Unleash Your Best Self: A Conversation with Dr. Michelle Maidenberg

The Life Unscripted Podcast with Rosabel Zohfeld

Meet Dr. Michelle Maidenberg

Psychologist & Therapist: Specializing in CBT, ACT, EMDR, polyvagal theory, and mindfulness.

NYU Instructor: Teaches graduate courses in mindfulness practice.

Founder of “Through My Eyes”: A nonprofit providing free, clinically guided videotaping for chronically ill individuals to leave a legacy for loved ones.

Author: ACE Your Life: Unleash Your Best Self and Live the Life You Want; narrator of its audiobook version.

The ACE Method: Acceptance • Compassion • Empowerment

Michelle’s signature framework breaks down into three pillars:

• Acceptance – Acknowledge what is beyond your control and lean into reality without judgment.
• Compassion – Offer kindness and understanding to yourself, especially in moments of struggle.
• Empowerment – Commit to behaviors aligned with your deepest values, allowing you to shape your own path.

“We can’t control our thoughts and feelings—the only thing we can control is our behavior. And our behavior dictates how we see ourselves, our relationships, and our future.”

Facing Emotional Avoidance

Our brains are wired to protect us from discomfort, which often leads to avoiding negative emotions. Michelle explains:

• Why We Avoid: A primitive “protector” part of our brain minimizes pain by distracting us or rationalizing away our feelings.
• The Cost of Avoidance: When we sidestep sadness, anger, or frustration, we also block growth, connection, and the very values those emotions point to.
• A Mindful Alternative: Notice when you’re activating avoidance strategies. Pause, breathe, and make a conscious choice to sit with your experience—then use self-compassion to support yourself through it.

Discovering & Aligning Your Core Values

Values are a guide to action, yet many of us confuse them with goals or external expectations. Michelle walks us through:

1. Identifying Your Values: Use online exercises or card-sorting tools to unearth what truly matters to you—be it integrity, creativity, connection, or something else.
2. Defining & Embodying Them: Clarify what each value means in your life and list daily behaviors that honor it.
3. Navigating Value Conflicts: When two important values clash (e.g., work ethic vs. self-care), recognize the tension, honor both equally, and choose the path that aligns most with your overarching purpose in that moment.

“If I died tomorrow, would I be proud of the way I lived? If not, what am I denying myself and why?”

Living Intentionally in a Fast-Paced World

From the rapid-fire changes of technology to the swirl of social media, life today can feel dysregulating. Michelle reminds us:

• Embrace Discomfort: Growth happens when we allow ourselves to do hard things, knowing that struggle is temporary and valuable.
• Stay Grounded: Regular mindfulness practices—like the guided meditations on Michelle’s YouTube channel—help anchor us amid constant change.
• Cultivate Gratitude: Reflect daily on small wins and the ways you lived in alignment with your values.

Key Takeaways

• Acceptance, Compassion, Empowerment form a roadmap to resilience.
• Emotional avoidance may feel protective but ultimately stalls personal growth.
• Core values drive our behavior; clarifying them transforms decision-making.
• Mindful living and self-compassion are essential in our fast-moving world.

Ready to Take the Next Step?

Connect with Dr. Michelle Maidenberg Buy My Book on Amazon Visit My Website

 

Conquering Cancer, Building Empires & Choosing Freedom

In an unforgettable conversation on Life Unscripted with Rosabel, I had the privilege of speaking with Trent Brock, a three-time terminal cancer conqueror turned international entrepreneur and bestselling author. From humble beginnings in North Louisiana to building the fifth-largest popcorn manufacturer in New Zealand, Trent’s journey is a masterclass in perseverance, grit, and audacious faith.

From IT Consultant to Kettle Corn King

Trent began his career as a traveling IT consultant—but fate had a popcorn-scented twist in store. While training at a boxing gym in Auckland, he met the manager of a small kettle-corn stand. Intrigued, Trent invested his weekends in popping corn at local markets. Within five years, that side hustle snowballed into a fully-fledged manufacturing empire: two factories the size of football fields, multiple popcorn lines, contracts with stadiums and cinemas, and distribution across Australasia.

Key takeaway: Sometimes your greatest opportunities lurk in the most unexpected places. Be willing to trade stability for passion, even if it means swapping a six-figure desk job for a 100-hour startup grind.

Three Cancer Battles, One Unbreakable Spirit

In 2019, Trent’s life took a harrowing turn: an aggressive hip-bone cancer diagnosis threatened amputation, followed by successive battles with pancreatic and lung cancer. Public healthcare delays nearly cost him his leg—and his life. Faced with dire odds (and an eventual prognosis of less than 5% survival), he refused to give in.

• Mindset shift: After a life-or-death conversation with his parents, Trent “decided to fight till [his] last breath.”
• Advocacy: He invested in private care, assembled a world-class medical team, and learned to navigate complex treatments.
• Persistence: From IV antibiotics that left him nauseous for hours to experimental hip implants, he kept pushing.

Today, Trent walks—and even “hobbles around like a WWII vet”—thanks to the largest, most complex hip implant ever created.

Rosabel’s reflection: “Miracles are already there. We just have to believe they will happen.”

The Game of Life: Simple Rules, Massive Wins

How do you tackle seemingly insurmountable odds? Trent treats every day like a football game:

1. Be the quarterback of your life. You call the plays—don’t hand control to anyone else.
2. Win today. Break down overwhelming challenges into “what can I conquer right now?”
3. Take time-outs. When the news gets heavy, pause, process, and recharge.
4. Assemble your team. Choose the doctors, coaches, and mentors who share your vision.

This playbook isn’t just for cancer warriors—it applies to anyone facing a major life pivot, health crisis, or business challenge.

Connect & Continue Your Journey

Trent Brock’s story proves that free speech isn’t free—and freedom takes courage to fight, innovate, and ask for help. If you’re ready to take the quarterback role in your own life:

Connect with Trent Brock

Explore more with Rosabel   Buy My Book

Thank you for reading—and for living life unscripted. Remember, the greatest transformations begin when you refuse to give up.

Free your mind. Fuel your journey. Live unscripted.

 

Embracing Stoicism: Insights from Benny Voncken

Welcome back to the Life Unscripted Blog! In our latest podcast episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Stoic coach and writer Benny Vonken, co-founder of Via Stoica. Together, we unpacked how ancient Stoic principles can help us navigate life’s toughest challenges with clarity, purpose, and peace.

What Is Stoicism, Really?

Stoicism is often misunderstood as emotional suppression or rigid detachment. In reality, it’s a pragmatic, Western counterpart to mindfulness, grounded in reason and logic. Stoics encourage us to:

• Observe our immediate impressions without rushing to judgment.
• Apply reason to understand why we feel anger, fear, or grief.
• Act virtuously, aligned with wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance—regardless of external circumstances.

Misconceptions Debunked

• “Stoics are cold and unemotional.” Far from it: Stoicism teaches us to fully acknowledge our emotions, then choose how to respond rather than react impulsively.
• “It’s only for elites or philosophers.” Stoicism was practiced by everyone from Roman emperors to slaves turned teachers. Its core lessons—control what you can, accept what you can’t—apply to all of us.

Benny’s Journey: From Rock Bottom to Resilience

Benny shared how Stoic practices guided him through a painful divorce, serious physical injuries, and over four years of sobriety. Faced with loss and upheaval, he discovered that true strength comes from within—by reframing challenges as opportunities to grow, rather than insurmountable obstacles.

3 Simple Stoic Practices to Try Today

1. Negative Visualization
   • Imagine the worst-case scenario for a situation you fear.
   • Realize you have the inner resources and support to handle it.
   • Return to the present, focused on what you can do right now.
2. Memento Mori
   • Remind yourself that life is finite.
   • Use that awareness to cultivate gratitude for the people and moments you have today.
   • “Live each day as if it were a lifetime.”
3. Amor Fati (“Love of Fate”)
   • Embrace whatever happens as necessary and instructive.
   • Let go of resistance; move forward with greater peace and purpose.

Connect & Take the Next Step

Have these insights sparked your curiosity? Dive deeper and start applying Stoic wisdom in your life:

Connect with Benny Voncken Subscribe to My Channel Buy My Book on Amazon Visit My Website

Honoring Family with Humor: Mark Steven Porro’s A Cup of Tea on the Commode

 

Honoring Family with Humor: Mark Steven Porro’s A Cup of Tea on the Commode

When award-winning designer, writer, and director Mark Steven Porro turned his lens inward, he discovered a story rich in love, laughter, and the unbreakable bond between parent and child. His bestselling memoir, A Cup of Tea on the Commode: My Multitasking Adventures of Caring for Mom and How I Survived to Tell the Tale, is both raw and uplifting—an unforgettable tribute to caregiving that will make you laugh out loud and reach for the tissues.

Finding Inspiration in Provence

After 28 years in Hollywood, Porro retreated to the cobblestone streets of Pézenas in southern France to gain the emotional distance he needed to write his deeply personal story. Surrounded by 16th-century architecture and the gentle rhythms of village life, he poured his heart into a memoir that doesn’t shy away from the challenges of end-of-life care, yet finds humor in every corner.

A Journey of Love, Loss, and Laughter

In his mid-50s, single and childless, Mark answered the call to care for his 89-year-old mother when she entered hospice. What followed was a three-and-a-half-year odyssey of diaper changes, bedside meals, and rediscovered joys—plus more than a few comical mishaps:

• The Pumpkin Pie Miracle: During a no-food hospice protocol, a kind nurse’s spoonful of pumpkin pie jolted Mom back to life—soon she was enjoying pie slices and bowls of sherbet, proving a little sweetness can be miraculous.
• Carpet Sample Cookies: Hoping to restore dignity to her home, Mark presented carpet-swatch “samples” on her breakfast tray—only to find Mom about to taste them!

Why You’ll Love This Memoir

• Heartfelt Honesty: From quiet bedside moments to emotional challenges, no topic is off-limits.
• Uplifting Humor: Mark’s storytelling background infuses every page with wit and warmth.
• Universal Resonance: Whether you’ve been a caregiver or simply love a moving story, you’ll find inspiration here.

Find A Cup of Tea on the Commode

Available in paperback (including large print), ebook, and audiobook—narrated by Mark himself—this memoir has earned glowing reviews, sixteen literary awards, and the hearts of readers worldwide.

Buy on Amazon More Info & Excerpts

Connect with Rosabel & Keep the Stories Coming

I’m Rosabel Zohfeld, host of The Life Unscripted Podcast. If you enjoyed Mark’s journey, you’ll love our other unscripted conversations. Let’s stay in touch:

Subscribe on YouTube Visit my blog Visit my website Follow on Instagram Follow on Facebook

And if you haven’t yet, please check out my own memoir, The Courage to Succeed: A True American Dream, available on Amazon. Your support—through subscribes, reviews, and shares—means the world to me!

 

How Amber Briggle Turned Near-Collapse into a $1.2 Million Wellness Empire

If you ever wondered how to transform personal and professional devastation into thriving success, today’s guest story is for you. Amber Briggle, originally a single-clinic massage therapist, weathered the upheaval of the COVID-19 shutdown and came back not just stronger—but exponentially larger—building a business that now grosses over $1.2 million annually. Here’s how she did it, and how you can apply these lessons to your own journey.

From “Happy Accident” to Industry Leader

Amber never set out to be a massage-therapy mogul—it was pure serendipity. After graduating college with no clear career path, she discovered a top massage school just three miles from her home in Boulder, Colorado, and decided to enroll on a whim. A year later, she graduated with honors—and a new calling. Over the next decade and a half, she built Soma Massage Therapy into a two-location, 13-therapist practice—even before the pandemic struck.

The Pandemic Pivot: Reinvention Under Pressure

When state mandates forced her to close for two months in March 2020, Amber found herself with one location and only four therapists—a fraction of her pre-COVID capacity. Faced with dwindling revenue, staff departures, and hesitant clients, she could have thrown in the towel. Instead, she:

• Reinvested in her vision by scouting a beautiful new studio near downtown.
• Hired purpose-driven team members who believed in her North Star, shedding the “dead weight” who didn’t share her mission.
• Focused on culture, ensuring every therapist felt supported in a non-toxic, uplifting environment.

One year to the day after her shutdown, Soma reopened with twice as many treatment rooms, a staff of 25 therapists, and a clear path toward franchising.

Key Lessons for Entrepreneurs

1. Just start. You don’t need all the answers—take small steps, build momentum, and learn as you go.
2. Surround yourself with believers. Cut ties with anyone who undermines your vision; your tribe should lift you up.
3. Self-care isn’t selfish. “Self-care is how you get your power back,” Amber reminds us. Tend to your well-being to fuel your leadership.
4. Stay laser-focused on your North Star. Let your passion and purpose guide every decision—ignore the noise.
5. Scale smart through franchising. Empower others to grow your brand, rather than overextending yourself.

Take the Next Step

👤 Connect with Amber Briggle
Learn about Soma Massage Therapy’s nationwide franchise opportunities:
mysomamassage.com

🌟 Connect with Me, Rosabel Zohfeld
Visit my website for more stories and resources:
www.rosabelzohfeld.com
Subscribe on YouTube and hit the 🔔

 

When Life Hands You Hardship, Write a Novel

On a warm afternoon in our Texas studio, host Rosabel Zohfeld recorded a podcast session       with award-winning author S.M. Stevens to explore how two life-altering health crises—a shattered pelvis and ovarian cancer—became the unlikely spark for a flourishing fiction career.

From Crash to Creativity

In 2009, Susan Stevens was thrown from her horse and suffered multiple pelvic fractures. “I was couch-bound,” she recalls, “with three dogs, two daughters, and a full-time marketing career. I thought I’d lose my mind if I didn’t try something new.” That “something” was her first children’s book—and the beginning of her fiction journey.

One year later, chemotherapy and surgery for ovarian cancer again put her at a standstill. Armed with a laptop and an infusion IV, she penned a middle-grade novel about a teen drama club. “I don’t recommend it,” Susan laughs, “but it worked for me!”

Beautiful and Terrible Things

Susan’s newest novel, Beautiful and Terrible Things, has won seven awards—including Best Literary Book of 2024—and tackles mental health, immigration, racism, and the bonds of friendship. Six diverse friends (Colombian-American, Filipino-American, non-binary pansexual, and more) navigate life’s big questions on the cusp of 30.

To ensure authentic voices, Susan enlisted sensitivity readers: “They helped me portray characters I’m not—and made the story resonate.”

Marketing Meets Storytelling

With decades in PR & marketing—and interviews on CNN and in the Wall Street Journal—Susan knows how to champion her work. “Every author wears two hats: creator and promoter,” she says. Her marketing savvy helps her stand out in today’s crowded book market.

What’s Next?

Susan is shopping her next adult-contemporary novel, The Unraveling of Carol Dunn, and co-authoring a true-crime memoir about a young survivor who later married her detective.

---

Connect & Discover More

Visit S.M. Stevens Visit Rosabel Zohfeld

Grab the Books

Beautiful and Terrible Things  |  The Courage to Succeed Through American Dream

Stay Connected & Subscribed

▶ Subscribe to The Life Unscripted Podcast with Rosabel
▶ Follow me on social for BTS, giveaways & more!

Self-Care & Resilience Journey with Amanda Bearce

 

Self-Care & Resilience Journey with Amanda Bearce

In a world that constantly urges us to hustle harder, taking a step back to nurture our own well-being can feel impossible. In a recent episode of the Life Unscripted Podcast, I sat down with board-certified health and wellness coach Amanda Bearce, founder of Simply Wellness with Amanda, to explore her personal journey from chronic anxiety and corporate burnout to a life grounded in calm, resilience, and self-care.

Finding Your Inner Calm

Amanda’s story began with a lightbulb moment. After years of dreading Sunday evenings and battling constant stomach aches—later understood to be anxiety—she discovered health and wellness coaching almost by accident. What she thought was simply about nutrition and exercise evolved into a holistic practice centered on slowing down, tuning in, and truly caring for ourselves.

Embracing Self-Care Snacks

One of Amanda’s signature practices is what she calls self-care snacks—small, easy-to-implement actions you can weave into any day. Rather than waiting for the perfect chunk of time, you can:

• Savor your shower: Take three extra minutes, put your phone out of sight, and truly experience the scent and feel of your body wash.
• Check in between tasks: Pause before opening your email—drink a glass of water, take a few deep breaths, or step outside for sunlight and fresh air.
• Brain dump: When your mind races with to-dos, spend three minutes writing everything down so you can let your brain rest and focus on one thing at a time.

Building Resilience Through Intentional Practice

Resilience isn’t about avoiding hard times—it’s about showing up even when everything feels overwhelming. Amanda shares a powerful example: after skipping her usual self-care routines during a busy week, she hit a wall of stress and realized that those very practices were her lifeline. Instead of dropping them, she doubled down—using them as anchors in turbulent times.

Establishing Healthy Boundaries

Boundaries are the framework that allow self-care to flourish. For listeners feeling stuck, Amanda advises:

1. Start small: You don’t need to overhaul your life overnight. Pick one tiny change—maybe a five-minute breathing break—and hold yourself to it.
2. Notice the impact: Track how that small change affects your energy, mood, and focus.
3. Learn to say no: Identify commitments or habits that drain your emotional battery and start declining or delegating them.

Key Takeaway

You don’t have to do it all at once. Small, consistent, intentional changes lead to lasting transformation. If you neglect yourself now, imagine where you’ll be in five years. Make you the priority—your life depends on it.

Connect with Amanda Bearce Connect with Me Buy My Book