29. What Nobody Teaches Women About Friendship w/ Licensed Therapist Heather Carlson
A Meaningful Life
When was the last time a friendship made you feel truly known? Not just caught up — but actually seen? In this episode of A Meaningful Life, Kellie Smith sits down with , a licensed marriage and family therapist and creator of — a year-long program helping women build deep, intentional friendships. We get into the real stuff: why female friendship feels harder than ever right now, the myths we were handed that set us up to fail, and what the longest-running Harvard study on happiness tells us about the relationships that actually matter. Heather shares a personal story about...
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28. How I Made $1,000 a Month as a Stay-at-Home Mom (More Than Once)
A Meaningful Life
Have you ever stepped away from your career to be home with your kids — and felt that quiet ache of missing the part of you that worked, that earned, that contributed? In this episode, Kellie gets personal about what it actually looked like to go from main breadwinner to stay-at-home mom — and how she built her way back to earning her own income, not once, not twice, but across multiple seasons of life. The goal wasn't glamorous. It was $1,000 a month. And she figured it out, more than once, in completely different ways — using the skills she already had. This one is full of...
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27. Who You Were Made to Be
A Meaningful Life
Have you ever sat with someone — a teacher, a mentor, a pastor — and thought, how does this person just get it so right? Have you wondered what it is about them that makes their words land differently than everyone else's? It's their willingness to be fully, unapologetically themselves. In this episode, Kellie shares a quiet morning reflection that turned into something worth saying out loud. Sitting on her back porch with her coffee and journal, she found herself grateful for someone in her life who refused to fit into the box — and realized that gratitude was actually a mirror....
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26. Come Home to Yourself
A Meaningful Life
Have you ever looked up from your life and realized you've become a stranger to yourself? You're fluent in everyone else's needs but can barely remember the last time you checked in with your own. This is what happens when we spend so much time living for everyone around us that we forget to live for ourselves. And the tricky part? You can't find your way back to who you were because that woman doesn't exist anymore. You've lived things. Maybe you have birthed children. Your capacity has changed. Your values have shifted and deepened and sometimes completely transformed. The work now is...
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25. Meaningful Message: Stuck in the Why
A Meaningful Life
Do you ever find yourself obsessing over why things happen the way they do? Feeling like if you could finally get the answer, the ache inside of you would settle — because you'd finally understand? And on the flip side, do you ever get the answer to why — only to toss it aside because it's not what you wanted to hear, or it just doesn't quite fit? What if that's the pattern keeping you stuck? Quietly stealing your most precious, valuable time. In this solo episode, Kellie unpacks the why spiral. Not because asking why is wrong, but because sometimes the question itself is a trap, and...
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24. Meaningful Message: What To Do With Your Anger
A Meaningful Life
Anger is a normal, human emotion—and yet so many of us are being told how to feel it, how to express it, and how to react to it. But what if the most powerful thing you could do with your anger is simply... let yourself feel it? There's a lot of it swirling around—in our personal lives, in the world, on social media—and most of us are either suppressing it or fueling it without realizing the cycle we're caught in. In this solo episode, Kellie shares a simple but powerful mindset shift: allow yourself to feel the anger fully, let it move through you like a wave, and then get rooted in...
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23. Healing Beyond the Body w/ Dr. Will Bulsiewicz
A Meaningful Life
In this profoundly moving episode, I sit down with my dear friend Dr. Will Bulsiewicz (aka. Dr. B) to discuss Chapter 8 of his upcoming book Plant Powered Plus – a chapter he calls his "masterpiece" and the very reason he wrote the book. Dr. B is a board-certified gastroenterologist, New York Times bestselling author, and internationally recognized gut health expert. But in this conversation, we go far beyond nutrition science to explore the miraculous healing he's witnessed when treating the physical body reaches its limits. What We Discuss: The Missing Piece in Healing Why some...
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22. 16 Years of Marriage - What We Have Learned
A Meaningful Life
16 years of marriage. Countless lessons learned. In this honest and heartfelt episode, I sit down with my husband, Greg, on our anniversary to reflect on sixteen years of marriage. We talk about the lessons, the laughter, and the hard-earned wisdom that’s shaped who we are today as partners and individuals. Marriage, like life, is rarely perfect. It takes communication, humility, and a willingness to grow both individually and together. In this conversation, Greg and I open up about how we’ve learned to navigate challenges, keep curiosity alive, and stay grounded in love and faith through...
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21. Faith, Freedom, and Finding My Way
A Meaningful Life
In this deeply personal episode, I open my heart to share a part of my story I’ve never fully spoken aloud before: my evolving relationship with God. For years, I wrestled with how to talk about faith. I worried I didn’t have the “right” words. But what I’ve come to realize is that God doesn’t want perfection. He wants connection. And today, I’m answering the call to share how that connection has shaped my life, healed old wounds, and grounded me in peace. Whether you’ve experienced religious confusion, spiritual yearning, or are simply feeling called to explore your faith more...
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20. Meaningful Message: Financial Freedom
A Meaningful Life
Financial freedom sounds glorious, doesn’t it? The idea of generating a large passive income or building enough wealth to finally have the freedom to do all the things we dream of. It’s the promise sold by so many “programs” out there—most of which aren’t exactly aligned with living a life of true meaning and purpose. But what if financial freedom isn’t what the modern world tells us it is? Recently, I had an epiphany that completely changed my perspective. I now see financial freedom in a whole new light—one where money circulates freely into and out of your life, allowing you...
info_outlineIn this profoundly moving episode, I sit down with my dear friend Dr. Will Bulsiewicz (aka. Dr. B) to discuss Chapter 8 of his upcoming book Plant Powered Plus – a chapter he calls his "masterpiece" and the very reason he wrote the book.
Dr. B is a board-certified gastroenterologist, New York Times bestselling author, and internationally recognized gut health expert. But in this conversation, we go far beyond nutrition science to explore the miraculous healing he's witnessed when treating the physical body reaches its limits.
What We Discuss:
The Missing Piece in Healing
- Why some patients don't improve despite doing "everything right"
- Dr. B's transformative experience working with pioneer Dr. Douglas Drossman in a unique clinic that spent 2+ hours with each patient
- How trauma leaves a "wound on the soul" that impacts physical health through the gut-brain axis
The Science of Connection
- Why isolation is literal torture and loneliness affects health more than smoking or excessive alcohol
- How our microbiome thrives on routine and how stress suppresses gut health
- The parasympathetic vs. sympathetic nervous system and why we're living in "sympathetic overdrive"
Beyond the Physical
- Dr. B's personal journey of healing, including his complex relationship with his father and a divinely-timed final visit
- Why human connection and spiritual connection are biological requirements, not wellness "hacks"
- The God-shaped hole in every human heart and why faith isn't separate from science
Practical Wisdom
- How to begin addressing unhealed trauma
- The importance of doctor-patient relationships and what's broken in our healthcare system
- Why we need to return to "the old ways" of connection, community, and purpose
This conversation beautifully weaves together medical expertise, personal vulnerability, and spiritual truth. Dr. B reminds us that we are not just "bags of cells," we are souls with bodies, and true healing requires us to address both.
One of my favorite quotes from this episode is when Dr. B says, "Healing comes in many forms and from many places. It's not just what we eat."
Whether you're struggling with chronic health issues, feeling isolated in our modern world, or simply seeking deeper meaning, this episode offers an invitation to explore what might be missing in your own healing journey.
Connect with Dr. Will Bulsiewicz:
- Instagram: @theguthealthmd
- Website: theguthealthmd.com
- Circle Community - The Gut Health Collective: Join for monthly challenges, cooking sessions, and direct interaction with Dr. B
Pre-order Plant Powered Plus (releasing January 13, 2026)
Connect with Kellie
- Instagram: @kelliesmithstudio
- Have a thought or question this conversation stirred in you? I’d love to hear from you. Share it here.