The Choice to Grow

About The Choice to Grow

"It takes courage to push yourself to places you have never been before... to test your limits... to break through barriers. And the day came when the risk it took to stay tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." ~Anais Nin What tools, practices and perspectives can help you to thrive more in life? To build your abilities for using challenges and unfamiliar experiences as powerful opportunities to grow and add value? The Choice to Grow tunes into stories of positive impact. Spotlighting change makers, innovators and trailblazers in wellness, leadership, music, and art whose continual choice to grow is adding value, forging innovation and opening up new possibilitiies around the world. Each guest is someone who’s met plenty of obstacles and challenges and continues to make the key choice — The Choice to Grow and to keep on growing. Dialogues, discoveries, tips and tools for an extraordinary life that feels great and inspires others to grow. "Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly." ~Anonymous

Publisher

Scott Schwenk

Category

business · education · health & fitness · religion & spirituality · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

26 Apr 2025

Latest episode

23 Mar 2026

Latest episodes

33 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   23 Mar 2026

   Maude Hirst on Trusting Intuition Over Logic

   In this dynamic dialogue, Scott Schwenk and guest Maude Hirst dive right into the heart of navigating through a series of major life changes with so many unpredictable elements at play. Together they explore the courage and real life changes it takes to trust the quiet signals of the body over the loud arguments of the mind. Maude pivoted from a life of performing and a familiar life as an actress on a hit TV show to training to help people grow through meditation and breath and within a short bit of time was married and gave birth to her first child. Maude shares the deeply personal story of the moment breathwork and meditation first cracked something open inside her — a moment that revealed just how disconnected she had been from herself. What followed was a profound shift: from logic to intuition, from performing to presence, and from searching outward to listening inward for the way forward. Maude Hirst is a Meditation Practitioner, Founder, Coach, Author, and Speaker, specialising in making meditation and its life changing benefits accessible to all. Maude was an actor best known for playing Helga in the hit TV show Vikings before becoming a leading wellness practitioner and founder of the bespoke meditation company EnergyRise and co-founder of wellbeing consultancy Home of Connection. She is based in London but teaches globally. She runs a virtual members club for the mind, corporate wellbeing events, private mentorships, a meditation app and wellness retreats. Her sessions deliver a transformational internal experience, encouraging people to find personal well-being through rediscovering their confidence and unique strengths. www.maudehirst.co.uk INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/maudehirst/ Scott Schwenk Scott's teachings, courses and master coaching guide leaders, seekers and creatives to explore the embodiment of their deepest selves in service of thriving on all levels of being, both individually and relationally. You can receive a free guided meditation and explore Scott's courses, workshops, retreats, training and master coaching at https://scottschwenk.com and can find him on Instagram @thescottschwenk.

2. 

   23 Feb 2026

   Feel It. Don't Fight It. Charlie Goldsmith on Growth Without Resistance

   In this expansive and eye-opening conversation, Scott Schwenk sits down with globally recognized energy healer and author Charlie Goldsmith to explore the mechanics of how we can heal deeply and powerfully, beyond what our limiting beliefs tell us is possible. Charlie shares a radically simple but profound teaching: growth is not about fixing yourself — it's about feeling what you feel without rejection. From parts work (healing shadow) and overwhelm to generational conditioning and the true nature of money, this dialogue reframes suffering, healing, and success through the lens of acceptance. Charlie also leads a powerful guided practice to help listeners directly experience what it means to let an emotion "come home." This episode is a deep dive into inner peace, energy healing, and the subtle shift that changes everything. Charlie Goldsmith Recognised internationally for his work, Charlie Goldsmith has spent almost thirty years practicing and sharing his approach across public, clinical, and research settings. Charlie Goldsmith spontaneously discovered his healing ability at 18. He quickly realized both how misunderstood and how powerful it was. Recognizing the lack of credibility and opportunity in the field, he has dedicated his life to bringing credibility and driving real, lasting change in this area. Charlie became the subject of TLC's TV series The Healer, which followed his work and offered a closer look at his unique approach. Despite ongoing skepticism around energy medicine, many people—including medical professionals—expressed surprise at what they observed during his sessions. He now collaborates with hospitals, universities, and health institutions, where is work is part of ongoing studies. In addition to this research, Charlie continues to share his teachings through live events and his book Human Medicine, which outlines the mechanics of emotion and the inner world. He has also developed Ennie, a platform designed to bring more clarity, credibility, and accessibility to the field of energy work. Across all these initiatives, Charlie remains committed to creating greater understanding between energy medicine and modern medicine. Scott Schwenk Scott's teachings, courses and master coaching guide leaders, seekers and creatives to explore the embodiment of their deepest selves in service of thriving on all levels of being, both individually and relationally. You can receive a free guided meditation and explore Scott's courses, workshops, retreats, training and master coaching at https://scottschwenk.com and can find him on Instagram @thescottschwenk.

3. 

   17 Nov 2025

   Stillness, Surrender, and the Sacred: Elena Brower on Holding Nothing

   In this heartfelt conversation, Scott Schwenk welcomes author, poet, and teacher Elena Brower for a luminous dialogue centered on her new book Hold Nothing. Together, they explore what it means to live—and love—with radical honesty, spiritual discipline, and open-hearted presence. Elena shares the intimate stories, somatic wisdom, and poetic insights that shaped this newest offering, weaving themes of motherhood, grief, recovery, and devotion. A timely conversation about courage, creativity, and choosing to hold nothing back. Elena Brower – Teacher, Author, Artist Mother, mentor, poet, artist, volunteer, bestselling author and host of the Practice You Podcast, Elena Brower graduated Cornell University in 1992, designed textiles and apparel for almost a decade before shifting her focus to yoga, meditation, writing and art. Teaching asana since 1999, studying and practicing Zen meditation since 2020, she received the Buddhist Precepts from Roshi Joan Halifax at Upaya Zen Center in 2023. Now a candidate for Buddhist Chaplaincy, Elena offers her time in hospice and penitentiary settings. Her bestselling journals and books explore stages of life and listening. Her next book, Hold Nothing, just published by Shambhala Publications is available now.. Elena's Perceptive Parenting audio course is a key resource for parents; her signature course Simplify serves hundreds in reimagining priorities in order to experience more meaning every day, and she's also the founder of free global podcast The Matter of Menopause. Her weekly live yoga practices and meditations are featured on Glo; she offers retreats and workshops a few times a year, and her spoken word poetry can be heard on Above & Beyond's Flow State albums, for which she's received an RIAA-certified Gold Record for her writing on "Don't Leave." Elena works to elevate bright futures for girls, women and children through her support for Girls on Fire Leaders, On The Inside and Free Food Kitchen. Scott Schwenk Scott's teachings, courses and master coaching guide leaders, seekers and creatives to explore the embodiment of their deepest selves in service of thriving on all levels of being, both individually and relationally. You can receive a free guided meditation and explore Scott's courses, workshops, retreats, training and master coaching at https://scottschwenk.com and can find him on Instagram @thescottschwenk.

Reach and audience

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Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

12 ratings

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.