In this special comeback episode of The Alden Report, host Mike Alden welcomes his wife, Dr. Taryn Marie Stejskal — renowned resilience expert, bestselling author, and global leadership coach — for a deeply personal and powerful conversation.

Dr. Taryn Marie shares her journey from overcoming childhood trauma to executive leadership roles at Nike and Cigna, and ultimately launching her own resilience-focused companies just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Together, Mike and Taryn explore what resilience really looks like behind the scenes: vulnerability, loneliness, entrepreneurship, burnout, and the complicated realities women face in business — including navigating inappropriate advances while maintaining integrity.

This episode is honest, emotional, and full of practical wisdom for anyone rebuilding, pivoting, or searching for meaning in their work and life.

⏱ Episode Highlights

00:00 – Empowerment & self-worth in business
03:09 – Divine timing and book origins
08:38 – Childhood trauma and why she wrote her book
14:10 – Vulnerability and loneliness
20:28 – Leaving Nike and corporate life
35:51 – Navigating sexism in business
41:07 – Advice for women facing unwanted advances
57:01 – Burnout, empowerment & what’s next

About Dr. Taryn Marie

Dr. Taryn Marie Stejskal, PhD, is a #1 Wall Street Journal Best-Selling Author, keynote speaker, and one of the world’s leading experts on resilience, mental health, and wellbeing. She is the author of The 5 Practices of Highly Resilient People, endorsed by Arianna Huffington, Daniel Pink, Maria Shriver, and more.

🔗 Connect with Dr. Taryn Marie

🌐 https://www.resilience-leadership.com
📘 https://www.facebook.com/DrTarynMarie
📸 https://www.instagram.com/drtarynmarie
💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/taryn-marie-stejskal
📺 https://www.youtube.com/@dr.tarynmarie1729

Companies Co-Founded Dr. Taryn Marie

https://bodycaremd.com/

https://bioaccesslabs.com/

📖 Book:
https://www.resilience-leadership.com/5-practices-highly-resilient-people-book

🎧 Flourish Podcast:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/flourish-with-dr-taryn-marie/id1589306573

For more info on Michael Alden visit: https://www.mikealden.com/

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This week on The Alden Report, we are joined by successful architect, author and health and fitness legend Ed Connors. Ed's life and career have been fascinating to say the least. Originally born in Omaha, Nebraska, Ed graduated from Creighton Preparatory School, as well as the University of California, Berkeley, where he received a Bachelor of Architecture degree. He was drafted into the Army and served in the Vietnam War, earning a Bronze Star with two oak leaf clusters.

After returning from the war, Ed began his architecture career and worked for several prominent firms, including Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo & Associates and the office of Charles Eames. During this time, he was involved in the design of major projects such as California Plaza in downtown Los Angeles, the Headquarters for the Port of L.A. in San Pedro, and Fox Plaza in Century City.

In 1979, Ed and two partners purchased the single Gold's Gym in Santa Monica, California. They developed specific plans and programs that allowed the company to grow from a single gym operation to a multi-faceted company engaged in product distribution and licensing. Ed opened up the first gym franchise ever with a Gold's Gym in San Francisco, and the chain grew to 704 locations in 26 countries and 46 states before he exited the company in 2004.

During his time building the Gold's Gym brand, Ed helped shape the careers of hundreds of individuals, including Ms. Olympia Cory Everson and Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler. He also got several dozen athletes into professional wrestling and helped launch the careers of several TV personalities.

Today, Ed is working on his memoir entitled THE THREE MUSCLETEERS and actively pursuing the creation of a new gym model suited for the post-pandemic world.

You’re not going to miss the portion of our discussion where we debate the prevalence and effects that performance enhancing drugs have had on the industry both in its infancy and today.

Thank you very much to Ed for joining me on The Alden Report.

For more information on Ed Connors and his law firm, you can visit: https://edconnors.com/

For the full version of this episode and early access to future episodes, you may become a member of The Alden Report here:

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Spotlight Production and Media Management

Imagine spotlighting yourself, your brand or your book on virtually every major network all of the country and appearing in people's homes week after week after week. No worries about whether or not your ad on social media is actually being fed to people. You WILL be in their homes in front of them. With our experience and know how we can take an unknown person, brand, book, product or

For more info on Michael Alden visit: https://www.mikealden.com/

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In this episode of The Alden Report, Wayne Altman shares his inspiring journey of creating Melody Clouds, a platform that has helped thousands of people find relief from tinnitus and promote relaxation and well-being.

Wayne's personal struggle with tinnitus led him to discover the therapeutic benefits of binaural beats and music. However, he couldn't find what he needed on existing subscription sites, which led him to collect tracks from producers worldwide and create Melody Clouds.

Today, Melody Clouds offers an extensive library of content, including binaural beats, music, guided meditations, audio books, solfeggio, nature sounds, calming, and relaxation sounds. With over 8000 hours of content translated into over 100 different languages, Melody Clouds has a global membership and continues to help people relax and learn.

Wayne's dedication to enriching the lives of his customers and community is evident in his multiple online businesses, and he remains committed to sharing the healing and beneficial effects of this technology with everyone who wants it.

Thank you so much to Wayne for joining on The Alden Report.

For more information on Wayne Altman and his company, you can visit: https://melodyclouds.com

For the full version of this episode and early access to future episodes, you may become a member of The Alden Report here:

https://www.patreon.com/thealdenreport

Thank you to this episode's sponsor:

Spotlight Production and Media Management

Imagine spotlighting yourself, your brand or your book on virtually every major network all of the country and appearing in people's homes week after week after week. No worries about whether or not your ad on social media is actually being fed to people. You WILL be in their homes in front of them. With our experience and know how we can take an unknown person, brand, book, product or service and turn it into a household name.

https://www.mikealden.com/author-spotlight

For more info on Michael Alden visit: https://www.mikealden.com/

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