The Life Actually Podcast
Life doesn't always go according to plan. Scratch that--life pretty much never goes according to plan. And that's okay! That's what makes it interesting. There's the way you thought your life would go and then there's your life, actually. This is where we celebrate the "actually", as Laura Behnke talks with women from all different backgrounds and perspectives about their own unique life paths. We're tossing out societal norms and redefining what it means to be a happy and successful woman right now, one story at a time.
Episodes
43 episodes
A Spiritual Awakening With Jamilah Lang
Jamilah Lang knows what it's like to struggle. She understands working so hard for something you want so badly and still having it not work out in the way you expect. But that struggle is all part of her story. It's a huge rea...
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Episode 43
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1:11:04
An Untraditional Order With Amanda Greenspan-D'Souza
It didn't take Amanda Greenspan-D'Souza long to realize her now-husband was "the one" when they first met. She expected them to get married and start a life together at some point. What she didn't expect was how quickly that point would arrive....
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Episode 42
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1:03:51
Loving Your Life & Yourself With Elizabeth DiAlto
Elizabeth DiAlto is all about telling it like it is. Because when we have a deeper connection to ourselves through embodied living and self liberation, well, we have the tools needed to help us through the difficult times. But Elizabeth never p...
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Episode 41
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1:02:19
Letting Your Heart Lead With Tiffany Paul
On paper Tiffany Paul was living her own definition of success. Happily married, a mom of two, and working her way up the corporate ladder over a 10-year career at Proctor & Gamble. But what that on-paper success didn't show was the struggl...
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Episode 40
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57:51
Self Love Activism With Femi Olafioye-Omogbehin
For as long as she can remember Femi Olafioye-Omogbehin wanted to be in a relationship. In fact, the rest of the details of her plan were pretty fuzzy. Because the real expectation was to fall into her husband's plan. But as she grew up, Femi r...
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Episode 39
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1:08:39
Finding Strength Over Pain With Gigi Robinson
Gigi Robinson's life changed in ways she never could have expected at the age of 11 when she was diagnosed with a chronic illness. It altered not only her childhood but also her dreams for the future. Now just 23, this New York City-based...
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Episode 38
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52:19
After It All Falls Apart With Ruth Chan
What do you do when you're 32 and find everything you've spent your life working toward just disappear before your eyes? This was Ruth Chan's reality when she found herself getting a divorce at the same time that she lost her job. For a while s...
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Episode 37
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57:09
An Unexpected Life With Jody Day
There are so many topics and life experiences for women that have been silenced by society, including being childless not by choice. Which is something Jody Day is on a mission to change. As the founder of Gateway Women, a global friendship and...
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Episode 36
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1:08:00
Single IS Amazing With Debbi Rice
Ever since she was young Debbi Rice wanted one thing in her life--to be single. Okay, maybe two things--to be single AND amazing. What she didn't expect were the societal pressures, especially from her church, that would push her toward marriag...
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Episode 35
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1:09:08
Never Too Late With Winn Clark
Getting married, having kids and achieving professional success. That is exactly how Winn Clark expected her life to go. The professional success? She had that covered. But a husband and family? That was a lot more...
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Episode 34
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1:00:49
A Journey Toward Fearlessness With Paola Rosser
For years Paola Rosser was punishing herself for her traumatic and abusive childhood. She knew she wanted a better life but she didn't know how to make that happen. After years of falling into the same patterns, Paola realized her fate was in h...
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Episode 33
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1:15:22
Creating Space For Change With Cat Cantrill
Cat Cantrill didn't really have a plan for how she wanted her life to go, but she did have a very strong idea about how her life should go. As a result, she found herself married at 22 even though she had doubts about the relationship ...
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Episode 32
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1:12:47
Reinvention At Any Age With Sandra Rodriguez Bicknell
Sandra Rodriguez Bicknell has found her purpose. And it all began when she finally shared her voice through her bestselling memoir, Cuts of a Diamond. Now she works with others to help them do the same through their own writing. Sandra knows th...
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Episode 31
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56:36
The Desires On Your Heart With Alexa Cawley
Alexa Cawley didn't know exactly how her life would go but she did expect a couple of things: she'd be married and have kids. Now in her early 30s she's realized that may not go according to plan. At least not on her original timeline!&nb...
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Episode 30
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54:16
The Things We Celebrate With Lisa Cleary
There are certain things we openly celebrate in a woman's life, like engagements, getting married, having kids and getting that promotion. But what about everything else? Lisa Cleary knows all about what she calls the "toxic milestone mentality...
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Episode 29
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1:07:13
Solo Episode: Our Pregnancy Story
It has been a long journey, but in this solo episode Laura tells her pregnancy story. She and her husband Marc and so thrilled to be welcoming a baby in December, 2021, but getting to this point has not been easy. From dealing with a rare genet...
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Episode 28
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1:20:29
Discovering Yourself With Laura Friedman Williams
For 27 years Laura Friedman Williams thought she was living out her happy ending. She'd been in a loving relationship with her husband for nearly three decades and had three beautiful kids as a result. It was everything she had planned for. The...
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Episode 27
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1:05:20
No Ordinary Life With Francesca Hogi
Francesca Hogi has never really had a plan. In fact, she still doesn't! Her main goal has always been to not live an ordinary life. Turns out, that hasn't been a problem. Francesca has been a corporate lawyer, worked in Hollywood, gone ba...
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Episode 26
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1:06:50
Doing It Your Way With Hillary Seiler
Hillary Seiler never wanted to be a person who just checked off a box because that's what someone else told her she was supposed to do. No, Hillary refuses to settle, not only in relationships but in every aspect of her life. Her perspective on...
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Episode 25
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54:44
Everything To Fight For With Ceta Walters
Ceta Walters's plan didn't exactly go the way she expected but the end result was the same: a great job, a husband, and two beautiful kids. But that's where much of her story begins. Because in the span of just a few months in 2019 ...
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Episode 24
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1:00:00
An Unexpected Journey With Laurie Hellmann
Laurie Hellmann is a planner. So, she thought she had her life all figured out. Until she didn't. Like most parents, Laurie had big expectations for children and their futures. Then her son was diagnosed with severe non-...
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Episode 23
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57:06
Creating Intentional Purpose With Marissa Lee
Marissa Lee knows that even the best laid plans often don't go the way we expect. From graduating from college without a job, to working abroad, to starting a business, to not being married with a family when she expected, Marissa's story...
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Episode 22
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57:10
An Untraditional Plan With Mara Krausz
We all know that even the best laid plans have a habit of totally changing. But what about when you don't even have a plan? Mara Krausz says, no problem! This book and television writer has definitely followed her own path with her own pl...
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Episode 21
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52:59
The Purpose Of Influence With Lissette Calveiro
What does it mean to have influence? For Lissette Calveiro it goes far beyond the perfectly curated social media feeds and performative attempts at perfection. This self-proclaimed recovering perfectionist learned that the hard way....
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Episode 20
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54:43
Planning For Change With Stephanie Feger
Stephanie Feger had a plan. She would get married, start a family, and work her way up in the corporate PR world. What she would begin to realize is that making a plan is often futile. She may have gotten married but then she and her husband lo...
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Episode 19
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59:41