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Human, Not Hacked: The Anti Self-Help Podcast

Human, Not Hacked: The Anti Self-Help Podcast

By: The Brilliance Collective
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Human Not Hacked pushes back on the $45B self-help industry and its obsession with fixing what was never broken. Hosted by veteran coaches Amy Lombardo and Jillian Arena, the show explores what real growth looks like—messy, honest, and often funny. Through raw conversations and diverse guest perspectives, we challenge toxic positivity, hustle culture, and quick-fix promises, offering grounded tools and reflections instead. Because being human isn’t a flaw to hack—it’s the foundation for growth. (Find more in the Brilliance Collective App.)The Brilliance Collective Personal Development Personal Success
Episodes
  • Episode 8: Listening to Your Body in a Culture That Teaches You Not To

    Episode 8: Listening to Your Body in a Culture That Teaches You Not To
    May 7 2026

    In this episode of Human, Not Hacked, we explore what it actually means to listen to your body in a culture that constantly teaches you not to.

    We’re joined by Julia Parzyck of Fit Fat and All That, who shares her journey from chasing external standards of health and “doing everything right” to slowly unlearning those rules and building a more honest, responsive relationship with her body. She speaks candidly about the pressure to perform wellness, the ways control and restriction can masquerade as self-care, and the moments that invited her to pause, question, and listen differently.

    What emerges is a more nuanced path, rooted not in perfection or discipline, but in trust, attunement, and the willingness to respond to what her body is actually asking for.

    Together, we explore how disconnection happens so subtly: following rules instead of signals; overriding hunger, rest, and emotion; and confusing control with care.

    We also look at what it means to begin coming back: rebuilding trust with your body; recognizing the nervous system underneath your habits; and shifting from performance to presence.

    This isn’t a conversation about doing it “right.”
    It’s about noticing where you’ve learned not to listen…
    and what becomes possible when you start again.

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    ABOUT THE GUEST

    Julia Parzyck is a confidence and body-image coach, inclusive wardrobe stylist, and the creator of Fit Fat and All That, a platform dedicated to helping women build a more compassionate and authentic relationship with their bodies. Drawing from her own experience recovering from disordered eating and body shame, Julia’s work centers on self-trust, body acceptance, and rejecting the pressures of diet culture and perfectionism. Through coaching, styling, digital content, and community work, she helps women reconnect with themselves, embrace their “soft bodies,” and redefine confidence on their own terms.

    WEBSITE: https://fitfatandallthat.com/

    IG: https://www.instagram.com/fitfatandallthat/

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    ABOUT THE HOSTS

    Amy Lombardo is the founder of the Brilliance Coaching Academy and author of the award-winning book Brilliance. With more than 25 years of experience as a coach, leadership mentor, and yoga teacher, Amy weaves together somatic practices, deep listening, and inclusive leadership tools to guide people into authentic transformation. Her work is rooted in the belief that each of us has an inner brilliance waiting to be expressed—and that when we nurture it, we change not only our own lives but the world around us.

    Jillian Arena is a holistic life coach, founder of Intuitive Balance Coaching, and an alumna of the Brilliance Coaching Academy . She brings together coaching, Reiki, yoga, and end-of-life doula work to help people move through transitions with compassion, humor, and presence. Jillian’s style is both grounding and expansive, empowering clients to embrace the full spectrum of being human.

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    BRILLIANCE COLLECTIVE APP

    Both Amy and Jillian are also guides inside the Brilliance Collective App—a space for growth and connection. It’s where daily inspiration meets real practice, where you can return to yourself in small, meaningful ways. Think of it as your pocket-sized invitation to pause and remember your brilliance anytime and anywhere.
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    43 mins
  • Episode 7: Designing for Aliveness in a Digital World with Nina Everflow

    Episode 7: Designing for Aliveness in a Digital World with Nina Everflow
    Feb 21 2026

    What makes some online spaces feel nourishing — while others leave us strangely depleted?

    In this episode of Human Not Hacked, Amy Lombardo and Jillian Arena sit down with learning designer and facilitator Nina Everflow to explore how digital courses, trainings, and communities can either flatten human experience or help it come alive.

    Drawing from her years in e-learning, organizational training, and embodied facilitation, Nina shares how the rapid shift online during COVID revealed hidden assumptions about power, engagement, and authority in the way we teach and learn. Together, the conversation moves beyond technology into deeper questions about nervous systems, collaboration, creativity, and what it means to design spaces that honor real human complexity.

    You’ll hear reflections on:

    • Why traditional teaching models often fail in digital spaces
    • How online environments can unintentionally concentrate power and reduce connection
    • Designing learning experiences for relationship, curiosity, and participation
    • Moving from hustle and extraction toward collaboration and sustainable creation
    • Boundaries, attention, and protecting our humanity in an always-online world
    • What it means to orient life and work around aliveness instead of productivity

    This episode is especially relevant for coaches, course creators, facilitators, and community builders — but also for anyone navigating learning, work, and connection in an increasingly digital world.

    Rather than offering hacks or formulas, this conversation invites listeners to listen for the quieter signal beneath the noise: the “whisper” calling them toward meaningful contribution and more human ways of creating and living.


    ABOUT THE GUEST

    Nina Everflow is a facilitator, learning designer and consultant with over 15 years of experience supporting leaders, coaches, and mission-driven organizations in translating wisdom into lived practice. Her work bridges professional development, embodied learning, and values-aligned offer design—helping visionary brands create programs that are both meaningful and sustainable.

    Through Sacred Craft Collective, Nina partners with authors, coaches, wellness practitioners, and thought leaders to design learning experiences that honor the whole person—integrating science, somatics and soul. She is known for her liberatory approach to teaching and learning, inviting clients to move beyond extractive models toward work that is regenerative, relational, and deeply human.


    Freebie: Evolve How You Educate Free Guide: https://everflow-consulting.kit.com/evolve

    IG: https://www.instagram.com/nina.everflow/

    LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nina-everflow/

    Substack: https://everflow.substack.com/


    ABOUT THE HOSTS


    Amy Lombardo is the founder of the Brilliance Coaching Academy and author of the award-winning book Brilliance. With more than 25 years of experience as a coach, leadership mentor, and yoga teacher, Amy weaves together somatic practices, deep listening, and inclusive leadership tools to guide people into authentic transformation. Her work is rooted in the belief that each of us has an inner brilliance waiting to be expressed—and that when we nurture it, we change not only our own lives but the world around us.


    Jillian Arena is a holistic life coach, founder of Intuitive Balance Coaching, and an alumna of the Brilliance Coaching Academy . She brings together coaching, Reiki, yoga, and end-of-life doula work to help people move through transitions with compassion, humor, and presence. Jillian’s style is both grounding and expansive, empowering clients to embrace the full spectrum of being human.

    ✨

    BRILLIANCE COACHING ACADEMY

    Want to go deeper into this work? Explore the Brilliance Coaching Academy—a trauma-aware, equity-centered coach-training program. Next cohort begins January 31st. Apply Now at coach-brilliance.com.
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    58 mins
  • Episode 6. Behind the Scenes of the Brilliance Collective - From Self Help to Collective Care

    Episode 6. Behind the Scenes of the Brilliance Collective - From Self Help to Collective Care
    Feb 5 2026
    This episode is something different.Instead of offering tips, tools, or techniques, Amy Lombardo and Jillian Arena invite you into an intimate, unfiltered conversation between two seasoned coaches who have spent decades inside the self-help and personal growth world — and who are no longer willing to pretend they have it all figured out.This is a candid, behind-the-scenes look at how the Brilliance Collective was born, why it exists, and how two passionate, driven, big-hearted helpers slowly realized that the very industry they loved was also burning them out.If you’ve ever felt:exhausted by the pressure to constantly improve yourselfoverwhelmed by endless courses, frameworks, and promiseslike growth has started to feel like another to-do listguilty for not doing “enough” inner worktired of being told to optimize, manifest, or fix yourselflonely in your personal development journeyunsure how to care about growth without turning it into a grindlike you’re failing at self-help instead of being supported by it…you will recognize yourself in this conversation.Amy and Jillian talk honestly about their own missteps: the burnout, the over-achieving, the years of doing too much in the name of transformation — and how they both eventually learned to slow down, set boundaries, and return to something simpler and more human.They explore:What stayed true in their love of growth — and what had to changeHow boundaries became bridges instead of wallsWhy self-acceptance matters more than self-optimizationHow real transformation happens in connection, not isolationThe philosophy behind creating a space that centers collective care over hustle cultureMost of all, this episode is an invitation: to be curious without pressure, to evolve without performing, and to grow without leaving yourself behind.🌿 The Circle of Two SpecialBecause growth works best in relationship, Amy and Jillian are offering something intentionally simple and human.When you join the Brilliance Collective app this month — at either the monthly or annual membership level — you are invited to bring one other person with you at no additional cost.A friend. A sister. A partner. A colleague. Someone you already trust.No convincing. No selling. Just an invitation to explore together.Here’s how it works:Download the Brilliance Collective app from the App Store or Google Play. You can access it here: https://community.thebrilliancecollective.com/login. Join at the monthly or annual membership level.After you join, you’ll receive an email with a promo code to gift a full membership to one person of your choice — free.Step into the space together: reflections, prompts, meditations, and conversations designed to meet you exactly where you are.It’s our way of honoring the truth we’ve learned the hard way:We were never meant to do this alone.If this conversation resonated with you, we’d love to see you inside the Brilliance Collective — not as another self-help obligation, but as a gentle place to land.🌿 The Circle of Two Special accessed here: https://community.thebrilliancecollective.com/loginResources and Practitioners Mentioned in the Episode:Prentis Hemphill: https://prentishemphill.com/Randi Buckley: https://www.randibuckley.com/👉 Listen now and subscribe so you don’t miss what’s next. ABOUT THE HOSTSAmy Lombardo is the founder of the Brilliance Coaching Academy and author of the award-winning book Brilliance. With more than 25 years of experience as a coach, leadership mentor, and yoga teacher, Amy weaves together somatic practices, deep listening, and inclusive leadership tools to guide people into authentic transformation. Jillian Arena is a holistic life coach, founder of Intuitive Balance Coaching, and an alumna of the Brilliance Coaching Academy . She brings together coaching, Reiki, yoga, and end-of-life doula work to help people move through transitions with compassion, humor, and presence.
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    51 mins
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