French Kissing Life

Shawnna Stiver
  • 5.0 (52)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Weekly

If you were free to be who you really are deep down and who you were always meant to be, what would your life look like? What does it mean to have a zest for life? Can you *really* invite more joy into your everyday living through doable steps that don’t take a lot of time? Yes, yes, and more yes!  French Kissing Life is an inspirational podcast that guides you toward finding your spark and unleashing it into the world. If you’ve been yearning to celebrate your unique presence and fall in love with who you truly are, then you’ve found your tribe. If you believe the world needs what only you can offer, this community will be your biggest cheerleader. Picture this podcast as your weekly dose of encouragement – a sanctuary where you can escape the noise of the world and embrace the beauty of your own existence.From skinny dipping in Portugal to auctioning herself off for a date and testing whether a slinky will go down an ancient pyramid, host Shawnna Stiver knows a thing or two about going for it and the hilarious stories that await. Through heartfelt, playful and funny conversations, Shawnna helps you discover what makes your heart race, your soul dance and your spirit soar. You’ll also hear from guest experts who share insights on how to navigate the journey of self-discovery and invite the world to come alive alongside you.  In a world that demands you be anything but yourself, this is your permission slip to be a little more YOU. Together, we’ll make every moment count and create a life that feels as good on the inside as it looks on the outside. If you’re ready to shed the shoulds and welcome in a life that feels uniquely, beautifully, and authentically yours, subscribe now and let’s make every episode a celebration of YOU! Buckle up for an adventure where realness reigns, inspiration thrives and fun is the name of the game. Are you ready to french kiss life?!

  1. 5d ago

    Ep 142: The Episode I Never Wanted to Record

    I’m pausing French Kissing Life, and I’ve never been particularly good at endings. Even as a little girl, finishing a really good book made me sad. Saying goodbye to a chapter that has brought me this much joy is one of the hardest ones yet. Over the past several months, life has been throwing a lot at me. I don’t mean the occasional bad day or stressful week. It’s been the kind of stretch where every time I get my footing, something else happens. There have been health concerns, financial uncertainty, and family emergencies, and I finally had to acknowledge that something needed to give. I’m not stepping away because I’ve stopped loving this podcast. If anything, it’s the opposite, and that’s what makes this so hard. In this episode, I share what’s been happening, what this pause means for the show, and what I’ve been realizing about what it actually means to French kiss life when life gets hard. Topics Covered: Why endings have always been hard for me, from a favorite book to New Year’s Eve.The stretch of health, financial, and family challenges behind this decision.How an old childhood fear resurfaced in a very grown-up season of my life.What I’ll be relieved to set down and what I’m going to miss terribly.Anticipatory nostalgia and feeling joy and sadness at the same time.Rethinking what embracing life looks like when circumstances say slow down.What happens to the show now, and the 140+ episodes still waiting in the archive.A thank you to every guest and listener who made this little podcast what it is.______________________ Contact French Kissing Life Podcast DM us at @shawnnarstiver on Instagram or FacebookConnect with Shawnna Stiver on LinkedInEmail us at frenchkissinglifepodcast@gmail.com  Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/shawnnastiver Until next time, muah!  ______________________ French Kissing Life is sponsored by Ampersand Copy and Content. Ready to convert browsers into buyers? If you want to master your messaging, stand out in a saturated market and become a crushed-on, go-to brand, contact us today! Website: https://ampersandcopyandcontent.com/ Email: shawnna@ampersandcopyandcontent.com

  2. Oct 13

    Ep 141: Stop Believing the Biggest Lie You Tell Yourself | Sara Torpey

    What if “I’m just not that kind of person” is one of the biggest lies we tell ourselves? Sara Torpey is the creator of the Uncomplicating Business Lab and Selling for Weirdos, where she helps teachers, helpers, and givers make business and selling a whole lot simpler. But Sara’s philosophy applies to so much more than business, because we humans are remarkably talented at making things complicated. We decide we’re bad with money, or not a salesperson, or simply not the kind of person who does certain things. Sara has a phrase for what’s really going on there, and it’s the one line I’d want everyone to walk away with. We talk about the planning cave, why sometimes we have to stop researching and preparing and just pick up the pencil, and why selling is something all of us do, whether we’re asking someone to buy something, take a chance on us, consider our idea, or come to our party. As an extra bonus, Sara’s dog makes an early appearance sprawled belly up on the couch, demonstrating that perhaps the rest of us could stand to be just a tiny bit more unbothered. For anyone who has ever said “I’m just not good at that,” or made something approximately 47 steps more complicated than it probably needed to be, this one’s for us. Topics Covered: What a cave with fur rugs, cozy fires, and hot chocolate has to do with never getting started.The sticky note on Sara’s board that decides when she’s learned enough.Why selling shows up everywhere, from eighth grade math class to the grocery store chicken nugget debate.Throwing a party as a surprisingly useful way to think about invitations and RSVPs.The six-sided die Sara keeps on her desk for the moments when no feels personal.Joyful weirdness, prime number pricing, and how we legislate the fun out of our lives trying to do things the right way.Belonging as a choice, and what it takes to build community as an adult.The little bell that rings when something is more complicated than it needs to be.Connect with Sara! Website: https://www.torpeycoaching.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saratorpey/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saractorpey TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@uncomplicatesuccesswsara Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sara.torpey YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UNcomplicatingBusiness ______________________ Contact French Kissing Life Podcast DM us at @shawnnarstiver on Instagram or FacebookConnect with Shawnna Stiver on LinkedInEmail us at frenchkissinglifepodcast@gmail.com  Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/shawnnastiver Until next time, muah!  ______________________ French Kissing Life is sponsored by Ampersand Copy and Content. Ready to convert browsers into buyers? If you want to master your messaging, stand out in a saturated market and become a crushed-on, go-to brand, contact us today! Website: https://ampersandcopyandcontent.com/ Email: shawnna@ampersandcopyandcontent.com

  3. Oct 6

    Ep 140: How One Cup of Coffee Changed Her Social Life | Natalie Lozano Trimble

    It started with free coffee on a Monday morning. A friend invited Natalie Lozano Trimble to the opening week of a new coffee shop in Fort Worth, the kind with no to-go cups because the whole point is to sit down and talk. She ended up at a medium-sized table with six women, three of them strangers, plus her five-year-old. Somebody said, "We should try this again." That was February 2020, and more than six years later, they still meet on Thursday mornings. Natalie is a freelance writer and co-host of the Awkward Moments podcast, and she's honest about how awkward adult friendship can feel, including how awkward she feels inside it. We talk about what carried this group through a pandemic, new babies, two moves, and one very bad morning in February, and why she thinks the answer might be simpler than we expect. Topics Covered: The community-first coffee shop that started it all.What happened after someone said, "We should try this again".Keeping a weekly coffee date alive through COVID, virtual mornings, and a fenced-in patio full of kids.The morning Natalie broke both ankles and what her friends did next.Why she's a little wary of people who seem "too nice".Crying at the coffee table and sharing the things nobody posts online.How a running joke about awkward moments turned into a podcast.Making the first move as an adult, and the email she worried made her look desperate.Connect with Natalie! LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natawriter/ ______________________ Contact French Kissing Life Podcast DM us at @shawnnarstiver on Instagram or FacebookConnect with Shawnna Stiver on LinkedInEmail us at frenchkissinglifepodcast@gmail.com  Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/shawnnastiver Until next time, muah!  ______________________ French Kissing Life is sponsored by Ampersand Copy and Content. Ready to convert browsers into buyers? If you want to master your messaging, stand out in a saturated market and become a crushed-on, go-to brand, contact us today! Website: https://ampersandcopyandcontent.com/ Email: shawnna@ampersandcopyandcontent.com

  4. Sep 22

    Ep 139: The Real Reason You Keep Avoiding the Things You Want | Evangeline Garreau

    Before we call ourselves procrastinators, maybe we should ask what we're actually avoiding. When something matters to us, and we still can't move on it, it's easy to decide the problem is us. Evangeline Garreau sees it differently. She's a creative project coach who helps artists of all kinds bring the things they imagine into reality, and she doesn't start with discipline or time management. She starts with what she calls the thing under the thing: the fear, shame, or need hiding beneath whatever we've been avoiding. We talk about how to tell the difference between fear and genuinely not wanting something anymore, and why our bodies may recognize what's holding us back before our brains do. Maybe the way forward starts with getting curious about why some part of us doesn't want to move in the first place. TOPICS COVERED The sneaky ways avoidance shows up, including the one that sounds most reasonable.How to tell the difference between fear and genuinely not wanting something anymore.Why the body may know what's holding us back before the brain does.How ridiculously small goals can get us further than ambitious ones.Evangeline's unconventional path to creating her own dream job.What being fired and laid off taught us about work and identity.What a sustainable, humane creative practice actually asks of us.Connect with Evangeline! Website: https://www.evangelinegarreau.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evangelinegarreau/ ______________________ Contact French Kissing Life Podcast DM us at @shawnnarstiver on Instagram or FacebookConnect with Shawnna Stiver on LinkedInEmail us at frenchkissinglifepodcast@gmail.com  Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/shawnnastiver Until next time, muah!  ______________________ French Kissing Life is sponsored by Ampersand Copy and Content. Ready to convert browsers into buyers? If you want to master your messaging, stand out in a saturated market and become a crushed-on, go-to brand, contact us today! Website: https://ampersandcopyandcontent.com/ Email: shawnna@ampersandcopyandcontent.com

  5. Sep 15

    Ep 138: How to Live Your Favorite Life, Not Your Best Life | Chloe Markham

    What if remembering that we're going to die could actually make us better at living? Chloe Markham calls herself a philosopher of joy, and she's fascinated by what it means to live a genuinely enjoyable life in a culture built to measure, optimize, and improve every part of being human. This conversation gets into why mortality might make joy feel more urgent instead of less, and why calm can start to feel unfamiliar once stress becomes the thing we know best. We also talk about the autopilot most of us are running on without noticing, what it actually takes to reconnect with what our bodies are telling us, and the difference between real growth and treating ourselves like a project that's never quite finished. And somewhere in there, we land on a much simpler question than the one we usually ask: what if instead of building our best life, we started living our favorite one? TOPICS COVERED Why mortality might make joy feel more urgent, not more morbid.How stress becomes such a familiar baseline that calm starts to feel unfamiliar instead of restful.The sensory practices used to interrupt autopilot.Why movement might need to come before meditation, not after.The safety wrapped up in overworking, and where that pattern can trace back to.The difference between real growth and treating ourselves like an unfinished improvement project.What it looks like to treat friction as a signal instead of pushing through it.Mentioned in this episode: Ikigai (生き甲斐), pronounced ee-kee-guy. Roughly translates to "a reason for being." It's the Japanese concept of what makes life worth getting up for each day, the intersection of what you love, what you're good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for. In everyday Japanese use it's simpler than that: it's just whatever gives your life meaning or purpose, big or small. Connect with Chloe! Website: https://www.chloemarkham.co.uk/ Substack: https://chloemarkham.substack.com/ ______________________ Contact French Kissing Life Podcast DM us at @shawnnarstiver on Instagram or FacebookConnect with Shawnna Stiver on LinkedInEmail us at frenchkissinglifepodcast@gmail.com  Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/shawnnastiver Until next time, muah!  ______________________ French Kissing Life is sponsored by Ampersand Copy and Content. Ready to convert browsers into buyers? If you want to master your messaging, stand out in a saturated market and become a crushed-on, go-to brand, contact us today! Website: https://ampersandcopyandcontent.com/ Email: shawnna@ampersandcopyandcontent.com

  6. Sep 8

    Ep 137: The Superpower You’ve Been Using Against Yourself | Sarah Bush

    What if imagination isn't something we lose when we grow up, but one of the most powerful tools we have for changing our lives? My guest today is Sarah Bush, a mixed media artist, writer, and creative activist who believes imagination is our greatest human superpower. Sarah and I talk about why so many adults lose touch with their imaginations, and get personal about perfectionism, burnout, and learning to trust ourselves. This conversation is about staying open, loosening our grip on certainty, and remembering that sometimes the way forward begins with allowing ourselves to imagine that another way is possible. Topics Covered: Why so many adults lose touch with their imagination as they grow up.The real difference between artistic skill and creativity.Why the messy middle of the creative process feels so uncomfortable, and why it's worth staying in it.How worry might actually be an overactive imagination pointed in the wrong direction.Protecting our imagination from being hijacked by fear and outside narratives.Letting go of perfectionism without letting go of high standards.Trusting ourselves enough to stay in ambiguity instead of rushing past possibility.What becomes possible, personally and collectively, when we actually use our imagination.Connect with Sarah! Website: https://www.sarahbushartworks.com/ Substack: https://substack.com/@sarahbush ______________________ Contact French Kissing Life Podcast DM us at @shawnnarstiver on Instagram or FacebookConnect with Shawnna Stiver on LinkedInEmail us at frenchkissinglifepodcast@gmail.com  Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/shawnnastiver Until next time, muah!  ______________________ French Kissing Life is sponsored by Ampersand Copy and Content. Ready to convert browsers into buyers? If you want to master your messaging, stand out in a saturated market and become a crushed-on, go-to brand, contact us today! Website: https://ampersandcopyandcontent.com/ Email: shawnna@ampersandcopyandcontent.com

  7. Sep 1

    Ep 136: This Country Agrees on Almost Nothing. We Agree on Her. | What I'm Loving This Month

    Coruscating. It's the only word big enough for today. NASA used it in an Instagram tribute to Dolly Parton, and it stopped the scroll completely. It means flashing brightly, sparkling, showing brilliant cleverness, and there's no better word for a woman who never did anything quietly. This episode was supposed to be a true crime deep dive. Then Dolly Parton died, and everything else had to wait. What follows is a love letter: the stories, the quotes that make you laugh and then immediately tear up, and the evidence of a woman who figured out how to live in a way most of us are still trying to crack. She was French Kissing Life in human form, rhinestones and all. Topics Covered: Why NASA's use of the word "coruscating" sparked this entire tribute episode.The plus-65 favorability rating that made Dolly a rarity in American public life.Her one-room childhood in the Smoky Mountains and the woman in town who inspired her signature look.Turning down Elvis, crying all night, and what happened when Whitney Houston recorded "I Will Always Love You".How the Imagination Library grew from one Tennessee county to five countries and over 325 million books mailed.The Gatlinburg wildfire fund and how fast she moved to help families rebuild.The quiet million-dollar donation to Vanderbilt that helped fund the Moderna vaccine.Brandi Carlile's tribute and the real story behind the song that became her own farewell.______________________ Contact French Kissing Life Podcast DM us at @shawnnarstiver on Instagram or FacebookConnect with Shawnna Stiver on LinkedInEmail us at frenchkissinglifepodcast@gmail.com  Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/shawnnastiver Until next time, muah!  ______________________ French Kissing Life is sponsored by Ampersand Copy and Content. Ready to convert browsers into buyers? If you want to master your messaging, stand out in a saturated market and become a crushed-on, go-to brand, contact us today! Website: https://ampersandcopyandcontent.com/ Email: shawnna@ampersandcopyandcontent.com

  8. Aug 25

    Ep 135: Who Are You When You're Not Being Productive? | Abbey Harlow

    Unstructured time is something most of us have gotten pretty uncomfortable with. My guest today has deliberately built her own life around it, not as another productivity hack, but as a space to think, wander, get bored, follow an idea, or simply do something without needing it to accomplish anything. Abbey Harlow is a nonprofit strategist and facilitator who works with small and rural organizations, helping overstretched teams move from survival mode toward more clarity and sustainability. She works a maximum of fifteen hours a week and intentionally leaves large chunks of her life with absolutely nothing scheduled. In this conversation, we talk about why doing nothing can feel so uncomfortable, what chronic busyness does to our brains, the difference between individual and systemic burnout, why the best ideas rarely arrive when we're trying to force them, and the underrated art of slow puttering. We also get into a bigger question: if so much of our identity and worth has become tied to what we produce, what might we discover about ourselves if we stop trying to make every minute useful. Topics Covered: Why unstructured time isn't the same thing as an empty calendar.The years-long path from a late ADHD diagnosis to building a fifteen-hour work week.Why stillness and boredom get read as falling behind.The real difference between individual burnout and systemic burnout.Why the best business ideas tend to show up in the car or on a walk, never at the desk.What slow puttering actually looks like, from folding laundry to wandering TJ Maxx on a Wednesday afternoon.Small ways to reclaim pockets of unstructured time without redesigning an entire life.Connect with Abbey! Website: http://www.harlownonprofitconsulting.com Rural Nonprofit Leader Summit: https://www.harlownonprofitconsulting.com/rural-nonprofit-leader-summit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harlownonprofitconsulting/ ______________________ Contact French Kissing Life Podcast DM us at @shawnnarstiver on Instagram or FacebookConnect with Shawnna Stiver on LinkedInEmail us at frenchkissinglifepodcast@gmail.com  Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/shawnnastiver Until next time, muah!  ______________________ French Kissing Life is sponsored by Ampersand Copy and Content. Ready to convert browsers into buyers? If you want to master your messaging, stand out in a saturated market and become a crushed-on, go-to brand, contact us today! Website: https://ampersandcopyandcontent.com/ Email: shawnna@ampersandcopyandcontent.com

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Trailer

5
out of 5
52 Ratings

About

If you were free to be who you really are deep down and who you were always meant to be, what would your life look like? What does it mean to have a zest for life? Can you *really* invite more joy into your everyday living through doable steps that don’t take a lot of time? Yes, yes, and more yes!  French Kissing Life is an inspirational podcast that guides you toward finding your spark and unleashing it into the world. If you’ve been yearning to celebrate your unique presence and fall in love with who you truly are, then you’ve found your tribe. If you believe the world needs what only you can offer, this community will be your biggest cheerleader. Picture this podcast as your weekly dose of encouragement – a sanctuary where you can escape the noise of the world and embrace the beauty of your own existence.From skinny dipping in Portugal to auctioning herself off for a date and testing whether a slinky will go down an ancient pyramid, host Shawnna Stiver knows a thing or two about going for it and the hilarious stories that await. Through heartfelt, playful and funny conversations, Shawnna helps you discover what makes your heart race, your soul dance and your spirit soar. You’ll also hear from guest experts who share insights on how to navigate the journey of self-discovery and invite the world to come alive alongside you.  In a world that demands you be anything but yourself, this is your permission slip to be a little more YOU. Together, we’ll make every moment count and create a life that feels as good on the inside as it looks on the outside. If you’re ready to shed the shoulds and welcome in a life that feels uniquely, beautifully, and authentically yours, subscribe now and let’s make every episode a celebration of YOU! Buckle up for an adventure where realness reigns, inspiration thrives and fun is the name of the game. Are you ready to french kiss life?!

Information

  • Creator
    Shawnna Stiver
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    143
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 French Kissing Life
  • Show Website
    French Kissing Life

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