Send us a text

The "We Built This" global summit created a powerful space where survival transforms into thriving. Hosted by Victoria Cure, domestic violence survivor and founder of A Contagious Smile, this event brings together an extraordinary collection of voices who've turned their deepest wounds into wisdom.

Susan O'Mallan introduces her groundbreaking Thriver's Own Motivational Model, addressing the critical gap between crisis intervention and truly reclaiming joy after trauma. Carrie Blazer reveals the surprising connection between emotional pain and enlightenment through physics principles that explain how our darkest valleys create momentum for our greatest heights. Whitney Knox delivers crucial estate planning guidance specifically tailored for survivors navigating the complexities of protecting themselves and their loved ones.

The summit takes a profound turn as Keelan Flukiger shares his near-death experience and the WIPOS framework (Worth, Identity, Possibility, Ownership, Sovereignty) that emerged from his journey back from addiction and despair. Shane Boyd, who miraculously survived being run over by a truck, teaches us to recognize fear as a compass pointing toward growth rather than a signal to retreat.

Emily courageously reveals her path as a trauma-surviving mother breaking generational cycles, while Allison Graham offers practical resilience techniques through reframing negative thought patterns. Air Force veteran JJ Hawley's emotional account of contemplating suicide and finding purpose through sobriety culminates in his creation of Ripple Retreat—a healing space for recovery built on giving back to community.

The event concludes with powerful perspectives from Victoria and her husband Michael, who demonstrate the possibility of building a loving relationship after experiencing abuse. Their partnership embodies the summit's core message: with the right support and tools, survivors can create lives of purpose, joy and unconditional love beyond their trauma.

Join the Contagious Smile Academy to access resources designed by those who've walked this path. Whether you're taking your first steps toward freedom or are well along your healing journey, this community stands ready to walk beside you, reminding you that you are never alone.

Support the show

Send us a text

The anticipation is palpable as Victoria Coure and Michael dive into their latest episode, announcing that their upcoming webinar has generated remarkable interest, and their global speaking opportunities have sold out in record time! This success comes alongside features in over 50 media publications, including two fresh magazines that arrived just that day: Podcastars and Equubator. Perhaps most exciting? They’re featured in Women’s Weekly with none other than Adele gracing the cover.

Behind their growing platform lies a passionate commitment to accessibility. Victoria reveals that neither of them has taken a paycheck despite working 16+ hour days. Their Academy offers courses at a fraction of industry prices—most under $100, with many completely free—covering platform costs while maintaining their scholarship fund for those unable to afford even modest fees.

The Stucco Squad courses, named after Victoria’s service dog, represent their heartfelt mission to support children in building self-esteem and navigating challenging situations. As Victoria poignantly shares a Michael J. Fox quote: "If you don’t learn a certain way, you make a different way. Doesn't mean you can't learn." This philosophy drives their creation of engaging educational resources that help children thrive through alternative learning approaches.

The conversation takes a candid turn as they explore relationship boundaries and personal values around monogamy, showcasing their authentic communication style and genuine connection. These unfiltered moments reveal the human side behind their professional endeavors—two people committed to helping others while staying true to themselves.

Want to discover how they've turned passion into impact? Their webinar starts tomorrow at 2:00 PM Eastern, where they'll share strategies that have helped them grow from zero followers to millions without expensive marketing teams. Join them to learn how you might transform your own ideas into meaningful resources that help others while honoring your values.

Support the show

Send us a text

Support the show

Send us a text

What happens when life throws everything at you - traumatic brain injury, severe mental illness, chronic pain, and profound loss? Kurt Wagner's answer might surprise you: you become stronger.

After a catastrophic assault left Kurt with a broken vertebral artery, blood poured onto his brain for approximately eight hours. Doctors gave him last rites, believing he wouldn't survive. The injury destroyed 40% of his neurons, including the left side of his cerebellum. When Kurt miraculously woke from his coma, he couldn't walk, talk, or even reach for a cup. His left vocal cord was paralyzed. Doctors told his family he would never function normally again.

But Kurt's story was just beginning. With unwavering support from his parents, he embarked on an arduous journey of rehabilitation. His mother, despite her own social anxiety, refused to leave his hospital bedside, creating makeshift sleeping arrangements from hard chairs. This constant presence became Kurt's motivation to fight.

Beyond the brain injury, Kurt battled obsessive-compulsive disorder since age five and bipolar disorder since fifteen - conditions that repeatedly brought him to the brink of suicide. The bipolar disorder created a Jekyll and Hyde existence, with depressive episodes causing dramatic weight loss and manic phases feeling "godlike" but often destructive.

Rather than being crushed by these challenges, Kurt transformed them into purpose. He became a licensed clinical social worker, channeling his experiences into helping others overcome their struggles. "If I'm going to have to go through all this, maybe I could at least make somebody else's journey less difficult," Kurt explains, citing Matthew 7:12 as his guiding principle.

Kurt's philosophy - "learning from our ailments rather than running from them" - forms the core of his book "Victory in Every Fall," which codifies methods for overcoming seemingly impossible odds. He likens his journey to the Greek myth of Antaeus, who grew stronger each time he was thrown to the ground.

Ready to transform your own challenges into strength? Kurt's extraordinary story reminds us that our deepest struggles often contain the seeds of our greatest growth. Share this episode with someone fighting their own battles who needs to hear that victory can be found in every fall.

Support the show

Send us a text

"You're not your diagnosis, you're not your condition." These powerful words come from Victoria, founder of A Contagious Smile and survivor of extreme domestic violence that has left her with titanium throughout her body, one arm amputated, and now facing complete deafness.

Victoria's story isn't just about survival—it's about transformation. After enduring over 100 surgeries resulting from brutal abuse during her pregnancy 19 years ago, she channeled her trauma into creating a platform that advocates for special needs families and domestic violence survivors. Despite ongoing medical interventions that would break most people's spirit, Victoria refuses to succumb to bitterness or self-pity. Instead, she asks the profound question: "How much more do I have to give?" not as a complaint, but as a testament to her resilience.

The newly launched Contagious Smile Academy represents the culmination of Victoria's mission—providing affordable and often free resources to those navigating similar challenges. With specialized tracks for special needs children (the "Stucco Squad"), parents seeking advocacy tools, abuse survivors, veterans, and even social media training, the academy embodies Victoria's belief that "healing shouldn't come with a price tag." Every $5 donation provides a scholarship for someone who desperately needs these resources.

What makes Victoria's message so compelling is her authenticity. She doesn't sugarcoat the physical and emotional toll of her journey, yet she maintains her sense of humor, asking her surgeon to install "USB ports" so she could charge her many prosthetic devices. Her greatest fear isn't losing more physical abilities—it's losing her family. This perspective shift challenges us all to consider: what truly matters in life when everything else is stripped away?

Join us for our upcoming webinar featuring remarkable speakers who've overcome incredible adversity, or visit acontagioussmile.mn.co to explore the academy and support our mission. Because as Victoria reminds us, we're not promised tomorrow, but we can choose how we spend today—and transforming pain into purpose is the most contagious smile of all.

Support the show

Send us a text

Ever wondered what happens when someone refuses to serve your child with a medical condition? Victoria and Michael share a raw, unfiltered account of standing up to a McDonald's manager who denied their daughter food despite knowing her medical needs. This powerful confrontation highlights the fierce advocacy that defines their approach to life and healing.

The couple dives deep into narcissistic relationships, particularly within families, revealing how narcissists view people as possessions rather than individuals with inherent worth. "The biggest fear a narcissist has is the truth," Victoria explains, "because the black sheep's truth unveils their lies." Their insights come from both personal experience and professional research that informs their acclaimed healing programs.

With 41 published books to her name and recognition in multiple magazines, Victoria channels this success into creating accessible healing resources through A Contagious Smile Academy. Most courses cost just $4.99, with many resources completely free - a testament to their belief that recovery should be available to everyone, regardless of financial circumstances. Their upcoming July 13th webinar features remarkable speakers sharing transformation stories that will inspire and equip listeners with practical healing tools.

What sets this couple apart is their genuine commitment - they've never taken a paycheck for their work despite its considerable personal cost. As Victoria poignantly reminds us, "September 7th, I had an arm and a hand, and September 8th, I didn't." Life can change in an instant, which is why they're passionate about making healing resources available today for those who might need them tomorrow. Ready to experience healing that doesn't break the bank? Join their webinar or explore their Academy - your journey to wholeness might just begin with a simple $5 investment.

Support the show

Send us a text

Some heroes wear uniforms, while others create sanctuaries for healing. In this powerful conversation, we meet JJ, founder of Ripple Retreat and a veteran with 27 years of military service who transformed his own trauma into a mission of recovery and hope.

After surviving four close calls during deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, JJ faced another battle with alcoholism that nearly ended in suicide. Standing atop an Australian high-rise ready to jump, a sudden memory of his fallen friend Commander Murphy Sweet became the intervention that saved his life. Now six and a half years sober, JJ has built something remarkable - a non-alcohol retreat center where 75% of profits go directly back to the community.

The episode takes us through JJ's unforgettable "sock story," where seconds spent turning socks right-side out before laundry literally saved him from being killed by mortar fire in Baghdad. This thread of seemingly small moments creating life-changing impacts runs throughout JJ's philosophy: "Pause, love yourself, and be aware of your ripple."

We explore the challenging reality of military service, from writing death letters before redeployment to confronting PTSD after coming home. JJ's work with the Valor Circles program helps veterans navigate these emotional battlefields, while his weekly "Ripples of Recovery" meetings celebrate sobriety milestones rather than just focusing on the daily struggle.

As JJ prepares to begin teaching and leading men's support groups through the Academy, his vision becomes clear - creating spaces where authentic connection and vulnerability can flourish. His ambitious plan to open Ripple Retreat officially on the 20th anniversary of his friend's death speaks to the transformative power of honoring our pain by helping others heal.

What ripple will you create today? Listen, reflect, and perhaps discover how your own challenges might become someone else's salvation.

Support the show

Send us a text

We're thrilled to announce the launch of Contagious Smile Academy! This passion project represents years of experience transformed into over 100 practical courses designed to support trauma survivors, special needs families, veterans, and anyone seeking personal growth during challenging times.

The Academy features specialized collections including the Safe Haven Phoenix Center for trauma recovery, Stucco Squad for special needs support, Valor Circle for veterans, and our Social Media Playbook sharing how we've grown from zero to millions without a marketing team. What makes these courses unique is they're created by someone who truly understands - Victoria has undergone over 100 surgeries throughout her life and developed many courses while managing chronic pain, hearing loss, and the challenges of being an amputee with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS).

Our upcoming webinar on July 13th brings together remarkable experts and survivors including Susan, who established the first rape crisis center in the country after her niece was murdered by an ex-boyfriend on campus. You'll also hear from attorney Whitney Knoxley, whose comeback story will leave you inspired, and former detective/judge Chris Callahan. We're offering free tickets through Eventbrite (search "best of the best for July 13th"), with options at $2.50 and $5 that sponsor access for those who cannot afford it.

We believe deeply in accessibility - when leaving domestic violence, "you have what's on your back, what you can carry, and your kids." That's why we've kept courses affordable and offer scholarships to those in need. One in four women experiences abuse, and you never know when these resources might be needed by someone you love - or even yourself. Your support through "buying a coffee" on our website helps ensure no one is turned away.

Ready to explore courses that might make you laugh, cry, or see things in a completely new light? Visit acontagioussmile.com and click the Academy tab, or go directly to acontagioussmileMN.co. Join our community of resilience, healing and growth - where paying it forward today creates support for tomorrow.

Support the show