The Very Brave Podcast: Recent Episodes
Rachael Evans
The Very Brave Podcast is the podcast for women who are looking to find their brave and take more bold steps in life. We'll be chatting with women from all walks of life about redefining bravery away from just physical and heroic battlefield acts. We're being more inclusive of emotional, moral, and spiritual bravery.If you're ready to be inspired by stories of feminine bravery from across the globe, and you know it's time to make your next bold move, then let's get started!
When we speak about bravery, we often correlate it to standing our ground and doing what we need to do for ourselves. While this is a valuable component of bravery in many situations, we often forget that another huge part of being brave is speaking up and standing your ground for the sake of others rather than yourself.
Angela Vithoulkas is a first-generation Australian making big waves in business and politics with a unique viewpoint. Angela’s mother arrived in Australia at the young age of 15 years old with not so much as language on her side, yet she managed to build a successful business while raising her children. Angela and her brother ultimately followed in their parents’ footsteps and collaborated to build multiple businesses in the hospitality industry.
Anglea went a step further to start a business in radio and television as well as jumping into the political scene head first where she is using her voice to speak on the injustices that she sees. The bravery to go for whatever she wants without the thought of barriers is inspiring and has provided her with the opportunity to achieve so much more than she thought she was capable of.
Much like any other type of bravery, we often don’t realize that it’s happening in the moment and it’s only something that we understand as bravery when looking back. Angela speaks to these moments of realizing that she was brave when she looks back at something and considers it to be one of the hardest things she’s ever done. But it’s the hard things and the scary things that teach you the biggest and most valuable lessons in life.
Tune in to hear more about Angela’s story and how she’s making big brave moves on the business and political scene in Sydney! Everyone needs this dose of inspiration and I know you’ll love it.
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A huge component of being brave as a woman is using one of the most powerful tools that we have - our voices. For so long, the voices and opinions of women have been hushed and marginalized. The more we choose to speak out against injustices, the louder we become and the more we are heard.
I spoke with Natasha Stott Despoja on The Very Brave Podcast this week and, if anyone knows what it’s like to speak up about injustice, it’s her. Natasha was the youngest woman to ever sit in federal parliament at the age of 26. She has held roles as a politician, senator, and political party leader.
She spends her time now as a diplomat, ambassador, and a nonexecutive director of multiple non for profit causes as well as a member of the UN Treaty Body Committee on elimination of the discrimination against women.
Natasha and I speak about what it means to be brave enough to speak out against the injustices we see, even if it’s not popular or the consequences may be unfavorable. By being the voice of women everywhere who may not have a voice for themselves, we can light the way for others to speak up and unify our voices to be heard. Together, we can make a better life for the women who come after us.
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We talk a lot about imposter syndrome and how it can be difficult to overcome the voice inside your head that tells you that you either can’t accomplish something or that the things you have achieved aren’t significant.
One of the reasons that Imposter Syndrome may be so deeply ingrained in our psyche may be due to the more widespread issue of Tall Poppy Syndrome.
Tall Poppy Syndrome really gets under my skin because it shows a complete lack of empathy and understanding for others when we immediately turn to envy or jealousy as opposed to applause and celebration. This type of thinking not only causes women to make themselves smaller in the face of their successes, but it causes them to doubt that their success is even valid, to begin with.
You can’t compete with me if I want you to win too. There is room for all women to stand up and succeed and there is no reason why we can’t cheer each other on as opposed to tearing each other down.
By coming together and being brave enough to unify and support each other, we can set the tone for generations of women who come after us to continue to encourage one another.
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Casting the opinions of others aside in the face of making brave decisions is something that we often speak about on The Very Brave Podcast. However, there is a different type of bravery that is required to quiet the voice in our heads so that we can listen to the voice that’s in our hearts.
I spoke with Lisa Winston this week about the bravery of following your gut and listening to your intuition even when it may not make sense. Lisa is setting the stage for women everywhere to embrace their bravery and lean into their life’s true purpose. As a former vocalist, TV host, speaker, author, and mother, she is bravely encouraging others to listen to their intuition and follow their hearts to achieve the purpose they were meant for.
Having survived terrible trauma in many forms over the years, she became more aware of her intuition and embraced the bravery to make the decisions that were right for her. By honoring her feelings and staying true to herself, she has been able to really tune in to her life’s true purpose.
Listen into this week’s episode as we discuss the bravery it takes to listen to the voice inside above all others. When we are in tune with ourselves and the energy that guides us, there’s nothing that we can’t do!
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Starting a business takes a fair amount of bravery, but it takes a special type of bravery to jump headfirst into business with your best friend. I had the opportunity to speak with Lise and Sarah of Those Two Girls this week and we got down to what it really takes to make brave moves in our careers as women in our middle years.
There is the unfair misconception that women in their 40s are meant to slow down and close up shop when it’s actually quite the opposite. We should embrace this decade and continue to thrive and achieve our dreams and goals.
One of the biggest factors in being happy with your decisions is shedding the weight of other people’s views and opinions. To achieve great things and go places you’d never thought you would go, the voice you need to listen to is the one in your heart and also the one of your very best friend.
Lise and Sarah speak about the many resources they’ve made available to women in their 40s about what to expect in this next season of life and how to navigate it with grace and ease. By sharing the connection they have as best friends with the world in the form of podcasts and books, they have opened the door for other women entering their 40s to feel more in tune with themselves and how they can continue to burn brightly for decades to come.
This episode is dripping with life-changing advice and you won’t want to miss it. Tune in now to hear how you can flourish after 40!
Sign up today for our 365 Days of Brave and you will receive a daily brave message from Rachael Evans directly to your inbox, completely free of charge here.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sign up today for our 365 Days of Brave and you will receive a daily brave message from Rachael Evans directly to your inbox, completely free of charge here.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As professionals, women tend to find their fair share of loneliness in many areas. Whether self-employed or at the top of our corporate career, we often put our noses to the grindstone and climb the rungs of the ladder until we reach the success we’ve been striving for. Once we’re there and we take a gander around, we realize that we’ve finally made it, we’re at the top – but we’re there alone.
If the culture surrounding, not only corporate work environments but those coming from self-employed backgrounds, could shift to a culture that embraces collaboration – women could come together to achieve amazing things.
On our way to the top, we may face the nasty experience of burnout. Whether it be career, motherhood, entrepreneurship, or some combination of the three, while we are busy climbing our way up, our cups are being drained.
I talked with Shannah Kennedy and Colleen Callander about ways to pour back into yourself while still staying the course to achieving amazing things in business and personal life. One of the big breakthroughs they speak of is collaboration with other female professionals and inclusivity in social circles meant for building other women up instead of tearing each other down.
I think we can all agree that the road we travel as women is already difficult enough. Why should we continue to make it harder for each other when we can come together and accomplish so much more?
Tune in to this episode to learn the ways in which you can collaborate and encourage the great women in your life while keeping your tank full and steering clear of burnout. We rise by lifting others.
Are you brave enough to rise to the challenge? Sign up today for our 365 Days of Brave and you will receive a daily brave message from Rachael Evans directly to your inbox, completely free of charge here.
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Oftentimes, we forget that the success we realize in our businesses is only successful if we have our personal lives sorted. Our lives are busy and hectic and we can sometimes have difficulty drawing appropriate boundaries as women. It comes down to a handful of basic concepts that allow you to become the CEO of your own life.
Finding space to fill your cup is key. By analyzing where your energy is going, you can find time to devote to yourself to give you the energy you need to give back to your children and your business. We cannot give what we do not have.
Building a healthy relationship with money is another skill that you need to develop before you can make the CEO-type of decisions you need to be successful in your life.
Being in control of your own life also means taking inventory of your relationships. If you are putting energy into relationships that aren’t serving you or giving back to you, it is time to let them go so that you can move forward to the best version of yourself.
Listen in as I have a bit of a rave about what it looks like to be brave enough to take control of your life and put yourself first.
Maybe it’s your turn to be the CEO of your life. Are you brave enough to step up? Sign up today for our 365 Days of Brave and you will receive a daily brave message
from Rachael Evans directly to your inbox, completely free of charge here.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Lauren Lowrey is an Emmy-award-winning news anchor, podcaster, mom, wife, and all-around American girl. After spending her adult years shedding the skin of the religious upbringing she had, she realised that in order to fulfil her purpose she had to reconnect to her spirituality.
Bravery for her has meant being willing to stand in her beliefs, even when they aren’t the most popular and en-vogue at the time. It has also meant being willing to admit that her worth goes way beyond the work she produces.
In fact, a year ago she had this very strong urge to create a video podcast that allowed her to have deep, meaningful conversations with people about all kinds of topics. For most people, creating a video podcast wouldn’t be a problem, but for her it was.
You see, as a news anchor, her image and likeness is somewhat controlled by her very strict on-camera talent contract. But instead of sticking to the status quo, she decided to act on what her instincts were telling her.
Listen as she shares her story, why she was so passionate about starting her podcast, and what it meant to her that a man recognized her bravery before she did. Lauren is making waves in a world where toeing the line is a requirement and she’s truly showing what it means to be brave!
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“Bravery builds bravery. So when you do one brave act, when you take one step, you can almost always take the second one.”
We have had so many brave female voices grace the waves of this podcast and are excited to share so many more. This time it’s the voice of the one-of-a-kind Kathrine Switzer, a.k.a Marathon Woman. Kathrine was the very first woman to ever run a Boston Marathon and has since been working to empower women in sports.
In 1966 Kathrine decided she wanted to run in a marathon. She trained for months before entering the 1967 Boston Marathon with her trainer Arnie, her boyfriend at the time Tom, and one other. She was the only woman running in the marathon and the first to ever wear a bib.
What she didn’t expect was to be physically attacked by one of the people organising the event that year. Despite viewing herself as a strong, independent, and certainly capable woman, she found herself feeling true fear.
Rather than quit, she continued to run and she finished the race. Because sometimes bravery means running away.
Listen as Kathrine shares her story and what bravery means to her. She has spent a lifetime helping to define what it means to be a woman in sports and her insights are invaluable. Running brave indeed!
“Definitely trust yourself. You don't have to please everybody, you cannot please everybody, so you might as well make sure that you are making yourself happy.” - Jayne Lewis
Jayne Lewis has a burning passion for the brewing process that brings us beer and wine. She co-founded Two Birds, Australia’s first female-founded brewery, and Drinks Agents for Change, a not-for-profit that encourages diversity and inclusion within the drinks industry.
Having studied brewing at university, Jayne loved the creative aspects of brewing beer which allowed her to bring anything she could think of to life in the form of a brew. Channeling her creativity into a male-dominated industry did not come easily, but she succeeded nonetheless.
Finding the bravery to insert her genius into a male-dominated space allowed her to open up other avenues of bravery as well. By being an advocate for the #MeToo movement and searching for ways to give an equal voice to women, especially in the drinks industry.
Jayne encourages women to be brave by making decisions with themselves at the forefront. These actions don’t make you selfish in her opinion, rather it takes a particular kind of bravery to set boundaries in your life and leave the people-pleasing attitude at the door.
Once you can embrace the courage it takes to move past your failures, view them as learning experiences, and put yourself first - you embrace what it means to be an unapologetically brave woman.
Listen in to hear Jayne’s story and how she’s rocking the boat in a male-dominated industry by bringing the voices of women to the forefront.
Links & Resources:
Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram | Twitter
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“Progress comes from people being willing to go into the voids where many avoid.”
Is there a middle ground for women to discuss their sexuality and sexual needs outside of the medical or commercialized sex conversations? Not yet, but Paulette Stout is making brave waves to change the narrative. Listen in to hear her story and learn about her book, Love, Only Better.
Paulette had a non-traditional upbringing. She was raised by a single father who provided well enough for her, but didn’t know how to talk about sex, sexuality, and appropriate sexual relationships. She went out into the world and simply had to figure it out.
As a result, she had a hard time connecting with partners and finding her own pleasure, and she had no forum for voicing her concerns. As she’s grown in her relationship with her husband, she realized that she needed to share her story so she could be a beacon for others going through the same things.
That’s where her book comes in. Love, Only Better is highly autobiographical and showcases the journey she’s traveled to find love, pleasure, and acceptance for herself and her needs.
Listen as she shares her story, the bravery she had to summon in order to publish her book, and what brave moves she’s making next. If you love, love and romance, this is the episode for you!
Links & Resources:
Paulette’s Website
Ready to start living your life bravely and boldly? Click here to be inspired to make your next brave move with daily brave messages delivered straight to your inbox!
“The moment that you actually stop being apologetic and you own who you are, there's great resistance from the outside world.” - Jacqueline Nagle
Mother of four and red wine enthusiast, Jacqueline Nagle, is setting the stage for brave women everywhere. As a person who loves language and communication, Jacqueline currently works with subject matter experts, assisting them to commercialize and create viable businesses through the lens of speaking, pitching, and sales.
Stepping into her confidence and fulfilling the roles she was meant to fulfill took a fair amount of bravery, as her story shows. To get where she is today, Jacqueline first had to learn how to find her voice and use it effectively. Being brave enough to make the small decisions that lead to something big is how she has found her success.
Realizing her bravery in her late twenties and really stepping into her voice shortly thereafter, Jacqueline learned that there are multiple facets of bravery and, sometimes, we must embody more than one. She has demonstrated internal bravery in her experiences by adjusting her leadership style to be more inclusive of those around her. She has also had to demonstrate bravery by showing up and being present for others in the face of heartbreaking tragedy.
Unfortunately, as women begin to embrace their bravery and bloom into who they are, the pushback and resistance they face can be difficult to navigate. For Jacqueline, the biggest struggle that came with that pushback was that it was not felt so much by men - who tended to stand beside her and champion her along - but by other women. For there to be true progress for women, we need to be brave enough as a collective to stand beside each other and lift each other up for our successes, no matter how big or small they may seem.
Listen to the full story here to get the scoop on the brave moves Jacqueline has made and how supporting the bravery of women is the first step to having a voice that is heard.
Links & Resources:
Jacqueline Nagle
Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter
Ready to start living your life bravely and boldly? Click here to be inspired to make your next brave move with daily brave messages delivered straight to your inbox!
“I don't always take the most trodden road, but I take the right road for what I'm designed for and what I'm called to do in life.” - Kiri-Maree Moore
Kiri-Maree Moore was born in New Zealand, lived most of her life in Australia, and has spent the last several years traveling the world. As a young girl, she was often spoken down to and told that she was different, not smart enough, and didn’t think like other people.
Nothing in Kiri’s life was handed to her and she had to work very hard to excel in her life, despite those who told her she could never be more than what they thought she was. She tackled her introversion and shyness head-on as she learned what it meant to be brave, stand confidently, and live the purpose she was meant for.
In 2012, she founded Decision Velocity Global where she assists entrepreneurs by helping them break through their fears, insecurities, and past baggage to take them to the next level of their businesses and mindsets. Her model focuses on decision-making and removing indecision from business to bring big results to her clients.
By taking control of her life and her purpose she found what it meant to be a brave woman and to be confident in her voice. With confidence in hand, she faces failures and mistakes head on with the bravery to confront things rather than run from them.
She started from being told as a young girl that she would not amount to anything and by taking hold of her life in a brave way, she is now changing the lives of entrepreneurs and helping them bring the best versions of themselves to their businesses. Listen in to hear her story and what bravery looks like to her.
Links & Resources:
Facebook |Instagram | LinkedIn
Ready to start living your life bravely and boldly? Click here to be inspired to make your next brave move with daily brave messages delivered straight to your inbox!
“I just really try and show up every day. I think that's the most important thing, for me, as a brave and courageous and kind and calm and confident human.”
You are the asset. You are the glue keeping things together. So you need to take care of you. This was made painfully clear to Shannah Kennedy as she navigated a lucrative but life stealing career in sports.
She was Jerry Maguire. She was buying and selling athletes for various teams and she very much lost herself in the job and the identity that it gave her. She was amazing at her job, but it took so much from her.
What she didn’t realize was that her career was literally stealing the life from her. She ended up with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and was in bed for a couple of years. Not days, not weeks, not months, years. That was when she realized she needed a better plan.
Shannah needed a better life plan. And it wasn’t just her who needed it. The athletes she was working with needed a life plan as well. They’d planned for their careers, but what came next?
She took the brave step to become a life coach and abandon her corporate career and that’s when things really started to get interesting. She is now an author, speaker, and consultant and every single new thing required a great deal of courage and bravery.
Listen as she shares her story and her brave moves. What would it take you to take a leap of faith and start living life with a plan?
Links & Resources:
Shannah’s Website
LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook
Ready to start living your life bravely and boldly? Click here to be inspired to make your next brave move with daily brave messages delivered straight to your inbox!
“Courage I think is the key essence of leadership. And you have to have courage if you want to lead. You have to have courage if you want to be an authentic leader.”
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young did not get into politics as a way to find fame and fortune. As she states, politics is not an easy job to have. Especially not as a single mother and a person who feels very deeply for others.
But there are so many lives that she touches through her ability to be the voice for those less fortunate and to stand up against injustice. It’s those lives that she is working to change for the better and so she continues her work in politics.
Her bravery in standing up for women in politics, standing against acts that harm the Earth, and speaking up for those who would otherwise be voiceless is not only notable, but also admirable.
She is affecting true change in the world despite the fact that it is supremely uncomfortable for her. But for her, bravery is a mixture of strength and vulnerability. Without that discomfort and that vulnerability, then there is no bravery.
Listen as she shares her story, her passions, and why she’s working so hard to make the world a better place, one policy at a time. Her thoughts on not just bravery, but also brave action, are ones that you certainly won’t want to miss.
Links & Resources:
Sarah’s Website
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
“Fear is actually the first vital ingredient of bravery. Because without fear, we don't get to summon our courage.”
At no point in my life has anyone ever tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Hey Rachael. Now’s the time to make your move.” That’s just not going to happen. There isn’t anyone out there looking out for us in such a way, which is why you have to pick yourself.
Seth Godin said, “Reject the tyranny of being picked, pick yourself.” And no truer words have been spoken. Aside from the fact that no one is going to alert you as to the right time to take action, what is it that makes us feel as if we need external validation to act?
Why are we constantly seeking approval from others before we make a brave move?
One of my very own super powers in life is being able to see the gaps in business or industry and fill them. I haven’t waited for anyone else’s approval before taking action. I have also taken a very masculine approach to building my business in that I’ve leaned into hustle when I probably shouldn’t have.
We as women are not encouraged to think of our feminine intuition and energy as strengths. But they are! I want to empower you to listen to your instincts and understand what they are telling you.
I also want to empower you to leave the waiting area and take action. Each day, find a way to pick yourself in a way that gets you closer to your goals and dreams. Remember, no one is coming to hand opportunities to you. You have to find them and be willing to take action when they present themselves.
How will you pick yourself today?
Links & Resources:
Brave Media Network
Facebook | Instagram
“We often hear this phrase, "We can't be what we can't see," but I tend to stray away from that because otherwise we're just waiting for someone else to give us permission.”
If something has never been done before, how do we as humans pluck up the courage to go out and do it? To say, I can do this, even if no one else has? Layne Beachley has some interesting insights on this concept because she’s been one of those people.
Layne is the most successful surfer in the world. Not the most successful “female” surfer, the most successful surfer period. She has won the world championship seven times, a feat no other surfer has accomplished.
But how did she do it? How did she keep pressing on when it seemed as if no one but herself thought it was possible?
First, she didn’t back down from the challenge. Throughout her life she experienced some terrible challenges, but rather than feel defeated by them, she chose to use them as motivation.
Her ability to use an otherwise negative situation to create a positive outcome is truly remarkable. Listen as she shares her story and what bravery means to her. She’s changing the channel on the negativity and inspiring us all to do the same.
Links & Resources:
Layne’s Website
Instagram | LinkedIn
“These young girls growing up can see the world and see themselves, that's how we start to make changes because you can't be what you can't see, and I think we're starting that journey, we're getting better, but we've still got a long way to go.”y
This is a world filled with uncertainty, division, and in many cases, hate. But there are so many people out there with voices and experiences that need to be shared. Lorna Deng is the co-founder of a social enterprise designed to help BIPOC job seekers raise their voices.
Lorna is a South Sudanese refugee who immigrated to Australia over twenty years ago. She found it difficult to find her place in Australian society which made her childhood quite hard.
When she entered the workforce, she found that she had the same problem. Despite being well-qualified for positions, her voice wasn’t being heard. As she finally found her foothold, she realized she needed to reach back and help others up. This is how DivTal was born.
DivTal was launched during the height of the global pandemic and required quite a bit of bravery to get off the ground. Employers weren’t hiring and an over-represented number of BIPOC professionals were out of a job. Lorna knew she couldn’t sit back and do nothing.
Listen as Lorna shares her story and what it means to her to be brave. We live in a world that is more connected than ever, but instead of uniting us, it seems to be dividing us. It’s time to change that. Lorna is making some very brave moves and you won’t want to miss it.
Links & Resources:
DivTal
Lorna on LinkedIn
“Without fear, there is no courage. And if we don't have courage, then we will never be able to sit down and reflect and determine that we've done something brave.”
Bravery is not the absence of fear. You don’t need to be fearless to make great things happen in your life. Rather, we all need to be able to feel the fear and continue to make strides toward our goals. Listen as I share my thoughts on fear, courage, and why fearlessness is a myth.
Throughout my life I’ve been lucky to have a unique relationship with fear. Instead of allowing fear to hold me back from my goals, dreams, and desires, I have always allowed it to push me forward.
Fear to me has always equalled courage. It takes courage to pluck up the gall to move through the fear that wants to keep you stuck. It’s having the courage to keep going that makes us brave and it’s hindsight that allows us to reflect on those brave moments and see our growth.
If you view fear as a tool to shine a light on where you need to grow, you’ll never go wrong.
I’m sharing some of my own personal moments where I was definitely deeply afraid, but I did not allow that fear to hold me back. If I had, I would not be where I am today with the business I’m building and the life I’m living.
And what a shame that would be! Are you letting fear hold you back?
Links & Resources:
Brave Media Network
Facebook | Instagram
“The women I find myself looking up to are the women who dared to step outside that square and challenged the status quo and challenged the norm and broken silence about things that happen to them. And to me, that's incredibly brave.”
We as women need to encourage and support one another in challenging norms and the status quo. That’s the purpose of this podcast. To highlight the brave acts we as women commit each and every day.
Liz Ellis embodies this value. For her, bravery is deeply seated in behaving and acting with integrity, in all forms. When you can act from a place of vulnerability and maintain your integrity, you know you’re being brave.
That and knowing the consequences of your actions, and being okay with whatever the worst case scenario might be.
This assessment is brilliant. So often we think of brave acts as being physical, and if you’ve listened to any of the previous episodes, we know that for women this isn’t true. But do we all believe that bravery is having a full and deep understanding of the worst case scenario and making the decision to be okay with it?
I think not, and I love this take.
Liz is a retired Australian Netball player who now has an entire achievement award named after her. She has made huge strides in the world of women’s sport, but that’s not where she has committed her bravest acts.
Listen in to hear her take on what it means to be brave and learn more about her story of infertility and what she’s done to bring awareness to this growing problem. This was a fantastic conversation with a truly extraordinary woman. You won’t want to miss it.
Links & Resources:
Liz’s Website
Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook
“Bravery means being terrified and moving forward, regardless, it means moving forward to something greater…”
When you’ve faced your own trauma and found a path out of the darkness that works, what’s your next step? For Kylie Ryan, she decided to help others do the same. Kylie left behind a life filled with emotional baggage, overeating, substance use, and debt to become a Registered Clinical NLP Coach & Trainer and now has more than 15 years of experience.
She loves working with entrepreneurs looking to make huge waves and facilitate change throughout the world. But it hasn’t always been easy.
Kylie has made many courageous decisions in her life and each one brings her closer and closer to her purpose. For her bravery means being terrified, which she has been many times in her life, and moving forward regardless.
From working through many tough times with her spouse and trusting him to love her regardless of her background, to making massive life changes for herself, Kylie doesn’t back away from a good challenge.
She’s now navigating the world of business and motherhood while continuing to learn and build her skills in various areas of coaching.
If you have massive goals and are stuck on how to reach them, Kylie is the coach for you. Creating change in the world is not for the faint of heart. It requires skill, bravery, compassion, courage, and tenacity.
Listen in to hear her story and to dig into some of the brave moves she’s already made and what she’s looking forward to in the future.
Links & Resources:
Kylie’s Website
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn | YouTube
“It's vital that every woman has her own bank account that she is able to divert income into, even if it's $50 a week.”
In most areas of the world women have only been allowed to manage their own money since the mid to late-80s. Is it any wonder that we aren’t as knowledgeable about finances as men?
For so many of us this comes back to bite us when something like divorce or the loss of a husband happens. This may or may not be a shocking statistic, but 1 in 2 marriages these days ends in divorce.
So every other woman who gets married will find herself in a position to manage her own finances without the help of a partner at some point in her life. Don’t you think that means we need to know how finances work?
I have always known how to manage my own money, but I haven’t always realized the implications and importance of things like investing and saving for retirement. In fact, because I’ve owned my own business for the last fifteen plus years, I haven’t been putting back for retirement the amount of money I should.
This became glaringly obvious as my former husband and I began the process of divorcing and separating our assets. I was massively under-funded for retirement because we’d focused on putting money back in his retirement fund.
Needless to say, I’ve since gotten much more money savvy and I’ve started the journey of repairing my relationship with money. Listen in as I chat about my own experience and share ways you can begin to work on your money mindset and your asset management.
Links & Resources:
Brave Media Network
Facebook | Instagram
“Bravery has definitely got two elements where there's that really conscious choice to do something and to take a leap of faith. And then there's the element of, okay, that happened, what do I do next?”
Too many women have been subjected to the horror of abuse. Emma Husar is no stranger to those horrors, but what she didn’t expect was to find the same themes of abuse inside her own political party. Listen as she shares her story and why she’s so passionate about helping others find their courage and change lives.
Emma grew up in an abusive home with parents who were abusing drugs and alcohol. At 15 years old she found herself out on her own with no clue where to go. Instead of wallowing in her circumstances, she did what she needed to do to get into university and to begin life on the right foot.
Unfortunately, she found herself tangled up in an abusive relationship with her ex and didn’t realize it until it was too late. Once she finally started to extricate herself, the abuse she experienced began to ramp up.
During this time she was faithfully representing her community as a leader in her local politics. She loved being able to change the lives of so many people by helping to change policies and create a better world.
Then she found herself as an up and comer in the Labour Party as the federal member for the seat of Lindsay in Western Sydney and everything changed. A former staff member who’d been previously fired began making allegations that she’d sexually harrassed and bullied him.
That’s when she saw the true colors of the Labour Party and when her dreams of being in politics took a sharp turn.
Listen as Emma delves deep into her experiences and what she’s doing to help the women behind her avoid making the same mistakes. She’s also starting her own business, Brave by Design and is a keynote speaker. She’s making bold, brave moves and working to create true human progress.
Links & Resources:
Emma’s Website
Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook
“I say that every day, I have no idea what I'm doing, I think that that's the key word or phrase for entrepreneurs.” - Alyza Brevard-Rodriguez
Alyza Brevard-Rodriguez got her start in the entrepreneurial world at a young age. She started selling candy bars in her neighborhood and to peers at school, and even had a paper route, all before she even made it to high school.
Unfortunately, Alyza didn’t have anyone in her family who could mentor her in how to build her own business, so she jumped right in on her own. She learned everything as she went and did it all on her own.
In 2015 Alyza and her wife started a fitness apparel clothing line, which then became a brick and mortar store. While they were getting everything up and running, Alyza had to do a lot of internal work and commit to personal growth.
Not only was she deployed while they were just getting started, she also had to deal with Covid. Needless to say, she had a lot of external barriers to work through while trying to learn and grow with her wife.
Even though she and her wife had to overcome so many hurdles, their business is still going strong. They now have two locations and are now turning the store into a franchise. Listen in to hear all of her thoughts about the struggles of starting a business, and what bravery looks like to her.
Links & Resources:
Sw3at Sauna Studio
Facebook | TikTok | Instagram
“Work hard, love what you do, be passionate, and never give up.” - Colleen Callander
These words have been the sounding board for Colleen Callander’s life. Colleen is the former Sportsgirl CEO, Founder of Mentor Me Women, Author of Leader By Design, Inspirational Speaker, Business and Leadership Coach and she joins me to share her story of bravery in leadership.
Colleen knew at a very young age that she wanted to work in the fashion industry. Her first summer job resulted in her having a decades long career in fashion and sales. Towards the end of that first, fateful summer, one of her bosses offered her a full-time position and she hasn’t looked back since.
In fact, by the age of 24, she was running an entire region of stores. That was over 50 locations who looked directly to her for leadership and guidance. Looking back, she realizes that 24 was a very young age to have that kind of responsibility.
We chat about her definition of bravery, why confidence is a skill, and what it takes to build women into confident and capable leaders. Colleen’s experience in the corporate world gives her a unique perspective on the needs of women in business. Listen in to hear all of her thoughts about bravery.
Links & Resources:
Colleen Callander
Leader by Design by Colleen Callander
Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram
“Many decisions we make in life are very brave when you look back with a bit of perspective.” - Giaan Rooney
At a young age, Giaan Rooney had a successful career as a professional swimmer, achieving dozens of awards and three Olympic medals, one of which was gold in 2004. After retiring at the age of 23 she furthered her career through radio and TV, being a brand ambassador, speaking events and empowering women.
Giaan embodied bravery early in her swimming career by challenging her inner critic and showing up as the best version of herself. She also took a brave leap into a fresh perspective to reignite her passion for swimming.
As a mother to two young children, Giaan had embraced a new role of bravery in finding a balance between motherhood and self fulfillment. By allowing herself to focus on her career to gain a sense of self, she finds the ability to be a better parent to her children.
Giaan encourages women to be brave by taking more time to themselves. There are so many demands in today’s society that we often struggle to set boundaries for ourselves or set aside time for ourselves, especially as mothers and women.
Giaan does not plan for her future, rather she awaits what the future brings with open arms. Because of this, she rarely sees the opportunities that have come her way and she loves living in the spontaneity that life offers.
Listen in to hear her story and see what bravery looks like to her.
Links & Resources:
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
“It takes bravery to identify when you have overcome something, and also to claim the survival and the thriving of that point in time.” - Caroline Brunne
For nearly twenty years, Caroline Brunne has been serving busy professionals by offering strategic life management. In 2017, she founded Organise.Curate.Design which allowed her to relieve the mental load of her clients and help them streamline their businesses.
Caroline’s professional journey has taken her through a wave of successes. From author to artist to business owner, she has embodied the true meaning of living life with intention.
But in her debut memoir, she shines light on a very bittersweet truth that more than one thing can be true as her successes live side by side with pain-staking grief. As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, Caroline is paving the way for trauma victims to heal and find their own voices.
By being open about her trauma and being brave enough to share her story, Caroline demonstrates that the first big step to healing and success is vulnerability. Vulnerability gives rise to courage and courage, in turn, gives rise to change.
As the world around us constantly changes, we too must be willing to change and all change begins with courage. Caroline speaks on courageous intention and the role it plays in our lives, allowing us to show up in the most authentic versions of ourselves. Listen in to hear Caroline’s perspective on bravery and how she embodies it in her day-to-day life.
Links & Resources:
Caroline Brunne
Organise.Curate.Design
Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram
“When women take risks they tend not to be supported or celebrated in the same way as when men take risks.” - Tracey Spicer
Bravery comes in many forms, shapes, and sizes. From massive action to small forms of bravery, we all need to celebrate more. Listen as Tracey Spicer and I talk about what bravery looks like for women and why we need to change the conversation by telling more of our stories around everyday bravery.
Tracey Spicer AM BBus(Comm) GAICD is a multiple Walkley Award winning author, journalist and broadcaster who has anchored national programs for ABC TV and radio, Network Ten and Sky News.
The great joy of her career has been doing work documentaries, writing books, writing articles around women and girls, particularly in developing countries around the world. It’s that work that has put her in the presence of some of the bravest women she’s ever met.
Tracey is a joy to talk to. She has had some amazing experiences and has brilliant stories to tell. Her thoughts on bravery and how we can reframe the conversation to shine a light on brave women are fantastic.
Listen in to hear all of her wisdom and stories and remember to start telling your own bravery stories.
Links & Resources:
Tracey’s Website
The Good Girl Stripped Bare by Tracey Spicer
Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook
Welcome to The Very Brave Podcast, where we have started a whole new conversation that redefines bravery for women.
I'm your host, Rachael Evans. and I know from experience that bravery isn't just about physical feats of greatness, and it certainly isn't just found on the battlefield. For too long. The everyday acts of bravery carried out by women the world over have been ignored by a society that likes to bestow bravery accolades on athletes, soldiers and famous personalities.
Well I say no more.
On this podcast, we'll be sharing the stories of women, some famous and some not, who like you have overcome all kinds of adversity in order to thrive. You'll hear stories from experts, journalists, politicians, athletes, authors, speakers, entrepreneurs and business owners, wives, daughters and mothers.
Their stories are real, raw, honest, and always inspiring, and from each one, you'll walk away feeling a little more confident to make your next brave move. You'll learn there is so much more to bravery than what we've been led to believe, and that the things you might write off as just being part of life, are in fact, incredibly brave.
We'll also be discussing how we can help more women about generation to take big, bold, brave steps in life, and how we can inspire the next generations to do the same. This conversation is urgent and we've got no time to lose. So grab a coffee, get comfortable and prepare to be inspired.
This is The Very Brave Podcast.
Connect with Rachael:The Real Rachael
Brave Media Network
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