Shift Happens: From Pain to Purpose

Alexis Andra
  • 4.9 (29)
  • Self-Improvement

Welcome to Shift Happens: From Pain to Purpose, the podcast where we explore the power of sharing your story. Each week, you’ll learn from entrepreneurs and everyday heroes to uncover how their stories of struggle became stories of strength. I’m your host, Alexis Andra—creative director, life coach, and lover of a great comeback story. Together, we’ll explore the healing power of storytelling and inspire you to find your voice, own your journey, and shift your pain into purpose. Let’s dive in—because your story just might change someone else’s.

  1. 1d ago

    What Happens When You Stop Asking for Permission to Be Seen with Katelyn Rhoades

    Katelyn spent much of her life trying to stay quiet, unseen, and out of the way. At 22 years old, she was selling her clothes to just to afford groceries. Today, she’s built a seven-figure personal brand from the ground up—using social media to create opportunities that changed the trajectory of her life. She’s worked with brands like Meta and Adobe, been featured in Forbes, and built a life she once couldn’t even imagine. Katelyn didn’t just change her circumstances—she changed the story she believed about herself. Not because she suddenly became confident not because She learned that confidence isn’t something you’re born with—it’s something you build every time you stop hiding. this conversation isn’t about followers, brand deals, or business strategies. It’s about what happens when you stop letting your circumstances write your story. It’s about healing the parts of yourself that learned to stay small. It’s about becoming visible after a lifetime of hiding. This is Katelyn’s story. @thekatelynrhoades @callhercreator RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE- to help you process, own and share your story   FOLLOW@alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod

  2. Aug 11

    Why High-Achieving Women End Up Burnt Out with Laura Higgins

    Today’s guest is Laura Higgins—entrepreneur, branding expert, and business owner who built a multi-million dollar company helping women grow their visibility, content, and personal brands online. From the outside, Laura had every marker of success: the business, the ambition, and the image of someone who had figured it all out.   But behind the scenes, the constant pressure to achieve, perform, and keep pushing eventually caught up with her   In this episode, we’re talking about burnout—but not just the trendy version we see online. We’re talking about the deeper layers underneath it: the identity built around overworking, the fear of slowing down, the pressure high-achieving women place on themselves to hold everything together, and the childhood patterns that can quietly shape our relationship with success.   Laura opens up about what burnout actually looked like in real time, the moment she realized the life she built was no longer sustainable, and how she’s had to redefine ambition, leadership, and worth outside of productivity. This is Laura’s story. @laurahiggins RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE- to help you process, own and share your story   FOLLOW@alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod

  3. Aug 4

    Why Grieving a Relationship Doesn't Mean You Should've Stayed with Natalia Benson

    Today’s guest is Natalia Benson—podcast host, and coach helping women step into abundance, financial empowerment, and deeper alignment within themselves. Through her work in astrology, spirituality, Natalia has built a platform centered around self-awareness, healing, and personal transformation.   But behind the wisdom she shares online is also a woman who has had to navigate profound change in her own life.   In this episode, we’re talking about divorce—not from the lens of bitterness, but from the complicated reality of grief, identity loss, self-trust, and choosing yourself even when it hurts.   Because sometimes the hardest thing isn’t leaving. It’s accepting that you can deeply love someone, grieve them, and still know the relationship was no longer aligned for who you were becoming.   Natalia opens up about the identity death that can happen after heartbreak, the patterns from childhood that quietly follow us into adult relationships, and the fear of self-abandonment many women experience in dating and love.   We also talk about what it feels like to navigate pain publicly. The pressure to appear healed online. The temptation to hide the messy parts. And what happens when you choose to be seen while you’re still in the middle of becoming.   This conversation is soft, honest, wise, and deeply human. And if you’ve ever questioned whether choosing yourself was worth the loss… I think this episode is going to meet you exactly where you are. This is Natalia’s story.natalia_benson RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE- to help you process, own and share your story   FOLLOW@alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod

  4. Jul 28

    How to Trust God's Timing When You're Tired of Waiting with Lida Benites

    Today’s guest lida was born into physical adversity—before she even had the language to understand it. Surgeries, comparison, and learning how to navigate a body that didn’t move like everyone else shaped her early years in ways most people never see. And while resilience may be easy to name now… back then, it felt like something else entirely. As she stepped into adulthood, marriage, and the dream of becoming a mother, life didn’t unfold the way she expected. Miscarriage after miscarriage began to rewrite what she thought her story would be. At the same time, everything around her seemed to be falling apart—financial pressure, instability, and questions that didn’t have easy answers. But somewhere in the middle of the pain… something shifted. In this episode, we’re talking about what it really looks like to wrestle with your faith, to question everything you thought you believed, and to keep showing up when life doesn’t make sense. This is Lida’s story.@lida_benites RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE- to help you process, own and share your story   FOLLOW@alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod

  5. Jul 21

    From $19 to CEO: When Losing Everything Changes Everything with Samantha Harper

    At just 16 years old, Samantha Harper was living on her own—no safety net, no roadmap—just figuring out how to survive. Before she was a speaker… and Before she was a CEO She was a girl trying to understand what love, stability, and her future looked like. In this episode, we talk about What survival actually felt like… The beliefs she formed about herself… How those stories showed up in her marriage and the moment she was left with just $19 to her name during her divorce; forced to rebuild from nothing. I ask if she ever wrestled with God in her pain asking why her story looked the way it did. But this isn’t just about what she went through— it’s about what she built from it. From trauma counselor… to CEO… to helping others heal through her app Sensry. If you’ve ever felt like you’ve had to figure life out on your own… this one’s for you. This is Samantha's story.   @sam_e_peace @sensry.app   RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE- to help you process, own and share your story   FOLLOW@alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod

  6. Jul 14

    Hidden to Seen: Why We Hide and How We Heal with Margot Miller

    My guest today is Margot Miller, and her story is one of those stories. From a young age, Margot faced things that forced her to wrestle with identity and pain in ways most people never have to. That path eventually led her into addiction at a young age, and later into a devastating neurological condition that left her bedridden for nearly a decade. For ten years, life as she knew it stopped. But what’s incredible about Margot isn’t just what she’s walked through—it’s what she’s done with it. Today she’s living a life she once could only dream about and helping others see that their past, their pain, and even their darkest chapters can become the very thing that shapes their purpose. Margot often says, “The more darkness you’ve walked through, the more light you can hold.” And today we’re talking about what that actually looks like. This is Margot's Story. @margotelisemiller   RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE- to help you process, own and share your story   FOLLOW@alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod

  7. Jul 7

    How to Know When Resistance Means To Press On Or If It’s a Warning Signal with Beatrice Rosu

    Like the clarity fades, the momentum slows, and you’re left wondering—is this resistance because I’m growing… or because something’s off? Today’s conversation is real-time. I’m sitting down with my friend Beatrice— and our paths look really similar. We both started in creative fields, pivoted into coaching, started podcasts… and we’re both in seasons of building something with purpose. But we’re also in the middle of the questions. So today, we’re talking about resistance— when to push through it… and when it might actually be a sign to pause and realign. No perfect answers. Just an honest conversation we’re still walking through. If you’ve been feeling stuck between pressing forward and pulling back— this one’s for you. This is Beatrice's Story  @letstalkrelationships_ RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE- to help you process, own and share your story   FOLLOW@alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod

  8. Jun 30

    How The Way You Dress is a Tool to Increase Confidence and Income with Stylist Chellie Carlson

    Today’s guest, Chellie Carlson, is an LA-based stylist and creative entrepreneur who has built her brand around one powerful belief: when a woman feels confident and magnetic in how she presents herself, everything in her life begins to shift—including her income. But Chellie’s path wasn’t conventional. She started her business at 40 years old with less than $10,000—proving that it’s never too late to build something powerful from the ground up. What began as a personal realization quickly turned into a mission: helping women understand that style isn’t superficial—it’s strategic. The way you dress communicates before you ever speak, shaping how you’re perceived, how you’re treated, and ultimately, the opportunities you attract. Through her work, Chellie has helped women move from playing small and dressing “safe” to showing up with intention, confidence, and presence—becoming magnetic in both their personal and professional lives. In this episode, we dive into her journey of starting over, the mindset shifts that changed everything, and why so many women resist investing in how they show up. If you’ve ever underestimated the power of your presence—or questioned whether style really matters—this conversation might just change the way you see yourself. How to know when resistance means to press on or if it’s a warning signal. This is Chellie's story. @chelliecarlson RESOURCES FREE STORY METHOD GUIDE- to help you process, own and share your story   FOLLOW@alexisnandra @shifthappensthepod

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4.9
out of 5
29 Ratings

About

Welcome to Shift Happens: From Pain to Purpose, the podcast where we explore the power of sharing your story. Each week, you’ll learn from entrepreneurs and everyday heroes to uncover how their stories of struggle became stories of strength. I’m your host, Alexis Andra—creative director, life coach, and lover of a great comeback story. Together, we’ll explore the healing power of storytelling and inspire you to find your voice, own your journey, and shift your pain into purpose. Let’s dive in—because your story just might change someone else’s.

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