…

and a second chance at life.

In this episode of the Bring Your Big Energy Podcast, Stacey sits down with Christian Struthers, whose life changed in an instant after a devastating high-speed crash that left him with 17 major injuries and fighting just to survive.

But this isn’t just a story about hitting rock bottom.

It’s about what happens after.

Before the crash, Christian was living fast—drive...

A 2.16 GPA was never supposed to lead here.

But for Dr. Alan Mueller, that number didn’t define the outcome—it disrupted the path.

In this episode, we unpack how what looked like a limitation became the starting point for something far more aligned, energized, and meaningful. Instead of following the traditional trajectory, Alan found himself on a nonlinear path—one shaped by curiosity, second chances, and the willingness to keep goi...

What if one moment changed everything?

Greer Cooper was driving across a seven-mile bridge—no exits, no shoulder—when her body started to shut down.

Her hands began tingling.

Her chest tightened.

She couldn’t breathe.

And in that moment, she truly believed she might die.

That experience became the Intensity Point that forced her to confront what was really happening beneath the surface, because while her life looked “put together” on the...

⚠️ Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of domestic violence, sexual abuse, and trauma. Please listen with care.

What happens when the person you believed was your soulmate at 14 slowly becomes someone you no longer recognize—and nearly 20 years later, you realize staying is no longer an option…because leaving is the only way to survive?

In this deeply powerful and courageous conversation, I sit down with a survivor, adv...

What happens when your life changes overnight—and you’re forced to rebuild everything from the inside out?

In this powerful episode of the Bring Your Big Energy podcast, Stacey K sits down with Jay Waddell—entrepreneur, former business school professor, author, and heart transplant survivor—for a deeply human conversation about resilience, identity, and what it really takes to move forward when life doesn’t go as planned.

At age 60, ...

This episode of the Bring Your Big Energy Podcast is a little different, and that is exactly what makes it so special.

Recorded live from the Dancing Eye Gallery in the heart of downtown Northville, this conversation with gallery owner Theresa Schierloh is less studio interview and more living, breathing community experience.

With customers wandering in, books being signed mid-conversation, art surrounding us, and the energy of down...

In this episode of The Bring Your Big Energy Podcast, Stacey K sits down with Mandy Merrifield — transformational coach, founder of The Confidence Hour, and author of F*ck the Fairytale: Find Your Own Magic — for a raw, powerful conversation about identity, recovery, and rewriting the “should” life.

Mandy takes us back to her biggest Intensity Point: the day she stopped drinking after years of alcoholism that escalated to a breaking...

Coherence Over Force + Body-Led Big Energy

In this episode, Stacey sits down with Dr. Z (Danielle “Dr. Dee” Zanzarov), Executive Health Strategist, founder of South Bay Wellness, and creator of the Coherent Longevity™ and Body-Led™ approaches.

Dr. Z works with high-performing women who look successful on the outside, but inside feel exhausted, inflamed, anxious, or disconnected. Her message is a game-changer: symptoms aren’t failures...

In this episode of the Bring Your Big Energy Podcast, Stacey sits down with Toby Brazwell — sales leader, speaker, community advocate, and author of The Empowerment Chords — for a powerful conversation on connection, confidence, and authentic leadership.

With more than 15 years of experience building high-performing teams and mentoring leaders, Toby shares how confidence is not something you’re born with, but something built over ti...

On this episode of Bring Your Big Energy Podcast, I’m joined by Elana Merzin — marketing and social media designer, founder of The WildHERness Collective, and a woman who sees the world through color, healing, and connection.

This is a powerful conversation for anyone who has ever felt too sensitive, too intuitive, too creative, or too different for the systems they were trying to survive inside.

With over 15 years in nonprofit and J...

In this episode of the Bring Your Big Energy Podcast, Stacey sits down with Beverly Cornell—Founder of Wickedly Branded and creator of the Brand Magic Method—a colleague and friend of 30 years.

Beverly supports women-led service businesses (coaches, consultants, creatives) who are doing all the “right” things, yet still feel disconnected from their brand, overwhelmed by visibility, or unsure how to clearly express what they do.

Toge...

In this powerful episode of the Bring Your Big Energy Podcast, Stacey K sits down with Kimberly Willis — stage three breast cancer survivor, financial coach, entrepreneur, and founder of Survivors Corner.

Kimberly shares how a life-altering diagnosis became the catalyst for profound personal growth, advocacy, and entrepreneurship. What began as survival transformed into purpose — and today she’s building community, empowering surviv...

What if the life you’re craving is waiting on the other side of a plane ticket?

In this episode of the Bring Your Big Energy podcast, I sit down with Laura Ericson — cultural bridge-builder, entrepreneur, and founder of Laura Ericson Group Trips — to talk about reinvention, courage, solo travel, and the kind of personal growth that only happens when you step outside your comfort zone.

After a divorce became an unexpected catalyst for...

In this episode of the Bring Your Big Energy Podcast, Stacey sits down with Lisa Roche, healer, founder of Nagare Life, and host of the Find Your Flow podcast, for a deeply grounding conversation about healing, resilience, and rediscovering your natural flow.

Lisa shares her personal journey of overcoming a debilitating spinal injury and how that experience became a catalyst for profound healing and self-discovery. Together, Stacey ...

What happens when your Intensity Point becomes your life’s purpose?

In this special first-ever live taping of the Bring Your Big Energy Podcast at Bamboo Ann Arbor, Stacey Kulongowski sits down with Kamille Tynes, Founder & CEO of Konnected with Care—a social impact tech company transforming how foster youth and child welfare systems stay connected and supported.Kamille shares her lived experience entering foster care at 14, the...

What happens when caregiving becomes an Intensity Point—and burnout becomes the doorway back to yourself?

In this episode of the Bring Your Big Energy Podcast, Stacey K sits down with Carrie Severson, keynote speaker, author, and recovering caregiver, for a powerful conversation about burnout, recovery, and the radical concept of enoughness.

Carrie shares her deeply personal journey of navigating burnout as both a high-achieving entr...

Content Advisory:This episode contains strong language and discusses themes of trauma, cult involvement, psychological manipulation, and mental health. Listener discretion is advised.

The Show:

What happens when your identity is stripped away—piece by piece—and you’re left to rebuild yourself from the inside out?

In this deeply moving episode of the Bring Your Big Energy podcast, Stacey K sits down with Dar Dixon—award-nominated actor...

What happens when your life still fits—but your perspective on it changes completely?

In this episode of the Bring Your Big Energy podcast, Stacey K sits down with Amber Prong, an ER nurse whose world was shaken to the core during the COVID-19 pandemic—not in a way that made her walk away from nursing, but in a way that expanded how she sees herself, her work, and what’s possible.

Amber shares how that intense season became an Intens...