Soul Toll with Anusia

Harvard Leadership Professor: When Something's Bothering You And It's Not Changing | Soul Toll S1E1

Sat, 09 May 2026 10:30:00 -0400

In the season one premiere, Anusia Gillespie talks with Scott Westfahl, Harvard Law School Faculty Director of Executive Education, about conviction, courage, and the cost of ignoring what you see wrong.

DROP ANCHOR

There's something important bothering you. Something you feel strongly about and want to change. But something is in your way. This episode is about what happens when you stop waiting and drop anchor in what you actually believe.

If you've been carrying something you want to fix, this is the conversation that gives you permission to start.

ABOUT THE EPISODE

In the season one premiere of Soul Toll, host Anusia Gillespie sits down with her longtime mentor and friend Scott Westfahl, a Harvard expert in leadership development and Faculty Director of Harvard Law School Executive Education, for a conversation about conviction, courage, and the cost of ignoring what you see wrong.

Scott has spent his career closing the leadership gap in law, training the most influential leaders in the profession. In this episode, he walks Anusia through the inflection points of a career — what someone is really thinking at the start, in the middle, and as a seasoned executive — and what universally separates the people who follow their conviction from the ones who keep it on the periphery.

ABOUT THE GUEST

Scott Westfahl is a world-renowned expert in leadership development. He is a Professor of Practice at Harvard Law School and Faculty Director of Harvard Law School Executive Education, where he designs and leads programs for senior leaders across law firms, in-house legal departments, and government. His work has shaped how the legal profession thinks about leadership, talent, and the long arc of a career.

Scott's Book Recommendation

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman

https://www.amazon.com/Four-Thousand-Weeks-Management-Mortals/dp/0374159122

In this episode, you'll learn:

What conviction looks like
How we lose our own compass
The cost of maximizing productivity
The achieving brain vs. the awakened brain
When extrinsic success swallows the intrinsic
Why the change you keep trying to make at work isn't landing
What we're really avoiding when we stop reflecting
Conviction at the start, the middle, and the senior arc of a career
What success looks like when you finally stop to look
What to start, what to stop

Follow Soul Toll on your favorite podcast app for new episodes weekly.

CONNECT

Website: https://soul-toll.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/anusiagillespie

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/anusiagillespie

Facebook: https://facebook.com/anusia.gillespie.5

Business inquiries: hello@soul-toll.com

PRODUCTION

Director: Michael Dynice

Writers and Producers: Anusia Gillespie, Lady Unicorn

Executive Producers: Johnny Ray, Richard Messinger

Lighting and Scenic Design: We Roadie and Grip Inc.

Post Production and Editing: Streamography

Produced for Warwick TV at Johnny Ray's Music Emporium

WITH SPECIAL THANKS

Johnny Ray's Music Emporium

We Roadie and Grip Inc.

Chic Streets

Eat Well Kitchen

Mabel of Marblehead

The Yoga Loft Marblehead

Creative Publishing Book Design

READ THE BOOK

Soul Toll by Anusia Gillespie: https://www.amazon.com/Soul-Toll-Anusia-Gillespie/dp/B0FN9PSS2N

Tags: Soul Toll, Scott Westfahl, leadership, Harvard Law, executive education, mentorship, career, personal leadership

MIT Scientist: When You Can't Get Out of Your Head, Try Your Nose | Soul Toll S1E3 Soul Toll 2

Sat, 09 May 2026 07:15:00 -0400

In episode three, Anusia Gillespie talks with Andreas Mershin — quantum physicist, 22-year MIT researcher, and Chief Science Officer of RealNose — about how smell, the most ignored sense you have, is actually a tool for co-creating your reality.

SUPER NOSE?

There's something that you are thinking way too much about. Overanalyzing. Instead of doing. But today, you're going to learn how to co-create your reality — using your nose. Your sense of smell. The most powerful and most ignored sense you have.

If you've been stuck in your head, this is the conversation that gives you a tool you've had all along.

ABOUT THE EPISODE

In this episode of Soul Toll, host Anusia Gillespie sits down with quantum physicist and former MIT researcher Andreas Mershin for a conversation about smell as an untapped human superpower.

Andreas spent over two decades at MIT studying machine olfaction — SniffTech — and how scent shapes emotion, memory, perception, and possibility faster than conscious thought.

Inside the conversation: why our bodies emit a constant "scent aura" rich with information about our physical and mental states; how dogs can smell cancer before symptoms appear; and how you can use scent to access focus, calm, clarity, and courage.

ABOUT THE GUEST

Andreas Mershin has spent 22 years at MIT and is now Chief Science Officer of RealNose, using machine olfaction to diagnose disease. He is the co-author of Perceptual Engineering: How Olfaction and Other Senses Create Reality. His research explores how the senses, especially smell, shape what is possible for us as humans.

Andreas's Book: Perceptual Engineering: How Olfaction and Other Senses Create Reality. Available at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GSWFGJ7Y

In this episode, you'll learn:

Why smell is the most powerful sense you've been ignoring
How your body emits a "scent aura" that broadcasts your inner state
What dogs detect that doctors can't and what that means for your health
How to use specific scents to shift on demand
Why your thoughts shape your reality more directly than you realize
How to stop overanalyzing and start co-creating
What deep engagement with one thing unlocks in the rest of your life
A simple practice you can do today to come back into your body

Follow Soul Toll on your favorite podcast app for new episodes weekly.

CONNECT

Website: https://soul-toll.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/anusiagillespie

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/anusiagillespie

Facebook: https://facebook.com/anusia.gillespie.5

Business inquiries: hello@soul-toll.com

PRODUCTION

Director: Michael Dynice

Writers and Producers: Anusia Gillespie, Lady Unicorn

Executive Producers: Johnny Ray, Richard Messinger

Lighting and Scenic Design: We Roadie and Grip Inc.

Post Production and Editing: Streamography

Produced for Warwick TV at Johnny Ray's Music Emporium

WITH SPECIAL THANKS

Johnny Ray's Music Emporium

We Roadie and Grip Inc.

Chic Streets

Eat Well Kitchen

Mabel of Marblehead

The Yoga Loft Marblehead

Creative Publishing Book Design

READ THE BOOK

Soul Toll by Anusia Gillespie: https://www.amazon.com/Soul-Toll-Anusia-Gillespie/dp/B0FN9PSS2N

Tags: Soul Toll, Andreas Mershin, MIT, smell, olfaction, perception, neuroscience, mindfulness

Renowned Spiritual Teacher: When You're Curious But It's All a Little Too "Woo" | Soul Toll S1E2

Sat, 09 May 2026 07:10:00 -0400

In episode two, Anusia Gillespie talks with Gurdeep Bhogal — a renowned spiritual practitioner whose work sits at the intersection of ancient yogic wisdom and modern spiritualism — about what it costs to keep the door to your inner life closed, and what's waiting on the other side.

DIP YOUR TOE

You're crazy busy. Just so busy. Doing, doing, doing. But what happens when you stop? Pause. Sit. Take a breath. And turn inward. This episode is about what's waiting for you when you do. If you've been curious about meditation, intuition, or the inner life but the language throws you off or you just don't know what it all means, this is your place to dip a toe.

ABOUT THE EPISODE

There's a part of you that you've likely never visited, and it has all of your answers. Maybe you've avoided it because the people who talked about meditation, energy, or yoga felt too out there. Too, dare we say, woo. So you smiled and changed the subject.

In this episode, host Anusia Gillespie sits down with renowned spiritual practitioner Gurdeep Bhogal for a conversation about what it costs to keep that door closed, and what's waiting for you on the other side. Gurdeep walks Anusia through what it actually looks like to begin turning inward, the resistance most people meet on the way, and how ancient yogic wisdom and modern spiritualism converge on the same simple truth: you already have what you need.

ABOUT THE GUEST

Gurdeep Bhogal is a renowned spiritual practitioner whose work as a Psychic Medium, Trance Medium, Medium Development Teacher, Shakti Embodiment Teacher, Reiki Master Teacher, and Yoga Teacher sits at the intersection of ancient yogic wisdom and modern spiritualism. Gurdeep describes herself as an eternal student of the soul.

In this episode, you'll learn: