Real-life stories: conversations with (aspiring) impact-driven female founders who turned inner shifts into meaningful change;
Lessons from role models: grounded wisdom from people who chose clarity over pressure and aligned their work with who they are;
Reclaim your clarity: a journey of self-discovery, agency and purposeful direction;
Join the movement: a community that believes in growth through honest reflection, one story at a time!
Empowerment begins with a single step, your choice to listen, reflect and reconnect with whatโs true for you now.
Oh and one more thing: by leaving a review and sharing an episode youโre already playing a part in someoneโs next step ๐๐พ
Publisher
Michiel Sujeet Reith
Category
society & culture ยท society & culture ยท society & culture
#98 | Yeni Joseph | "Curiosity creates real connection!"
In this episode, I connected with Yeni Joseph, strategic partnerships professional and chair of the board and license holder of TEDxAmsterdam, whose curiosity has taken her across countries, communities and professional worlds while shaping how she connects with people.
Born in Jordan to Sri Lankan parents and adopted into a Dutch family, Yeni started questioning identity and belonging as a teenager. At fifteen, that curiosity took her to Sri Lanka to meet her biological family and search for answers about where she came from. What she discovered wasn't a simple answer about belonging. Meeting her family gave her answers, but also helped her realise that the Netherlands was home.
That same curiosity later took her to Ghana, where experiencing a culture very different from the one she grew up in taught her about community, belonging and being part of something bigger. Today that thread continues through her work:
โพ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ป๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.
Deep dive talking points:=
๐๐พ Curiosity creates real connection: why Yeni believes connection isn't about knowing everything about someone, but creating enough openness for passions, challenges and ambitions to be shared;
๐๐พ Identity and belonging: meeting her biological family in Sri Lanka and discovering that finding where you come from doesn't necessarily determine where you belong;
๐๐พ The power of community: how living in Ghana showed her the value of community and eventually helped her appreciate her ability to belong in different places without losing herself;
๐๐พ Creating your own growth path: why Yeni rejected the assumption that professional ambition automatically means becoming a people manager and instead pursued depth, expertise and connection;
๐๐พ Trusting curiosity and gut feeling: from unexpectedly saying yes to leading TEDxAmsterdam to learning that not every decision can be rationalised and that growth also means trusting others;
Nuggets of empowerment:
๐๐พ Belonging doesn't have to mean fitting into one place. It can mean learning to connect across different worlds without losing yourself.
๐๐พ Curiosity doesn't require knowing where something will lead. Sometimes asking the question, entering the unfamiliar or saying yes is what reveals the next step.
Yeni's empowering words:
๐๐พ โI can feel that I belong in a lot of different places.โ ๐๐พ
What becomes possible when we stop trying to fit into one place and become curious about where genuine connection can take us?
Connect with Yeni:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yenijoseph/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/yenijoseph/)
Website: https://www.tedxamsterdam.nl (https://www.tedxamsterdam.nl)
Curious to explore your Business Model YOU?
Visit โจJourneys of Empowermentโจ (https://journeysofempowerment.com) | Make space to see what connects and shape what comes next.
Donation page Safe Space Club: https://www.thesafespaceclub.nl/doneren (https://www.thesafespaceclub.nl/doneren)
13 Oct 2026
#97 | Paula Torraco | "Reconnecting with inner authority!"
In this episode, I connected with Paula Torraco, founder of To Be Honest, whose journey from performing perfection to trusting what she knows deep inside became a process of remembering who she is beneath achievement and expectation.
Growing up in Argentina, Paula learned early to give the expected answer and excel at everything. In 2013, returning from Europe to find her apartment emptied by a robbery became a wake-up call.
Starting again in the Netherlands without her possessions, professional identity or familiar surroundings confronted her with a deeper question:
โพ ๐๐ต๐ผ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐?
Deep dive talking points:
๐๐พ Performing perfection: how achievement gradually disconnected Paula from herself;
๐๐พ Starting again: why losing almost everything shattered an identity built around accomplishment;
๐๐พ Reconnecting with inner authority: learning to listen to her body and act on what she knows;
๐๐พ Choosing the unknown: leaving corporate security without knowing what came next;
๐๐พ Possibility through curiosity: questioning what no longer fits!
Nuggets of empowerment:
๐๐พ Awareness creates the space to choose differently;
๐๐พ We don't always need to know what's next but we do need to pay attention;
Paula's empowering words:
๐๐พ โMy life changed when I started exploring and getting curious about what I didn't know.โ ๐๐พ
What changes when we stop giving the expected answer and start listening to our own?
Connect with Paula:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulatorraco/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulatorraco/)
Website: https://www.paulatorraco.com/tobehonest (https://www.paulatorraco.com/tobehonest)
Curious to explore your Business Model YOU?
Visit โจJourneys of Empowermentโจ (https://journeysofempowerment.com) | Make space to see what connects and shape what comes next.
Donation page Safe Space Club: https://www.thesafespaceclub.nl/doneren (https://www.thesafespaceclub.nl/doneren)
6 Oct 2026
#96 | Paulina Rabell | "Reinventing through connection!"
Paulina Rabell, managing director of ESDP, whose journey from Mexico to the US, France and now the Netherlands has been driven by curiosity and a desire to connect people and possibilities.
Raised in a close-knit entrepreneurial family in Mexico, Paulina developed an early hunger to explore cultures and languages. Studying in the US became a defining test when the financial crisis forced her to choose between returning home or staying and supporting herself. She stayed!
France followed and eventually the Netherlands, with every chapter requiring reinvention while strengthening something already within her:
โพ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ป๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ.
Deep dive talking points:
๐๐พ Progress over perfection: learning to give herself grace;
๐๐พ Choosing resilience: discovering she could take care of herself;
๐๐พ Reinventing through connection: following curiosity across cultures;
๐๐พ Building bridges: creating opportunities others can walk through;
๐๐พ Showing up: why relationships require patience;
Nuggets of empowerment:
๐๐พ Reinvention doesn't mean losing who you are;
๐๐พ Connections can open possibilities we cannot predict;
๐๐พ Progress begins when perfection stops holding us back;
In Paulina's words:
๐๐พ โI'm a connector of people, experiences and opportunities.โ ๐๐พ
How about you:
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป ๐๐?
Ps ๐ฅESDP, EGLCC - The European LGBTIQ Chamber of Commerce, and telos are joining forces to host the first-ever ๐๐ค๐ง๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ช๐ข๐ข๐๐ฉ [5-6 ๐ฃ๐ค๐ซ'26], dedicated to inclusive sourcing, where underrepresented suppliers and corporate procurement leaders meet to build partnership [link in the comments]
Connect with Paulina:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulinarv/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulinarv/)
Website: https://esdp-org.eu (https://esdp-org.eu)
Forward Summit 5-6 nov: https://www.forwardsummit.euย (https://www.forwardsummit.eu)
Curious to explore your Business Model YOU?
Visit โจJourneys of Empowermentโจ (https://journeysofempowerment.com) | Make space to see what connects and shape what comes next.
Donation page Safe Space Club: https://www.thesafespaceclub.nl/donerenย (https://www.thesafespaceclub.nl/doneren)
Who has been a guest on Journeys of Empowerment
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Trishanka Smaal
Kuhu Singh
Kemo Camara
Emily van Putten
Kasia Pokrop
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Spotify
5.0 / 5
15 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 40 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
80
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
0
Contact Journeys of Empowerment
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of Journeys of Empowerment?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
