Taking Life by the Raines

Behind the Highlight Reel: The Fear Nobody Talks About When You Are Growing

Sun, 31 May 2026 19:58:00 -0400

Here is the truth about growth that nobody posts on social media.

It is terrifying.

In Episode 7 of Taking Life by the Raines, Brandi gets into the biggest transitional period of her career and her life. Since January her nervous system has been in fight-or-flight mode. She is launching a hair company. Her supplement company is dropping four new products and exploring a major partnership. And the platform she has built her entire career on, network marketing, is being reinvented from the ground up.

This episode is for every woman in a transitional season who is scared to take the next step. The woman who sees people succeeding online and assumes they have it figured out. They do not. Brandi does not either. And she is showing you what it looks like to keep moving through it anyway.

In this episode:

• The CEO meeting in Utah that changed everything

• Komigo becoming Curated: what the rebrand means and why Brandi is all in

• Launching a hair company and four new supplement products simultaneously

• What network marketing is being replaced with and why Brandi is not walking away

• Imposter syndrome: the world's worst case of it and why every successful person has it too

• High performers are just as scared as you. They have just figured out how to keep moving.

• Motivation is a feeling. Discipline is a decision. The difference matters.

• God will close the door if you are not meant to walk through it, and sometimes He will not and it becomes a lesson

• Peace that makes no sense: leaning into Philippians 4 and faith in chaos

• Agape love, sacrificial service, and showing up for others even when you are scared

• Big risk, big win or big lesson: you have nothing to lose

New episodes every week. Subscribe and join us. 💜

📲 Follow Taking Life by the Raines:

Instagram: instagram.com/takinglifebytheraines/

TikTok: tiktok.com/takinglifebythera

Facebook: facebook.com/takinglifebytheraines/

📲 Follow Brandi:

Instagram: instagram.com/brandirainesbeauty/

TikTok: tiktok.com/brandirainesbeauty

Facebook: facebook.com/followbrandiraines/

About me + my links: msha.ke/brandirainesbeauty_

Shop my Komigo storefront: komigo.me/brandi

🎧 Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts: takinglifebytheraines.com

0:00 Intro

0:49 Welcome back

1:45 Building on social media since 2017: live video, makeup tutorials, and creative outlet

2:31 Right now: the biggest transitional period of Brandi's life

3:07 Marriage is in a great place. Business is a whole other story.

5:19 What is happening right now: new hair company, supplement partnership, Vision Summit

5:55 Flying to Utah: Vision Summit January, excited, on an all time high

6:22 How Komigo started

7:12 Curated: the new platform, new name, what it means going forward

7:33 Vision Summit announcement

7:55 The private CEO meeting after the Summit

8:21 My world was flipped upside down

8:54 Network marketing is changing: affiliate marketing, TikTok Shop, coaching competition

9:16 I love network marketing: but the industry had to evolve to survive

10:25 Vision Summit part two: Curated announced to the field

12:20 Fight or flight since January

13:43 Creator-led brands: why today's consumer wants what Curated is building

14:06 Layering on the supplement company: four new products, peptides, partnership conversations

15:55 High performers are just as scared

16:26 Opening the Bible every day out loud

17:40 Will Smith on failure

18:14 Do it until failure: the gym analogy and the burnout set that makes you grow

23:54 The world's worst imposter syndrome

24:58 Cannot cling to old seasons

25:24 Times are changing: how to evolve without losing what you came from

27:45 The road less traveled

28:05 Ask God for what you need each day

28:33 Joy in chaos peace that makes no sense

29:12 Peace is not certainty

30:01 Close your eyes and ask God for peace in the chaos: He will give it to you

30:50 You inspire people just by showing up

31:14 Sacrificial love without expectation

31:40 Ten out of ten do not get a tattoo in Mexico: the anniversary story

32:04 Agape as a model for marriage and for life: servant heart to everyone not just a spouse

32:48 Being a light of God through the hard times: if not for yourself then for others

33:21 What if you do not fail: what if you fly, what if this is the choice that changes your life

34:05 My story is your story

37:03 Hard seasons are the soil: where God plants you to grow the next version of yourself

37:43 Believe God has got your back: He takes care of the birds, why not you

38:42 Closing:

#takinglifebytheraines#brandiraines#fearoffailure#impostersyndrome#christianwomen#mompreneur#faithintransition#personalgrowth#womenentrepreneurs#millennialmom

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I Did Not Want Kids. Then God Said Otherwise

Thu, 14 May 2026 09:48:00 -0400

A year before I got pregnant with Riley, I said out loud that I did not want kids anytime soon. Three months into dating Casey, I was standing in a CVS bathroom with a pregnancy test on my lunch break.

Here is the thing about motherhood. Nothing prepares you for it. Not one single thing. And in Episode 6, I am getting into all of it.

The unexpected pregnancy I could not tell anyone about for two and a half months while Casey was away at boot camp. The night Casey and I stood in our living room holding Riley and just sobbed. The moment that motherly instinct clicked and I knew I was going to be okay. The way God used my kids to break me free from every trauma I had been carrying.

I also talk about something I have never shared publicly: my ADHD diagnosis in ninth grade, being put on 50mg of Adderall a day as a teenager, and then being given Ambien to sleep at night on top of it. How cold turkey stopping when I graduated contributed to my weight gain, my mood swings, and why I started my own supplement company years later. And why, as a mom now, I will never just accept what a doctor hands my kids without asking every question first.

I also cover:

• How motherhood completely rewires your brain and your hustle

• What to do when you feel like you are drowning in the overwhelm

• The mom guilt trap and why you have got to stop comparing yourself to other moms

• What it means to pour into your marriage while raising kids

• The 7-7-12 rule for staying connected to your spouse

• How to advocate for your kids when every doctor is pushing medication

• Functional mushrooms, holistic pediatricians, and what changed everything for my family

• And the word every tired, overwhelmed, doing-her-best mom needs to hear today

New episodes every week. Subscribe and join us. 💜

📲 Follow Taking Life by the Raines:

Instagram: instagram.com/takinglifebytheraines/

TikTok: tiktok.com/takinglifebythera

Facebook: facebook.com/takinglifebytheraines/

📲 Follow Brandi:

Instagram: instagram.com/brandirainesbeauty/

TikTok: tiktok.com/brandirainesbeauty

Facebook: facebook.com/followbrandiraines/

About me + my links: msha.ke/brandirainesbeauty_

Shop my Komigo storefront: komigo.me/brandi

🎧 Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts: takinglifebytheraines.com

0:00 Welcome back

0:53 Christians are not perfect: social media lies and real redemption

1:45 Tonight's topic: motherhood, how it changes you in ways nobody warns you about

2:13 One year before getting pregnant: I said I do not want kids

2:48 Meeting Casey in March 2015

3:30 Stone Mountain date night

4:02 Growing up with trauma

4:51 Mental health then vs. now

5:41 What Brandi loves and does not love about today's culture

6:02 Casey goes to boot camp

6:49 Gina from the office: the first person she told

7:08 Keeping it secret for two and a half months while Casey was at boot camp

7:59 Cape May, New Jersey: the trip where she finally told him

8:38 The whirlwind: young, scared, minimal money, just started dating

9:02 When you find your person

9:54 You guys are going to be fine

10:10 Moving to Pensacola pregnant: God breaking her free from past trauma

10:42 What nobody warns you about parenthood

11:09 The second night home with Riley: standing in the living room sobbing

11:50 The Holy Spirit in that moment

12:13 Motherly instinct clicks

12:47 The strength motherhood gave her

13:07 Wait for the one: why your spouse matters more than you know when kids come

13:49 The mental load of motherhood

14:09 Speaking to the overwhelmed mom

15:06 Your heavenly Father wants to carry the stress: let Him

15:35 Coming from trauma

16:13 Keeping up with the Joneses

17:05 The mental load unpacked

35:27 Approaching your spouse for support

35:52 Give exact examples

36:36 Pouring back into your marriage

37:13 The 7-7-12 rule

38:12 The car ride story

39:10 Becoming roommates with your spouse

39:40 Inner healing makes vulnerable conversations possible

40:33 Make time for your marriage now

40:58 ADHD diagnosis in ninth grade

42:26 Prescribed Adderall

43:38 50mg of Adderall a day

44:26 Then they gave her Ambien to sleep

44:51 Cold turkey at graduation

45:17 Why she started a supplement company

45:43 Holistic pediatrician, blood work, zero Flintstone vitamins

46:13 What she wishes somebody had advocated for her

47:01 Pushing back on Big Pharma

48:38 Small tweaks in diet that transformed her kids

49:05 God made you the perfect mother for your children

50:07 God slowed them down and gave them babies

50:45 From mama heart to mama heart

51:38 Closing: finish the Poppi

#takinglifebytheraines #brandiraines #motherhoodpodcast #momguilt #christianmom #millennialmom #holisticparenting #adhdmom #marriageandkids #faithjourney

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We Were Numbing Everything: The High School Years Nobody Knew About | Taking Life by the Raines

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 08:46:00 -0400

You think you know me. You don't know this version.

In Episode 5 I finally brought on my first guest, my childhood best friend Alexa, the one person on earth who has seen me through literally every season. The bratty middle schooler. The wild high schooler. The girl who should have ended up dead or pregnant but somehow didn't. The woman who couldn't accept a compliment. And the mom and wife I've become today.

This one is unscripted, unfiltered, and honestly hilarious. We're telling the stories I have never told. Sneaking to Missouri in the middle of the night and telling our parents we were at Cedar Point. Getting caught by a cop with an expired license at a party and somehow walking away free. The high school sorority that absolutely should not have existed. The things we were numbing and why. The moment Alexa looked at me across a table and thought, "she's not the same girl anymore".

And the most important part. The conversation at the end where she tells me what she is most proud of me for. I could not make it through that without crying.

If you have a childhood best friend who has seen the full version of you (the one you don't post on social media) this episode is going to hit home.

Tag them below. 💜

New episodes every week. Subscribe so you never miss one.

📲 Follow Taking Life by the Raines:

Instagram: instagram.com/takinglifebytheraines/

TikTok: tiktok.com/takinglifebythera

Facebook: facebook.com/takinglifebytheraines/

📲 Follow Brandi:

Instagram: instagram.com/brandirainesbeauty/

TikTok: tiktok.com/brandirainesbeauty

Facebook: facebook.com/followbrandiraines/

About me + my links: msha.ke/brandirainesbeauty_

Shop my Komigo storefront: komigo.me/brandi

🎧 Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts: takinglifebytheraines.com

0:00 Cold open — "I should have ended up dead or pregnant"

1:03 Welcome — meet Alexa Rex, Brandi's childhood best friend

2:50 What it means to have a friend who has seen every season of your life

3:58 First question: what was I actually like?

4:47 How they met — competitive dance team in fifth grade

6:04 Dance was their home away from home — chaotic backgrounds

7:16 How they became close — Katelyn, parties, and dating brothers

8:23 Alexa's honest take — "you were a brat, disrespectful to everyone"

9:49 Christians who have done dark things — faith without a perfect past

12:21 The Missouri road trip — lying to their parents about Cedar Point

16:33 Getting caught — parents compare stories, the lie unravels

18:38 High school parties, bonding over chaotic home lives

20:06 The high school sorority that absolutely should not have existed

21:40 "I should have ended up dead or pregnant" — the party bus years

22:59 Being taken advantage of at a freshman year party

24:04 Numbing everything — what we were really running from

25:18 Close calls — guns, cops, expired licenses, and walking away

27:56 After high school — Brandi moves to Disney, the friendship ebbs

29:19 What Brandi was struggling with that she didn't even realize

30:28 Dark times Alexa witnessed — the real picture from the outside

32:08 The proud moment — Brandi leaves Michigan for Florida

32:59 When Alexa knew — meeting Casey changed everything

34:44 Numbing vs. healing — then and now

58:01 You don't have to be embarrassed — let go of the guilt and shame

59:53 Change is possible — even when people don't believe you yet

1:00:12 Last question — what are you most proud of me for?

1:00:41 "The mom that you are" — both of them cry

1:02:46 Friendships that point you to Jesus — the ones that matter

1:04:32 Dark humor, fond memories, and closing laughs

1:05:11 Closing — "go hug your childhood bestie"

#takinglifebytheraines #brandiraines #bestfriendpodcast #childhoodfriendship #womenempowerment #christianwomen #millennialmom #realtalk #faithjourney #personalgrowth

How I Built Confidence From Nothing and You Can Too

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0400

Here is something I don't think people expect me to say. It took me 14 years to actually feel confident. Like genuinely, deeply, not-faking-it confident.

The girl you see on social media selling makeup, running a beauty empire, coaching thousands of women? She spent most of her life deeply insecure about her looks, her capability, and her money. She faked confidence so hard that it came across as obnoxious. And she spent years comparing herself to everyone around her while quietly falling apart inside.

In Episode 4 I am getting into all of it. How comparison steals your confidence before you even realize it is happening. How growing up Filipino in a predominantly white small town in Michigan left me feeling like the sore thumb in every room I walked into. How a comment about my love handles in middle school sent me to get lipo as an adult. How I spent the early years of motherhood sobbing over my baby's milestones because I was too busy comparing myself to every other mom around me.

And the three seasons of my life where I finally proved to myself that I was capable of more than where I came from.

Confidence is not something you are born with. It is not linked to money or status or a perfect body. It is something you build. And I am going to show you how.

New episodes every week. Subscribe 💜

📲 Follow Taking Life by the Raines:

Instagram: instagram.com/takinglifebytheraines/

TikTok: tiktok.com/takinglifebythera

Facebook: facebook.com/takinglifebytheraines/

📲 Follow Brandi:

Instagram: instagram.com/brandirainesbeauty/

TikTok: tiktok.com/brandirainesbeauty

Facebook: facebook.com/followbrandiraines/

About me + my links: msha.ke/brandirainesbeauty_

Shop my Komigo storefront: komigo.me/brandi

🎧 Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts: takinglifebytheraines.com

0:00 Welcome — diving into confidence after 14 years of building it

0:27 What confidence actually is — not what social media says it is

1:36 Why she's sharing her insecurities — so you can see yourself

2:42 The one thing that stops women from finding success

3:46 Her biggest insecurity growing up — her looks

4:23 Growing up Filipino in Michigan — looking different from everyone

5:56 Third grade gym class — the "Chinese eyes" moment that stuck

7:28 The weight insecurity — Hollister jeans, love handles, and competitive dance

9:15 How a childhood insecurity led to lipo as an adult

10:31 Insecurity 2 — capability: believing where I came from was the ceiling

12:00 Insecurity 3 — finances and hiding past-due bills as a kid

14:31 What fake confidence looks like from the outside

16:20 Comparison — the thief of joy and creator of false reality

16:49 Her love-hate relationship with social media

18:08 Comparing herself to other moms — the beach condo story

19:30 Hudson's milestones vs. her niece — sobbing over a baby who couldn't sit up

23:23 Goals set from comparison not calling — retiring Casey before he wanted it

27:08 Confidence does not come from other people's perception of you

28:25 Motivation vs. discipline — what actually builds confidence over time

30:27 Fixate on what God has for you — stop the hamster wheel of comparison

31:31 Three seasons that proved she was capable — turning points

32:30 Season 1 — moving to Florida in 2011 with $2,000 and a prayer

35:02 Season 2 — meeting Casey and breaking the generational mold

37:00 Season 3 — 2020, the pandemic, and her business going 10x

40:07 U-Haul to Georgia — laying on a mattress and feeling proud

41:31 When her confidence finally stopped being a performance

43:37 Teaching her kids — don't ask if they like you, ask how you feel

44:35 Confidence is not born, it is built — and it comes in seasons

45:31 Confidence grows with faith — actionable steps to get there

46:54 Closing — it is never too late to blossom into what God is calling you

#takinglifebytheraines #brandiraines #confidence #selfesteem #stopcomparing #womenempowerment #christianwomen #millennialmom #personalgrowth #faithjourney

The Truth About Healing That Nobody Talks About

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 09:12:30 -0400

Here's the truth. Nobody tells you that healing gets worse before it gets better. Like actually worse. You start digging, you start going to therapy, you start facing the things you've tucked away for years and for a minute it feels like everything is falling apart. That's not you doing it wrong. That is literally just how it works.

In Episode 3 I'm getting into the stuff the self-help books skip over. The real, messy, uncomfortable truth about what healing actually looks like. I'm talking about learning to lower your expectations for people who have proven they're not capable of meeting them. I'm talking about staying put during hard conversations when every part of you wants to run. About outgrowing friendships you never thought you'd lose. About forgiving people who never said sorry. And about why your triggers in your marriage today are almost always rooted in something that happened when you were a kid.

I share the moment in couples therapy that broke my heart and then put it back together. The story of my dad running after our car at McDonald's when I was four years old. What my therapist showed me about my body language and why it was making my husband feel like he didn't matter to me. And how I had to stop praying for healing and start actually participating in it.

This episode is for anyone in the middle of it. The hard, unglamorous middle of doing the work. I promise you it's worth it.

The healed version of you is going to look back at the younger version of you and say, we did it. 💜

New episodes every week. Subscribe so you never miss one.

📲 Follow Taking Life by the Raines:

Instagram: instagram.com/takinglifebytheraines/

TikTok: tiktok.com/takinglifebythera

Facebook: facebook.com/takinglifebytheraines/

📲 Follow Brandi:

Instagram: instagram.com/brandirainesbeauty/

TikTok: tiktok.com/brandirainesbeauty

Facebook: facebook.com/followbrandiraines/

About me + my links: msha.ke/brandirainesbeauty_

Shop my Komigo storefront: komigo.me/brandi

🎧 Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts: www.takinglifebytheraines.com

0:00 Welcome back — Episode 3 intro

0:26 The truth about healing nobody talks about

1:47 It gets worse before it gets better — and that's okay

3:13 Healing is like peeling an onion — layer by layer

4:42 The first step she took — reading her Bible and starting therapy

5:12 The wrong therapist — and why you need to vet yours

6:21 Starting couples therapy with Casey

7:06 The therapist said: you each need to heal separately first

7:36 The biggest lesson from therapy — expectations

9:27 Lowering your expectations for broken people

11:02 Find a spicy marriage counselor who tells you the truth

11:43 If your marriage isn't hard, you're not going deep enough

14:26 The therapy session that broke her heart — the trash story

19:48 Body language as a trauma response

22:16 Learning to stay put when you want to run

23:11 The McDonald's memory — age 4, her parents divorced

25:40 What healing actually looks like step by step

28:04 Stop praying for healing and start participating in it

29:16 Friendships have expiration dates

30:37 Trauma bonding friendships and what happens when you heal

32:07 Daddy issues — forgiving what you never had

36:32 Therapy gives you the tools — real life is where you use them

37:31 Grieving friendships that no longer serve you

38:07 Forgiveness is a part of every layer of healing

40:10 Forgiving without an apology — how to actually do it

42:05 How to have hard conversations and keep the friendship

44:22 What healthy boundaries actually look like in real life

45:46 You teach people how to treat you

47:21 If your friends talk badly about their spouse, that is the enemy

49:11 The healed version of you is going to look back and say well done

50:07 Where to start if you don't know how to begin healing

53:42 Healing your trauma is the best weapon against the enemy

54:40 Thank you and closing

#takinglifebytheraines #brandiraines #healingjourney #childhoodtrauma #marriagecounseling #toxicfriendships #christianwomen #millennialmom #personalgrowth #faithjourney

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The 8 Patterns I Had to Unlearn to Finally Feel Safe and Successful

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 08:00:00 -0400

Here's the reality. When you grow up in chaos, you learn to survive it. And those survival skills, the armor, the walls, the need to control everything, they don't just disappear when you become an adult. They follow you. Into your marriage. Into your parenting. Into your work. Into every single relationship you try to build.

I spent years not knowing that the patterns I was running on were directly connected to what I lived through as a kid. No hot water. Moving every year. Hiding past-due bills in the mailbox. A house in 10th grade with two mattresses on the floor and no fridge. I thought that was just life. I didn't realize until way later that I had built a whole personality around surviving it.

In this episode I'm getting into the stuff I didn't talk about in Episode 1. Not just what happened, but what it did to me on the inside. Why I couldn't accept a compliment. Why I hit $15 million in sales and still felt like it wasn't enough. Why I was a workaholic and calling it a badge of honor when honestly, it was a trauma response. Why I pushed away the people who loved me the most.

God has been so faithful in my healing. Truly. But I also had to do the work, and I want to help you do it too.

You are not alone if you came from chaos. And it does not dictate where you're going. I promise you that.

New episodes every week. Subscribe so you never miss one. 💜

📲 Follow Taking Life by the Raines:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/takinglifebytheraines/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/takinglifebythera

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/takinglifebytheraines/

📲 Follow Brandi:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandirainesbeauty/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/brandirainesbeauty

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/followbrandiraines/

About me + my links: msha.ke/brandirainesbeauty_

Shop my Komigo storefront: komigo.me/brandi

🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts: takinglifebytheraines.com

In this episode:

How growing up in chaos creates toxic patterns in adulthood
Why being a workaholic is actually a trauma response
My scarcity mindset with money and how I rewired it
The "closet clubhouse" I built as a child just to feel safe
Why I could never accept compliments or celebrate my own success
How childhood wounds affect marriage, friendships, and parenting
Breaking generational patterns, because the buck stops here
What therapy taught me and what you can do without it

#takinglifebytheraines #brandiraines #childhoodtrauma #traumahealing #personalgrowth #womenempowerment #christianwomen #millennialmom #selfimprovement #generationaltrauma

https://atlpodcastpros.com

She Grew Up With Nothing — Then Built a Multi-Million Dollar Empire

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

Welcome to Taking Life by the Raines — I'm Brandi Raines, and this is Episode 1.

Before the multi-million dollar business, the team of 6,000 women, and the life you see today — there was a little girl from Port Huron, Michigan who knew what it felt like to not have hot water, watch the furniture get repossessed, and parent herself through high school.

In this episode, I'm pulling back the curtain and sharing the real story of what made me — from an Army brat childhood and two divorces to dancing at Disney World, building a beauty empire from a $2,000 Pell Grant, and the one conversation that changed how I treated people forever.

This is the foundation. The rice in the bowl before all the toppings.

In this episode:

• Growing up moving every year & learning to go without

• The 8th grade summer that changed everything

• Going from Michigan to Disney World with $2,000

• The friend who told me the truth about myself

• Meeting Casey & the May 2017 decision that changed our lives

• Why God uses your hardest seasons to prepare you for your biggest blessings

If you've ever felt like your past should have held you back — this episode is for you.

0:00 Welcome to Taking Life by the Raines

1:25 What this podcast is really about

3:48 Growing up in Port Huron, Michigan

5:35 Army brat childhood & parents' divorce

6:20 The 8th grade summer that changed everything

8:48 Going to school with kids who had money

12:36 Betrayal, a Pell Grant & leaving Michigan

15:21 Auditioning at Disney World

19:03 The friend who told me the hard truth (Brian)

26:12 Standing up and apologizing to everyone

33:47 May 2017 — the decision that changed everything

37:21 Meeting Casey & building a life together

40:40 Why God uses your hardest seasons

43:06 The challenge for you & what's coming next

Subscribe for new episodes every week.

📲 Follow Taking Life by the Raines:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/takinglifebytheraines/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/takinglifebythera

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/takinglifebytheraines/

📲 Follow Brandi:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandirainesbeauty/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/brandirainesbeauty

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/followbrandiraines/

About me + my links: msha.ke/brandirainesbeauty_

Shop my Komigo storefront: komigo.me/brandi

female entrepreneur podcast | personal growth podcast | women empowerment | faith and business | motherhood podcast | overcoming trauma | self improvement | life stories #TakingLifeByTheRaines #BrandiRaines #WomenEntrepreneurs #PersonalGrowth #OvercomingTrauma #FaithAndBusiness #MomBoss #FromNothingToSomething #PodcastForWomen #MotivationalStories #SelfImprovement #femalefounder

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