334: How to Transform Stress to Work for You with Dr Rebecca Heiss
The Elegant Warrior with Heather Hansen
Release Date: 09/11/2025
356: The Real Secret to Ultimate Charisma
The Elegant Warrior with Heather Hansen
In today’s episode, Heather shares a powerful and counterintuitive truth about charisma. It is not rooted in self confidence, body language, or perfect delivery. It begins with your belief in the people in front of you. Whether you are leading a team, persuading a jury, navigating a difficult conversation, or presenting on stage, your energy communicates what you truly believe. And people feel it. Drawing on her experience as a trial attorney and leadership coach, Heather explains why setting a high goal and expressing authentic confidence that others can achieve it is one of the most...
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355: These 2 Words Help You To Be Understood
The Elegant Warrior with Heather Hansen
In today’s episode, Heather shares one of the 12 proven tools for increasing charisma and mastering difficult conversations and it comes down to just two words: it’s like. While storytelling has dominated the communication world for years, Heather explains why metaphor can be even more powerful. Stories take time. Metaphors create instant clarity. By comparing something unfamiliar to something your audience already understands, you not only become more charismatic, you become unforgettable. Through courtroom examples, coaching breakthroughs, and practical exercises, Heather shows how...
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354: One Sentence to Help You Face Difficult Conversations
The Elegant Warrior with Heather Hansen
In today’s episode, Heather shares the one sentence that will get you to show up for high-stake conversations, even when you absolutely don't want to. While mindset and emotional management are powerful, some conversations - like receiving tough feedback or facing a dreaded interview - can’t be thought or felt out of. Sometimes, the only answer is a simple mantra: Do it anyway. Drawing from her diverse background as a trial attorney, psychology major, and certified hypnotist, Heather explains why acting in spite of dread is the ultimate secret sauce to communication. This episode is a deep...
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353: 3 Ways to Manage Your Emotions for High-Stakes Conversations
The Elegant Warrior with Heather Hansen
Ever feel your heart race or your voice shake the moment you need to ask for a raise, set a boundary, or give tough feedback? High-stakes conversations don't have to be high-stress battles. In this episode, communication expert Heather shares three powerful tools to help you master your emotions and handle "difficult" conversations with clarity and calm. You’ll learn how to shift your mindset from "combat" to "collaboration" using the BEAR technique - understanding how your beliefs lead to your energy, actions, and results. Heather breaks down how to stop viewing others as enemies and how to...
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352: Three Tools for Mastering "Difficult" Conversations
The Elegant Warrior with Heather Hansen
In today’s episode of The Elegant Warrior, Heather breaks down why “difficult conversations” are only difficult if you believe they are. Whether you’re giving or receiving feedback, negotiating a raise, setting a boundary, or asking for help, Heather shares three practical tools to help you prepare mentally, emotionally, and strategically. Drawing from her experience as a trial attorney, communication expert, and advocate, Heather explains how your beliefs shape your energy, your actions, and ultimately your results. You’ll learn how to reframe the story you’re telling yourself,...
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351: Your Playlist, Your Enneagram, and Your Wisdom with Susan Drumm
The Elegant Warrior with Heather Hansen
In this episode of The Elegant Warrior, Heather welcomes leadership expert Susan Drumm to explore how music, neuroscience, and the Enneagram can transform your leadership and your life. Susan shares her fascinating journey from Harvard Law School to consulting, television, acting, and ultimately leadership development, showing how following intuition and curiosity can lead to extraordinary growth. Together, Heather and Susan dive into practical tools for recognizing patterns, disrupting limiting behaviors, and building new mental “playlists” that support empowerment, confidence, and...
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350: What is Motivational Interviewing and Why Should I Care? With Kim Bisset
The Elegant Warrior with Heather Hansen
In today’s episode, Heather sits down with Kim Bisset to explore Motivational Interviewing and why it is such a powerful tool for communication, leadership, coaching, and advocacy. Rather than relying on pressure, persuasion, or fixing, Motivational Interviewing focuses on curiosity, collaboration, and helping people uncover their own reasons for change. Drawing from Kim’s expertise and Heather’s background in law, coaching, and healthcare communication, this conversation breaks down what Motivational Interviewing really is, what it is not, and why it works so well in high stakes...
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349: Does Thought Beat Action? Manifesting, Preparing and Acting for 2026
The Elegant Warrior with Heather Hansen
In today’s episode, Heather challenges one of the most popular beliefs in personal development: that mindset alone creates change. While visualization, manifestation, and positive thinking all have value, Heather explains why none of them work without action. Joined by frequent guest Judge Rosemarie Aquilina, Heather explores how thinking, dreaming, preparing, and acting each play a role in real transformation and why action is ultimately what creates momentum. Together, they unpack the limits of visualization and manifestation when they are not paired with effort, practice, and follow...
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348: THIS is Way More Important Than Mindset! Why Action Matters More Than Intention
The Elegant Warrior with Heather Hansen
In today’s episode, Heather challenges one of the most popular ideas in personal development: that mindset alone creates change. While visualization, manifestation, and positive thinking all have value, she explains why none of them work without action. Drawing from her own journey with weight loss, running marathons, writing books, and building a career in advocacy and communication, Heather shows how real transformation only happens when thinking turns into doing. Backed by research, neuroscience, and practical tools, this episode is a powerful reminder that intention without action keeps...
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347: Unfolded - How to Believe in Yourself and Your Ability to Fly
The Elegant Warrior with Heather Hansen
In today’s episode, Heather welcomes authors, leadership consultants, and husband and wife team Dr. Linda Schubring and Brian Schubring to explore the deeper meaning of identity, transformation, and trusting your inner map. Together, they discuss their bestselling book Unfolded: Lessons in Transformation from an Origami Crane, a powerful allegory that invites readers to rediscover their inner wisdom and reshape how they show up in the world. Through stories of leadership coaching, personal reflection, and creative collaboration, Heather, Linda, and Brian unpack how uncertainty, change, and...
info_outlinen today’s episode, Heather speaks with Rebecca Heiss, evolutionary biologist, speaker, and author of Springboard: Transform Stress to Work for You. Rebecca shares her groundbreaking perspective on stress, not as something to eliminate, but as a force you can reframe and harness. With her Fearless Stress Formula, she teaches how to stop fighting stress and instead use it as fuel for growth, resilience, and meaning.
Rebecca’s journey spans science, entrepreneurship, and personal challenge from founding an ice cream company to leading discomfort challenges and building communities. Together, she and Heather unpack the myths about stress and how you can shift your relationship with it to live a more powerful, purposeful life.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
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The Fearless Stress Formula: A three-part system to stop fearing stress and start working with it.
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It’s Not a Tiger: How to recognize when your body’s “danger” signals are overreacting to everyday life.
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Transforming Stress into Energy: Why reframing anxiety as excitement can boost your performance.
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Curiosity Over Fear: How asking questions interrupts stress spirals and shifts perspective.
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Trajectory and Action: Why small steps into discomfort matter more than avoidance.
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Post-Traumatic Growth: The surprising science that shows stress and growth can coexist.
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The Power of Community: How stress can actually deepen connection and why support systems matter.
Resources & Links:
📖 Springboard: Transform Stress to Work for You Get the book here
🌐 Learn more about Rebecca’s work rebeccaheiss.com
🏀 Game Changer Basketball WeAreGameChanger.org
Episode Highlights:
[00:00] Meet Rebecca Heiss – scientist, author, and entrepreneur
[04:54] The Fearless Stress Formula: It’s Not a Tiger
[09:41] Stress as a sign of meaning and purpose
[11:12] Transforming stress into excitement and energy
[14:53] Why curiosity and fear can’t coexist
[17:57] The power of trajectory and action
[22:03] Learned helplessness vs. agency
[26:13] Post-traumatic stress and post-traumatic growth
[29:41] Building community with Game Changer Basketball
[32:57] Hope and the importance of support systems
Connect with Heather:
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Heather’s TikTok
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heather@elegantwarrior.com
The Elegant Warrior Podcast and content posted by Heather Hansen is presented solely for general informational, educational, and entertainment purposes. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast or website is at the user’s own risk. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical or mental health condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions.