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Joy Found Here

Joy Found Here

By: stephanie martinez rivera
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Welcome to the Joy Found Here podcast, hosted by Stephanie Martinez Rivera. Join us each week while we have real talk with inspiring women about life,balance, grace and permission to step off the ride. Listen in as we hear their stories, victories and fails and how to recognize and embrace the simple joy that life does offer.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

stephanie martinez rivera Hygiene & Healthy Living Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Relationships Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Unbecoming Everything You Were Told to Be — with Hema Crockett

    Unbecoming Everything You Were Told to Be — with Hema Crockett
    Mar 17 2026

    What happens when a high-achieving woman checks every box society handed her — only to realize none of it was truly hers? In episode 252 of Joy Found Here, Recalibrate Coaching founder Hema Crockett shares the deeply personal moment that cracked everything open and led her to ask, for the very first time: what do I actually want?


    In This Episode, You Will Learn:

    (01:52) Meet Hema: coach and "recovered HR executive"

    (04:45) Growing up between East and West

    (06:09) Nearly 20 years in the corporate grind

    (07:03) The turning point: living in Kathmandu, Nepal

    (10:14) The IVF journey that changed everything

    (13:00) How "what do I want?" became Recalibrate Coaching

    (18:10) Introducing the Disrupting Default podcast

    (21:51) Why awareness, once gained, can't be undone

    (27:10) Inside the Recalibrate process: digging, the void, building

    (33:23) Recalibration as a lifelong practice


    Hema Crockett grew up as the daughter of Indian immigrants in Arizona, straddling Eastern traditions and Western culture — conditioning she didn't recognize until much later. After nearly 20 years as a corporate HR executive in tech and biotech startups, she had the corner office, the stock options, and the title, but felt completely disconnected. The breaking point came during IVF, when she realized mid-transfer that she didn't want children — and her husband, waiting in the car, felt exactly the same. That moment of radical honesty sent her on a years-long journey of unraveling everything she'd been told to want.


    In this episode, Hema walks Stephanie through the philosophy behind her coaching practice, Recalibrate, where she works one-on-one with high-achieving women in midlife who have "made it" by every measure but feel unfulfilled. She shares her process of guiding clients from discovery to a conscious "choice point," then into intentionally building a life rooted in desire rather than expectation — no quitting required, just micro-shifts in awareness. She also introduces her new podcast, Disrupting Default, co-hosted with her retired Marine husband, which challenges the everyday autopilot habits we never stop to question.


    Connect with Hema Crockett:

    Website

    Instagram

    YouTube

    LinkedIn

    Podcast: Disrupting Default


    Let's Connect:

    Website

    Instagram

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    43 mins
  • The Toxic Boss Playbook: Kate Lowry on How to Read, Predict & Outlast Them

    The Toxic Boss Playbook: Kate Lowry on How to Read, Predict & Outlast Them
    Mar 10 2026
    What if the most powerful weapon against a toxic boss isn't quitting — it's understanding exactly how they think? In episode 251 of Joy Found Here, CEO coach and venture capitalist Kate Lowry reveals why fear-based leadership is making a sweeping comeback, and why so many high-achievers are blindsided by it. Drawing on her own journey from a controlling household to the corridors of Silicon Valley, Kate brings her book Unbreakable: How to Thrive Under Fear-Based Leaders to life with a toolkit that turns powerlessness into strategy.In This Episode, You Will Learn:(03:59) How a Silicon Valley sea change sparked Unbreakable(06:32) Why Kate's childhood became her greatest career advantage(08:39) Why top-down leadership is suddenly back in vogue(11:36) Inside the mind of a fear-based leader(15:17) What to do when your new boss isn't who showed up to the interview(18:30) Red flags, buzzwords, and questions that make a toxic culture hard to hide(21:47) Why fear chokes innovation — and the hidden cost to companies(28:50) How to protect your energy, predict their moves, and run circles around them(33:30) Why identity is your greatest armour — and how to build it(36:59) The decade outlook — and why attention and availability are your greatest leverageKate Lowry is a Silicon Valley-based CEO coach, venture capitalist, and author with over 15 years of experience across startups, private equity, and big tech — including stints at McKinsey, Meta, and Insight Partners. Founder of coaching firm Scaleheart Co., she specialises in empowering mission-driven founders and has become one of the leading voices on fear-based leadership in the modern workplace. Her expertise was forged first-hand — navigating a controlling household, then eight fear-based bosses across some of the world's most high-pressure industries — and is now distilled into her book, Unbreakable: How to Thrive Under Fear-Based Leaders. When she's not coaching CEOs, you'll find her writing comedy, making music, and cuddling her service dog, Annie.Kate unpacks why fear-based leadership — top-down, my-way-or-the-highway management — is surging back into vogue and why it's hitting today's workforce particularly hard. She reveals that these leaders are fundamentally driven by deep insecurity, and because of that, far more predictable than they appear. Kate offers listeners a practical toolkit for navigating these environments: build a diverse sense of identity so no job title can topple your self-worth; protect your energy; control what information you share; and use your attention and availability as quiet forms of leverage. She also shares sharp red-flag advice for spotting a toxic culture before you even accept the role — and closes with a sobering outlook: this trend isn't going anywhere for the next five to ten years, making these skills not just helpful, but essential.Connect with Kate Lowry:WebsiteInstagramSubstackGet coaching/advising from Kate!Book: Kate Lowry - Unbreakable: How to Thrive Under Fear-Based LeadersLet's Connect:WebsiteInstagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    49 mins
  • Pay Attention to Your Attention: Emily Florence's Roadmap to a Happier Life

    Pay Attention to Your Attention: Emily Florence's Roadmap to a Happier Life
    Mar 3 2026

    What if the secret to a happier life wasn't about doing more — but paying closer attention to what's already pulling you forward? In episode 250 of Joy Found Here, author and entrepreneur Emily Florence returns to share why choosing joy is less about grand gestures and more about small, intentional daily decisions. From dropping out of law school after four days to building a life entirely on her own terms, her story is a masterclass in trusting yourself — and Even Better: Easier Ways to a Happier Life is the roadmap she wishes she'd had all along.


    In This Episode, You Will Learn:

    (04:38) The four-day law school exit that changed everything

    (09:20) Why "safe" choices aren't always the right ones

    (10:33) From gallery walls to Beverly Hills: journalism, PR, and American Idol

    (13:19) Learning to trust intuition even when the path isn't clear

    (15:44) Why happiness is a decision, not a feeling

    (20:08) Letting go of heavy thoughts — and what to replace them with

    (24:28) Staying grounded when the world feels overwhelming

    (28:31) The story behind Even Better's 101 bite-sized lessons

    (35:32) Social media, dopamine, and why boundaries are non-negotiable

    (40:18) The simple five-thing evening ritual that builds lasting joy


    Emily Florence is a bestselling author, award-winning writer, and entrepreneur who believes life gets better when we stop being so hard on ourselves and start choosing joy with intention. A former Beverly Hills PR strategist who worked on American Idol and Gilmore Girls, she holds a Master's in Broadcast Journalism from Emerson College, is a certified life purpose and career coach, and founder of Everyday Happy — honoured as a Forbes Top 100 Website for Women. Her book Even Better: Easier Ways to a Happier Life was named the Feel-Good Book of 2024 by Yahoo Finance.


    Emily opens with the moment that shaped everything: dropping out of law school after just four days at 22, choosing how she felt over what people thought — the seed of all she now teaches. She unpacks why happiness isn't a destination but a series of daily micro-choices, and introduces the practice of "paying attention to your attention" — noticing what leaves you feeling better or worse and deliberately choosing more of what lifts you. She also speaks to staying grounded in a noisy world through mindful media consumption, daily meditation, and a simple evening ritual of writing down five things you're grateful for or accomplished. The episode closes with exciting news: the audiobook for Even Better drops February 26, 2026.


    Connect with Emily Florence:

    Website

    Substack

    Instagram

    Book: Emily Florence - Even Better

    Get Emily’s free workshop & guide!


    Let's Connect:

    Website

    Instagram

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show more Show less
    48 mins
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