Defining Moments

Melanie Warner
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Self-Improvement

This is Defining Moments, where leaders, innovators, and everyday heroes share the moments that changed everything. These are the stories behind resilience, purpose, and legacy.

  1. 29m ago

    What if Everything You've Been Taught About Love Is Wrong?

    Kim Sorrelle is a best-selling author, leadership expert, and the Founder of Rays of Hope International, a nonprofit she started with her father in 2000 to support communities with medical supplies, orphan care, food, infrastructure, and disaster relief. She shares her message through The Kim Sorrelle Show, her book Love Is, and her 14-Week Love Challenge, and teaches that love is not just something people receive, but something they practice, embody, and become. Shaped by breast cancer, widowhood, and years of humanitarian work in Haiti, Kim inspires audiences to lead with kindness, courage, purpose, and love as a way of life. In this episode… Love is often treated as something to find, earn, receive, or protect. But when life strips away certainty, the meaning of love can become less about emotion and more about identity, action, and choice. What if love is not something we fall into, but something we learn to become? Love becomes clearest when it is lived without expectation. Kim Sorrelle, an author, speaker, entrepreneur, and humanitarian, shares how breast cancer, the loss of her husband, and years of nonprofit work in Haiti reshaped her understanding of love. Rather than asking "Why me?" she learned to ask "Why not me?" and began exploring what it means to live by the question, "What would love do?" Kim explains that love is not a transaction, not a feeling that comes and goes, and not something we can control in another person. Her insight is simple but challenging: start with self-love, release expectations, remove labels, and choose kindness without expecting anything in return. In this episode of Defining Moments, Melanie Warner sits down with Kim Sorrelle, best-selling author, leadership expert, and the Founder of Rays of Hope International, to discuss why everything we think we know about love may be wrong. Kim shares how grief changed her, what Haiti taught her about joy, and why love is not a two-way street. She also touches on leadership, self-love, boundaries, and Mother Teresa's example of service.

    52 min

  2. Jun 8

    Finding Peace and Healing Beyond Loss With Claudia Schwarz

    Claudia Schwarz is the transformational speaker and Founder of ClaudiaSchwarz.info, a platform where she shares spiritual principles and ancient wisdom to help individuals deepen their awareness and align with inner guidance. She also founded Hotel Villa Taina, a boutique beachfront property in the Dominican Republic, blending business leadership with heart‑centered purpose. Claudia draws on decades of spiritual exploration to guide others toward inner peace, purpose, and expanded consciousness. She encourages living aligned with love, presence, and higher awareness through practical tools and experiential teachings. In this episode… Most people live with an unspoken tension, a quiet fear that subtly shapes their choices and the way they experience life. We often rush through moments, preoccupied with what lies ahead or what we might lose, without fully embracing the present. What if this fear is actually holding us back from truly living and connecting with what matters most? Claudia Schwarz, a transformational speaker and spiritual explorer, answers this by sharing her own profound encounters with loss and near-death experiences. Facing death, she discovered a shift in perspective that helped stop fearing life and embrace a deeper sense of purpose. Claudia emphasizes the power of inner guidance, gratitude, and spiritual practices like sacred mantras as tools to reconnect with love, presence, and healing. She encourages listening to the subtle messages of the soul, realigning with divine love, and choosing awareness over fear, offering practical insights for anyone navigating grief, illness, or life transitions. In this episode of Defining Moments, Melanie Warner chats with Claudia Schwarz, transformational speaker and spiritual explorer, about why confronting fear of death can lead to living fully. Claudia shares how to trust inner guidance, the role of gratitude and spiritual exercises in healing, and what it means to live aligned with one's true purpose. She also touches on retreats, realignment, and finding peace amidst life's challenges.

    44 min

  3. May 25

    From Overwhelmed to Organized: Clutter, Identity, and Letting Go With Andrew Mellen

    Andrew Mellen is the Founder and President at Andrew Mellen, Inc., a coaching, speaking, and training company that helps people and organizations declutter, simplify decisions, and create systems that hold up in real life. A Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Unstuff Your Life! and Calling BS on Busy®, Andrew works with private clients, corporate teams, and audiences worldwide to clear physical clutter, reduce overwhelm, strengthen boundaries, and reclaim time for what matters. He is also a renowned speaker who has appeared on more than 350 stages, including SXSW and TEDx. In this episode… Clutter often looks like a space problem, but it usually points to something deeper: delayed decisions, shifting identities, and the fear of letting go. In seasons of transition, even ordinary objects can carry emotional weight, making it harder to tell what still belongs in our lives. What changes when we stop organizing around the mess and start confronting the story behind it? Freedom begins when people recognize they still have a choice. Organizing expert Andrew Mellen explains that clutter is often a symptom of uncertainty, attachment, and avoidance rather than a simple housekeeping issue. He offers practical ways to begin, including sorting like with like, giving everything one home, and using "something in, something out" as a sustainable boundary. Andrew also challenges the cultural obsession with busyness, emphasizing the power of saying no, protecting your time, and focusing first on what truly matters. The result is not just a cleaner space, but a clearer relationship with decisions, priorities, and self-trust. In this episode of Defining Moments, Melanie Warner chats with Andrew Mellen, Founder and President at Andrew Mellen, Inc., about why clutter, busyness, and overwhelm are often signs of deeper emotional patterns. Andrew explores choice, boundaries, and letting go. He also shares practical organizing tools, the power of slowing down, and why every journey forward starts with one step.

    1h 51m

  4. May 18

    The Power of Choosing Yourself: Anna Girgan's Journey From Burnout to Purpose

    Anna Girgan is the Founder and CEO of EPIPHANIES Coaching, a movement that helps high-achieving, faith-driven women transition from striving to surrender through mindset shifts, luxury retreats, and her signature EPIPHANY EFFECTTM framework. A leadership coach and identity architect, Anna left a 20-year corporate career to rebuild her life through self-discovery, now guiding others toward aligned purpose, peace, and transformation. She also hosts the EPIPHANIES podcast, combining neuroscience, spiritual insight, and practical strategy to help clients overcome limiting beliefs and live with clarity and joy. In this episode… Success can look impressive from the outside while quietly feeling unsustainable on the inside. Titles, income, and achievement may create stability, but they do not always create fulfillment, health, or peace. What happens when the life someone worked so hard to build no longer feels aligned with who they are becoming? The answer begins with learning to listen before burnout becomes a breaking point. Anna Girgan, a mindset and leadership coach, shares how physical symptoms, panic, grief, and identity loss pushed her to stop performing and start paying attention to what her body, faith, and purpose were trying to tell her. Instead of tying worth to a title or paycheck, Anna encourages women to recognize their choices, care for their physical and emotional health, seek community and mentorship, and take the next step toward a life that feels true. Her message is a reminder that fulfillment often starts with choosing yourself before life forces you to. In this episode of Defining Moments, Melanie Warner sits down with Anna Girgan, Founder & CEO of EPIPHANIES Coaching, to discuss burnout, identity, and choosing purpose over performance. Anna shares how to recognize misalignment, release the golden handcuffs, and rebuild through faith, health, and support. She also touches on grief, leadership isolation, and trusting the next step.

    1h 2m

  5. May 14

    Outgrowing Limits: Reinventing Nonprofit Impact With Bethany Toledo McCray

    Bethany Toledo McCray is Executive Director of Lighthouse Cove, formerly OADSP, a nonprofit supporting DSPs and Frontline Supervisors through education, recognition, and professional development. A longtime leader in DSP advocacy and workforce development, she has helped establish councils, develop the annual Summit, and present at state and national conferences. Under Bethany's leadership, Lighthouse Cove has grown into a statewide and increasingly national hub for leadership development, education pathways, and systems-level innovation across the I/DD field. In this episode… When an organization outgrows its identity, growth requires more than working harder; it calls for rethinking positioning, partnerships, funding, and sustainable systems. How can nonprofit leaders identify the one lever that helps them scale their impact? Bethany Toledo McCray's answer is to look at what is already working and use it as leverage. As a nationally recognized leader in workforce development, advocacy, and nonprofit leadership strategy, she explains how leaders can identify programs that "punch above their weight class" and leverage those strengths to create broader impact. She also shares why organizations must move past fear, collaborate with others, capture institutional knowledge, and think more entrepreneurially in order to sustain their mission. From rebranding and succession planning to workforce pipelines and person-centered support, Bethany shows how nonprofit leaders can scale impact without losing sight of the people they serve.  In this episode of Defining Moments, Melanie Warner chats with Bethany Toledo McCray, Executive Director of Lighthouse Cove, about nonprofit leadership and scaling mission-driven impact. Bethany discusses rebranding after outgrowing an identity, finding leverage points in nonprofit programs, and building sustainable systems through partnerships, workforce development, and strategic growth.

    55 min

  6. May 1

    Building Empires, Breaking Rules, and Loving Life With Gary Cocola

    Gary Cocola is the President and CEO of Cocola Broadcasting, a media company known for building and operating television stations throughout California and beyond, with a focus on both traditional linear broadcasting and innovative streaming platforms. Over his four-decade career, Gary started with a single station and grew his business to own as many as 28 TV stations, pioneering formats such as Christian television, home shopping, and Spanish-language programming, and transforming a $7,500 investment into multimillion-dollar media assets. In this episode… The life you've built can sometimes stop exciting you, and success can begin to feel more like a burden than a reward. Many people spend decades chasing achievement, only to realize too late that they've sacrificed joy along the way. How do you know when it's time to walk away and start over? Gary Cocola's answer is simple: choose joy, even if it means making a bold, uncomfortable change. As a seasoned media entrepreneur and broadcaster, he explains how recognizing his unhappiness — first in the produce business and later as a CEO — led him to pursue work that truly fulfilled him. Gary emphasizes the importance of self-awareness, building strong relationships, and having the courage to make a change when something no longer feels right. His story shows that success isn't just about financial gain; it's about waking up excited for your day and doing work that feels meaningful. In this episode of Defining Moments, Melanie Warner sits down with Gary Cocola, President and CEO of Cocola Broadcasting, to discuss reinventing success and choosing fulfillment over status. They explore recognizing unhappiness early, building relationships that drive success, and making bold life pivots — even later in life.

    1h 30m

  7. Apr 24

    The Cost of Playing Small: A Powerful Story of Reinvention and Personal Growth With Sanjay Raja

    Sanjay Raja is an author, TV host, and wellness expert dedicated to helping people live more purposeful, balanced lives. He is the creator and host of the PBS show Recipe for Wellness, where he explores the connection between food, mindset, and overall well-being. Drawing from his own life transformation, Sanjay inspires audiences to break free from unfulfilling paths and pursue what truly matters. Through his work, he empowers others to turn life's challenges into opportunities for growth, healing, and lasting fulfillment. In this episode… Many people build lives that look successful on the outside — stable careers, financial security, and family — yet feel deeply unfulfilled inside. They ignore warning signs like burnout, lack of purpose, and emotional dissatisfaction until a major life disruption forces change. Why do so many wait until everything falls apart before they finally pursue what truly matters? Sanjay Raja, author, TV host, and wellness expert, shares how his life-changing divorce became the catalyst for transformation. He emphasizes the importance of self-awareness, listening to internal signals, and aligning decisions with long-term purpose rather than short-term gains. Sanjay highlights actionable strategies like embracing rejection as part of growth, taking consistent action despite uncertainty, and creating your own opportunities instead of waiting for validation. He also stresses maintaining integrity, trusting intuition, and focusing on meaningful impact as the foundation for lasting success. In this episode of Defining Moments, Melanie Warner interviews Sanjay Raja, wellness expert and TV host of Recipe for Wellness, about rebuilding life after a major turning point. Sanjay also discusses overcoming rejection, building authority through media, and creating opportunities in a changing entertainment landscape.

    1h 23m

  8. Apr 13

    How To Heal Your Relationship With Food and Find True Freedom With Sue Van Raes

    Sue Van Raes is a functional nutritionist, food psychology specialist, and the Founder of Boulder Nutrition, where she helps women transform their relationship with food, body, and self. With over two decades of experience, Sue leads private programs, workshops, and international retreats focused on healing, self-trust, and sustainable wellness. She is the author of Food and Freedom and blends modern nutritional science, psychology, and mind-body practices to guide clients toward lasting health and inner balance. In this episode… Many high-achieving women feel trapped in cycles of stress, perfectionism, and control, especially when it comes to food, health, and self-worth. Despite access to endless wellness advice, they often feel disconnected from their bodies and overwhelmed by conflicting information. What happens when discipline turns into burnout and control becomes a barrier to true freedom? Sue Van Raes, a functional nutritionist and food psychology specialist, explains that healing begins by shifting from external rules to internal awareness. Sue encourages tuning into body sensations — recognizing what feels energizing versus draining — and replacing willpower with sustainable self-care practices. She highlights the importance of nervous system regulation, rest, and regenerative living, along with questioning perfectionism and societal conditioning. By prioritizing intuition, creating space for reflection, and redefining success as a feeling rather than an outcome, individuals can rebuild trust with their bodies and create lasting change. In this episode of Defining Moments, Melanie Warner interviews Sue Van Raes, the Founder of Boulder Nutrition, about food freedom and body awareness. Sue discusses nervous system healing, the dangers of control-based habits, and building intuitive self-trust.

    1h 39m
See All (15)

About

This is Defining Moments, where leaders, innovators, and everyday heroes share the moments that changed everything. These are the stories behind resilience, purpose, and legacy.

Information

  • Creator
    Melanie Warner
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    15
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Defining Moments (c) 2026
  • Show Website
    Defining Moments