Make Light

Make Light Class of 2020 Commencement Speech: Make Light Season 5, Episode 14

Join Karen for her final episode of season 5 -- and her commencement speech.

Tips for creating an awesome home office

Join Karen as she shares her best ideas for creating a home office that is both efficient and luxurious

Calm in the Time of Coronavirus: Make Light Season 5, Episode 12

Join Karen as she shares tips for how to stay calm during this coronavirus scare.

The Good News Episode: Make Light Season 5, Episode 11

Join Karen while she shares why she thinks it’s important to look for the good news — and proof that it exists.

Design Your Work: Make Light Season 5, Episode 10

Karen shares her thoughts on how the philosophy of famed interior designer Ilse Crawford can have a powerful impact on your own work, whatever it may be.

For the Love of Travel: Make Light Season 5, Episode 9

Travel write Pam Mandel joins Karen to discuss what first inspired her to travel, why travel is addicting, and why she doesn't believe everyone must travel.

Creating an Art Habit for Mindfulness: Make Light Season 5, Episode 8

Join Karen as she shares tips for creating an art habit to help you stay on top of your new year's resolution game -- and become an artist in the process.

Walking for Mind & Spirit: Make Light Season 5, Episode 7

Join Karen as she speaks with wellness coach Laura Conely about walking -- not for physical fitness, but for mental and spiritual health.

Collecting Evidence of Your Amazing Year: Make Light Season 5, Episode 6

Join Karen as she shares strategies for making sense of the past year, and set your coming year up for success.

Surviving the Holidays Stress-Free: Make Light Season 5, Episode 5

Join Karen as she shares her top tips for reducing holiday stress. Because you owe it to yourself to have happy holidays.

Creating a Thank You Project: Make Light Season 5, Episode 4

Nancy Davis Kho, host of the podcast Midlife Mixtape, joins Karen to talk about the subject of her brand new book, The Thank You Project.

How to Make a Big Leap: Make Light Season 5, Episode 3

Planning on taking a big leap -- from a safe gig to a more risky one? Join Karen as she shares her top 5 tips for making a big leap feel like a walk in the park.

Why You Should Play More: Make Light Season 5, Episode 2

Play Evangelist Jeff Harry joins Karen to talk about why he's passionate about play -- and why you should be, too.

How to Stay Encouraged When the World is a Dumpster Fire: Make Light Season 5, Episode 1

We're back! Join Karen as she shares hers and her friends' tips on how to stay encouraged when the world is discouraging.

Back Home: On Family, Make Light Summer Break 2019, Episode 5

Karen returns from her European vacation to visit family, and shares her thoughts on what "home" means.

Postcard from Stockholm: On Travel, Make Light Summer Break 2019, Episode 4

Join Karen from Sweden, as she shares her thoughts about the magic of travel.

A Walk in the Woods: Finding Purpose, Make Light Summer Break 2019, Episode 3

What does it mean to find your purpose? Join Karen on her walk in the woods, as she shares the questions she asks to discover her purpose.

Savannah Thoughts: On Learning Something New: Make Light Summer Break 2019, Episode 2

Join Karen in Savannah, as she there's her thoughts about fighting aging by learning something new

A Musical Love Letter from DJ Sun: Make Light Summer Break 2019, Episode 1

Summer is all about relaxing. Meet André Sam-Sin, aka DJ Sun, and his soular grooves -- perfect for chilling with friends on a warms summer evening.

Make Light Class of 2019 Commencement Speech: Make Light Season 4, Episode 15

Join Karen as she gives a commencement speech, even though no one asked her to do so.

On Having A War Council: Make Light Season 4, Episode 14

"War council"? Sounds aggressive. Karen shares what a war council is, why everyone should have one, and how to set one up.

Growing Up: Make Light Season 4, Episode 13

Karen shares her thoughts on why we shouldn't focus on growing old, but instead, growing up.

On Race: Make Light Season 4, Episode 12

Author Mira Jacob returns to the Make Light Show to talk about her amazing new graphic memoir, race and colorism, and why we're all afraid to talk about it.

Permission to Be Happy: Make Light Season 4, Episode 11

Join Karen as she shares why giving yourself permission to be happy might just save the world.

Achieve Your Goals: Make Light Season 4, Episode 10

Join Karen as she shares ways to ensure that you reach your goals -- no matter how out-there they seem to be.

Design Your Workspace: Make Light Season 4, Episode 9

Does your workspace feel like how you want to show up in the world? Join Karen as she shares her tips for designing a workspace that represents your values, your story, and inspires you to perform at your very best.

Follow Your Curiosity: Make Light Season 4, Episode 8

Follow your bliss, follow your curiosity -- which is better? Join Karen as she shares how she follows her curiosity, and shares some exercises to pique your own sense of adventure.

How to Quit Your Job: Make Light Season 4, Episode 7

Making the decision to quit a job is stressful -- is there a right way to do it? Join Karen as she shares her top 5 tips for making separating from your employer as positive as possible.

From Trauma to Triumph: Make Light Season 4, Episode 6

Activist and found of Indrani's Light, Indrani Goradia, joins Karen to talk about how her difficult life and coming in dead last in a triathlon inspired her to change the world

Cultivating Resilience: Make Light Season 4, Episode 5

Join Karen as she shares her tips and tricks for cultivating resilience on a daily basis. Because resilience might be the key to everything.

Fighting Impostor Syndrome: Make Light Season 4, Episode 4

Join Karen as she talks about impostor syndrome -- what it is, and how she fights it to the death.

Dress to Express: Make Light Season 4, Episode 3

Join Karen as she welcomes special guest Stasia Savasuk, the founder of Style School. Together they discuss what it means when men and women use clothing as an expression of your authenticity -- what Stasia calls "inside-out congruency."

Rituals & Routines: Make Light Season 4, Episode 2

There's something incredibly comforting about routine and ritual -- in fact, it's a privilege. Join Karen as she discusses how to infuse more ritual into your life, and become more efficient, effective & productive in the process.

Setting Intentions: Make Light Season 4, Episode 1

Lessons from Hurricane Harvey: Make Light Season 3, Episode 15

This is it, friends — the final episode of the Make Light Show for Season 3! It’s also almost exactly a year since my family and I escaped our home destroyed by Hurricane Harvey flooding.  For this last episode,

Make Light by Pivoting: Make Light Season 3 Episode 14

This week we have a great question from Danielle — she’s about to change careers, but she’s not exactly sure how or to what.  Take a listen as I talk about how I handled the very same situation, including three journaling prompts to help you make a piv...

Make Light by Tasting Health: Make Light Season 3, Episode 13

I don’t know about you, but I love food — and I’m completely overwhelmed by it. Who can make sense of all the “wisdom” out there around food — should we be eating Paleo? Whole 30? Gluten-free? Keto? Should we eat more red meat? Less? This week,

Make Light by Letting Go of Perfectionism: Make Light Season 3, Episode 12

My parents have lived all over the world, and for a time, they lived in Azerbaijan, the former Soviet republic.  While they lived there, they purchased a number of Persian carpets (Azerbaijan borders Iran), which decorate their house now.  One day while I was admiring one of their rugs, my father walked over and said, “You know, the Persian carpetmakers have a tradition:  it can take years to weave the details into these rugs, but they always make one intentional mistake as they work.  The re...

Make Light by Journaling: Make Light Season 3, Episode 11

This week, Jill asks about my journaling practice — I’m an avid journaler, and journaling is part of the way I organize my life, not to mention a huge part of my self-care practice. So join us today as I talk about the techniques I incorporate in my jo...

Make Light by Fighting Negative Self-Talk: Make Light Season 3, Episode 10

This week we have a great question from Yvette, about how to silence that inner critic in our head — you know the one. This required bringing in the big guns: I’m joined by the lovely Katie Horwitch, the founder of Women Against Negative Talk,

Make Light With Self-Care: Make Light Season 3, Episode 09

This week, instead of addressing a question that was sent in, I wanted to talk about self-care. Take a listen to hear why self-care and self-compassion aren’t just feel-good things to do, but actually imperative if we’re planning on changing the world ...

Make Light When You Hate Your Job: Make Light Season 3, Episode 08

This week’s episode is a great one: Kimmy asks how to make light when you really, truly hate your job. So join me as I talk about how to set yourself up to find your next job that moves you toward a fulfilling life,

Make Light in Friendship: Make Light Season 3, Episode 07

Ah, friendship.  Sometimes it’s hard to tell whether a friendship has run its course, am I right?  This week’s question comes from Dayni, and she’s wondering when it’s time to call it quits with folks around her who insist on being negative.

Make Light While Vacationing: Make Light Season 3, Episode 06

You might think it wouldn’t be hard to make light on a vacation, but for some folks, there’s stress involved. This week’s question comes from Adrienne, and it’s all about how to take a stress-free holiday. So join me as we talk about how to manage the ...

Make Light By Thriving After Divorce: Make Light Season 3, Episode 05

This week we have a great question from Ginny, asking about what it takes to thrive after divorce. For this question, I brought in expert advice: my friend, certified divorce coach Jessica Ashley, who is also the founder,

Make Light With Quiet Activism: Make Light Season 3, Episode 04

Natalie wrote in to ask what I meant when I use the phrase “quiet activism” — she’s intrigued, but just isn’t the grab-a-megaphone-get-arrested-for-civil-disobedience type. Take a listen, and learn what I mean about the phrase,

Make Light By Helping a Friend Through Pain: Make Light Season 3, Episode 03

This week, I have a special guest: my friend, actor and author Stephanie Wittels Wachs. Her amazing new book, Everything is Horrible and Wonderful:  A Tragicomic Memoir of Genius, Heroin, Love, and Loss, is the story of her heartbreak as she supported ...

Make Light by Being Kind (Even When You Don’t Want To): Make Light Season 3, Episode 02

I loved delving into Nicole’s question this week, about being kind in a world that often doesn’t seem to value kindness. Take a listen, to learn tips and tricks on how and why to keep kindness at the forefront,

Make Light by Setting Boundaries: Make Light Season 3, Episode 01

Welcome back to Season 3 of the Make Light Show! This season we’re going to be mixing things up a bit:  we’ll be answering your questions about how to make light when life get occasionally dark — things like how to make light when you’re overwhelmed at...

Connection with Laura Mayes: Make Light Season 2, Episode 13

For this final episode of Season 2 of the Make Light Show, Karen speaks with Laura Mayes, a public relations dynamo.  She’s best known for being the cofounder of the Mom 2.0 Summit, one of the premiere conferences in the United States for folks who cre...