Welcome back to Girl, Take the Lead! — the podcast where we explore real, raw, and remarkable stories of resilience, healing, and what it means to live and lead with courage through every season of life.

Today’s guest is Rebecca (Becky) Faye Smith Galli — author, columnist, and thoughtful observer of the human experience. Becky writes about love, loss, and healing, drawing from a life shaped by profound, unchosen challenges. Her journey includes the death of her 17-year-old brother, her son’s degenerative disease and passing, parenting a daughter with autism, divorce, and—just nine days later—paralysis caused by transverse myelitis, a rare inflammation of the spinal cord.

Rather than turning away from grief, Becky has transformed her lived experience into a body of work that reminds us: life can still be good — not perfect, but good — even when it doesn’t go as planned.

In this deeply moving conversation, Yo and Becky explore wisdom drawn from Becky’s books Morning Fuel and Rethinking Possible, along with reflections from her popular Thoughtful Thursdays newsletter.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

🧋 The Milkshake MethodA story about Becky’s father and a failed ice cream experiment that became a lifelong lesson in optimism, creativity, and seeing possibility within the limits of the present moment.

🌲 Unchosen Paths & Patterns of CopingHow Becky has learned to recognize her own patterns when navigating grief and major life disruptions — and why understanding how you cope can bring comfort, patience, and self-trust.

💛 Practicing Gratitude as a Daily ResetWhy gratitude isn’t about denying pain, but about shifting perspective — and how noticing small moments of goodness can change how we move through difficult days.

🌸 Beauty in What’s BrokenBecky shares how turning shattered dishes into mosaic art mirrors the healing process itself: gathering broken pieces, allowing messiness, and discovering unexpected beauty along the way.

🕯️ A Single Candle (Holiday Reflection)A powerful reading about grief during the holidays, the love that remains after loss, and how lighting a single candle can help us focus on love instead of darkness — especially when traditions must change.

This episode is especially meaningful for anyone navigating grief, major transitions, disability, caregiving, or the emotional complexity of the holiday season. Becky’s words offer companionship, perspective, and hope — like a steady candle glowing when the world feels dark.

About Becky Galli💌

Rebecca (Becky) Faye Smith Galli is an author and columnist who writes about love, loss, and healing. Her unexpected but prolific writing career emerged from surviving multiple life-altering losses and transitions. Her website, BeckyGalli.com, features more than 400 published columns, and she continues to write Thoughtful Thursdays—Lessons from a Resilient Heart, a beloved newsletter that shares reflections on staying positive and grounded when life is hard.

📚 Books: Morning Fuel | Rethinking Possible💌 Email: rfsgalli@gmail.com🌐 Website & Free Resource: “Seven Strategies to Stay Up When Life Is Pulling You Down”👉 https://rebeccafayesmithgalli.com/📰 Thoughtful Thursdays Newsletter Signup:👉 https://rebeccafayesmithgalli.com/📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chairwriter/🐦 X / Twitter: https://twitter.com/chairwriter

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Today’s guest is Michelle Hensley — founder of Nifty Package Co., creator of the gig app FeteTango, mother of three, grandmother of nine, and a woman who rebuilt her entire life after losing her husband to metastatic melanoma.

At 51, Michelle found herself navigating profound grief, financial uncertainty, and a complete identity shift. What began as a small spark — “Could I work when I want instead of when I have to?” — evolved into a thriving mobile gift wrapping business serving everyday families, luxury brands, celebrities, and even a presidential administration.

This is a story of resilience, reinvention, and the courage to begin again — with creativity leading the way.

Together, Yo and Michelle explore:

🎁 How Michelle rebuilt her life after lossFrom pastor’s wife and nonprofit founder to entrepreneur learning cost of goods, pricing, networking, and profit — one brave step at a time.

🎀 Why gift wrapping is a timeless artAnd how a 3:45 a.m. idea and an underused van sparked a whole new business model.

🚐 The rise of the mobile gift wrapping movementIncluding the early client who hated wrapping gifts, the celebrity referrals, and the moment Michelle realized she was truly a business owner.

✨ Creating income opportunities for women 50+Why Michelle believes flexible, creative work is a powerful path to financial dignity and freedom.

📊 Business lessons Michelle learned the hard wayPricing for profit, investing in quality, and vetting team members — with honesty and humor.

📱 Introducing FeteTangoMichelle’s new gig app for creatives offering services like wrapping, decorating, porch pumpkins, cookie baking, and more — all with lower fees so women keep more of what they earn.

🕯️ Her message to widows and women starting overGrief has no timeline. Identity must be rebuilt slowly. And new beginnings are possible — even when you have no idea what comes next.

💬 Her advice to her 20-something selfFind a mentor. Listen to people who’ve lived more life. Be less judgmental. And soften your words, especially toward yourself.

🧭 Memorable Quotes

“Sometimes you don’t know your idea is good — you just take the next step and it leads you somewhere new.” – Michelle

“Women are incredibly resourceful. What scares us most is not that we can’t do it — but that we don’t know it yet.” – Michelle

“I’ve been in the wilderness so many times I can give tours. Mistakes are part of the process.” – Michelle

“You don’t have to care what everyone thinks — listen to yourself and take the next step.” – Yo & Michelle

✨ Connect with Michelle Hensley

Website & Coaching: michellemhensley.comFree Book & Downloadables: available on her siteGift Wrapping Business: Nifty Package Co.Facebook Group: Unwrapping Your Life and BusinessYouTube: Mobile Gift Wrapping CoachGig App for Creatives: FeteTango.comMasterclass: michellemhensley.com/masterclass-registrationEmail: Michelle@niftypackage.co

💌 Connect with Yo & Girl, Take the Lead!
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Because reinvention doesn’t ask whether you’re ready — it invites you to trust yourself, take the next step, and begin wrapping a new life with courage and creativity. 💖

This holiday season, we’re inviting you to pause, breathe, and check in with yourself — because as this week’s guest reminds us, you are your greatest asset.
In this uplifting and practical conversation, Nancy Griffin, founder of Women, Worth & Wellness®, joins Yo to explore the powerful connection between women’s health, wealth, and self-worth — especially during a time of year when stress, overspending, and over-giving tend to take over.
Nancy has spent more than 30 years supporting women in building stronger financial foundations and stronger personal foundations. Her holistic approach to net worth, self-worth, philanthropy, and wellness gives us a fresh, timely reminder:
Your life is a privilege. Take care of yourself first — so you can take care of everything else with joy.
💛 In This Episode
We cover:
The hidden connection between women’s health and women’s wealth
Why women need to think about health-related planning (and what great advisors look for)
How generosity — not just financial, but emotional — strengthens self-worth
Nancy’s powerful 5-minute morning holiday check-in ritual
The danger of perfectionism and the wisdom of the 80% Approach
Why you should consider repurposing old life insurance as a philanthropic legacy
The importance of recognizing yourself as your number one asset
Nancy’s inspiring message to her 20-something self
Her signature mantra: “Stay vertical and keep smiling.”
🎄 Why This Episode Is Perfect for the Holidays
This time of year can pull us in a hundred different directions. Nancy offers simple, grounded ways to:
-center your own well-being
-manage holiday overwhelm
-reset spending expectations
-rediscover joy in small, spontaneous moments of generosity
-choose what really matters as you head into a new year
It’s the perfect episode to send to a friend who needs a gentle reminder to take five minutes for herself.
👑 About Our Guest: Nancy Griffin (Boomer)
Nancy is a connector and influencer. She attributes her success to personal courage, determination, and joy, especially when focusing on women’s health and wellness, which led her to create Women, Worth & Wellness®. Nancy enjoys every opportunity to inspire and inform women about their personal health and wealth, net worth and self-worth, philanthropy and legacy—so that women feel fabulous, generous, joyful, confident, and on top of their game every day.
Nancy Griffin established Women, Worth & Wellness in 1994 as a Private Client Wealth Advisor for her female clients and their families. She continues to promote and inspire Daring & Caring Leaders, encouraging them to step up and lead in the world, following in the footsteps of many powerful women leaders before her. Her overall purpose is to connect and influence for positive impact every chance she gets.

Connect with Nancy:
📧 nancy@womenworthwellness.com
🌐 WomenWorthWellness.com (brand updates coming soon!)
📱 Social: @womenworthwellness across platforms

✨ Key Takeaways
You cannot enjoy your wealth without your health — and both require intentional care.
Women’s financial planning must include health-related what-ifs.
Generosity strengthens self-worth — and it doesn’t have to cost money.
A simple five-minute morning check-in can change the tone of your entire day.
Don’t wait for perfect: aim for 80% and take action.
You are worthy, unique, and capable — and your life is a privilege.💌 Connect with Yo & Girl, Take the Lead!

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Because leadership — and connection — begin when we dare to understand ourselves and each other more deeply. 💖

Today’s guest is Derek, an educator at heart whose life journey—rooted in autism, ADHD, and dyslexia—has been shaped by a lifelong quest to transform confusion into clarity. Diagnosed at age 50, he finally gained the language, belonging, and understanding that helped him make sense of decades of feeling “different.” That clarity became his calling.

Professionally, Derek’s path spans the trades, automotive manufacturing, entrepreneurship, process engineering, and ultimately talent development—where he became the architect behind Amazon’s highest-rated employee training program, earning an extraordinary 92 NPS and 4.92/5 rating.

Today, he is the visionary behind Human-First AI, including his book, Human First AI, which lays out a powerful and accessible blueprint for building AI systems that augment humanity rather than replace it. His company, Practical AI, builds tools like Pocket Mentor, offering voice-based, just-in-time support so no one ever feels stuck, judged, or alone again.

This episode explores what it really means to unlock neurodiverse brilliance—and how empathy and human-centered AI can change the way we learn, collaborate, and lead.

📚 Featured Resource Recommended by Derek

✨ Dr. Nancy Doyle’s “What Is Neurodiversity” framework, including the plus-10/minus-10 graph that helps explain ALL human skill variation.
🧭 Memorable Quotes

“My whole life was trying to turn confusion into clarity — and that became the foundation of everything I build.” – Derek
“Empathy unlocks neurodiverse brilliance.” – Derek
“Judge people for what they do well, not for what they don’t.” – Derek
“AI should make humans irreplaceable — not replace them.” – Derek
“Just-in-time knowledge reduces cognitive load and restores confidence.” – Derek
“We’re all different. The more we understand each other, the better we all become.” – Yo Canny

🌺 Key Takeaways

1. Neurodiversity is the human condition.
Dr. Nancy Doyle’s work reframes neurodiversity as a continuum of strengths and challenges that all humans share.

2. Diagnosis can bring healing—not limits.
For Derek, learning he was autistic at 50 unlocked understanding and belonging.

3. Empathy-based leadership allows brilliance to shine.
His Amazon success was made possible by a leader who supported his strengths and covered his gaps.

4. Human-First AI supports—not replaces—humans.
Just-in-time learning tools like Pocket Mentor can reduce anxiety, boost confidence, and preserve institutional knowledge.

✨ Connect with Derek

Support is rooted in celebrating strengths and releasing judgment.

📘 Hero Book – Human First AIRead the first chapter free: https://www.humanfirstai.net

🌐 Practical AI (organization & nonprofit community)
https://www.practicalai.app

👥 Community
https://www.practicalai.app/community

💼 LinkedInSearch “Derek” + “Human First AI”

💌 Connect with Yo & Girl, Take the Lead!

🎧 Listen on YouTube & Spotify
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🛍 Explore the Heartfelt Card & Gift Shop
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Because leadership — and connection — begin when we dare to understand ourselves and each other more deeply. 💖

In this powerful and deeply personal conversation, we meet Lori Pappas, one of the first female computer sales reps in the world, an award-winning entrepreneur, and founder of the Global Team for Local Initiatives, where she spent over a decade in Africa helping more than 100,000 people.

After years of chasing success, Lori discovered that the true magic of life comes from saying yes—yes to forgiveness, boundaries, curiosity, and self-discovery. Her journey inspired the D.R.E.A.M. Framework, a practical guide for transforming challenges into wisdom.

In this episode, Lori and Yo talk about reinventing yourself at every stage of life, the myths that hold women back from self-advocacy, and how forgiveness and reflection unlock our deepest wisdom.

💡 Key Takeaways

✨ The Power of Choice
At 17, Lori learned one of her life’s defining lessons: she had choice. That insight—realizing we don’t have to “swallow” what life hands us—became the foundation for how she navigated every transformation that followed.

💖 Turning Struggles into Wisdom
Her years in Africa illuminated that our challenges are not obstacles but teachers. When we take time to reflect, our struggles become our superpower.

🌿 Boundaries as Self-Care
Drawing from her work, Lori shares common myths that keep us from setting boundaries—like believing others’ needs are more important than our own—and how self-advocacy is an act of self-worth.

💬 Favorite Quotes from Lori

“Our struggles and challenges really are the keys to finding our wisdom.”
“Boundaries are the bedrock of self-care.”
“Forgiveness doesn’t mean forgetting—it means dropping the hundred pounds of stones we carry on our back.”
“Fear can become your rocket fuel.”
“Wisdom is information minus the noise, over time.”
“Let’s just clean the closet of the noise.”

“Let’s really work on that noise. Let’s just get rid of that crap. If I had done that earlier, I could have traveled farther and touched more people.”

📚 Resources & Links

• 🌐 Website: loripappas.com

• 💌 Free Resource: Download a free D.R.E.A.M. framework of your choice → loripappas.com/dream

• 📘 Book: The Magic of Yes: Embrace the Wise Woman Within

• 💬 Email: lori@loripappas.com

• 💕 Join: Wise Woman Sisterhood Facebook Group

  
  

⏰ Episode Chapters

00:00 — Lori’s story: from rebellion to resilience
03:00 — The moment in the Sahara that changed everything
06:00 — Saying yes to life and boundaries
09:00 — The myths that keep us from self-care
16:00 — Learning to self-advocate
18:00 — Forgiveness and flipping the script
21:00 — Lori’s formula for wisdom
25:00 — The D.R.E.A.M. framework revealed
29:00 — Turning fear into rocket fuel
35:00 — Curiosity as nourishment for the mind
37:30 — Advice to her 20-something self

💖 Connect with Girl, Take the Lead!

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• 💬 Connect with Yo Canny on LinkedIn
  

Today’s guest is Michelle Jeovanny — a renowned spiritual life coach, mentor, channel, and successful entrepreneur who helps individuals create wealth on all levels: spiritually, emotionally, mentally, physically, energetically, and financially.

Michelle’s work blends ancient wisdom with modern consciousness — guiding her clients through ancestral healing, somatic freedom, ceremony, and spiritual power to unlock their truest potential. Her mission? To help people live in freedom, fulfillment, and flow.

In this episode, Michelle and Yo dive deep into the alchemy of turning wounds into power — exploring how the stories passed through our lineage shape our beliefs about wealth, worth, and identity. You’ll hear Michelle’s extraordinary story of awakening, from her childhood connection to Spirit, to a near-death moment at sea that became a divine calling to step fully into her spiritual gifts.

Together, they explore:

• 🌿 What ancestral wealth really means — and how to awaken it within

• 🔥 The process of transforming pain and grief into creative power

• 💎 How our body is the first bank account — and what true wealth feels like

• 🕊 Practices for stillness, surrender, and rewriting family patterns

• 💫 Why money is the byproduct of who we become

Whether you’re navigating your own healing, exploring spirituality, or simply curious about the unseen threads that shape your story, this episode invites you to see your wounds not as weaknesses — but as doorways to power.

🧭 Memorable Quotes

“Our body is the first bank account. It is our altar of wealth and abundance.” – Michelle Jeovanny
“Beyond the wounds is a creative intelligence — the gold within the onion.” – Michelle Jeovanny
“I was running toward success, but the more I ran, the further I felt from myself.” – Yo Canny

🌺 Key Takeaways

• True wealth begins with self-honoring — when you’re wealthy on all levels, money follows as an energetic reflection.

• Ancestral healing allows us to see and release patterns we’ve inherited, transforming unconscious loyalty into conscious freedom.

• Stillness and surrender aren’t weakness — they’re the portals to divine guidance and co-creation.

• Writing down your desires and releasing limiting beliefs through ceremony can open you to a higher frequency of abundance.

  
  

✨ Connect with Michelle Jeovanny

🌐 Magik Mystery School — monthly channelings, programs, and resources
📸 @michellejeovanny
💌 Mention “Girl, Take the Lead!” for Michelle’s free PDF: How to Create with AI — with Soul

💌 Connect with Yo & Girl, Take the Lead!

🎧 Listen on YouTube & Spotify💬 Join the Girl, Take the Lead! Facebook Group🛍 Explore the Heartfelt Card & Gift Shop🔗 LinkedIn | Instagram

Because leadership — and healing — begin when we have the courage to see ourselves clearly. 💖