Powerful On Purpose

What happens when a successful doctor loses everything to addiction, dishonesty, and the consequences of his own decisions? Dr. Jack Manzella, known as the Rock Bottom Doc, joins Leslie Capps to share his journey from a thriving medical career to prison and the long road of addiction recovery, accountability, and rebuilding his life.Dr. Jack had the career, family, and community standing that looked like success from the outside. Behind the scenes, alcohol and drug dependency, illegal prescriptions, and a growing web of lies were destroying everything he'd built. When he was arrested, he lost his medical license, his freedom, and much of the life he'd known.Now, after approximately 15 years of sobriety, Dr. Jack is using his experience to help others recognize when they're heading toward a crisis. We talk about why successful professionals struggle to ask for help, how fear keeps people trapped in destructive patterns, and why telling the truth can be the hardest and most important step toward change.This conversation is about more than addiction or prison. It's about what happens when the life you planned is no longer possible, and you have to decide what comes next. Dr. Jack reminds us that rebuilding doesn't happen overnight. Sometimes it begins with one honest decision.Learn more about Dr. Jack and his work at https://rockbottomdoc.net🎙️ Subscribe to Powerful on Purpose for honest conversations about purpose, resilience, and using your experiences to make a difference.#powerfulonpurposepodcast #addictionrecovery #rockbottom #secondchances #personalgrowthChapters:00:00 — Meet the Rock Bottom Doc01:10 — When Success Hides Addiction03:30 — Losing Everything After Arrest05:50 — Finding Hope in Prison08:00 — Why Lies Make Things Worse10:30 — Accepting a Different Future13:00 — Building Habits for Recovery15:40 — Recognizing the Warning Signs18:10 — Helping Professionals in Crisis21:45 — Stop and Take One Step

Why does women's health research still leave so many women feeling overlooked? And what happens when doctors blame the patient instead of questioning whether the treatment is right for her body?In this episode of Powerful on Purpose, Leslie Capps talks with Shereen Kassam, a stand-up comedian, TEDx speaker, and entrepreneur who went from working at Deloitte, Amazon, and Disney to founding wellness businesses, including Brown Body Reset. Shereen shares how corporate burnout, workplace bullying, and unexplained health challenges changed the direction of her life.After struggling with her own health and experiencing unexpected results from a GLP-1 weight-loss treatment, Shereen began questioning how medical research accounts for differences among populations. She shares what she discovered about gaps in research involving South Asian women and why those experiences inspired her to build a wellness brand focused on communities she believes have been overlooked.We also get into the courage it took to leave a secure corporate career, why Shereen hired a coach just to help her quit, and how stand-up comedy became part of her journey toward living life on her own terms. There are plenty of laughs along the way, including how her parents reacted when they discovered she was a comedian.The takeaway: You don't have to keep living by someone else's definition of success. Ask better questions, advocate for your health, and build a life that works for you.Connect with Shereen and Brown Body Reset:https://brownbodyreset.comBrown Body Reset is preparing for a 2027 launch. Visit the website to join the waitlist for updates, launch offers, and a free gift.Subscribe to Powerful on Purpose for conversations with women who are challenging expectations, sharing their stories, and creating meaningful change.This conversation shares personal experiences and perspectives, not individualized medical advice.Chapters00:00 Meet Shereen Kasam01:30 When Corporate Success Isn't Enough03:25 Choosing Family Over Your Job05:50 Turning Workplace Stress Into Change08:15 Building a Business Before Quitting10:45 Leaving Corporate Life Behind13:00 When Stress Affects Your Health15:40 Questioning One-Size-Fits-All Healthcare18:00 Why Brown Body Reset Exists23:40 Advocating for Your Own Health#powerfulonpurposepodcast #womenshealth #healthadvocacy #womenentrepreneurs #corporateburnout

Why are mothers of only children so often judged for a deeply personal decision—or circumstance—that other people know nothing about? Chef, author, and entrepreneur Sofya Stearns knows firsthand how assumptions about women, motherhood, infertility, family size, and career can shape the way people are treated.In this episode of Powerful on Purpose, Sofya joins Leslie Capps to share the unexpected path that took her from pre-med and finance to creating Izabella’s Gourmet Chow, a cooking school that uses food, language, culture, music, and movement to bring people together.Sofya also shares the personal experiences that inspired her book, The One and Only: By Fate or By Choice. After experiencing judgment about having one child, she interviewed 40 other single-child families and discovered how much can be hidden behind a family’s circumstances, from infertility and illness to adoption and other deeply personal experiences.We talk about the assumptions we make about other people, why kindness matters when we don’t know someone’s full story, and how Sofya brings those values into her work with children, adults, and people with disabilities.And because food is at the center of so much of Sofya’s work, we also talk about cooking as a creative and therapeutic experience—including one very pink solution for helping a picky eater become more adventurous with food.Connect with Chef Sofya Stearns:[WEBSITE]Find The One and Only: By Fate or By Choice:[AMAZON/BOOK LINK]Subscribe to Powerful on Purpose for more conversations with women using their stories, expertise, and purpose to make a positive impact in the world.Chapters00:00 Meet Chef Sofya Stearns02:48 One class becomes a business05:31 From pre-med to entrepreneurship06:30 Being judged by assumptions08:20 Judgment after becoming a mother09:20 Why she wrote The One and Only11:25 Creating spaces without judgment14:28 Cooking as connection and healing18:14 Helping picky eaters experiment21:48 The One and Only22:17 Choose kindness over judgment#powerfulonpurposepodcast #onlychild #motherhood #kindness #womenentrepreneurs

What if struggling to write your book or complete something important in your business isn’t a discipline problem?What if the system simply doesn’t fit the way you work?In this episode of Powerful on Purpose, Leslie Capps explores friction as useful information. Sometimes friction tells us we’re pursuing the wrong thing. Other times, the goal is right, but the process we’re trying to force ourselves through was never designed for our brains, energy, or way of creating.Leslie shares how talking through her ideas helped her write a book in 30 days, while another author chose to give herself a year and why neither approach is wrong. She also explains how connecting ChatGPT to her CRM eliminated at least 10 hours of administrative work each week while removing an even greater amount of mental clutter.You’ll hear: • Why “just start writing” doesn’t work for everyone• How to recognize when the process, not the person, is the problem• Why generic books and generic AI both create more noise• How giving AI a clear job produces better results• Why your voice, judgment, expertise, and humanity still matter• The questions Leslie uses to identify friction and design a better systemAI should not replace the human. A writing system shouldn’t force every author into the same box. The goal is not to make humans better at serving systems. It’s to create systems that better serve humans.If you’re experiencing friction around writing your book or somewhere in your business, reach out. Let’s have a conversation about what’s driving you nuts, what needs to happen instead, and whether AI or a different system could make the process easier.Connect with Leslie: [email protected] to Powerful on Purpose for conversations about writing the right book, using AI intentionally, and building systems that fit the humans using them.CHAPTERS00:00 When the system doesn’t fit01:20 Friction is useful information02:10 Different people need different systems03:00 Finding a writing process that fits04:10 Eliminating the administrative drain05:10 Why generic AI falls short06:25 Give AI a specific job08:00 Give your book a job09:35 Find your biggest friction points12:10 Protect your human creativity#PowerfulOnPurpose #NonfictionWriting #AIForBusiness

How do you find your voice and develop the confidence to express who you really are? Intuitive voice coach, singer-songwriter and workshop facilitator Aideen Ni Riada believes our voices can become a powerful path to greater self-trust, confidence, authenticity and self-expression.In this episode of Powerful on Purpose, Aideen joins Leslie Capps to explore the connection between voice, singing, confidence, vulnerability, creativity and personal growth—even for people who believe they “can't sing.”Aideen shares how her own journey began when someone asked about her dream and she answered, “I want to be a singer, but I can't do that.” Years later, her desire to sing evolved into work helping others strengthen their voices from the inside out. We talk about why using your voice can feel so vulnerable, how singing can help us access parts of ourselves we've kept hidden, and why finding your authentic voice can affect far more than music. Aideen shares how that deeper self-trust can carry into business, communication, relationships and the courage to express what matters to you.We also explore the role music can play in shifting our energy and emotions, why small steps toward a dream still matter, and Aideen's reminder that no one else gets to be you—and your presence in the world matters. 🎁 Aideen's Free 10-Day Mantra Meditation Journey: USE code 2026FREEACCESShttps://aideen-ni-riada.simplero.com/cart/213111-10-Day-Meditation-Journey Explore mantra meditation and learn to use your own voice and sound as a practice for connecting with yourself and supporting your nervous system.Connect with Aideen Ni Riada: https://confidenceinsinging.comSubscribe to Powerful on Purpose for more conversations with brilliant women using their stories, expertise and purpose to make a positive impact in the world.Chapters 00:00 Meet Aideen Ni Riada01:40 “I can't be a singer”04:10 Your voice changes you06:15 Singing builds self-trust08:10 Move beyond self-consciousness10:15 Give your dreams room13:20 Small steps create momentum15:25 Don't diminish your progress17:35 Let music support you20:00 Choose what you bring forward22:15 Your voice matters23:20 Aideen's meditation gift#powerfulonpurposepodcast #findyourvoice #selfexpression #confidence #personalgrowth