Have you ever felt manipulated? Have you ever felt frustrated and powerless? How did you react? I’ve found myself with a knife at my throat, afflicted with a chronic disease, and bullied at work. In each of these circumstances, I had a choice: fight or retreat. I’m kind of feisty, so I fought back in all cases, and in all cases, I got beat up. But you know what? I’m still here. Had I not fought, I might not be.

When bullied at work, I felt totally oppressed and baffled. After all, I’m no pushover. Leaning into years of study and coaching training, I came to realize that the bully was a trigger; a trigger I could use to release old trauma - and I decided to do so. I took a leap of faith and focused on my inner landscape, as I struggled mightily to deal with the matter at hand.

It was hard to go against my well-honed defense mechanisms, and I was retraumatized many times throughout the ordeal. I sometimes found myself lashing out as I put into practice empowering strategies and techniques to free myself of the bully – as well as the buried trauma. It worked, and as a result, I discovered ways to use difficult people and situations to heal old wounds.

My name is Marla Bollak, and this is The Road to Empowerment, where my guests and I dish the good with the bad. We share inspiring life experiences; how we have stumbled, healed, grown, and otherwise made it through adversarial times; we share wisdom gained and magic we’ve encountered along the way. Throughout this all, you will glean practical and empowering tools, techniques, and strategies to increase your self-esteem and confidence as you deal with whatever life throws your way.

So, please join us on the Road to Empowerment and discover how to use those inevitable challenges to become more whole and more empowered. I look forward to seeing you on the journey.