I’m Karen, host of the Smashing Success Stories Podcast 🙂

I am a speaker, trainer, and consultant. My experiences range from the public to the private sector, and I have worked with small teams all the way up to corporations on the Fortune 500 list.

The environments, venues, rooms, locations, and folks attending may vary, but the message stays the same – hope, authenticity, performance, kindness, ambition, humanity, and personal power.

This podcast is one of many projects that I manage, and is one of several ways for me to share my knowledge to empower and uplift anyone who is willing to hear my message.

I wear many hats professionally and publicly, and my background and professional experiences are as varied as my many hobbies. In brief, I am very well-rounded, passionate, and always willing to learn more about personal and professional growth while still leaving space for my family and gaming 🙂

Why am I doing this? Because I waited too long. I wanted to start this over 20 years ago, when I was young and full of idealism and energy. Maybe this is the best time, my true era – I’ve still got that fire in me, and now it comes with WAY more insight and experience.

I played it safe for a while. Instability and uncertainty were familiar to me for the bulk of my life, so having a ‘good job’ helped ease the stress that came with the ambiguous. However, every time I worked in a place that I knew I would outgrow, the resentments crept in. I was always the great worker, the go-to person for everything, the subject matter expert who worked her ass off. And every time I got stuck in that role, because the value I brought was incredible, and I did it gladly for what I was being paid. But the work was never done, and the pay never matched the value.

So, here we are. Great value, and my chance to really build something great.

I speak on what I know. This podcast is called Smashing Success Stories because I KNOW what success looks like, from the folks I surround myself with, to the content I consume, to the moments every day when I look in the mirror.

I know what a Smashing Success Story is because I am a Smashing Success Story. And I know what it takes to do it, and it is my mission to share these insights, experiences, and actionable steps to those who are willing to listen, willing to do the work, and willing to blast past the obstacles that stand between us and our dreams.

Here, we are building something great together.