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Success is Subjective: Real People. Raw Stories. Embracing a Non-Linear Life!
Joanna Lilley, MA, NCC
326 episodes
4 days ago
In this conversation, Brian Sacks shares what it was like to grow up as the only child of parents who had him late in life—parents he would eventually care for emotionally, physically, and financially while still trying to become an adult himself. Brian opens up about the pressure of stepping into adulthood far too early, running his father’s business as a teenager, and learning to navigate life without the safety net most young people rely on. Brian also reflects on how those early hardships...
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All content for Success is Subjective: Real People. Raw Stories. Embracing a Non-Linear Life! is the property of Joanna Lilley, MA, NCC and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
In this conversation, Brian Sacks shares what it was like to grow up as the only child of parents who had him late in life—parents he would eventually care for emotionally, physically, and financially while still trying to become an adult himself. Brian opens up about the pressure of stepping into adulthood far too early, running his father’s business as a teenager, and learning to navigate life without the safety net most young people rely on. Brian also reflects on how those early hardships...
Show more...
Mental Health
Business,
Careers,
Health & Fitness
Episodes (20/326)
Success is Subjective: Real People. Raw Stories. Embracing a Non-Linear Life!
Episode 327: Playing the Hand You’re Dealt - Brian Sacks on Survival, Stewardship, and Success
In this conversation, Brian Sacks shares what it was like to grow up as the only child of parents who had him late in life—parents he would eventually care for emotionally, physically, and financially while still trying to become an adult himself. Brian opens up about the pressure of stepping into adulthood far too early, running his father’s business as a teenager, and learning to navigate life without the safety net most young people rely on. Brian also reflects on how those early hardships...
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5 days ago
23 minutes

Success is Subjective: Real People. Raw Stories. Embracing a Non-Linear Life!
Episode 326: Parenting from Fear to Understanding - A Conversation with Ann Coleman
In this week’s episode, Joanna sits down with Ann Coleman—attorney turned parent-educator and the host of Speaking of Teens. After years of struggling through her son’s anxiety, ADHD, and eventual placement in treatment, Ann realized that her own fear, misunderstanding, and emotional reactivity were driving the conflict at home. What happened next changed everything. Ann shares how she dove into adolescent neuropsychology, rewired her entire approach to parenting, and ultimately built a frame...
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1 week ago
26 minutes

Success is Subjective: Real People. Raw Stories. Embracing a Non-Linear Life!
Episode 325: Searching for Slippers - Stacy Ross’s Hard-Won Wisdom on Parenting a Child with Mental Illness
In this episode of Success is Subjective, Joanna sits down with author, advocate, and mother Stacy Ross, whose 28-year journey parenting a child with serious mental illness reshaped everything she thought she knew about success, family, and resilience. Stacy opens up about infertility, adoption, raising three children, navigating years of misdiagnoses, and ultimately learning how to parent through chaos, crisis, and transition. She shares how writing became her lifeline during the early days ...
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2 weeks ago
24 minutes

Success is Subjective: Real People. Raw Stories. Embracing a Non-Linear Life!
Former Program Participant Series - Episode 324: Jail at Seventeen, Recovery at Twenty-Nine: Chris Kelley’s Journey to Himself
On this episode of Success is Subjective, Joanna brings you another story from our special former participant series where she extends the opportunity for former participants to share their journey with others. Today’s former participant is Chris Kelley. Chris shares his honest journey from growing up in Cape Cod’s party culture, to court-ordered detox and time in county jail as a teenager, to finally entering long-term recovery at 29. Now 15 years sober and the Executive Director of Berkshir...
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3 weeks ago
35 minutes

Success is Subjective: Real People. Raw Stories. Embracing a Non-Linear Life!
Former Program Participant Series - Episode 323: Chicago Expectations, LA Redemption with Conor Gallagher
On this episode of Success is Subjective, Joanna brings you another story from our special former participant series where she extends the opportunity for former participants to share their journey with others. Today’s former participant is Conor Gallagher Gray. Conor grew up on Chicago’s North Shore with every advantage and a clear path laid out for him—until addiction, stigma, and a collapsing sense of identity sent his life on a drastically different trajectory. After multiple treatment st...
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3 weeks ago
27 minutes

Success is Subjective: Real People. Raw Stories. Embracing a Non-Linear Life!
Episode 322: Learning to Say Yes - Kathy Nauta on Finding Her Path
Today’s Success is Subjective guest is Kathy Nauta. Kathy’s path to becoming a therapeutic and educational consultant looks nothing like the straight line she once imagined for herself. Growing up in a family where work was purely about survival, Kathy pursued accounting solely for the promise of financial security—despite feeling out of place every step of the way. After years in corporate finance, multiple relocations, raising three kids, and supporting a child with higher needs, she slowly...
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1 month ago
23 minutes

Success is Subjective: Real People. Raw Stories. Embracing a Non-Linear Life!
Episode 321: Try, Fail, Wander, Learn - Bix Firer’s Real Life Education
Growing up in Milwaukee, expectations were clear for Bix Firer: go straight to college and stay on a traditional path. He tried — and quickly learned it wasn’t his path at all. After dropping out, Bix spent several years exploring unconventional jobs, traveling, and learning through lived experience rather than a classroom. Those detours became the foundation for discovering who he was and what he valued. In this episode of Success is Subjective, Bix shares how listening to his intuition — ev...
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1 month ago
23 minutes

Success is Subjective: Real People. Raw Stories. Embracing a Non-Linear Life!
Episode 320: Un-Shaming the Brain - A New Take on Motivation and Executive Functioning with Chrissy Nichols
This week’s Success is Subjective guest, Chrissy Nichols, spent more than two decades teaching before discovering her true calling—helping learners of all ages understand how their brains actually work. As an executive function coach, Chrissy specializes in guiding young adults (often returning from therapeutic or wilderness programs) to find balance, accountability, and self-trust through what she calls “love-hammer coaching”—a blend of compassion and tough honesty that empowers lasting chan...
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1 month ago
28 minutes

Success is Subjective: Real People. Raw Stories. Embracing a Non-Linear Life!
Episode 319: The Joy Shift - Gretchen Schoser on Turning Pain into Purpose
On this episode of Success is Subjective, Joanna brings listeners another powerful and heartfelt message from special guest, Gretchen Schoser. After 45 years in corporate HR tech, Gretchen Schoser’s world came crashing down in 2022 when burnout, grief, and loss collided — leading to a suicide attempt on Christmas Day. With the help of her wife and the 988 Lifeline, Gretchen chose to live — and she’s been transforming that decision into purpose ever since. Now the founder of Schoser Talent and...
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1 month ago
29 minutes

Success is Subjective: Real People. Raw Stories. Embracing a Non-Linear Life!
Former Program Participant Series - Episode 318: The U-Turn That Saved My Life: Nolan Wright’s Moment on the Highway
On this episode of Success is Subjective, Joanna brings you another story from our special former participant series where she extends the opportunity for former participants to share their journey with others.Today, Joanna sits down with Nolan Wright. When Nolan left home to chase success, it didn’t unfold the way anyone expected. What began as ambition quickly collided with addiction, loss, and a desperate search for direction. But somewhere between chaos and clarity, Nolan found a way to r...
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2 months ago
26 minutes

Success is Subjective: Real People. Raw Stories. Embracing a Non-Linear Life!
Former Program Participant Series - Episode 317: Alex Carey on What Real, Trauma-Informed Treatment Looks Like
On this episode of Success is Subjective, Joanna brings you another story from our special former participant series where she extends the opportunity for former participants to share their journey with others. Growing up in a small Arizona town, Alex Carey “had good grades and a ton of friends,” but by her mid-teens the party culture and a move to the Phoenix Valley accelerated risky choices that culminated in an adolescent placement at a residential treatment program—an experience she descr...
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2 months ago
30 minutes

Success is Subjective: Real People. Raw Stories. Embracing a Non-Linear Life!
Episode 316: From Cheez-Its to Clarity - Matt Sullivan on Building a Life of Purpose
In this episode of the Success is Subjective podcast, Joanna Lilley sits down with Matt Sullivan, Director of Education at AIM House in Boulder, Colorado. From nearly dropping out of college with nothing but a box of Cheez-Its and a handful of kindness from strangers to leading one of Boulder’s most respected young adult programs, Matt’s story is a masterclass in grit, humility, and self-discovery. Growing up in Marin County, California—where success was measured in Ivy League sweatshirts—Mat...
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2 months ago
32 minutes

Success is Subjective: Real People. Raw Stories. Embracing a Non-Linear Life!
Episode 315: Redefining Success Through Compassion and Resilience with Lisa Sugarman
In this week’s episode of Success is Subjective, Joanna sits down with author, mental health advocate, and suicide loss survivor Lisa Sugarman. Lisa’s journey is one of resilience, grief, and transformation—from losing her father at a young age, to later discovering the truth about his death, and ultimately turning her pain into purpose. She reflects on the nonlinear twists of her career, from journalism to parenting columns, and how her lived experiences reshaped her work and calling. Today,...
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2 months ago
26 minutes

Success is Subjective: Real People. Raw Stories. Embracing a Non-Linear Life!
Episode 314: Parenting with Intention - Kim Muench on Supporting Emerging Adults
In this episode of Success is Subjective, Joanna speaks with Kim Muench, a certified conscious parenting coach and the founder of Real Life Parent Guide. Kim shares her journey of becoming a mom at 18, navigating challenges with her oldest son’s addiction, and eventually discovering her calling in supporting parents of emerging adults. She highlights the common struggles young adults face today—lack of motivation, gaming, substance use, and mental health concerns—while also addressing how COV...
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2 months ago
27 minutes

Success is Subjective: Real People. Raw Stories. Embracing a Non-Linear Life!
Former Program Participant Series - Episode 313: From OxyContin to Outreach - Dan Gilmer’s Journey of Recovery
On this episode of Success is Subjective, Joanna brings you another story from our special former participant series where she extends the opportunity for former participants to share their journey with others. In this episode Joanna welcomes Dan Gilmer, who has been sober for more than ten years and now works in clinical outreach supporting families and young adults. Growing up in Baton Rouge, Dan often felt like the odd one out, a feeling that fueled his search for attention and eventually ...
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2 months ago
29 minutes

Success is Subjective: Real People. Raw Stories. Embracing a Non-Linear Life!
Former Program Participant Series - Episode 312: The Runner’s Pace - Lessons on Healing and Resilience
In this episode of the Former Participant Series, Joanna talks with Justin Levine, a 27-year-old who reflects on his journey from anxiety and perfectionism in high school to resilience, mentorship, and new purpose through treatment. Justin shares how wilderness therapy and his time at Telos reshaped his outlook, how running became both a therapeutic outlet and a career path, and how leaning into discomfort opened doors he never imagined—from studying neuroscience at Bates College to returning...
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2 months ago
36 minutes

Success is Subjective: Real People. Raw Stories. Embracing a Non-Linear Life!
Episode 31: Lessons from the Slopes - Ray Ford on Passion, Persistence, and Purpose
What happens when you do everything “right” — the grades, the sports, the scholarships — but none of it makes you happy? For Ray Ford, the answer was found on a snowboard. Growing up in rural West Virginia with two engineer parents, Ray followed the path he was told would lead to success: top GPA, full ride to college, and a major in engineering. But watching the snow fall outside while grinding through calculus, he realized the only thing that ever brought him real joy was snowboarding. One ...
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3 months ago
28 minutes

Success is Subjective: Real People. Raw Stories. Embracing a Non-Linear Life!
Episode 310: Showing Up with Compassion: Kade Matthews on Parenting, Therapy, and Life’s Detours
In this episode of Success is Subjective, Joanna Lilly sits down with Kade Matthews—a devoted father, psychotherapist, and lifelong advocate for creating healing spaces. Kade opens up about his own non-linear path, weaving together stories of parenthood, professional growth, and the ways music, poetry, and time in nature have been therapeutic anchors in his life. As both a clinician and a parent of young adults, Kade offers a rare dual perspective: candidly acknowledging his own stumbles whil...
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3 months ago
23 minutes

Success is Subjective: Real People. Raw Stories. Embracing a Non-Linear Life!
Episode 309: Letting Curiosity Lead - How Mark White Found His Way
What happens when you follow the “right” path… and it still doesn’t feel right? On this episode of Success is Subjective, Joanna sits down with Mark White, Clinical Director at Red Mountain Sedona, to trace his decades-long journey from small-town Michigan to the red rocks of Arizona. Mark shares candid reflections on the many detours, career pivots, and soul-searching moments that ultimately led him to discover his calling in therapeutic work with young adults. From parking cars and consider...
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3 months ago
23 minutes

Success is Subjective: Real People. Raw Stories. Embracing a Non-Linear Life!
Former Program Participant Series - Episode 307: From Resistance to Renewal - Sam’s Path to Healing
On this episode of Success is Subjective, Joanna brings you another story from our special former participant series where she extends the opportunity for former participants to share their journey with others. Today’s former participant is Sam Hayes. Despite early struggles with identity, family pressure, mental health, and finding stability, Sam’s story is one of transformation. With raw honesty, he shares how his treatment journey—full of resistance, reflection, and eventually real c...
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4 months ago
27 minutes

Success is Subjective: Real People. Raw Stories. Embracing a Non-Linear Life!
In this conversation, Brian Sacks shares what it was like to grow up as the only child of parents who had him late in life—parents he would eventually care for emotionally, physically, and financially while still trying to become an adult himself. Brian opens up about the pressure of stepping into adulthood far too early, running his father’s business as a teenager, and learning to navigate life without the safety net most young people rely on. Brian also reflects on how those early hardships...