Staying in the box you were taught to fit into can feel easier than speaking up and risking conflict, but what happens when silence means letting down the people you love? In this episode, you’ll hear from Mandy Giles, founder and CEO of Parents of Trans Youth, about how parenting transgender young adults helped her find her voice and become an advocate for the world she wants her kids to live in. Her story shows what can happen when standing up for what matters becomes more important than keeping everyone else happy.

How long have you been putting off the hard conversation? Join Sara live for one hour for her free workshop, SPEAK UP. There’s no replay, so bring the conversation you keep avoiding. You’ll learn the Three Speak Up Skills and figure out what’s keeping you stuck.

Here’s what you’ll uncover in this episode:

• Why talking about your transgender child with other people can be one of the biggest hurdles, even when you’re fully accepting
• How advocating for your children can help you discover a courage you didn’t know you had
• How to talk about LGBTQ+ topics in a way that is helpful and supportive
• Why stepping outside the boxes you were taught to fit into can help you live more authentically and make room for others to do the same
• The resources available to parents of transgender youth and how to find support

Find Mandy here:

bit.ly/allytoadvocate

www.parentsoftransyouth.com

www.instagram.com/parentsoftransyouth

Mandy Giles (she/her) is the parent of two transgender young adults and the founder and CEO of Parents of Trans Youth, a social impact business that provides learning, support, and community for caregivers of transgender, nonbinary, and gender-diverse kids and young adults. She has been heavily involved in advocacy work since 2021 and has testified before the Texas Legislature dozens of times. Mandy is the 2026 Pride Houston Ally Grand Marshal, recipient of the Equality Texas 2025 Business Champion Award, and former president of PFLAG Houston.

Register for SPEAK UP: sarafisk.coach/voice

Find Sara here:

sarafisk.coach

pages.sarafisk.coach/difficultconversations

instagram.com/sarafiskcoach

facebook.com/SaraFiskCoaching

tiktok.com/@sarafiskcoach

youtube.com/@sarafiskcoaching1333

The holiday season is approaching fast, and alongside the excitement, you may already be feeling the weight of all the expectations that come with it. Between family traditions, travel plans, and trying to make everyone happy, you can end up with very little energy to enjoy the things you were looking forward to. If you’re ready to do things differently this year, today you’ll get three simple sentences you can use to help you navigate difficult conversations with loved ones when speaking up feels hard. This episode was originally released closer to the holidays, but it is worth revisiting now so you can keep these sentences in your back pocket as you start making plans and navigating expectations.

How long have you been putting off the hard conversation? Join Sara live for one hour for her free workshop, SPEAK UP. There’s no replay, so bring the conversation you keep avoiding. You’ll learn the Three Speak Up Skills and figure out what’s keeping you stuck.

Here’s what you’ll uncover in this episode:

• Why changing family traditions or plans can bring up anxiety, guilt, and fear of disappointing people
• Why you feel the need to prove or justify what you want before asking for it
• How to acknowledge someone else’s perspective without giving up your own wants and needs
• The conversational tug of war that happens when someone disagrees with your choices
• Why someone else’s disappointment doesn’t have to come at the expense of what you want

Register for SPEAK UP: sarafisk.coach/voice

Find Sara here:

sarafisk.coach

pages.sarafisk.coach/difficultconversations

instagram.com/sarafiskcoach

facebook.com/SaraFiskCoaching

tiktok.com/@sarafiskcoach

youtube.com/@sarafiskcoaching1333

Overthinking can cost you more than time. It can keep you from taking chances and becoming the person who can have what you want. In this episode, you’ll hear a conversation with Dr. Priyanka Venugopal about what it took to move from thinking “Probably not me” to “Why not me?” and pursue a dream without having any evidence that it would work. This mindset shift helped her lose over 60 pounds without counting calories and prepared her to take the stage for her TEDx Talk. It’s not easy, but when you learn to make peace with the idea of failure and be proud of yourself just for trying, so much becomes possible.

How long have you been putting off the hard conversation? Join Sara live for one hour for her free workshop, SPEAK UP. There’s no replay, so bring the conversation you keep avoiding. You’ll learn the Three Speak Up Skills and figure out what’s keeping you stuck.

Here’s what you’ll uncover in this episode:

• How to break the habit of treating disappointment as proof that you did something wrong
• Why desire will start to outweigh the fear surrounding something when you really want it
• How to think about rejection as information instead of turning it into self-criticism
• How overthinking can turn something you care about into a performance
• The benefit of seeking support if you’re used to figuring things out on your own

Find Priyanka here:

https://youtu.be/-p6KtUizbvs?si=gw38DixCjlL9TyED

https://www.instagram.com/dr.priyankavenugopal/

https://priyankavenugopal.com/

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-burn-stress-lose-weight-podcast/id1618073362

Dr. Priyanka Venugopal is an OB-GYN physician, podcaster, TEDx speaker, and entrepreneur. She’s also a coffee-lover and self-proclaimed expert overthinker. After losing 60 pounds while juggling call shifts and two young kids, she discovered the real problem for smart women was never a lack of discipline... it was the time and energy lost to overthinking. Today she helps overachieving professional women reach their next goal in health, home, or career — and get back the 10+ hours a week overthinking quietly steals.

Register for SPEAK UP: sarafisk.coach/voice

Find Sara here:

sarafisk.coach

pages.sarafisk.coach/difficultconversations

instagram.com/sarafiskcoach

facebook.com/SaraFiskCoaching

tiktok.com/@sarafiskcoach

youtube.com/@sarafiskcoaching1333